Obsidian: Shards Of Sombra

by Randimaxis

First published 6th of November, 2020

Obsidian and company return for another adventure, as she seeks out the remaining shards of Sombra. But sinister things are brewing, and Obsidian must locate her erstwhile siblings before it's too late to stop them.

Obsidian, Daughter of Sombra, has defeated her foes and saved Equestria from darkness, and looks forward to leading a 'normal' life... but new information reveals the fact that her other siblings are still out there! With the help of her allies, the 'Siddy Six' (and a few new friends), Obsidian embarks on a quest to locate her sibilant siblings, and if necessary, put a stop to whatever villainous designs they may have. However, beneath all of that lies a sinister pulse that quickens as time grows tighter and shorter...

Will she be able to pull it off once again, and defeat the vile forces that gather at the gates, or will she fall to the coming darkness?

[TEEN rating due to swearing, some violence and a single racy (but not descriptive) scene.]

{Cover art by the amazing Magfen}

One: Madam Librarian

Equestria.

The bold and beautiful jewel of Equus. The land of ponies. The shining example of friendship for all the world to see and experience.

But for all its' majesty and wonder, Obsidian found the Royal Library of Twilight Sparkle to be just as beautiful as any flowers or forests the land may have... especially with the discovery this morning of a small stash of books, hidden well in a secret compartment beneath the desk in the back office.

It had been completely by accident, and was discovered while cleaning up. There were three books - two of them were Dark Magic focus tomes, specializing in no exact spells, but the energies and concentrations and how to achieve them. These would take a while to decypher, she could tell.

The third book was her late sister Onyx's personal diary, bound by a steel strap and locked with a thick black padlock.

As soon as she realized that she'd found something special, it immediately piqued her interest. Of course, she originally thought it was something else; maybe that dull sound she heard when she poked around in this drawer was just a sign that she had rats in her desk? But no - she had found a real treasure!

Padlock... hmmmm. Was it possible her sister had placed a curse on it, or perhaps a nasty spell protecting it? It was already hidden, along with these Dark Magic books, so anypony that would find it would already be rather suspicious about its content. Considering that a normal padlock could be destroyed with even the simplest offensive spell, it would make a sense to give it additional, magical protection.

And focus books... ooooh, it was just wonderful! Maybe she could finally learn more about the theories behind the Dark spells!

"This day is going to be perfect... the kind of day which I've dreamt of since I was small," hummed Obsidian, clearly happy at her findings. Not only did she have these books - but also a hidden drawer for her own use. Perfect!

"Though my father had a fate rather tragic, I can finally start to learn more about his hidden magic! And THEN, who'll be the best and brightest sibling? HA!"

She could just work overtime... or perhaps even sleep here for a day or two; nopony would complain that she never took her duties very seriously, right? Even better, she wouldn't have to hurry for lessons - after all, she would be already in the school itself! She just had to find a way to wash up, as a library obviously didn't have bath or anything like that. Maybe there was a spell for tooth-brushing...

The library had been rather quiet today; most of her time had been taken up by the aging mailmare, who'd been trying to deliver a package... but had continuously put it in the wrong places, and Obsidian had almost lost her patience with the cross-eyed mare until she finally discovered she'd had it with her all along. Why couldn't disintegration be legally allowed for annoying postal workers?

At any rate, the package had turned out to be - big surprise! - more books, so she'd had to list them, label them and place them on the shelves. As today had been rather slow, it hadn't taken long. Now, it was just her, her new finds, and nothing el-

"Umm... excuse me?"

sigh Never mind.

"Yes?" She gave her best patiently-trained-smile number three, 'I'm all ears, and helping you is my greatest desire!'

The changeling on the other side of the desk looked at her for a moment. "Hey, I remember you... you're... Obsidian, right?"

He... remembered her? Where had she met a changeling before? Or did he know her from the heroic acts she'd performed with her friends?

Obsidian tapped her chin. Changeling, changeling... "Mark...?" Or something like that - she'd asked him to be her friend, right?

His smile lit up his strange face. "That's right - Markannus! I'm pleased you recall my name; I admit, I didn't think I left such an impression on you. You were among others who tend to be more... memorable than I am. Still, a pleasant surprise to see you here. And on the other side of the desk, I see."

He looked around a bit. "And such a sweet gig, as well. Lucky you. Well, such as it is, I'm actually here to find some books on genetic biology structure and molecular similarity; any chance you happen to know where those are, or am I out of luck?" He seemed genuinely pleased to interact with her... had she made a friend out of him?

Of course, Obsidian had no idea how changeling mentality worked - they were obviously not ponies, but they'd reformed. It also wasn't much help that she didn't exactly know how any creature's mentality worked. But she was learning quickly.

"Well, a number of things have happened since then," she said diplomatically. Two attempts on her life, a zombie invasion, followed by a second zombie invasion, a brief occupation of the entire area, King Sombra's return...

Oh, right. Genetic structure. "That would most likely be in the Biology section. Let me help you..." She left her place behind the desk to lead him further into the library. It might take a while, obviously, but she was sorting the books so often that she was sure she could find what he was looking for quickly.

"I hope you didn't have too many problems during the invasion?" Obsidian attempted some small-talk.

Markannus sighed. "Well, that depends on whom you ask; my hive locked its' doors tight and ran defense for the southern end of Ponyville - or, in other words, we kept the damnable things from leaving town, and kept the nearby towns safe. Well, safer, anyway. But the things were nasty, I'll say THAT much."

"But if you ask the ponies of Ponyville, well... they might say we just stayed outside of town and did nothing. But they don't know about what we did. About the ones we lost defending the southern border..." He shook his head. "Still, the things didn't get past us, so we did what we were trying to do. It wasn't pretty, but it did the job. You, on the other hoof... well, almost everyone knows your story, thanks to Thunderclap."

So the Umbrals weren't focused on overrunning Ponyville's defenses? Surprising, considering how many losses they suffered (since the entire first wave was completely wasted by Siddy's own spell), and that Onyx wanted to bring back their father as soon as possible; attacking other places seemed like she might have made a strategical blunder. Of course Onyx herself had made quite a few mistakes, so it could be just another one of them she hadn't thought about.

"Oh yes, Clap is perfect for spreading stories around," Obsidian agreed. "You should talk with her more about what happened with your hive; get her motivated, and soon we will all hear how brave you all were!" The textbooks about genetics were somewhere around here...

He chuckled lightly. "Naaaaaah... it's not that important; we did what we did, and we're just happy we could help. No big deal." The third shelf that held the scientific books was the one she was looking for. There were a few books with the words 'genetics' on them, but nothing so specific as he'd mentioned.

Markannus just grinned when he saw the shelf. "Yeah, those'll do nicely - thanks." He began looking over the titles, then turned back to face her. "Well, I suppose it would only be proper of me to ask how you're doing as well, right? What IS it like to be a minorly-lauded hero?"

"Far more peaceful and lazy than trying to survive a war with the undead," she said. In fact, it was almost boring. Not that she was complaining, at least not seriously - the day that started with Tourmy's attack and ended with a fight with her own father was too exciting for her own tastes. It would have been far easier if Onyx would have limited her attacks on her - one per day or something.

"... considering Princess Twilight's own history, I have to defend Equestria at least three times more to become a pretty alicorn princess," she said with a perfect poker face.

Markannus actually laughed. "That's a good one! I'm glad to see you have a wry sense of humor; far better than the pale and somewhat juvenile jokes I hear out of most ponies - thank you for being a bit more sophisticated."

He selected three books from the shelf (and SHE had three books to look at, waiting for her), and tuned to her. "These will do the job properly, I'm sure. I suppose you have to check them out, and I'll have my study material. Say," he looked at her with piqued interest, "do you study much?"

Was he being friendly, or was he just buttering her up? No, there was no reason to be paranoid; the last ponies that tried to kill her were toiling in her home, robbed of their magic and forced to obey their rightful queen lovely sister. If anypony would try to get under her skin, she'd just get new slaves involuntary friends out of it!

"The entire time - and I still have plenty to catch up on. History, literature, science... quite a lot of things have happened during the past thousand years." She still had no idea who this 'Daring Do' was, though considering all the references she had heard about her exploits since her awakening in this strange modern world, it was sort of irksome.

"That's right," his muzzle took on a more sympathetic look, "you're still adjusting to the modern world around you. Sorry, I didn't think before I asked, or I'd have realized it was a foolish question - consider it unasked."

He then grew thoughtful. "You know, I'd be happy to help out, should you ever want to study sciences and biology; I did a lot of study myself, growing up. It'd be no trouble, and would probably help out with your quest to discover this future you were kind of shoved into." He seemed to genuinely be concerned for her education; was he one of those 'eggheads' Clap kept joking about?

Truth be told, Obsidian wasn't honestly too interested in biology - wasn't it mainly about animals, plants and so on? It really didn't sound like anything that would be useful to her. Science, however, was far more interesting; it was mainly about things that were unknown in her own time, so despite the fact that it was rather diffcult (or maybe because of it, as she kind of enjoyed such a challenge), she was catching up to it a bit.

"I'll keep it in mind... but right now, I'm fine - though I thank you for the offer." And she even had a nice source of income... no more worries about debt, and she didn't even have to spend a dime on books!

"Anything else I can do for you?" She had to make a note about his borrowing the biology books - after all, she had to keep her workplace organized.

He grinned and shook his head. "Nope - just these. I already know most of what's in here - I'm just giving myself a refresher before tests tomorrow."

Putting them away in a knapsack, he looked at her again. "I'll have to remember you're in here, and come by to say hello more often. That is, if you'd like? There are still some who don't care for my kind, Reformation or not, but I figure you wouldn't be so inclined, seeing as your days precede the shenanigans of Chrysalis."

From the front doors, Obsidian saw Thunderclap poke her head in and wave... then she noticed Markannus and, with a shushing hoof to her lips, began to sneak up on him.

The changeling smiled at her. "Still, would you rather I come by to say hi, or no?"

Thunderclap's plans usually ended in a rather... surprising way. Sometimes a bit destructive, which, considering that they weren't fighting for their lives, meant that Obsidian had no reason to warn the changeling. In theory, libraries should be quiet...

But there was no issue with something a bit more exciting than usual. "It's a public library, I couldn't stop you even if I would like to. Luckily, I don't think it's a problem - I'm even fairly certain you could hang out with our entire gang from time to time, methinks."

He grinned. "Oh, you mean The Siddy Six?" Chuckling, he looked at her. "I believe that's the name I've heard going around; yourself, Mica Chip, Cupcake Sprinkles, Gypsy Rover, Stalwart Stance and... oh, who IS that last one?"

Behind him, Clap got an offended look on her muzzle, and redoubled her efforts to sneak up behind Markannus. However, when she got close-

"BRRRRRRRAAAAAAGHH!!!!!" The changeling suddenly shifted into a manticore, then turned and roared right in Clap's face - and she squealed, and backpedaled across the floor to the far wall.

Markannus chuckled. "Oh, that's right... and Thunderclap Dash."

Clap glared at him. "Oh, HA HA, Markus," she grumbled.

The 'Siddy Six'? What was this nonsense? And, of course, Clap's sneaking attempts turned out to have very interesting results... though perhaps a bit louder than Obsidian would initially like. But at least she learned a valuable lesson about a changeling's shapeshifting skills.

"Yes, I mean us... and hello, Clap. Say Markannus, did you hear her or was it that you felt her emotions...?"

He smiled. "She's no ninja, that's for sure - her manicured hooves made too much noise."

Clap pouted. "You just wanted to see me jump, didn't you?"

Markannus turned and fixed her with a kind smile. "Well... didn't you want to see ME jump?"

She huffed, "That's not the point!"

The changeling turned to Obsidian again and smiled. "Anyway, sometime when I'm not studying, yeah - I wouldn't mind hanging out with you folks. You're all a very diverse group of friends, and you all seem interesting... especially you, Miss Dash."

Clap walked over to the desk and leaned on it, making it creak a little bit under the weight of her muscular frame. "Yeah, I'll bet - you just keep your shapeshifting to yourself, okay?"

"As long as you try not to scare me, I won't have to return the favor," he chuckled.

At that, even Clap rolled her eyes and grinned. "Yeah, okay - deal, I guess. Besides, it'd be WAY more fun to catch Siddy unawares!"

Markannus turned and trotted for the door. "Nice seeing you again, Obsidian! Thanks for the help!"

Once he left, Clap leaned in close. "So really, was I making that much noise?"

Obsidian waved to the changeling as he was leaving. Interesting encounter... but it made her wonder; did she forget any other creatures she'd met at the beginning of her new life here?

"I'd say not really, but I can't say that my hearing is perfect, either. Maybe his ears are just better than mine?" Obsidian shrugged slightly. Her father apparently hadn't cared so much about that aspect when he was creating her. Too bad, as having some kind of ultra-super-hearing would have been kind of cool. "So, Clap, what brings you into my dark kingdom of knowledge?" Of course, she was joking... the Dark magic could wait a bit longer.

She grinned, "What, I need a reason to come visit my pal Siddy?" She started wandering the library's front area, looking around. "So, I kinda figured you might be up for that 'spa day' I was telling you about? I mean, if anyone needs a little relaxation around here, it'd be YOU, Sids - besides, a Girl's Day Out might be a good thing for us, y'know?" She smiled slyly at Obsidian. "Oh yeah, and you gotta help me convince Warty to go, too. She's stubborn, but I think the two of us could wear her down!"

"Well, she already promised that she would protect me from any possible evils and dangers of this 'Spa' - and she's not exactly the type to break a promise, right? Give me a moment, I just need to finish a few things..."

Clap's grin doubled. "GREAT, Siddy! I knew I could count on you to back me up! This is gonna be SOOOOOO good, you'll see!" She continued to walkabout looking at things, but now it seemed to be more a matter of killing time than actual interest in the books... of course, that was Clap for you; no time for much other than what she thought was best. But one couldn't really blame her - she was just excited to be doing stuff with her friends.

"C'mon, Sids," she said after only a minute, "daylight's a-wastin'!"

"I need a bit more time, Clap. Just be patient, or I'll use the most terrifying secret skill I've recently perfected..." Ok, first she had to write down the books which had been borrowed by Markannus, then hide Onyx's secret stash of books back in the hidden drawer, then close the library...

Clap turned and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Really? Heck, I'll just Sonic Rainboom my way outta here... you remember that, right? How I did that? You shouldn't forget I did something that awesome, y'know - it'd be hard for you to keep up with that one, Sids."

Ugh. That again. Since she'd pulled it off, Clap had the feeling that folks had to be reminded of her big accomplishment at least twice a day. Frankly, the whole group was beginning to find it annoying, but with as hard as she'd trained and tried for it, nobody had the nerve to tell her to quit; she was legitimately proud of the deed, and should have been.

It would be nice if she didn't BRAG about it so often, though.

Obsidian just pointed at the doors. There was a very distinct and fresh sign:

[Sonic Rainbooms FORBIDDEN inside the library]

After all, doing such a thing could ruin the shelves.

"But I see you want to experience my Dark secret, then," Obsidian gave a wicked smirk, "and so, you have sealed your fate..."

She reached for her desk to get the one thing she needed for her secret skill... a pair of thick horn-rimmed glasses, with slightly pointy endings to make them look bigger and more intimidating. She didn't actually need them - her eyes were completely fine - but she still remembered how Onyx had looked as Miss Tome, when she was pretending to be a normal librarian pony and wanted to emulate that effect.

LIBRARIAN... TRANSFORMATION... POWER!

In her own humble opinion, it worked perfectly - she looked at least twenty years older in these glasses... maybe even thirty! She took on a severely dull and flat expression and gave Thunderclap a small glare, speaking to her in an equally dull and flat voice. "Miss Dash, I need to ask you to behave, please."

No, Obsidian completely didn't practice this in front of a mirror - that would have been just plain silly, right? RIGHT? Okay, so maybe she did. Just a bit. Every morning. At least twice, for good measure.

Clap got a crestfallen look on her muzzle... but the gleam in her eye told Siddy she was pleased to see her friend having her own fun with her; in a way, things like this were more personal than heartfelt conversations.

"Awwwww..." she groaned, pretending to be disappointed. "You're no fun."

She went and sat at one of the nearby tables, leaning back in one of the chairs until it creaked under her size. "Well, c'mon spoilsport - we still gotta convin-... I mean, uh, 'pick up' Warty from her shift."

Stalwart Stance had religiously stuck to her schedule in the Royal Guard, and was very, VERY clear that she would only leave her post for her friends in an emergency; otherwise, once her shift was over, she tended to come straight to the library anyway. In fact, Wart hadn't missed a single day yet; she was always here, with Siddy, after every duty. At first, it seemed like she just didn't have anything else to do... but over time, Obsidian had come to realize that she had been completely honest when the tiny mare had called her 'the best friend ever', and was simply happy to be around Siddy.

Clap sighed. "I can feel myself aging; hurry up!"

Now wait a second... did she intend to convince Stalwart to cut her guard duty short? Wasn't that a crime? "You are fully aware that we won't be able to convince her to leave her post even a single minute too early, right? At least not without monsters attacking Equestria or something?" Ok, books written into the system; now she just had to check her secret stash and she was ready to go.

Clap grinned. "Yeah, I know - I reserved a spa time for after her shift ended - but that doesn't mean we can't have fun teasing her for, like, the last five minutes of her shift!" Clap leaned back farther in the chair, and the creaking became a wooden groaning; she did this often, and had even gotten close to falling over. However, her wings had caught her before she teetered too far - to date, she had yet to actually hit the floor. But she'd still made the chairs protest, mostly due to her size.

It seemed everything was fine... the stash was amazing to Obsidian. It was a very useful thing, even without planning anything dark and scary - she could hide money, a diary, photos in swimsuits (she didn't have any, but she still remembered the reactions of the others when they found Clap's photo in the dreamscape) and so on. In fact, she put her photo with all her friends at the top of her secret hiding place before closing it and putting a few normal books on top of it to keep it even more hidden.

It was a good photo. Made after the Umbral battle, so they didn't look like they were taken straight from Tartarus. It was almost as if they hadn't bonded during rather traumatic events. And, of course, Ponyville behind them didn't look ruined as well. "As long as she won't arrest us during her last five minutes..."

"groan Come oooonnnnn..." Clap began to rock from side to side in her chair, making it creak alarmingly.

"Stop torturing the chair, I'm done - we can leave now."

Clap stood up instantly. "FI-nally!"

The two of them made their way out of the school, which looked far better than it had after the Umbral Incident (as some folks referred to it); almost all the repairs were done, and the new coat of paint was looking better and better as it was applied.

Today, Wart's assignment had seen her at Town Hall for Ponyville; Princess Twilight was speaking with the Mayor (Hardy Hello, if she recalled correctly - Mayor Mare's son, as others had informed her). Obsidian knew this because Wart had spoken of it just yesterday.

As they got into Ponyville proper, a number of ponies (and other creatures) waved to them as they passed; she'd seen quite a few locals who had already accepted her into their midst, and it was an interesting feeling, being included and welcomed by thers in such a manner.

"So hey, what books did the buggo want to check out? What were they about? Bug stuff? Magic? Cooking recipes?" Clap asked, curiosity writ large on her muzzle.

Once again, Obsidian marvelled at the fact she was able to save something, making the entire world a bit better place - this time she saved a chair. After all she was a HERO... and she had to admit that making a mare literally named "Mayor" the mayor made a lot of sense. She was starting used to visiting the cozy little village - it was a far cry from her first shopping trip, where she was literally clinging to the rest of the group, suffering a mild panic attack and wondering why would so many ponies walk around. Obsidian still didn't like walking out alone and pretty much preferred to sit down in one of her hideouts (whether it was the library, the school proper or her home), but in company... it was acceptable.

Buggo? Ah, Markannus... "Genetics and molecules. He was very interested in biology and science, apparently as much as Gypsy is in history."

"Really? He's an egghead? Good grief," she groaned and rolled her eyes, "I thought he'd be waaaaaay cooler than that. So disappointed..."

Reaching the Town Hall, they saw two Royal Guards standing outside, at full attention. One of them was a tall and strong-looking stallion who wore his armor impeccably well, and looked ready to strike at a single moment's notice; a soldier at the peak of his physical condition, and trained to do his job extremely efficiently.

And the other one was Wart - which meant the other guard paled in comparison.

As they stepped forward to them, the stallion spoke up. "Citizens! Be aware that Princess Twilight Sparkle is having an audience wi-"

"Brass, they already know - I told them about it," Wart said, unmoving save for her mouth.

"Stalwart, what if they're spies?"

Wart now gave a smirk. "Then we shall turn them to powder - but I think you are simply being paranoid, Brass; let it go."

Brass eyed them a moment, then nodded. "Very well, then. If you trust them, Stalwart, then so shall I."

Wart, stiff as a statue, spoke to them. "Lady Siddy. Clap."

Clap grinned widely. "Hiya, Warty... I'll bet you'd love to accompany us to the spa, riiiiiiiiiight?"

Wart's stone face twitched. "Pointless. Something such as that is a waste of time and bits."

Clap grinned. "You only say that 'cause you've never been... y'know, Siddy's coming with me."

Wart's eyes slid over to look at Obsidian. "Is this true?"

Now Obsidian couldn't help herself but wonder who would win in a duel - she or Stalwart. Of course, she wouldn't dream of winning a fair swordfight - but with magic? Who could say? In fact, maybe it would be a good idea to use that interesting relationship between them and ask Stalwart for a few fencing lessons. During Umbral invasion Obsidian managed to use her lance quite effectively, though eventually she settled on using magic, but her skills simply paled when compared to the whirling death that Stalwart turned herself into.

"Yes, Stalwart. I've already invited you, remember? Riiiiiight after you swore fealty to Equestria and the princess. You seemed to be pretty enthusiastic back then," Obsidian smiled a bit... though rather slyly. "I hope you already have crush on somecreature, because I'm sure we'll all look stunning afterwards. I'm sure Mica is already preparing himself to properly admire beautified Clap." Well, teasing is teasing, right?

Clap turned a shade of red. "H-hey... I'm just going so... w-well, it's... you sh-shut your mouth, Siddy!"

At that, even Wart and Brass grinned a bit. "Though I am... hesitant... to go to such a place, I... did swear, I suppose. I... sigh I suppose if I must." Clap, still blushing just a tad, looked back over at Obsidian.

"Oh yeah, we'll be pretty alright... nice and pretty, and nothing like dark or mysterious! Think about it, Sids - Cuppie will practically be a slave to how beautiful you're gonna look."

Wart, however, cast a glance at the ground, saying nothing else for the moment. She hadn't had any 'special somepony' in her entire life; during a conversation with Cupcake, he revealed to her that Wart had always been a loner, but never even seemed to try to find one. Yet she still seemed a bit put-off by it... however, she looked up and focused behind them in an instant.

"SIR!" the two guard trainees said in unison.

"Wart. Brass. And... Thunderclap and Obsidian, I see." That was the voice of Lemon Custard; Obsidian knew it fairly well by now.

He'd continued to check up on her on occasion, and had even given another training session or two, just to make certain she was getting her 'magical exercise', as he called it. It was funny; he'd been insulting and harsh with her when they first met, but now he treated her like an ally, if not a friend. Of course, he was still strict and stodgy... however, much less insulting. And of course, he was responsible for Wart achieving her dream, so there was that as well. There were two Royal Guards behind him, waiting at full attention.

"Come to gather your shadow, Obsidian?" It had been hard not to notice how much Wart hung around Siddy, so his little poke wasn't unexpected.

You know, telling a daughter of the most (in)famous slave driver in known history that her crush will be her slave didn't sound too nice, but Thunderclap was hardly known for her tact. And it seemed that her teacher had appeared, a complete pain in the plot... at least for ponies that he disliked. Luckily Obsidian already reached a point in her life where she could even enjoy his company. After all, she spent most of her life with a very strict and stodgy teacher... and rather violent, very hard to please, and so on; in comparison to Sombra's lessons, Lemon was practically soft on her.

"Of course. Aaaaany second now..." Obsidian smiled.

Lemon gave one of his rare grins, then turned to the guards behind him. "Thick Skull, Fighting Chance... switch out time. You know your duties." They both saluted Lemon, then stepped forward and stood next to Wart and Brass, wherein those two stepped away from their positions. Wart and Brass saluted their replacements, who both returned the gesture and took up the same stance their previous fellow guards has held.

Lemon nodded, then glanced over at Clap. "When you get the chance, let my brother know I have a want to speak with him, if you would," his gaze turned to Siddy, "or you, if you see him first. Frankly, between the two of you, there's no telling which one."

Clap grinned. "Yeah, I'll let him know; Sids will too."

Lemon lifted an eyebrow, but nodded all the same. He then turned to Obsidian. "Keeping your magic in shape?" Wart naturally fell in behind Obsidian, as usual.

Send Cupcake to Lemon. Easy enough, considering how much time per day Obsidian was 'cupcaking', he should find her on his own sooner or later. To be frank, it was also possible that he will just bump into Lemon. Or just appear here and now, almost as if he teleported. Or...

A lot of things were possible with Cupcake. However, Obsidian was surprised that Lemon asked Clap first, not her. After all she was snuggling with him, right? They even lived in the same house, were sleeping in the same bed... in fact Obsidian was starting to feel it might be a bit strange, but that was a completely different issue. "Of course - I have to."

"Good. I'll have to stop in sometime, test your skill progression; I'm intrigued to see where your Grey Magic grows stronger." He nodded to the guards at their post, who responded with a salute and a "SIR!"; he then looked over at Wart. "Same time tomorrow, of course. Palace duty."

She saluted smartly. "Of course, sir."

Nodding, he turned and headed inside, the guards opening and closing the door for him.

Wart now looked at them both. "May we at least go by my house, so I may keep my armor clean?"

Clap rolled her eyes, sighed, and grumped, "Yeah, yeah... but let's HURRY. I am dying for a good hooficure!"

Two: Spa Day

They began to make their way through Ponyville, heading to Wart's home. It was a rather small and modest cottage, efficient and tidy. Reaching the doorway, Wart opened the door and waved them inside.

Her home consisted of a living room, a restroom, a kitchen and a bedroom - and that was it. There was attic space, assumedly, but Obsidian had never seen the small mare utilize it. The place was sparsely decorated... but the Royal Guard recruitment posters were visible on every wall, all framed meticulously and always clean and dust-free.

Mica had openly wondered once if, without Obsidian, Wart simply would have spent her time cleaning and training - and nothing else. He'd been the one to pose to Obsidian that Wart's friendship with her was good for Wart, as well as Obsidian herself; it kept the tiny mare from being a perpetual homebody. Wart went into her bedroom and closed the door as she changed out of her armor. Clap, sighing, plopped herself down onto the single couch in the living room.

"She doesn't even have a T.V., for crying out loud," she remarked. Siddy had seen this invention before; it seemed to be entertaining to others, but so far had been nothing but a noise generator to the sensible and study-prone Obsidian.

Lemon wanted to see where her Gray Magic grew stronger, eh? But that was the problem with this accursed thing - with both Dark and Light Magic drawing powers from completely different sources, it was hard to maintain a balance. Onyx had cheated - she merely used two different amulets, both filled with raw magic, and didn't have to worry about anything. Obsidian, however, also the issue that the thoughts and emotions used to power Dark Magic weren't very nice.

But first things first.

Wart's house; it was just like its' owner - small, clean, and organized. And perhaps a bit obsessed with Royal Guardponies. It had been quite some shocking information for Obsidian that apparently her friendship was good for somepony else. And it was apparently helping this same somepony to become more sociable. In her own opinion, it was truly a great irony that a Dark Princess who didn't even know the meaning of the word 'friendship' had brought another pony out of her shell, completely by accident. Obsidian was Stalwart's own private miracle, a real life-changer.

"Eh, I have never truly found T.V. too interesting," Obsidian mused, "though she could stand to have a few more books, mayhaps..."

The bedroom door opened, and Wart came out wearing a simple barding that allowed for a small knapsack and (of course) the crest of the Equestrian Royal Guard. In fact, ever since she joined the trainee ranks, just about everything she owned clothing-wise had a small Equestrian Shield on it. Obsessed was somewhat mild in describing the little mare's dedication.

"Though I do not wish to endure such a thing," she grumped to Clap, "I shall do so, in order to protect Lady Siddy from any... indignities she might encounter."

Thunderclap rolled her eyes. "Warty, for cryin' out loud, relax girl! This is for fun, not a training exercise!"

Wart leaned close to Obsidian and spoke low, "If it were, I'd doubtless have been doing so already."

"Okay, we're ready now? PLEASE say we can go straight there!" Clap looked as if one more delay, and she might shrivel up into nothingness.

Truth be told, Obsidian mused that if she ever became an actual Equestrian princess (or QUEEN!), Stalwart would probably literally turn into her shadow. Like, literally-literally, especially if Obsidian dared to teach her just a tiiiiiiiny bit of Dark Magic...

Siddy pat-patted Stalwart a bit, which was far easier than doing so with Thunderclap... mostly due to the size difference. She felt a small, sadistic urge to ask to use her bathroom, but that would be pure cruelty - it could kill Thunderclap or worse, make her bored. And a bored Thunderclap was dangerous to everypony around - herself included.

"Don't worry, Stalwart; there's always the possibility that I won't like it, and we will never go there again," She tried to cheer Wart up a bit. Then, however, she smiled slyly. "But of course, if I start to like it... yes, let's go, Clap."

"Finally! Race ya!"

And just like that, she was out the door and gone, before anyone could blink. Wart frowned as her front door slammed hard into the wall, but made her own way out (holding the door for Siddy, of course), and closed it behind her.

"Fortunately, Lady Siddy, I know where this... spa is. Shall we go... or would you rather we take an alternate route?" Her last suggestion brought forth a smile, albeit a somewhat naughty one. "After all, Thunderclap most certainly will have to wait for us anyway - would it truly kill her to learn a bit more patience?"

Her serious face returned, however. "But if this is what you wish, I shall not impede you, Lady Siddy."

Racing really makes no sense if the other ponies involved have no idea where the finishing line is... and Thunderclap should already know that. Plus, being the one calling for a 'race' and then immediately starting to run was kind of cheating, too. It was almost as if she didn't want them to get there on time, or talk with them on their way there.

"Well, I have no idea where the spa is - so it could be understandable that I've lost my way, right?" Obsidian tapped her chin a bit. "... but we shouldn't make this alternate route too long, though - a Bored Clap is a Dangerous Clap. Besides, I'd like to get there on time; I'm somewhat curious about what this 'spa' really is."

Wart nodded, and began walking alongside Obsidian. "From what I have gathered," Wart began, "a spa is a place of vanity. It allows for those who come there to receive an ample amount of 'pampering', as in some strange rituals I have heard name only of - such as 'facials', and 'massages', and even the dreaded 'hooficure'. I have seen many foppish and self-important ponies frequent the establishment, and I made the assessment long ago that such places were not for one such as myself."

The way they took was along the main street, but Wart seemed to be in no real hurry.

"Though I will admit, Lady Rarity and even Lady Dash have frequented the place many times; it leaves me to wonder what would attract such pillars of our community. Indeed, I have even heard tell of Princess Twilight going to this place, on rare occasion. However, the thing that strikes me is that no one seems to wish to go alone; it is apparently some sort of social thing."

She shrugged. "Honestly, I would much rather be training... but if my friends wish my presence, I would be remiss to say no. So take heart, Lady Siddy - I am here for you." She smiled and rolled her eyes. "And Clap as well, I suppose."

A social thing, eh? Perhaps it was a good thing that Obsidian was getting more sociable lately - at least compared to her good old days in the Crystal Empire. There were multiple things that could be done at this place, apparently, and it wouldn't hurt to both enjoy time with her friends and get some 'pampering'. Didn't Lemon, during their first meeting, call her 'pampered'? Well, maybe Obsidian didn't look like an underweight victim of abuse with tatty mane anymore, but she was curious what exactly Lemon meant. It was time to check it out.

"It should at least be an interesting experience," she mused.

Wart and Obsidian continued to make their way toward the spa; the little mare seemed just to be happy to be alongside Siddy, and didn't even need to converse - though she was happy to do so - and it was something to be said that she felt comfortable in silence near her best friend. Not for the first time, that fact seemed to strike a chord in Obsidian; she was Cup's marefriend, yes... and had a number of other friends... but to be called somepony's best friend? Well, there was something special about that, no doubt.

Granted, Obsidian may not have been certain of HOW special it was, but she knew that it felt good to be called such - especially by such an honorable and decent mare... not to mention one as steeped in kickflank as Stalwart was. Who would have thought, back during their first meeting, that Obsidian would turn out to be Stalwart's best friend? The poor mare got her connections with the rest of the group mainly by using her as a proxy... though getting her out of her shell felt nice.

At length (after stopping at a stand for a pair of chocolate-dipped bananas), they reached the spa, where they found Clap pacing outside, looking a bit frustrated. When she caught sight of them, she made her way over.

"'Bout time! It took you guys forEVer to get here! I mean, I know I'm fast, but... hey! Are those... bananas!?" She huffed. "You two stopped for food!?"

"Of course," Wart calmly replied, a look of non-chalant calm on her muzzle, "I was not about to let Lady Siddy go hungry; there would have been one for you, but you weren't with us, so..." She looked at the pegasus with meaning in her gaze.

Clap grumbled, "Not fair - I LOVE those things!"

"Then next time," Wart admonished lightly, "you might do yourself a favor and wait for your companions, yes?"

"You know, Clap, if you truly wish to race with another pony, you may want to check to see if they know where the finish line is first. I certainly can't run to the spa if I don't really know where it is, right?" These races were a bit amusing, but mainly used as a way to get rid of her temporarily... just like Mica did after their first meeting. In other cases though, they were somewhat problematic. At least it seemed she learned her lesson... for the next hour or so.

She groaned, then gave a huff. "Well, you're here now, so we can get on with this! C'mon," she said, her foul mood melting away quickly, "let's... get... fabulous!"

Stopping to get these bananas was kind of rubbing salt in the wound, wasn't it? Not that Obsidian complained - the mix of a fresh banana and the sweet chocolate was nice... though, as everypony knew, apples in chocolate were the best. Especially when the fruits were a bit sour - it was a grand mix of flavours!

"Want a bite?" Obsidian offered Clap her chocobanana. Clap grinned at the offer of a bite, and took one. Only one.

... well, it had been tasty while it lasted, anyway.

In they went. The spa's front area was, indeed, lush and expensive-looking. Couches that looked plush, soft colors and lights, and even the receptionist was a rather smooth-looking and lovely young mare. Stalwart wasn't kidding - this place looked rather foppish, indeed; hopefully, it would be worth the visit. Clap made her way over to a desk where a lovely young mare sat, smiling sweetly.

"Ah, bonjour madame Dash - zhou are right on time! We have been awaiting your presence; I assume zat zese are ze others zat were to accompany vous, oui?"

"Yeah, all three of us, Beret - and I wanna get the 'Deluxe Princess Package', times three!"

"Ooh la la!" she exclaimed in her strange accent, "zis will go upon ze tab, no?"

"Oh yeah," Clap grinned, "I always pay on time, right? Won't be a problem, will it?"

"Non non! Zis is fine; ze rooms are set up accordingly, madame - sauna number seven shall be yours to enjoy! When zhou have finished your steaming, we will send ze masseuses in to see to your poor, aching muscles."

"Eh, go kinda easy on these two," she said with a wink, "it's their first time."

The mare (Beret, which she wore one of) smiled richly at them both. "Zere is not a sing to worry about; we shall care for zhou as if zhou were royalty!"

It was only natural that the one who brought them all here would act as their vanguard, dealing with the monetary aspect of this trip. It certainly didn't help that Stalwart had only a vague knowledge about the local services... and Obsidian knew even less. The 'Princess Package' sounded good, and besides that, Beret was completely right - at least one of them was royalty, so she should be cared for as one anyway, right?

Perhaps her title was rather... dubious... and maybe her claim to it as well, but it didn't change anything in Siddy's eyes.

"C'mon," Clap said, directing them to a door with a sign proclaiming 'Suite Seven' on it, "in here."

The room was cozy and slightly warm. Clap went to the wall of lockers and began to remove her saddlebags and other accessories, placing them inside one of them.

"You guys gotta take everything off, and grab a towel; put your stuff in the lockers. Once you're ready, follow me into the sauna. Don't worry," she held up a hoof to silence the inevitable questions, "I'll explain when we're inside." With that, she sauntered into the sauna.

Wart looked at Siddy, shrugged, and began to remove her barding.

Luckily, Obsidian didn't have too many things with her, so putting all of her stuff into a locker didn't take too much time. Now... towel, get inside, done. It was a bit warm in here... by Darkness, it wasn't a torture chamber, was it?

The room was almost completely boarded with wood - the walls, the ceiling, the plank flooring... except for a wooden bench at each wall, a small, square stone structure in the center, and what looked to be a small, pony-made waterfall in the far corner, flowing into a little pool with a ladle and a bucket next to it. Curious.

When they got inside, Clap closed the door and pointed a hoof at the benches. "Sit - I'll get the steam going." Wart gave Obsidian a quizzical look, but sat down all the same.

Clap went to the corner, grabbed the bucket and held it under the little waterfall, filling it. She then brought it over to the stone box... but she looked up first at her friends. "Okay, so there's rocks in here that are magically heated; when I pour this bucket of water on 'em, they'll make a LOT of steam. It might be loud, so I wanted to make sure neither of you got, like, battle-ready when it happens, okay? It's JUST steam."

She then poured the water on them evenly and slowly. >sssssssssSSSSSSSSSS...<

It was a bit sudden, but the sound wasn't too much. The steam began rising from the stone box, and started to fill the room with wet heat. Good thing Thunderclap warned them; it sure would have looked stupid if Obsidian immediately cast a shield spell... though it wasn't THAT necessary, as she trusted her friend and knew (or at least hoped - it was Clap they were talking about) that there would be no harm in following her example. However, it was still a rather strange ritual.

Clap made her way over to the bench and smiled. "Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh... okay, NOW we can start relaxing. See, the steam starts soaking into our coats and skin, and helps to clean all that ground-in dirt and stuff out, plus it helps us sweat out some of the natural toxins we pick up in everyday doings. A good sit in here for a while will get us good and ready for the massages coming our way!"

So they were now going to soak with steamed water... and that will make them clean, but apparently in a different way than a bath or a shower.

She sat back and closed her eyes. "I tell ya, girls - you'll be thanking me when it's all over and done; trust me. So, what should we chat abut while we soak?"

Wart looked at Obsidian and shrugged.

"Political reforms in Equestria after the banishment of Nightmare Moon?" Siddy asked innocently, knowing that it would convince Wart and especially Clap to pick-up something far more interesting to discuss.

Clap wrinkled her snout. "Ew, ick. Politics? Really?"

"Well then," Wart spoke up, "what do mares who frequent this establishment often talk about?"

Clap's smile grew wide. "Stallions! Personally, I think we oughtta talk about the stallions we know, and who's the most handsome out of all of 'em!"

Wart quirked an eyebrow. "They truly talk abou-"

"Yeah, they do," the pegasus interrupted, "so - I say Licorice Twist takes a pretty high place on MY list! I mean, c'mon - with that jet black coat, and those foine flanks of his, I'd say you'd be hard pressed to find another stallion who looks better than HE does!"

Wart blinked; she was obviously clueless.

"Whadda YOU say, Sids?" Clap looked to Obsidian. "I mean, yeah, Cuppie's kinda cute - I guess - but Licky! Oh, he's a dream!"

Obsidian giggled. They quickly found a good topic, didn't they? For a dreadful moment, she was actually afraid that Stalwart wouldn't get the joke and/or would try to follow that topic. It wasn't bad, per se, but it would be more interesting to talk about such a subject with Gypsy... or rather listen to his monologue, as his knowledge about this topic was probably far more detailed than her own.

Hunh... what a strange topic to discuss during their supposed 'melting'.

"In my opinion, Licorice has one very specific flaw that taints his image in my eyes; at first, I thought that he kind of reminds me of my Father. As such, I think I prefer the look of his brother..."

She lowered her voice and braced herself to say it as calmly as possible. "After all, Lemon looks rather nice when you get used to that mane of his." Of course, she was merely jesting... but it was a good opportunity for a bait-and-switch kind of joke.

Wart's mouth dropped open, but Clap started laughing. "Lemon!? HAAAAA-hahahahahahahahaaaa! You've gotta be kidding me! I mean, yeah, he's a bigwig in Twilight's cabinet, and he's got a good chunk of teke ability, and he's still not-quite middle age, and... and..."

Clap sat back, hoof to chin. "Y'know, come to think of it, he really isn't hard to look at... hunh. Who'da thought HE was kinda cute?"

Wart, however, stammered out, "What... why would... I could never see my superior in such a way! That's... b-but, WHY!?"

Clap just laughed harder at poor Wart. "Ah, he's kinda cute - okay, I admit, not what I thought you'd say, Sids! Good on ya! But let's see... OOH! Lemme tell ya," she grinned salaciously at Wart, "I kinda think that Captain Shining Armor's still got it; I mean, he's got some age on him, and he IS still married, but... ooh, what a view! Handsome, charming, and I'll bet he's as far removed from being an egghead as possible! He looks so... studly!"

Wart's mouth did another drop open. "NO! NO! Captain Armor is... is... he's off limits!"

"I know," Clap cooed, "that makes him... 'forbidden fruit', so to speak!" Clap winked at Siddy, obviously having fun making Wart balk.

"Incorrigible!" Wart exclaimed.

"Okay, then - what sort of stallion do YOU go for, girl?" Clap leaned forward, eager to hear her friend's opinion.

Wart suddenly and thickly blushed. Clap picked up on it quickly. "Oh-ho-ho! So the Royal Guard does have someone in mind, does she? Tell us tell us tellllll us!"

Wart looked at Clap, then at Obsidian, then murmured something so softly, neither mare could make it out.

"Eh? Whazzat? I didn't hear you, Warty!"

The murmur came again, followed by an even deeper blush.

"Girl, speak up before I come and noogie it outta ya!" Clap threatened. (What was a 'noogie'?) Wart looked at Obsidian for support, or maybe a rescue? Clap, meanwhile, was on the edge of her bench to find out.

Obsidian had completely forgotten about the job connections between Lemon and Stalwart, making her joke even more entertaining than she thought initially! Thunderclap, without a single bit of mercy in her heart, followed her example and started to gush over the current prince-consort of the Crystal Empire. Unfortunately, Obsidian didn't really know how he looked like (she thought that she might have seen him in a history book once, but she wasn't sure and couldn't remember the details anyway), so she couldn't voice her own opinion.

Obsidian slided a bit closer to Stalwart. "Come on, girl - just follow our brave example. If you don't want to say it aloud, just whisper it," She leaned a bit closer to make it easier.

Wart looked at Obsidian as if to say, et tu, Siddy? However, she cleared her throat and spoke only slightly louder, but it was enough to be heard. "I... I th-think... I think that Midnight Star is nice."

Thunderclap stared for a moment, then... "You're kidding, right? The Supreme Egghead himself? REALLY!?" And at that, Clap started laughing and Wart hid her muzzle in her hooves, blushing furiously. By Darkness, the tiny mare was adorable when she blushed!

And what you do with adorable mares? You hug them, of course, just as the Dark Princess did. "Awww, good for you, Stalwart!" Obsidian cheered her on, "... I mean, I have no idea who he is, but good for you anyway!"

Supreme Egghead, eh? So, it was most likely that he wasn't a member of the Royal Guard, apparently.

Wart's blush redoubled when she was hugged, and Clap just kept laughing for a solid minute before finally calming down enough to speak. "Oh... ho ho ho... oh, that's RICH! Whoooo, THAT felt good! Thanks for the chuckles, Warty!"

Wart refused to look up, blushing pink and cute.

"Midnight Star," Clap told Obsidian, "is Twilight Sparkle's only colt; he's a scrawny, glasses-wearing, mouth-breathing little egghead, always knew everything and loved to talk about it! I mean, he even wore these thick ol' glasses, that made him look like an owl or something!" She looked at Wart. "You like that!?"

Wart gave a subdued glare at Clap. "He was nice to me. Always. Not like some ponies I can think of."

With that, it was Thunderclap's turn to blush and look away from Wart. "Y-yeah, well... that was a long time ago, Wart - I'm nothing like that anymore. C'mon, don't bring that stuff up, we're trying to have fun here!"

Wart sighed, then looked at Obsidian. "Star was always kind to others, and was very wise for his age, and he always knew about the Royal Guards and their history - he even told me he wished he could be one when he grew up. Just like me..."

"Yeah," Clap added, "but his Mom sent him off to learn abroad, over in Griffonstone - and he hasn't been home yet, not even once. That was... heck, it was a long time ago, wasn't it?"

Wart nodded. "Yes. He's been gone for quite a while... though Princess Twilight does receive letters from him regularly. She seems happy to hear from him, and she seems proud of him."

Clap chuckled. "No surprise, there - the Queen of the Eggheads, proud of Prince Egghead. Makes sense."

"Clap," Wart looked at her, "please stop speaking badly about him."

Princess Twilight had a son? Who was her husband, then? Obsidian had spent almost a month here, and yet she wasn't sure if she had ever heard about any prince-consort... and Griffonstone? What was wrong with the schools in Equestria? It sounded strange - but at least it seemed that Wart's crush was fairly strong.

"Okay, okay," she held up her hooves in surrender, "another subject, then - so Sids," Clap looked at her, "what's with your brother, Tourmaline? I mean yeah, he WAS a jerk, but he's kinda getting cute too. What's his deal?"

Obsidian almost choked when Thunderclap mentioned Tourmy. Him? Cute? By Darkness, she was talking about her rather murderous brother! "He only seems to hang out with that griffon friend of his... I don't think he even once talked about any mare," she admitted, "and besides, in our house, Cupcake is the best looking stallion!"

Clap waved her hoof. "Yeah, yeah, we KNOW you like the Sprinkles, but c'mon - what about Tourmy? You have GOT to come clean on it, girl! I mean, if Warty's gotta deal with you talking about her boss, for cryin' out loud, then we deserve to hear about him! He keeps working out in your yard, and I've seen him; them flanks are getting buff, too!"

Wart gave Siddy a similar look now. "Yes, Lady Siddy... why won't you speak of your brother? Granted, he needed his flank kicked first, but it does seem to have... recovered... well enough, yes?"

"I shall NOT advertise my brother's flank... or any other parts of his body! Checking out if his flank recovered in this particular sense would be a strange thing to do to your own brother, am I right?" Obsidian looked up, as if asking heavens themselves to come and help her. Unfortunately, she could only see a lot of steam and a wood-planked ceiling.

She wondered for a moment. "Although, maybe getting Stalwart into the family would be worth it..." she muttered in an attempt to counter-attack.

"I WOULD NEVER!" Wart blurted out, and Clap started laughing.

"Awwww, c'mon Warty - you an' Tourmy would look soooooooooo cute together! Plus, you'd be Siddy's sis-in-law; wouldn't you like that?"

If looks could kill, Clap would be stone dead. "I. Think. NOT."

"Seriously though," Clap went on, "if we gotta talk about cuties, then we can't forget Creature Comfort, either. He might be shy, but he's got that almost-emo feel to him! And anyone who likes and cares for animals like he does is a bit of okay in MY book."

"Creature," Wart spoke up, calming herself, "is kind and sweet to his charges; too bad he seems to have a double dose of his mother's shyness."

"Yeah, a real shame... heck, I don't think we've actually laid eyes on him in, what, a year or two?" Clap looked as though she was thinking, "Y'know, maybe he got cuter?"

Wart shrugged, but seemed to be thinking about it as well.

That was the problem with talking about these kinds of things - Obsidian really didn't know too many stallions, which both meant that she didn't know who they were talking about and couldn't propose many stallions on her own.

"Creature Comfort?" A stallion with an extreme case of shyness... oh, that should be easy. "Let me try to guess - is he related to Professor Fluttershy?"

"Ding ding ding! Right on the first try!" Clap smiled, "He's one of three from her; Creature, Shrinking Violet, his sister, and of course, Jynx."

Wart nodded. "Yes. She and Discord have done quite well... at least, in most cases."

"Yeah," Clap shrugged, "two out of three ain't bad."

Obsidian blinked. Then blinked again. "... I... beg your pardon?" Wait, were they serious? Jynx was Fluttershy's daughter!? She had heard that diamond dogs feared Discord and Jynx because of some past misunderstanding or such, but she didn't think it was, well... THAT serious. It was quite a big thing for her to fathom; just how was it possible that she didn't hear about this fact until now?

They both looked at her, then Clap facehoofed. "That's right - Siddy doesn't know that stuff!" She took a deep breath, then looked very seriously at her friend. "Okay, I can give you the Elements of Harmony rundown; when me and the others were born, it was a BIG thing, so I keep forgetting that you wouldn't already know!"

She cleared her throat. "So: Professor Fluttershy and Discord have those three. Rarity has two, Eloquence and his little sister, Precious Accessory. My Mom only needed me, so that's all she has. Pinkie Pie has Cuppie, Lemon, Blue, Licky and Patty, as you already know. Mama AJ..."

She sighed, but continued. "... she had Butter and Washburn Washington... but Wash disappeared when he was only a colt; his barding was found, bloody and torn, in Ghastly Gorge. Broke her heart..." She shook her head, clearing it of sad thoughts. "And Twilight Sparkle has Midnight Star, as you've learned. I think that covers it all, right?"

Wart thought a moment, then nodded. "That sounds correct." She looked at Obsidian. "The births were a big thing across Equestria, as they were thought to be the next ones to inherit the Elements. yet, that doesn't seem to have happened..."

"Yet!" Clap hastily added, "Doesn't seem to have happened yet! But we'll see, I guess."

The mention of Applejack, and the subsequently lost colt Washington, had considerably dampened the mood... though, speaking of damp, Obsidian felt as though she were positively soaked with sweat! She didn't know if it was 'cleansing', but she knew it was certainly 'drenching'.

It sounded like the Apple family had quite their fair share of local tragedies. Not only she was the only Element casualty during the invasion, but she had also lost her son... terrible, really. Butter Churn surely had plenty of emotional baggage. Poor girl.

And another interesting detail - Clap mentioned only a single father. Curious. Were they that unimportant? She hadn't even met Cup's own father yet... of course, compared to the Bearers of the Elements, they were practically nothing; for Siddy, who had only known her Father and had spent most of her life with him, it was just strange.

"Well, we are a band of six friends, with quite a lion's share of the Bearer's relatives... we'll save Equestria once or twice more and receive those Elements, I'm certain."

She then gave a thoughtful smirk. "And by the way, sometimes Gypsy's stuttering is quite cute too. I'm not sure about diamond dog's standards of beauty, but he looks quite fine, methinks."

Clap gave Obsidian a look. "Whoa - you see him like that? Sids, he's a cute pup, but... I mean, c'mon; we're talking about stallions here!"

Well, to be completely and utterly fair, it was probably the last option she had; she surely wasn't going to mention Eloquence, because she wouldn't be really able to call him cute and besides that... who, Markannus? Her father? The total number of stallions she knew by name was very, very limited - so as long as she wanted to be able to say anything in this discussion, she had to use desperate measures.

"Oh, I don't know," Wart gave a small smile, "I think Gunther Gadfly is sort of handsome... for a griffon."

"HO-kaaaaay, time to call the masseuses in, before this gets weird!" Clap said as she went to the door and leaned her head out. "We're a go, Beret!"

In only a moment, three stallions, all wearing matching tan uniforms, entered and offered the three of them bathrobes. When it was placed on her, Obsidian found the terrycloth robe to be warm, soft and quite comfy. They were escorted out of the sauna and down the hall, to another room with strange-looking tables with chunks cut out of one side. When Clap went to one, she lay down with her head in the opening, face down. Now the missing spots made sense.

"You two, lie down like this," she gestured from her position, "and prepare to melt!"

As they watched, one of the stallions moved up next to Clap and, with his hooves, began to knead at her back. A long, low moan floated up from where the pegasus' head was, and her wings seemed to droop down until they hung limp.

"Ohhhhh... ohhh yyyyeeeeeaaaaahhhhh..."

Wart looked nervous, and gave the stallion next to her a wary glance.

This new room looked strange, but as far as Obsidian was concerned, plenty of things in the modern world were strange; she had to go with the flow. She chose one of the tables and followed Clap's example - after all, the pegasus seemed to be very relaxed right now.

She lay down on the table, which turned out to have soft padding to prevent her front from being uncomfortable. It was... different, to say the least. Not uncomfortable, but she couldn't shake the fact she was lying on a table, of all things.

She saw the stallion move next to her table, then she felt his hooves on her back, and they began tooosmgngmgv... Hbnaoafb nfklmm. Bkdfhfds ngmbruey gid ngngoendbc... ohhhhhhhh sweeeeeeeet Daaaaaaarrrrrrkneeeeeessssssssss...

His hooves had only just started making small circles on her back, but the way he did it, with just the perfect amount of pressure, it was the best sensation of her muscles loosening up as if he'd turned a key in the lock of her back. Thunderclap Dash had been 110% correct... she would have to thank her for this later, because Obsidian had never, ever, ever known such release, such joy, such wonder as a back massage from a professional.

"OH!" came from Wart next to her, followed by an "oh...", and then a long, low "ohhhhhhhhhh... sweeeeeeet... Twiiiiiiiiiiiiilllliiiiiiiiiiiiight..." Seems like Wart followed suit... and didn't regret it, either.

Okay, it was worth coming here and getting over her touching issues... and Stalwart surely would agree it was worth it as well. To think that Obsidian thought initially that 'melting' was just an idiom or a kind of saying - but right now, she felt as if her muscles and bones were literally turning to goo...

The three mares enjoyed melting all over the tables for close to half an hour before the stallions left. "... noooooo... don't... gooooo..." Wart's tiny voice softly protested as she weakly lifted a hoof towards the stallion who had thoroughly worked his hoof-magic on her.

Who would think that Stalwart would crave a stallion's attention so much? And so desperately? Aaaaaah, and yet she almost seemed to be out of energy completely. Onyx and King Sombra would easily have won if they would have given Obsidian and her friends a massage like this.

Clap, however, laughed heartily and sat up; how that mare wasn't a puddle of goo was beyond Obsidian, but she did seem to do this frequently, so perhaps she had been acclimated to it? "Okay, you two - time for the mudbath!"

The what now..?

"Mudbath? It's not over yet?" Obsidian barely managed to mutter. Just how much pleasure would they have to endure here?
And wait, mud? Well, Siddy had to sit up too - even though she didn't really want to.

Wart reluctantly followed suit. "I feel... all... melty..."

Clap grinned, "Yeah, that'll happen - okay, c'mon you two lightweights."

She led them (why were her legs so wobbly?) to another room, this one with in-ground bathtubs that were filled with, yes, a grey-ish mud substance. As Obsidian watched, Clap simply got right into the tub, sliding down into the mud and wriggling down into it until just her head was poking out. She then smiled up at them both.

Lightweight? In a way, Obsidian was sure that she and Stalwart had enjoyed it far more than Thunderclap, who was more or less used to it; experiencing something like that for the first time in life was truly a wonderful experience. And it seemed that something more was waiting for them.

Mud. A lot of mud.

"How in the wide, wide world of Equestria," Wart said, "is this supposed to be relaxing?"

"It's not, like, dirt mud; it's more like a mixture of clean dirt, mineral water, magic herbs and certain natural juices that make it good for your pores and your mane and tail; trust me, will ya? I mean, you liked the massages, right?"

Wart looked to Obsidian, shrugged, and moved to a tub. She gingerly put a hoof in, and her eyes widened. "It's warm!"

Clap chuckled. "Yeah, more magic. It's fine, you'll see!"

Wart carefully and slowly slid into the mud tub, settling back into it as she did. With her tiny stature, the tub almost swallowed the mare whole... but Wart adjusted, and sat back. The look on her muzzle was one of assessment, then she slowly smiled and looked up at Siddy.

"It's... not bad, actually. It's warm and it does make my coat tingle a bit. I would actually suggest you try it, Lady Siddy... it feels good on my back, after that massaaaaaage..." She spoke the last word as if it were slurring out of her mouth, and was accompanied with a wistful smile.

It didn't look too inviting, but Thunderclap slid inside without hesitation and Stalwart after a moment followed her. What else could Obsidian do except to end up following their example? After this wonderful massage, she was far more trusting of Clap's decisions in this situation.

Wart was right; the mud stuff was warm, and it did make her coat tingle!

Two mares entered the room, and both made their way over to Clap; they proceeded to slather some sort of greenish goo over her muzzle, after putting... were those cucumber slices?... over her eyes. "Yeah, make sure you let these two do their thing... the green stuff helps, uh... eks... exfo..."

"Exfoliate, Miss Dash," one of the ponies spoke up.

"Yeah, that. It does that thing to your face, which feels great. The cuke slices just sorta keep it from getting in your eyes."

"They also serve as nutrients to your eye areas, reduce wrinkles and promote healthy, no-bags-under-the-eyes looks," the other pony said with a grin. Clap sighed and settled back into the mud.

After they finished with her, they moved over to Wart, who looked somewhat skeptical... yet, once they started, she let them finish without a complaint. Once Wart was done, they moved over to Obsidian, and began the process on- OOH! That green stuff was chilly! However, it most certainly did feel strangely invigorating, lying in a tub of 'clean' mud, face covered in green goo and cucumber slices over her eyes. Weird, but somehow relaxing. Once their task was done, the two mares exited without a word.

Dear diary - Today, I've ended up in mud up to my neck... and as soon as I stopped getting deeper into the tub, two mares put more of some rather muddy stuff on my face, along with two cucumbers. It felt wonderful. Yours truly, Obsidian.

Though not much time had passed since she'd left Crystal Empire, Obsidian could still clearly remember the heavy bags under her eyes she'd once had. The cleansing of her body by the Light Magic amulet had helped her with that a bit, but her current life meant that sooner or later she'd get them back... so it was nice to actually fight against it.

After melting her with the massage, this mudbath felt rather... calm. Relaxing, in non-invasive way. A wonderful place to just sit down calmly and let your thoughts wander.

"So..." Clap said, "am I right, or am I right? Is this not the best?"

She heard Stalwart sigh. "I will admit... this is most enjoyable. I had thought that this was nothing more than a useless piece of decadence... and it IS decadent... but ohhh, so very far from useless. I believe I can feel muscles in my body that became too tight to feel years ago..."

"Ain't it somethin', though? Yo Sids," Clap spoke up just a bit, "how 'bout you? You enjoying yourself over there?"

"I'm exceedingly glad I've gotten over my fear of being touched, or my disdain for things that weren't approved by my dear Father; I feel relaxed in places I didn't even know about," Siddy sighed happily.

Aaaaaah... maybe she could get funding from Princess Twilight for more of this 'spa' thing? She could write a treatise, 'The Influence of Spa Relaxations on Light Magic Power'... and with the success of such a paper, bands of massagers would be treating warlocks before each battle!

"Eeyup... this is the life, eh girls?" Clap sighed.

The mudbath lasted for a good forty-five minutes, after which the three of them were brought to warm showers that cleaned them off thoroughly. Feeling rejuventaed, however, was apparently only a portion of the 'Deluxe Princess Package', as now the three were sat down in very comfy chairs and tended to by at least four ponies each.

These spa pones began handling different jobs for each one of them; Obsidian saw one that was shaping and filing her hooves, one that was actively brushing her coat with a wonderfully stiff-bristled brush, one that was combing out her mane and another that was doing the same for her tail. Her other friends were getting the same treatment; it almost seemed like a small army was here, just to tend to the three of them.

As the hour stretched onward, Siddy watched as Clap and Wart both began to look rather well-groomed and lovely, their manes and tails properly brushed and styled, their hooves immaculate, their faces bright and their coats impeccable.

Wart was done first, and she looked as though she belonged on a recruitment poster herself; with her appearance, the Royal Guardhouse would be overrun with stallions!

Clap came next, and she was positively radiant with healthy good looks and well-groomed style. Her mane, usually slightly windblown, now looked charming enough to rival Rarity!

However, when Siddy was done, both her friends just stared at her, eyes wide and (at least in Clap's case) jaws hanging open.

"Lady Obsidian," Wart spoke reverently, "you look... fantastic."

"You kiddin'?" Clap countered. "She looks like she'd give any mare in Equestria a run for their money! You look good, marefriend! Woo-hoo!"

She must have been right, because even a few of the spa ponies were staring a bit - and one would think they'd seen it all!

By Darkness... okay, let's be completely fair and honest; Obsidian just couldn't continue her research today. She was so relaxed and calm that she couldn't even have a single negative thought to feed her Dark Magic with - and just reading about this stuff, without trying it herself, would be a rather pointless experience. No, really, this whole rejuvenation could be weaponized - massagers tending to unicorns who were capable of Dark Magic, or maybe using their skills to weaken down captured enemy warlocks and banish each single grim thought from their heads.

Perhaps even her own Father would enjoy it, making it possible to reach his cold, black heart... though spa ponies could have a reason or two to dislike this specific client. Though, in this case, they could probably skip this part, as treating King Sombra's mane would probably annoy him. Shaping his hooves would be even worse...

And as soon as they were finished, they all looked like completely new mares. Of course, Obsidian never really cared about her appearance, but it was certainly better to look nice than to look shabby.

"You two look fantastic too," she smiled... then she got an idea. "Do you think we should get a photo of us three...?"

Clap smiled and nodded vigorously. "Hay, yeah! We need a camera! What a great idea!"

One of the spa ponies nudged another one with an elbow, and then spoke up. "Clean Whistle has one!"

The pony who got nudged nodded and smiled. "For such a bee-you-tee-full bunch, I shall even do so for free, madames!"

Wart looked a bit taken aback. "I... are you saying that I look as good as you two do?"

Clap laughed, "Well, maybe not as good as Siddy here, but yeah you clean up NICE, Wart!"

Stalwart Stance blushed sweetly, but wore a big grin as she did. "Thank you, Thunderclap - I appreciate your kind words."

While the spa pony went to fetch her camera, Clap leaned in close to Obsidian. "Beats shopping in your book, I'll bet, huh?"

Of course it was a great idea - after all, it was HER idea - and she really liked the thought that they could just freeze this moment in time and make it possible to see it again in the future. Truly, cameras were one of the best inventions of the modern pony era. And the rest apparently approved, including ponies that she didn't even know. How nice of them.

"Stalwart, you look perfect. Like an amarezon from legends that were already ancient a thousand years ago. You'd just need a nice, cute bow..." and a thoroughly trounced opponent or two, to serve as a reminder for her enemies that messing with her was a bad idea. A cute, petite, and well-trained mare that, right now, looked like a beauty model. Yup.

"Well, Clap, when we went shopping last time, even the mere idea of buying things was kind of alien to me. As well as the idea of getting clothing for personal use. I'd say I would enjoy it more now... but yes, it's great," Siddy smiled.

Thunderclap's eyes lit up a bit at Obsidian's words. "Well... I guess we might have to try again sometime, then!" The thought that she would join Clap for shopping again seemed to make the pegasus quite happy. And her compliments to Wart made the mare blush just a tad, but puff out her chest in pride more! Her ear-to-ear smile was more than worth the words, and there was a tingle in her own horn as the tiny mare felt a swell of pride.

The spa pony returned with a camera that looked quite technical, with buttons and such. Clap smiled and turned to her friends. "Okay," she beamed, "let's make this as stylish a picture as we possibly can; so good-looking we make the Princesses jealous!"

Wart even giggled at that; she must be in good spirits if she let that little slander against royals go so easily.

Clap put a foreleg around each of them, placing herself in the middle. "Alright - get the shot! Say 'beauty', you two! BEAUTYYYYYY!"

The camera clicked, whirred, and out popped a small white square of paper from the front of the camera.

"What manner of camera is that?" Wart said. "Did... d-did it just stick a tongue out at us?"

The spa pony only laughed. "Oh, no! This is an instant camera; this is the photograph! Look!"

Sure enough, as Siddy watched, the three of them slowly appeared in the photo; Clap looking jaunty, Wart looking proud, and Obsidian looking... wow, was that her??? The picture was perfect; she couldn't have done a better job of it herself. Three beautiful mares, all in one shot. This photo would be priceless, years from now.

"Here Sids," Clap held out the still-fading-in photo to her. "You keep this; you need more mementos, and I'm happy to give it to you."

Wart grinned. "I concur - please accept this, and cherish it always."

Oh yes, let's show the Princesses of Equestria that the Princess of the Crystal Empire (though from an overthrown dynasty with dubious claim, and so on) is fairer than them all! And, wow, that was fast! The effect was quite stunning - the photo seemed to be as good as any other Obsidian had seen in her life, even though it was done in mere seconds. She accepted it, of course; she had no reason to say 'no', especially as those two were offering it to her.

"I shall seek out a way to make copies, if I can - we will all get memento of this! Oh, and thank you kindly," she bowed a little to the pony that took this photo for them. "So I guess now that Clap should quickly find Mica, and I should do the same with Cup!" The poor stallions wouldn't even know what hit them.

Clap began to grin wickedly. "Heh heh heh, yeah... that sounds like a FINE idea to me, Siddy! Let's see if we can make 'em swim in their own drool! HA!"

Wart's mood fell just a tad, but she smiled with her friends. "Well, then I suppose I shall see the two of you at a late-"

"HECK no, girl!" Clap laughed. "I wanna see the boys gawk at you too!"

Wart seemed as if this thought had never occurred to her before, and she wore a look of surprise as she stared at Thunderclap. "R-really?"

Clap gave her a look. "What, you think we were just gonna leave you out to go home and sit there in all this pretty you've got all over ya? No way! C'mon, girls," Clap smiled as she headed for the way out, "we've got some stallions to stun!"

Most certainly, Obsidian saw much more of the effect once the trio hit the streets... Stallions, mares and even colts and fillies all watched the three of them as they sauntered by, making their way for the School of Friendship, each one radiant and stylish, each one with admirers all about them, each one a vision of beauty. One mare even smacked her stallionfriend in the back of the head as he turned to watch them go by.

To be completely honest, Obsidian thought that their little group would part ways after the whole spa treatment - not that she disliked being with Stalwart or Thunderclap, no... but she just didn't consider that a friendly spa visit would get so prolonged in the aftermath. And right now, these poor stallions were really going to suffer a vicious mental assault!

Going straight to her home would be probably an easier and safer option, but it was too late now... hopefully, they weren't getting as much attention as Obsidian thought they were - the last thing she needed was a bunch of admirers or anything like that. Well, they were rather foppish now, right? Hopefully Mica and Cup would survive the onslaught of beauty coming their way.

And hopefully they wouldn't run into Lemon.

Author's Notes:

And so, the Spa Day promised in the previous story comes to pass; this was fun to write out, especially the part where they gossiped about the stallions! Plus, as an added bonus, a full rundown of the Elements' children - though some of the said children won't be a part of the story, it's at least good to know they each found a way to become mothers.

Can beauty be used as a weapon? I suppose we'll find out in the next chapter, yes? And don't worry - for those of you who've seen my writing before, the actual action will come along when it's ready to; this was just a nice slice-of-life aside for our intrepid mares, who most certainly deserved a bit of pampering!

Three: After Midnight

Arriving at the school, the three of them attracted attention from everyone there; almost every eye they passed looked them over appreciatively, and more than a few even made some gesture to that end - some bowed, some waved, some smiled, some simply dropped their jaws as the trio passed them by.

There was even a wolf whistle, but from what source, Obsidian didn't see - though it did cause Wart to blush and Clap to chuckle, however.

Walking into the study hall together, Clap pointed to the table at the back where Obsidian could see Gypsy and Mica, both exchanging words and seemingly involved in a discussion of... whatever it was they discussed.

"Hey boys," Clap said as they drew near, "how ya doin'?" They both looked up... and the results were priceless.

Gypsy's eyes went wide and his tail wagged, but he couldn't seem to keep his eyes on a single one of them. "This one... wow... he s-sees that you... h-have.. wow. Just WOW! It is... amazing, how well you all c-clean up! Amazing what you all look like when y-you aren't fresh from a battle!"

Mica, on the other hoof...

"Haah." He said, his eyes locked nowhere but on the fit and fine form of Thunderclap Dash. "Humm. Aah. Ffff. Whoo."

Clap smirked and tossed her mane. "What's the matter, Mica?" she purred.

"Hnng. Mhaa. Vuu." he stammered.

Clap laughed, then turned to her partners in crime. "I'd say we're a hit, wouldn't you?"

Their mere presence seemed to be causing a few disturbances at the school, it seemed; hopefully, the Headmare wouldn't be upset - school was supposed to be a place of learning, not of foppish bragging. The reactions of the majority of ponies (and other creatures) didn't matter to Obsidian as much as their main goal - but they found Mica and Gypsy. She waved to them, but it seemed Mica barely noticed.

"Well, I don't think we should be so pleased about that - look at poor Mica; you've clearly broken him," she sighed theatrically. "Hopefully it's not permament damage - I would miss conversing intelligibly with him."

"Awww... poor widdle Micuhhhh..." Clap drawled her words, speaking in a breathy voice as she placed her hooves on either side of his muzzle, directing his stare right at her face. She then reached down and firmly planted her lips on his, giving him an electrifying kiss that made his tail jut straight out! With a >pop<, she broke the kiss, and Mica Chip slid to the floor with a distant, dreamy and altogether hilarious goofy grin on his face. Clap just laughed loudly, getting quite a kick out of the whole affair.

Mica seemed to react to the kiss, at least... but he was now rather unresponsive in a different manner. Oh well - at least Clap had plenty of fun tormenting him with her perfection.

Gypsy, meanwhile, looked over Wart and Siddy both, and smiled grandly. "You both smell of soap and p-perfume - this one assumes you went to the sp-spa, as Thunderclap suggested?"

Wart nodded. "Indeed! It was no waste, but a wonderfully relaxing time - but oh so decadent! Gypsy, I must admit that I feel... I feel like a walking spectacle!" She then gave a very UN-Wartlike tittering giggle. "I feel like a mare!"

"As well you sh-should, Stalwart! This one finds all of you to b-be quite lovely, and is humbled by your collected b-beauty."

"Awwww shucks, Gypper," Clap blushed a tad, "that's really cool of you to say; I mean, I know we look good, but if even YOU say we're stylin', then maybe they did us a better turn than I even paid for!"

He looked at Obsidian. "H-h-have you found Cupcake yet? This one wonders what he h-had to say!"

The change in Stalwart's behaviour was truly astonishing - Obsidian would never have suspected that she would enjoy it that much. However, her feeling like a mare should be a huge improvement - after all she was a mare, and should feel like one.

"I haven't been so lucky as of yet, Gypsy - have you possibly seen him, perchance?" It felt quite nice to be acknowledged, and to feel that she was a good influence for somepony. Stalwart realized one of her dreams, so she now had room for new one, right?

Gypsy grew thoughtful for a moment. "This one recalls he was l-looking for his sibling, Lemon - supposedly, he was to g-go to Twilight's Palace, speaking something about b-birthday presents for a princess... though which, he wouldn't s-say."

Interesting.

Clap looked over at Obsidian. "So, we goin' on a mission to find Mr. Sprinkles and Mr. Custard, then?" She chuckled. "After your confession about Lemon earlier, I'm kinda intrigued about how he'll react, y'know?"

Wart gasped. "I couldn't possibly show my muzzle around him like THIS!"

Clap gave a snarky laugh. "And why not? You let him see you when you're covered with sweat and grime... so wouldn't this be more acceptable, to be seen clean and at your peak?"

Wart blushed. "But I look so... so... fillyish!"

Clap grinned. "Perks of being a mare, hon - get used to it." She then turned to Obsidian. "We headin' out?"

Gypsy smiled. "May this one accompany y-you? He would like to see the look on Cupcake's muzzle when h-he sees Obsidian!"

Mica suddenly stood bolt upright. "Yes. Follow. I'd... I'd like to follow along, if I can."

Clap gave a salacious grin, "I'll bet you'd love to follow me, wouldn't ya?"

Mica gulped. "Nssr. Vumma. Uh, eh... yeah."

At least Clap didn't say anything embarrassing to Gypsy - especially as Obsidian would have had to explain that she doesn't find his stuttering cute per se - only when he does it a little and when she was in a good mood. Oh, and Mica's melted brain was finally reached by Thunderclap - wonderful.

"Yes, we should look for Cup. Together, I believe we will quickly find him." Hopefully without Lemon, or other ponies who could have reactions that might embarrass them.

The three now five, they all made their way out of the study hall and through campus to head towards the palace, the three mares in front, Gypsy and Mica behind them.

It was especially interesting to see that Mica's gaze rarely left Clap's purposefully swinging flanks. Clap, meanwhile, seemed to be eating his attention up, and getting seconds and thirds as well. Obsidian would bet that as soon as Clap and Mica would have some time alone, they would have a very... interesting talk. Should she learn how to walk like this too? Both of them looked to be quite content.

They were a spectacle all the way there, with many admirers and only one or two mares who eyed them with envy or jealousy. By the time they reached the palace proper, it was getting a bit late; the sun was almost at the horizon level, being as Twilight kept it and the moon at opposites of each other, moving in a linear fashion from one coast to another - or so it was said, at any rate.

The Royal Guardponies who were stationed there both took notice of the trio, but were true professionals, and kept their opinions to themselves as they passed by... though Obsidian could swear the eyes of one of them were on Wart's flanks. Maybe Stalwart would gain more popularity within their ranks - though possibly for incorrect reasons - after all, she should be admired for her skill, not for the beauty of her petite form.

Inside, there was a surprising number of servants and officials moving about, all seemingly caught up in doing something grand. There were flowers being arranged, cleaning and shining going on, and chairs being arranged around the sides, as if the palace were expecting guests... a lot of guests. Even Mica, seemingly glued to Clap's form, looked around a bit in curiosity. What was going on here?

"What in the heck's happening?" Clap asked bluntly.

Gypsy shrugged, but Mica's eyes opened wide. "Wait... WAIT... tomorrow is Twilight Sparkle's birthday! That's right! I heard about it in class today; she'll be celebrating with a huge party, and everyone is invited, regardless of origin or race."

"That would be why Cupcake w-would be here - he would be h-helping for the p-pr-preparations! N-naturally, he would have to work alongside Lemon t-to ensure no unwelcome s-surprises."

Princess Twilight's birthday? Was it that important... wait, what a foolish question - nopony would waste so much time and effort if it wasn't something BIG. Why, however? Was there something important about birthdays that they were going to be celebrated so grandly?

She couldn't remember if her father had ever celebrated his own... and nopony ever celebrated Obsidian's... er, craftday. She really had to get a few more social contacts, as she was discovering stuff like this far too late to have time for any research, reactions and so on. In her own small social circle, they'd been mostly concerned about their Spa plans, so she didn't hear anything about Twilight's birthday.

"So... we'll take down two Pie boys at once then," Siddy concluded ominously.

"Excuse me," Wart said to a passing stallion wearing worker's clothing, "but might you know the location of Lemon Custard or Cupcake Sprinkles?"

"Sure," the stallion turned, "they're... oh... eh heh heh... ummm..."

Wart sighed. "Yes, we are pretty - the location, if you please?"

"OH! Oh, uh... they're in the throne room right now, miss..?"

She gave the buck a glare, "Stalwart Stance. Royal Guardspony in Training."

The reaction was instant; he gave a start and a single bead of sweat ran down his muzzle. "OH! Sorryforbotheringyouhaveaniceday!" The stallion then made certain he was utterly engrossed in his job.

Wart looked back at her friends. "The throne room is our destination."

Obsidian couldn't help but wonder if Stalwart was going to regret that spa visit, sooner or later... or if she already regretted it. However if she ended up being too afraid of meeting Lemon in this state, she would have just left them, right?

They made their way through the activity to the doors of Twilight's throne room, which were standing open. Inside, there were even more folks at work, doing their best to make sure they were, well, doing their best. Lemon and Cupcake were standing in the center, speaking with each other. From the look on Lemon's muzzle, Cup was trying his patience just a bit, but was holding together well enough.

Clap turned and leaned in towards Obsidian. "Okay Sids," she husked, "now's your chance to hit 'em, but good - go make those stallions melt, girl!"

It seemed that Clap was trying to convince Obsidian into committing murder; making Lemon and Cup melt would require a very specific offensive spell and it would make a terrible mess. The janitors would hate her forever...

It was nothing but a jest, of course. She was afraid that 'melting' stallions could have a few different meanings, and not all of them were lethal - some of them were merely maiming. But now, she could try to sneak up on those two. Heh heh... Sneaky Siddy. She crept up on them, and could make out their words as she did.

"... is beside the point, Cup. The task has to be done, and I assure you, with all the coordinating I have to do? I simply don't have time for it."

"But you're forgetting something, Lemon - I'm needed here too. I mean, the party decorations aren't going to arrange themselves, you know! Actually, that would be a good idea to cut down on work; self-srranging arrangements! I'll have to ask Jynx about that."

"Good, go do that - and while you're at it, you can do what I asked you to do. It's not like the arrangements have to be done right this single solitary second-"

"Oh, and like the folks here would simply make everything explode if you weren't here to wave your hooves in the right direction, I take it? Oh, so very important are we, aren'tcha?"

"LOOK... ahem Look... the train will be arriving within the hour, Cup. Couldn't you just arrange... stuff... until it's time for pickup?"

"Couldn't you, dear brother of mine?"

Neither one even glanced in Obsidian's direction; either Obsidian's sneaking skills were getting much better, or they were even more busy than Obsidian initially thought... or they just pretended that they didn't notice her yet. Probably the second, possibly the third.

The Dark Princess really doubted she'd ever have an exceptional set of stealth skills, at least not before she could perhaps master the art of turning into smoke or something. Her father had once liked this trick, and it was pretty wonderful in the shadows... buuuuuut they sounded as if they could really use a break from their arguement.

That's why Obsidian did the first thing she thought - a surprise hug, directed straight at Cup. "I think you could use another two pairs of hooves, boys," she said cheerfully.

Cupcake gasped as she stealth-attack-huggled him, while Lemon simply raised an eyebrow.

"Hey! I like hugs, but at least give warning - especially if I don't know who's hugg-OHMYGOSHOBSIDIAN..." He stared with an incredulous look on his muzle, which slowly melted into a wide smile. "WOWWEE! Look at you! You look fantastic!"

Lemon gave a polite cough to draw attention, then gave a light bow. "Impressive; so you do clean up well. Good to see you coming out of your shell, Obsidian."

"DIDN'T she, though!" Cup walked a circle around her, admiring her from every angle he could. "You look... I mean, WOWEE!!!!!"

Lemon nodded appreciatively... then a smile grew on his muzzle. "Say, Obsidian," he ventured, "you wouldn't be willing to do Cup and I a favor, would you?"

One could think that Cup would be used to her hooves so much that he wouldn't need her to introduce herself, even before the most surprising hug of them all. But eventually he realized that the deed was done by his marefriend... wait, did it mean he was getting surprise hugs from mares that weren't her?

At least the reaction was worth the effort. He wasn't as stunned as Mica had been, but...

"It depends, to be honest; based on the size of your smile, I assume it could ruin my new look, perhaps? And Cup, you should take a look at Clap and Stalwart as well - I assure you that all three of us are perfect."

Cupcake did look past her, and his eyes widened. "Wa-ha-how! You guys look great! No, seriously dahlings, you look mahvelous!"

Wart blushed a bit, and Clap struck a pose that sent visible shivers through poor Mica. Gypsy waved, and seemed to enjoy the sight of Cupcake's approval, evidenced by his wagging tail.

Lemon, nowhere near as smitten as the rest, simply shrugged. "Actually, it shouldn't be that difficult; there's a dignitary and a VIP coming in from Griffonstone, and I need someone there to greet them and bring them to the palace. Since my oh-so-busy brother can't do it-"

"Eeyup! Not it!" Cup interjected.

"... then I'm hoping you three lovely ladies could do the job for me? After all, what better way to greet our guests than with such a stunning display of maredom?" Yes, he was buttering them up, true... but it did feel nice to hear the compliments, all the same.

VIP? From Griffonstone? Coming for Princess Twilight's birthday? Obsidian leaned forward towards Lemon a bit. "Midnight Star, perchance?"

Lemon grinned. "The VIP, yes - very astute, Obsidian. He's returning home for his mother's birthday. It was supposed to be a surprise, but the princess is no slouch; still, she's going to act surprised, only because she says it's what he would want."

Even though Thunderclap was posing for Mica (and some of the surrounding bucks), Wart perked her ears in their direction. However, it it seemed as though she hadn't caught the name involved.

"I figured that the three of you would be able to reach them in time, and escort them to the palace grounds. The dignitary is... well, a griffon, and an old one at that. Gavin Garrison. Don't pay much mind to his grumbling - he's actually one of the founders of the Griffon Homestead Authority, who help ensure every griffon in Griffonstone has a place to live. Very kind for a griffon... which, of course, you'd never know from meeting him."

"So," he grinned, "can I count on you to do this small task for me?"

"I survived my father, so I am fairly certain I'll survive a grumbling griffon - I'll gladly help. Anything else I'd need to know? Griffon etiquette or something of the sort?"

"Just don't snark back at him, no matter how hard he tries to get you to," Lemon said pointedly, "If Midnight's there, he might be able to soothe any issues that come up; he's been living with the Garrisons for a number of years now, so they know him well. Just don't lose your temper..." he looked back at the others, "... and I wouldn't let Thunderclap lose hers, either."

The warning about snarks was a valuable one - while Obsidian was certainly able to accomplish such a feat (after all she spent the most of her life with one particular pony that really, REALLY didn't accept any snarks towards him), it was a good thing to be informed about its neccessity.

Lately, she had been learning more and more about this thing called a 'sense of humour', and sarcasm was apparently one of its' more important parts. However, Thunderclap was a completely different issue; the pegasus mare was in a good mood, but ponies in a good mood could irritate quite easily sometimes, just as those in bad ones could - and Obsidian had already once experienced a rather large problem due to Clap's attitude.

"... it might be wise to ask her to stay, perhaps," Siddy said in a somewhat hesitant voice.

Lemon shrugged. "Your call; all we need is someone to pick them up. One, two or three would be all the same to them, I'm certain."

"I'd go with you," Cup grinned sheepishly, "but preparing for a party is serious work, so I kinda gotta stay and do the thing here... as much as I'd wanna be seen with such a beautiful mare!"

Lemon smirked at his brother. "Nice recovery, there. So, can I assume you'll take the job?"

"Heck yeah, she will!" Clap strolled up and threw a foreleg around Siddy' shoulders. "I don't even know what job you're talkin' about, but if I know my Siddy here, she'll take it! After the day we've had, nothing can stop us, right?" She smiled broadly at Obsidian. "After all, nothing stops Team Siddy!"

Now Obsidian just had to think of how to ask Thunderclap to stay there without hurting her feelings too much. She wanted to help Cupcake and Lemon, but in this particular task Clap could possibly be rather... problematic. "Yup - I'll deal with everything. Clap, would you want to stay here with Mica, and help Cup and Lemon decorate the palace?"

"Stay? But we can't split up Team-... wait... with Mica?" She gave a smirk and looked over her flank at the stallion who, yes, was still staring at her. With a sultry chuckle, she turned to look at Obsidian once again. "Yeah, okay... I get ya, Sids," she winked, "we'll just stay here together, and you and Warty can... uhh, do whatever you were supposed to do and stuff. Seems a shame to break up the team, but..."

Again, she glanced back at Mica Chip with a grin. "... I think we can manage."

Did she accidentially say something more funny than she'd intended to? Clap's smirk was rather interesting, as well as her chuckle... and of course there was this 'I get ya'. Really, Obsidian just asked if she wanted to stay with her coltfriend to help Siddy's coltfriend with the party preparations - just what was going on in Clap's head?

"We'll be back as soon as possible, don't worry." Stalwart should be rather happy to hear that her crush is returning home - and on a day when she looked like the avatar of petite perfection! What luck!

Clap sauntered over to Mica and brushed her tail under his chin as she passed. "You gonna stay and gimme a hoof with all this, Chippie?" Mica gulped and nodded dumbly, shivering as her tail passed. Clap smiled and waved a dismissive hoof at Obsidian. "You two go do the thing; we got this."

Gypsy may have responded in kind... however, he was visibly gazing at the various displays; the many trays of cookies and pies seemed to have the poor diamond dog nearly drowning in his own drool, until one of the mares setting up the tables nearly dropped one - Gypsy was next to her and helping within seconds. Chances were, he'd be staying to assist as well.

As Clap and Mica made their way further into the room and its' setup, Wart trotted over to Obsidian with a quizzical look on her muzzle. "And so, I have heard we are to gather something from the train; might I ask what it is? I'm afraid I did not quite understand you."

Obsidian had no idea what Clap just did, but it was clearly a terrible manipulation - Mica couldn't possibly look so happy without being brainwashed, that was obvious. Cup didn't behave in the same manner, so... it was obviously Dark Magic at work!

... right?

"A VIP and a diginitary from Griffon lands. And truthfully, you already know that VIP... we'd talked about him during our visit in the sauna." Wart looked confused for a second... then recognition dawned on her muzzle, and she stared at Obsidian, wide-eyed. She smirked and turned to the exit from the room, Wart right behind her as usual, but paused at the doorway.

"Mister Lemon, how much time do we have before the train's arrival?" She almost left without asking for details... important details.

Lemon lifted an eyebrow as she asked her question. "I daresay they should be here within the hour, if the train's on time. No need to run... but I wouldn't stop for chocolate-covered bananas along the way, if you know what I mean." He gave a mysterious wink, then turned back to face Cupcake, who was waving at her and Wart as they went out the door.

"Byeeee! Hasta la vista, Siddy! Be safe, Wart! See you both later, I hope!" He turned back to his brother. "Now, like I was saying about the confetti, it needs to match Princess Twilight's own mane color, and the dyes for that are usually kept in the warehouse over on the east side of..."

Their voices faded out as Siddy and Wart left the room. Once they were outside, Stalwart turned to her friend with a strange look on her muzzle. "We spoke of many others earlier, Lady Siddy, but... are you implying that we are going forth to fetch Midnight Star, perhaps?"

Was Lemon having them followed? That was very specific information... what was next, asking her why she walks around without her liaison? But it seemed that he was content enough - Cupcake too. And Mica was a bit TOO content - considering his rather stoic nature, it was terrifying to see him in a such a state, especially without Dark Magic in use.

"Yes, Stalwart - exactly him. I wonder how much the Griffon lands have possibly influenced him?" The culture of modern ponies was alien to Obsidian, especially at the beginning of her new life - griffon culture was probably even stranger in this aspect, all things considered. She hadn't read too much about it, unfortunately.

Wart seemed to steel herself, but she answered Obsidian's question well enough. "Griffons were once rather haughty and rude, due to their own economic collapse a number of decades ago... however, Equestria stepped in and saved their nation, even though they were rather upset about such; their independence was all they felt they had left, and 'bowing' before Princess Twilight was seen as surrendering."

"However, this was not the case, as our fine Princess did not try to control them, but encouraged them. She sent much relief to Griffonstone, and with the help of some griffons who had seen the light of Equestria as a friend and not a conqueror, public opinion began to shift. In fact, it was the Crusader known as Gabby who was first elected liaison to Equestria - a job she held for over a decade. That position eventually went to Gavin Garrison, an older griffon who was known for his shrewdness as well as his rather gruff attitude, even as the founder of the GHA - the Griffon Homestead Authority; they house and feed griffons in need."

Again, they had numerous eyes on them, but Wart didn't seem to care as she related information she knew to her best friend.

"Anyway, many griffons now have much more calm and reserve for ponies... however, there are still a few who harbor some resentment at having to have been 'rescued' from abject poverty. I certainly hope they didn't give Midnight a difficult time, what with the number of... issues... he had."

Ponies liked to help those who didn't ask for it, and then carefully ruled them from the shadows, eh? Maybe that was the answer to her father's problem - military might and Dark Magic were fine, but garnered too much attention. Economical control, however, was quiet - no one seemed to ask too many questions, as long as they were doing it as friends. Maybe Equestrians were claiming that they were doing it with good intentions - indeed, maybe they really were good... but the fact remained that they were building themselves a comfortable outer empire, with a lot of influence.

Well, Obsidian had merely wondered about griffon culture; she certainly hadn't expected a history lesson from Stalwart. With someone like Gypsy, that could be expected - but good ol' Wart?

"He would have returned earlier if he would have had many problems, right?" Obsidian asked; it was a reasonable thought, wasn't it?

Wart actually smiled. "Oh, no - not at all! Midnight was used to getting teased; there were a number of times I had to come to his rescue! Many local bullies teased him for his pimples, his crooked teeth - and later, his braces - his thin stature, his mismatched eyes, his voice, his small wingspan and horn..."

"OH!" Wart almost jumped as though she'd been bitten. "He was born an alicorn, but his magic had always been lacking; he was really good with telekinesis, but otherwise he never seemed to be able to get up enough power to cast anything else! They used to tease him about being a Spell Foal as well, and his large, round glasses... and..."

Wart sighed unhappily. "They teased him about a lot of things, and I doubt a trip to the Griffon Kingdom changed that any; I just hope he hasn't grown bitter and angry. I could never imagine him being angry at anypony... he mostly took the teasing in stride, which is one of the reasons I enjoyed his company. He didn't dwell on bad things, and always knew how to make me smile or laugh!"

Now, Wart's grin returned. "I do hope he remembers me..."

Well, he didn't sound to be quite as cute as Stalwart had described him initially. In fact, this description was quite... unseemly, at best. However, if he was born as an alicorn he - wait, waaaait... a Spell Foal, born as an alicorn? Interesting. And apparently, being a prince didn't mean you got as much power as other alicorns.

"I hope you are right, Stalwart. It would be a shame if you faced disappointment. Mayhaps, at least, he'll appreciate your looks?" After all, Obsidian didn't want to see her friend unhappy.

The train station was a general amount of busy; nothing too much, but not empty. Ponies, griffons, changelings, yaks and even a dragon or two, but not in huge numbers. Everyone seemed to simply be doing what they were doing...

At least, until Obsidian and her friend showed up, that was.

Eyes from every corner were looking them both over, and a number of faces held appreciation for their beauty. From her understanding, most eyes were on her... but even Wart had a few admirers among them. This display continued as they enterd the station and made their way to the platform.

"Disappointment, I can handle," the small mare said, "it would be the lack of recognition that would bother me. However, I assure you, Lady Siddy, that whatever may happen, I shall not embarrass you in such a public setting. If he doesn't know me, then..."

For a second, she looked almost about to cry; the look quickly shifted to determination. "... then I shall simply be the Royal Guard that I am, and back whatever choices you make."

The platform had only a few ponies there, and there was an empty bench. They may have to wait a bit, as the arrival was supposed to be within the hour.

"If he doesn't remember you, I will simply reintroduce you - and I know you would never embarrass me; that's why I'm so glad you've come with me. Clap, on another hoof, will probably be happier at the castle with Mica... and dear Gypsy seemed to be entranced by sweets, as per usual."

Wart gave a small smile. "I assumed that was why you asked her to remain; she is almost like a sister to me - however, she is not known for her diplomacy."

It was roughly twenty minutes before the next train pulled into the station. The vehicle was certainly something to see; though it was a number of pastel colors and had a 'heart' theme to it, it was obviously a powerful mass transit device, as a number of ponies began to exit. Many of them had others waiting for them on the platform, and there were greetings ranging from a simple wave and hello, to tearful and loving reunions. The conductor walked the length to the platform, watching others and looking at his watch on occasion.

Many others moved around the now crowded platform, and it was difficult to see whom was leaving the train...

Author's Notes:

Clap teasing the heck out of Mica was a lot of fun to write - normally, Clappie gets all embarrassed about 'kissy stuff', but I felt that on this occasion, with her looking as stunning as possible, she might wallow a bit in the admiration the stoic stallion had for her. After all, it isn't every day that the erudite Mr. Chip gets reduced to nonsense words. *chuckle*

Four: Midnight Star

"All abooooooard!" the conductor shouted, and more creatures began to enter the train... but there had been no old griffons or scrawny princes! How could she have missed them? Granted, there had been a number of individuals here, but it wasn't supposed to be this difficult!

Steam hissed out of the train, and as it pulled off from the station, the platform was covered in a thick cloud for a moment. However, through the din, Obsidian heard a voice...

"*cough, cough* What a ridiculous way to get here! In my heyday, it'd been nothing to fly to Equestria! Get your flank in gear, Star! The bags are down at the other end! Come on, chop chop!"

That sounded like a cranky old griffon.

Ah, trains; when Siddy saw the first one in her life, she'd tried to cast a shield to protect herself from the metal monstrosity, just to be sure - a rather embarrassing memory, really. Luckily, she'd gotten a few explanations that they were NOT monsters and she really should just relax. Mortifying, yes... but informative.

Oh, here go their guests... where were they? Obsidian waited for the steam to dissipate, her eyes scanning for movement.

The clouds evaporated, and standing there was what looked to be the oldest griffon she'd ever laid her eyes on. He was stooped and hunched, and his legs looked crooked with age. His feathers were a uniform grey, save for his belly which was a slight shade of brown; what must have been his natural color about, say, 300 years ago. He wore a threadbare denim vest, and glasses so thick his milky white eyes looked as big as an owl's, along with a worn brown bowler atop his balding head.

He sniffed the air a bit, then gave a sigh. "A pampered dignitary, no doubt, come to see me to the palace - your thick, nauseating soap smell gave you away... you and..." he sniffed at the air again, "... your equally pampered friend."

Wart said nothing; she wasn't about to rise to his jibes.

"So," he grumbled, "are you going to say anything, or am I gonna have to make the entire conversation up as we go? Well? Say something, ya muttonhead!" Ohhhhhh, what fun. The griffon stood alone; Star assumedly gone for their baggage.

He looked like a relic, really; a thing from the ancient times, just like Obsidian herself. They would surely become besties in no time, complaining that kids these days behaved so rudely and without any responsibility, with their garish clothes and loud music. Though she did make note of how sharp his sense of smell was.

"I'm glad to welcome you to Ponyville, Mister Garrison. I hope there were no problems on your way here. If I may ask, where's the prince?" Yes indeed, this was going to be fun.

The griffon gave a snort of derision. "Gathering the bags, of course! Did you expect me to be carrying them! For someone sent to fetch a dignitary as important as I am, you're rather dull, aren't you? No matter," he waved a creaky wing in her direction, "I'll be rid of you, soon enough. From your accent, you sound like one of those goody-goody Crystal Empire prats - and I can't stand goody-goody prats."

Well, he really was a grumpy one, wasn't he? In a way, Obsidian was pleased with him - it was almost like being with her own father, in her fonder memories... though with more complaining and less pain. Of course her father wasn't near-blind, or didn't have such a keen nose... but he had been the only one able to abuse her verbally with such speed and skill. Really, since her revival in Equestria, only Cup and Lemon had managed to insult her so thorougly (and she was now a marefriend to one of them... strange times, eh?), but they had done so more or less by accident; this griffon, though... aaaaah, it felt like home. Also, it was still a bit surprising to be called a goody-goody.

He sniifed at the air again, then moved over close to Obsidian, holding out a claw. "Well? I know you're somewhat dense, but I was hoping you'd notice my issues and actually, you know, do your job and escort me! Well go on!" He waved his wing a bit. "Take it, stupid! Or do you expect a nearly blind griffon to find his way to the palace by smell alone!?"

"Gavin," a smooth, rich and deep voice spoke up from behind them, "remember your heart; don't get yourself worked up over nothing."

The stallion standing there was... exquisite. He had an almost dark velvet quality to his coat, which seemed to have a sheen at the right angles. He was tall - taller than Obsidian - and had a form and figure that sent her heart fluttering with his obvious strength, and his luxurious mane and tail seemed to flow like Luna's... except it was a deep violet color, and seemed to drift behind him instead of beside. His eyes were rich and silver - and no spectacles in sight. He had a strong, chiseled look to his muzzle that spoke well of his... his utter maleness... and his wings and horn were just a shade blacker than his coat.

Or, as Clap would have probably said, wow, whatta hunk!

"After all, would you want word getting back that you literally grumped yourself to death?" he teased.

Gavin Garrison gave another grumpy sound, yet said nothing else for the moment. The regal and royal-looking prince turned to face her. "Midnight Star, madam - a pleasure to meet you and your..."

He blinked. "Is that... Stalwart Stance?" Wart's muzzle lit up like the sun.

Wow. It seemed as if Twilight's son certanly got over his appearance problems - in fact, he was as distant from Stalwart's description as possible! This alicorn prince looked regal and handsome, and there was not a single taint on the perfection of his appearance that Obsidian could visibly see. Not bad... not bad at all. And he seemed to be more than capable of dealing with the grumpy griff himself.

She bowed her head a tiny bit. "Obsidian, and the pleasure is all mine. I'm glad to see you remember my friend, as well." With introductions done, she could do the right thing and help the blind old griffon with walking in the right direction. Since she was asked to do this, she decided she would lead him to the castle... even if he would demand to be carried here.

Midnight smiled, and it made him all the more handsome. "A pleasure to meet you, Obsidian. And not to sound off-putting, but how could I ever forget my dearest friend? We spent a lot of time together, and she even saved my tail a number of times."

He turned to Wart and gave her a deep, honorable bow. "Stally, I'm so glad you've come - I missed you terribly. I'd even hug you, if you didn't look so lovely; a day at the spa, I ta-"

Wart stepped forward and, almost electric in her salute, she smiled broadly at him. "Permission to hug granted, your majesty!" They both then shared a laugh and an embrace, which was obviously warm and happy.

"FEH," Garrison grumped, "you ponies and your silly friendships... much more of this, and I swear, I'll die of diabetes!" He turned in Obsidian's direction. "TELL me you aren't all saccharine sweet like this, for the love of Griffonstone!"

"Just LOOK at you!" Midnight said, "you look beautiful! And you certainly grew up to be a lovely mare, didn't you?" And then, realizing what he'd just said, he actually blushed!

Wart laughed aloud, a joyous sound to come out of the little mare. "Myself? Midnight, what about YOU!? Just look at you! You don't even look like the same pony anymore!"

He laughed. "Thank goodness for that, too! It took me a number of years - and countless harassments - to finally grow into myself, so to speak. My sight got better with time, my teeth finally got straight, and the work I put in on Gavin's farm helped make me into what you see now."

Gavin grumped. "Yeah, and that work finally got better than sub-par, after a few years, that's all!"

The prince laughed merrily. "Oh, you know you're grateful for my help, you old buzzard! You might fool some folks, but I know you actually car-"

"Don't you say it!" the griffon growled dangerously.

Midnight simply smiled. "And so... I suppose we'd best get moving, eh?"

Good thing he was an alicorn - with all this talk of how much he'd changed, Obsidian would start to suspect that he was an impostor, sent there by griffons plotting an invasion! Luckily, it would be rather hard to glue a horn and wings to the body in a realistic manner. And he and Stalwart got along together like chains and shackles, so that was nice too. Getting her to the spa was great idea - hopefully it would turn out to be one of the best ideas in Obsidian's life.

"Don't worry, sir - I still tend to behave in a not-so-sweet fashion," she assured the old griffon. Really, if he would behave just a bit more like her father, she would be already be charging her horn to strike him down! "And yes, let's get moving. So, about the bags..."

"Oh, don't worry about those - I think I can manage it." Midnight's horn lit up with a bright silver glow, and three suitcases and a large trunk hovered into view, lifted effortlessly by the prince. He floated them over and settled them down on his broad back, his shoulders and flank flexing as he settled them into place and bound them with a band of silvery magic. "There. They should be fine, and no," he raised a hoof, "I'd rather carry them myself; far be it for me to tax such lovely mares with so great a burden."

Gavin scoffed. "Hah! 'Great burden', indeed! A few coats, some hats and one or two nice pieces of jewelry, and he says it's some 'great burden'! You'd do well to remember lifting that tractor back home, ya upstart!"

Midnight chuckled deeply. "Oh, don't think I'm forgetting that anytime soon, Gavin - you practically crowed how proud you were of me when I finally got it out of that quicksand pit!"

"Humph!" Gavin Garrison grumped.

Great burden, indeed; he obviously hadn't seen Stalwart casually smacking zombies around with not one, but two swords at the same time! Still, as she witnessed, Midnight was quite skilled with moving things around with his magic - so Obsidian didn't see any reason to protest that he wanted to carry their things by himself.

As they began walking from the platform, Obsidian noticed even more eyes on them... except now, she and her friend were practically invisible next to the regal stallion walking with them; this time, as they passed a familiar-looking couple, the stallion shoved his marefriend as she stared, open-mouthed, at the alicorn's... er, passage.

"Midnight, I'm finally training to be on the Royal Guard!" Wart's expression was uncommonly excited as she spoke of her grand accomplishment.

The alicorn's muzzle brightened even more. "Really!? Oh, Stally - it's what you wanted worse than anything! Is it everything you wanted it to be?"

Wart nodded. "Oh, all that and more! I'm so happy with it, and it never would have been possible if it hadn't been for Lady Obsidian!"

"Lady Obsidian?" The handsome stallion looked at her. "Stally doesn't add titles willy-nilly, last I knew - does this mean you're royalty, miss Obsidian?"

"I'm a daughter of King Sombra of the Crystal Empire," she explained casually.

The reaction to such a declaration was instantaneous. Midnight's eyes widened, and he stopped where he was, though he maintained his grip on the luggage. "Really?" He said, obviously impressed. "Well, I have to say, that is quite a lineage to boast!"

Gavin, however...

"Whaaaaaaaaat!?!?" The griffon yowled, and jerked his claw right away from Obsidian as if he expected her to eat it. "Sombra the Slave Weasel!? Is THAT who Equestria's encouraging to meet foreign dignitaries? Leftover scraps from the table of the most foul and dastardly pony in known history!?"

"Gavin!" Midnight admonished, "she's NOT Sombra, and from her manner, I'd say she has little to do with him! Don't judge others based on their ancestry!"

The griffon pointed a claw rather accurately at Obsidian. "You'd best not try me, Slave-Witch! I'll slice you from butt to gut! Don't you touch me!"

"Gavin! Stop it!" The prince grew a look of irritation at the old griffon. "The nerve of you! Shall I regale these fine mares with the tales of your own father's deeds? Is that how you want to be known, as the son of-"

"Alright, alriiiiiight!" The griffon growled... then, though he supposedly couldn't see, he turned to almost perfectly face Obsidian. "But you'd better not even fart wrong in my presence, or I'll-"

"YOU SHALL CALM YOURSELF, IS WHAT YOU'LL DO." Wow, Midnight's Royal Canterlot Voice was powerful!

Gavin and the prince went muzzle-to-beak for a moment... then, with a huff, Gavin backed down and, with a few reaches in her direction, took hold of Siddy's shoulder once again. "... yelling at me like that, where do you get off with that, ya royal pain..." His grumbling rolled on, but he now didn't seem to show even the slightest hesitation any longer.

Midnight looked at Obsidian with a bit of shame in his eyes. "I apologize for such a brusque reaction; it's been a long train trip."

"Humph!"

"I would like to speak with you later, though - if that's alright with you, of course," Midnight inquired.

Obsidian actually giggled. "Please, don't worry about this, Prince Midnight; it brings back old memories from the long lessons with my dear father... just much less painful."

There were so many other things she could say. Oooh, she was so tempted to say, 'I have no use for such old slaves, even as sacrifices'... or maybe, 'I'd burn your soul to fuel my magic, but you apparently already sold it'... or, or... or perhaps 'should old griffons talk this way about a young mare's butt?'

Alas, Lemon asked her to behave. Too bad.

"And of course, it would be fine. You two can also see the newest addition to the royal gardens - a rather particular statue of my father. Quite breathtaking." Sooner or later she'd eclipse her father, and creatures would no longer think of her as 'the daughter of Sombra'... but of Sombra as 'the father of Obsidian'.

Gavin and Midnight both looked surprised. "Sombra returned?" Midnight said with shock, "And was dealt with, no less? Amazing."

"Meh," Gavin grumped, "they probably blasted him with rainbows, or some such nonsense. Anyway, I don't really care to see a statue - especially because I can hardly see anything, you numbwit - but I'm much more interested in getting to the palace so I can sit myself down... hopefully away from any ponies, at least for a minute!"

Okay, Gavin seemingly had a point with calling her a numbwit this time - though Obsidian almost told him that he could feel it with his paws - after all, her father wouldn't get offended by a bit of close physical contact anymore, now would he?

Midnight rolled his eyes, but turned his attentions back to Obsidian. "Still... such a thing to happen, it must have been quite an event. Did everyone turn out okay?"

Oh, no... he hadn't heard about Applejack, had he? How much did the griffons know? It had been almost a month since the event, and it was quite a big thing... had they not heard?

Obsidian put on a worried and pained expression. "You, uh... you didn't hear anything? There was quite a desperate battle with an invading horde... nay, an armada of undead. Erm... Miss Applejack didn't... didn't make it, I'm sorry to say."

Both Midnight and Gavin drew pained looks on their faces. "I'm... sorry to hear that," Gavin said with obvious reverence, "she was the most honest individual I'd ever met - worthy of her Element. I wish it wasn't so." The griffon seemed actually saddened by the news, which was probably rare from the old grump.

Midnight, however, tightened his mouth into a firm line and looked down. "Griffonstone doesn't get news very swiftly, I'm afraid."

Gavin continued, "And what we do get is sometimes garbled or misinterpreted. We'd heard there'd been some struggles lately, but we had no idea that... well, damnation, that's just awful."

"Thunderclap Dash even managed a Sonic Rainboom in her honor," Wart said softly.

Midnight's eyes came back up from the ground, and they were sizzling with anger. "Thunderclap Dash? That bully? Oh, just wait until I see her again! I remember her well, you'd best believe THAT!"

"Wait, no! Midnight, she's changed!" Wart spoke up quickly. "She's no bully anymore - she hasn't been for YEARS, now! I'm sure she'd even apologize to you for everything she did when we were young! Please, don't be upset with her, Mid!"

The prince's eyes had a hard flint to them... but he closed them and gave a huff of a sigh. "Stally, I... I apologize. It's just... she was so spiteful back then, and mocking and hateful and... and..."

"Yes, but we have all grown since we were last together, Mid. Mica Chip helped even her out."

"Mica? Really? He's still in Ponyville? I'd have thought, with his brains, he'd be studying in Canterlot College by now!"

"He was chosen to," Wart said, "but he turned it down."

"What? Why would he turn it down?" Midnight balked.

Wart's voice was tiny when she said, "He wanted to stay around Clap."

That dark look crossed the prince's muzzle again, but Midnight said nothing, simply continuing his walk toward his mother's palace.

"Are we there yet?" Gavin grumped. "I'm getting achy."

"It seems you have a lot to catch up, prince; I know that feeling... but first things first. Clap not only managed to accomplish a Sonic Rainboom, but helped a great deal with defeating my father, as well as saving Equestria... and overall, she's a fine friend. I don't know how she was behaving in the past, but I assure you that right now, she is simply grand."

It seemed that not taking Thunderclap with them was a good idea - Mica would agree as well, most likely.

"... it's still a bit further," Obsidian told the griffon, "would you wish for me to use some healing magic to make you feel better, sir?" Who would ever imagine that a healing spell, initially used with her Dark Magic, would get even better with a bit of Light Magic? As far as Obsidian was concerned, it could possibly help with aches and pains. Oh, if only she had at least a tiny bit of her magic when Ruby was dying in her embrace...

The griffon grumbled, "It'd help worlds more if we could have had a taxi waiting for me when we got here. But I suppose that's a bit much to ask from you, isn't it? I'll bet you're a hornhead, aren't you? You sound snooty and dumb enough to qualify..."

Midnight gave her a curious look. "Healing magics? Those aren't exactly easy to learn - I take it you've done a great deal of studying, haven't you? It sounds as though you must have an interesting catalog of spells at your disposal - I'd like to perhaps compare abilities sometime, see what you're capable of, if that would be alright with you, miss Obsidian?"

Siddy caught a side-glance at Wart, and it seemed the little mare was looking at Midnight with a bit of yearning; she was wanting to talk with her long-lost friend, but he seemed to be interested in Siddy and her magics. Still, as a good guard, she said nothing to interrupt either of them. But the look on her muzzle said she wished he would speak with her some more. Perhaps it was simply that he was interested in the newcomer, and he would possibly re-connect with her later?

And, pray tell, what was this 'taxi' thing, and why had nopony told her about it before?

"Yes, I'm a unicorn, that's why I offered some magic, sir... and yes, prince, I know plenty of spells, courtesy of my dear father, and I see no reason not to share my personal catalogue with you." Only then, Obsidian noticed how Stalwart looked at Midnight - maybe there was a reason? Though she'd made improvements, it still seemed as if she was still needing a bit of work to correctly read ponies' moods. Should she think of how to convince this prince to spend some time with Stalwart later?

"We can certainly discuss further details once we reach the palace... but I've heard you've spent a long time in foreign lands, prince. Pray tell, how much time has passed since you left?" Maybe moving the topic of discussion to old memories would help...

Midnight gave a slight grin. "I've been away in the griffon lands for almost an entire decade - eight years, three months and sixteen days, to be precise." Yes, this most certainly was Twilight Sparkle's child. "Much of that time was spent trying to improve myself; magic training, physical training, mental training... so much training, I can hardly believe I survived it! But I did survive, and thrive as well!"

Training... ah, that was interesting and fine, yes - training every aspect of the body and mind was an important duty of each individual, and Obsidian herself was doing everything she could to keep up with hers properly; jogging with Clap, reading books, lessons with Lemon... soon though, her own regimen would be joined by Dark Magic training, based on the books she'd found. Maybe some fencing with Stalwart as well, if her petite friend would agree to help.

And, of course, friendship training, as it would be quite foolish to ignore any form of power that helped her effortlessly defeat her dear father.

Midnight now looked back at Stalwart, "Stally, do you remember the day I left? I don't think I'd ever cried so hard in all my life - and I was, admittedly, a bit of a weeper."

Elated to join the conversation again, Wart piped up, "Indeed, I do! I stood on that platform and watched until the train disappeared; all I could think was that I was losing my dearest friend."

Midnight smiled sweetly at her. "Same here - all I could think of was how I'd have to fend for myself now; no Stalwart Stance to save my scrawny flanks! And it WAS scary, for a time... but I managed to make my way, and eventually it became easier."

"Oh, it was easy, was it?" Gavin grumped, "I'll have to make sure it's a teeny bit rougher for you when we go back, then!"

Midnight laughed, rich and deep. "I said easy-er, you old bird - I didn't say it was a walk in the park, did I?"

"Humph! I still say you're gonna get soft while we're here, bucko."

"And mayhaps I will; I expect you'll work that out of me soon enough, won't you? So relax, Gavin... we're both considered VIPs, and I'm sure you'll not turn down the doubtlessly scrumptuous meal being planned for the celebration?"

The griffon grumbled a bit, but said nothing coherent.

"So," Midnight continued, "I take it Aunt Pinkie's in charge of the decorating? I can't wait to see what she has planned!"

"Yes, Miss Pie - or at least her children - are taking part in the preparations," she nodded. "Stalwart still continues her tradition of saving others, by the way; you should have witnessed her bravery during the undead invasion, defending the palace..."

"Undead?" Midnight gave a bark of a laugh. "When things happen in Equestria, they spare no expense, do they? Necromantic ritualistic entities are nothing to be trifled with! But of course," he grinned at Wart, "it doesn't surprise me one bit that she was right in the middle of it! Stally as always been a protector, and just because we're older than we used to be, I figured she'd never lose that trait!"

Wart beamed as if she'd been inducted into the Royal Guard all over again.

"The Pies are all there? Oh, this should be interesting! Let me guess: Lemon's still sour, Blue is still a loner, Patty's still brilliant, Licorice is still a bit dense, and Cupcake is still insane, am I right?"

Well, she had already mentioned the undead invasion once before, though it was likely overshadowed by the sad news about Miss Applejack's fate.

"I'd say that Blue is sour and Lemon is just hard-working. Patty is brilliant, Licorice...", she glanced at Stalwart, not really knowing how to reply to that. Dense? "He is fine, as plenty of mares admire him. A lot. And Cup could be described by many adjectives, but... I'm not certain I would refer to him as 'insane', however."

Midnight raised an eyebrow. "Okay, Blue being sour is news - she was always so sweet before, just kept to herself. Lemon being hard-working hardly surprises me; he's always been the responsible one. Good old Patty, heh. And Licorice is a mare's stallion, is he? Well let's hope he's gotten smarter to go with his looks, eh?"

Wart giggled. "A bit, but he is still very much clueless."

"So no change there," Midnight grinned, "and insane is sort of Cup's thing; I last recall him bouncing off the walls and talking so fast you could barely understand him - and that was before the sugar rush!"

Obsidian paled, some color draining from her coat in abject fear. "Don't talk about sugar rushes - we don't talk about sugar rushes..."

Such terrifying memories, from merely a week ago. She learned about existence of Buckball that day... and how to play it... while painted blue and green... and with this strange purple thing dangling from her horn. Not that she had even asked about it, nor had any interest;at least she more or less learned how many donuts Cupcake should have before reaching unholy levels of energy.

Midnight laughed, a rich resonant sound, before looking back at Wart again. "So he's calmed down?"

Wart smiled, "Well, he's not as hyperactive as he used to be, but he is still just as unpredictable!"

"Now that," Midnight said, "sounds like the Cupcake Albert Sprinkles I know!"

The foursome continued to move along (with Gavin Garrison grumping at intervals), and Midnight spoke of Griffonstone and how it had gone from mostly desolate to reviving within his years there, and occasionally poking back at the grumpy griffon.

At length, they reached Twilight's Palace. Midnight looked it over and smiled. "It's... smaller... than I remember it being. Of course, I was also smaller as well, so maybe that's all it is. At any rate, I can't wait to see-"

"MIDNIGHT!!!!!" There was a purple blur, and Midnight found himself in the fierce embrace of his mother. Princess Twilight was nuzzling and squeezing him as if he were a colt, yet she was smiling ear to ear and giggling like a schoolfilly to see her child again after so long.

"Oh, I just couldn't wait to see you! I mean, I tried to wait, because I knew you'd want to surprise me, you always liked to surprise me, but I just couldn't contain myself when I saw you! Oh, Midnight, look how you've grown! Wow, you were so little and adorable back then, but now you're... you, eh... eh heh heh heh..." She looked around nervously, smiling sheepishly as she realized she was royalty, acting like a filly.

"Great. Just great. Another numbwit," Garrison grumped.

Twilight Sparkle smoothed her mane back, and took a deep breath before continuing in a much more dignified manner. "My sincerest apologies, Delegate Garrison; it has admittedly been a long time since I've seen my son, and I got a bit... carried away. Do forgive my lack of manners in thi-"

"Yeah yeah, never mind the snow job, just get me to my quarters, will ya? My claws are killing me!"

Without missing a beat, Twilight nodded. "Right away. Midnight, please tend to me later; for now, I'm certain miss Obsidian and Stalwart would be happy to accompany you to get a look around, to see what's changed!"

Ouch - so now she became a part of his entourage? Well, she agreed to help Lemon and did so, but perhaps it wouldn't hurt to at least lead Midnight into the palace to look for Cupcake and Lemon... and maybe check to make sure that Clap didn't do something unseemly with Mica. The poor stallion really looked as if he was physically stunned...

And there still was a lingering question - if Twilight loved her son so much, then why did she send him so far away, without even a visit in either direction? Considering all the happy little families in Ponyville - especially the Pies (who were occasionally a bit TOO happy for Obsidian's tastes) - it was strange. There had to be a reason, right? Probably simpler than Obsidian could think of on her own.

"So... Prince, is there any place you'd like to see first?" she asked brightly.

As Twilight guided Gavin the Grump inside, Midnight grinned. "Frankly, I'm sure Mom hasn't changed a single thing in there - I'm more eager to see how much Ponyville has changed! I spent so much time there, it was my favorite place as a colt! Is Sugarcube Corner still there? The Carousel Boutique? The Schoolhouse? I want to see for myself what's changed!"

"Well, maybe we should-" Wart started, but was promptly interrupted by...

"Whoa, nelly! Who in the wide, wide world of Equestria is THAT!?"

... Thunderclap Dash.

"Yo, you're lookin' FOINE, mystery stallion! Fit and trim, I'm tellin' ya! WOW." Clap came out from the palace doors with Mica in tow.

Considering that Obsidian's own behaviour with Cup was more or less based on advice and even teasing from Lemon and Thunderclap - as well as Thunderclap's behavior with Mica - it was quite surprising to see her willing to flirt with a completely unknown stallion... especially with Mica around. Was it normal? Was it not?

Obsidian had no idea - she was mostly parroting others, usually with very little understanding of the gravity of their actions, or following others' ideas. Like... for quite some time, she didn't see anything strange with staying in a home with Cupcake and even sleeping next to him in their single bed - at least, until she'd heard a strange rumor or two. She didn't want more rumors; she wanted to understand!

The drab grey stallion still looked mesmerized, but as his eyes focused on the alicorn, he blinked himself back to reality. "Wait..." he said, "I'd know those eyes anywhere, bespectacled or not..."

Clap trotted over to the three of them... and Obsidian's horn tingled.

Darkly.

The pegasus looked him over appreciatively. "I mean, lean machine here is quite a-"

"Thunderclap." The word came from Midnight's lips as though it were a curse word.

"Yeah, that's me! Good to know my rep goes pretty far out there, y'know? So, you got a name handsome, or do I just call ya 'dreamboat' and be done with it?" She gave him a flirty look, but there wasn't even a single iota of acceptance in Midnight's angry-looking muzzle.

"Clap," Mica spoke, "it's Midnight Star."

Thunderclap did a double take. "Wha-... Star!?!? Whoa - look at YOU! Wow, what a difference! Hey, looks like you outgrew that old look - and I'm sor-"

"SAVE YOUR SORRY."

What is that feeling?

Clap took a step back, raising her hooves as Midnight grit his teeth in rage. "Whoa. Cool down. Take it easy. I just-"

"LEAVE ME ALONE... OR YOU SHALL REGRET IT."

"Ho! Whoa there!" Clap looked like she was trying to back off, but the alicorn stallion stepped forward, glaring her down.

"ONE WRONG WORD, AND I SHALL SHOW YOU WHAT I'VE LEARNED TO DEAL WITH PONIES LIKE YOU."

It was quite strange that Clap had failed to recognize an ALICORN... or maybe there were more male alicorns around? But that wasn't important at the moment - not at all.

First things first.

Oh, sweet scent of Darkness... it was practically singing to her! She knew that feeling all too well, and it was probably the last thing she expected from any child of Princess Twilight! Just what did he learn in those distant lands? And who could - or would - teach him that? She recalled that she'd heard somewhere that the last Dark Magic users kind of... died off.

It was enough to make a mare excited sick.

Author's Notes:

Gavin Garrison was a hoot to write for, as I do so love the grumpy ones. His charm lies solely within his gift of insult, and I had quite a bit of fun with his attitude towards Obsidian. Plus, her own thoughts of how he reminded her of her 'good old days' brought me a chuckle or two.

Those of you who have the 'Ugly-Duckling-Character' space on your trope bingo card, you may now mark that off; for what it's worth, Midnight is quite a specimen... though every time I think of his full name, I can't help but think of Weird Al's 'Midnight Star': a song about supermarket tabloids - though there's no connection at all. Except the name. No, really.

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 Notes:

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*...

Six: Bad Omens

~>-<~

Obsidian stood on a hill overlooking Ponyville...

Or, more precisely, where Ponyville once stood.

The entire town had been laid to waste; devastation at every corner, every house reduced to rubble, every familiar thing now nothing more than blasted debris and blackened ashes. Fires of jet black flame ran rampant throughout the small village, and smoke choked the air above.

And among the disaster were ponies, all of them turned to fire-scorched statues. The sky was a hazy red color, and a swirl of VERY Dark Magic hung over it all like a shield against the sun, blotting out any single ray of sunshine that might be had. The pallor it gave made even the brightest of colors seem dim and washed-out.

That wasn't her fault, was it? Of course, Obsidian had often considered learning more about Dark Magic, and even using it a bit more than her studies about Grey Magic would normally excuse... but she certainly didn't want to ruin the village where she was living. Besides, even when she wasn't considering Onyx to be her rival and enemy, she considered killing ponies a shameful waste. Was that another nightmare about her father? Or possibly Onyx? Let's be completely fair - the events from that most active day of her life were pretty terrifying, and Obsidian wasn't as scared as much as she should have been only because she had been far too active (and exhausted) to have even noticed.

But even in the midst of this horrific tragedy before her, she noticed she wasn't alone on this hilltop; standing next to her, with a grim look on her muzzle, was none other than Ruby.

"Greetings, dear sister," Obsidian welcomed her. Was this another visit of her spiritual remains, just like with the mirror or amulet? Was it another strange appearance, as she had when Clap had performed her Sonic Rainboom? Or perhaps she was merely a product of her own brain, created from her memories?

Ruby looked at her and gave a weak smile, embracing her in a hug before stepping back and looking out over the town again, sadness writ large in her eyes. "It's not your doing - just getting that out of the way first, before we speak on. This is more of a glance at what could happen, if things go all wonky for you."

She pointed, and at that exact moment, a ROAR of pure, unadulterated HATE echoed through the small town. There was an explosion that blew apart the remains of Sugarcube Corner, and standing there was a jet black alicorn stallion, with vile green mist pouring from his eyes and mouth.

He flapped his wings and began to hover over the ruins, his voice like razor blades on Obsidian's ears as he spoke. "WHERE ARE YOU HIDING, PEGASUS!? I'LL FIND YOU IF I HAVE TO KILL EVERYPONY IN MY WAY!" A bolt of pure Dark Magic shot from his horn, and scorched a line of black fire across the ground as he screamed in anger- Sweet Darkness, it was Midnight!

"That," Ruby said, "is the source of all this."

"That's quite a lot of pent up anger," Obsidian noticed. A glance of the future... or perhaps it was what she was afraid could possibly happen. "I don't think that's a friendship problem which could be solved with just a mere discussion or two, and perhaps a short, cute song. Damnation, what is his problem? She didn't cause him any long-lasting damage, did she? From this level of reaction, you would think she gelded him."

One might think he would practically have forgotten her, after all these years. Perhaps getting help from Princess Twilight on this one was a good idea... Obsidian really doubted the alicorn leader of Equestria would be too upset about Clap bullying Midnight. After all, she was practically famous for being rather lenient; she'd even shown mercy to King Sombra, simply turning him into a stone statue instead of turning him over to his children.

"... but things won't get wonky. Not this time."

Ruby gave her a look that reminded her of Dark Ruby, her muzzle lit with irritation. "Hey, keep in mind that he'd supposedly spent almost his entire foalhood being kept down by Thunderclap Dash; do you remember what it was like when Onyx was teasing and verbally abusing you? Now imagine if you had to endure that for years!"

She closed her eyes and sighed, her muzzle returning to it's previous sad look. "That is the result of issues never faced, thoughts never spoken, feelings repressed for waaaaaaay too long," Ruby explained, "and there's a chance he actually spent much of his last few years plotting revenge on his tormentor. Which would mean he studied Dark Magic purely out of vengeance."

She gave Obsidian a serious look. "And YOU know what happens when you invest those sort of feelings in Dark Magic, don't you? You should know all too well... and you should also know what kind of mindset it puts him in."

It apparently had to be worse than the things that Onyx had done to Obsidian - and that made this situation far worse. However, it was still the closest approximation Ruby could give to her sister. After all, she couldn't just compare Clap to King Sombra, right? Especially as in this particular case it would mean that the more bullied Midnight had been, the more twisted love he would show towards his attacker, yes?

But learning Dark Magic just to enact a terrible vengeance? Twilight, you really screwed up, just sending him away instead of doing something... anything... to deal with his issues at that moment in time.

"I feel I'll need to do something, even if it would mean crashing the princess' birthday party, just to drag Midnight's unconscious body away from Ponyville." Obsidian now shared her sister's grim look.

Ruby sighed. "Look, you're the only Grey Magic caster I've ever actually known... and this situation might call for it. Darkness to combat darkness, and light to heal the pain. Even with all you've seen here, you have to remember that, under it all, he's just... suffering with how much pent-up rage and hatred he has."

She looked back at the town as Dark Midnight casually ripped a charred roof off what used to be the Carousel Boutique, flinging it aside and letting out another pained, rage-filled shriek of anger. "Darkness can help you defend yourself and your friends against harm, but... Siddy, it's going to take Light Magic to bring him back again. Threats, fighting, obstinance... that's just going to make things worse. He has to know kindness to be able to heal, like you did - to be able to pull back from the brink of villainy, he needs understanding... both from you and for Clap."

"He needs Light in his heart to ever fight the chance that this," she motioned to the ruins of Ponyville, "could happen."

Thanks Ruby. Without saying that out loud, Obsidian surely wouldn't take notice of how much rage and hatred was in this dream version of Midnight. "And there go my plans for private group studies," the dark princess said as she rubbed her neck with a hoof.

Well, creating new bodies for Ruby and Onyx would have to wait a bit, apparently. While another Dark Magic practicioner would be useful, the fact that he was learning it merely to get vengeance on her friend was downright annoying... same as the fact that he was so damned powerful, being an alicorn and so on. Obsidian had to be sure he wouldn't turn into her rival.

"I didn't expect any troubles from that particular direction. And to make it even worse, even Blue adores him," not that she truly cared about Blue's opinion - but the amount of allies and minions he could possibly gather without much trouble was... disconcerting.

Ruby shook her head and looked Obsidian in the eye. "He's powerful, but under all that, he's just hurting. Everything she did to him has probably been boiling in the back of his mind since he left Ponyville. You heard him talk about how much he loved this place... and yet, look what he's willing to do to it to exact his vengeance."

She suddenly smiled at Obsidian, and she was Light Ruby all over again. "But you have a chance to connect with him. You know Dark Magic, and that means you also know it's limits and flaws; you hold a better chance of connecting with him that I think even Blue has," she said, "because you've been down that road. The things that were aid to you to get you out of your Dark shell? Stuff like that is what he needs to hear... and he should hear it from someone he has no prior connections to, so he doesn't bias his opinions on how he knows you to be."

"Siddy," she smiled warmly, "you're gonna have to make him your newest friend."

Ah, yes. Turning him into a slave to the friendly relations between them was the best possible option, of course. As soon as he started to realize he likes other ponies more than he wants to painfully obliterate them all, everything should get much better. And Obsidian just had to help him start to understand that, while also being careful about Clap's feelings, to make sure she wouldn't feel betrayed or replaced by the alicorn prince.

There was also Stalwart, who seemed to have a crush on him - it would be a true shame if she thought by mistake that Obsidian was hitting on him. Considering that Clap's flirty behaviour supposedly wasn't a part of an average relationship, she should be also careful to not do anything that would make Cupcake suspicious.

She just wanted to learn more about Dark Magic and strenghten her connection to it, as it was a wonderful thing to learn about and - to be fair - Gray Magic was kind of annoying her with all its' internal contradictions. "Okay. I can try."

Ruby's smile was just as sweet as the last time she'd seen her alive. "I know you can do it, sis. I believe in you, just like I always did... and you can make this happen." She then gave a more humorous grin. "And even if Grey Magic annoys you sometimes with how it works against itself, just remember that YOU are the wielder of magics nopony even knows about - which makes you speacial to the entire Equestrian nation, and even all of Equus..."

She then hugged Obsidian. "But you've always been special to me."

With that, the dream faded away, the sounds of fire crackling and vengeful screaming fading into nothing as she stirred...

~>O<~

When her eyes fluttered open, she discovered Cupcake snuggled against her back, his forelegs wrapped lovingly around her and his sweet breath blowing across her muzzle as he lightly (and cutely) snored.

Well, it was kind of obvious that Obsidian was special and unique - there was no other Obsidian, daughter of Sombra, in entire world! But being hugged by Ruby, the best sister ever, still felt nice... even if it was just a dream. Possibly a prophetic one, but a dream nonetheless.

Which eventually ended, sending her back into harsh reality. Now the most important question was, what hour was it? Normally, she could try to get up without waking Cupcake - which, to be honest, wasn't that hard - but sometimes (i.e. now) she pretty much preferred to stay in the bed a bit longer.

By Darkness, she was becoming LAZY.

From the light on the window, it was still early morning; she hadn't overslept yet, it seemed.

Cup snerked in his sleep, smacked his lips and muttered, "... zzzzz... how many cups of sugar does it take to get to the moon, Momma?... zzzzz..."

Silly Cuppie. Of course, after witnessing his sugar rushes, there was only a small amount of doubt that he could get to the moon on nothing but pure sugar. She'd seen what could happen with that... The horror... the horror...

At any rate, the sun was coming up, and Siddy had a number of things to do today. As soon as she felt like moving from Cupcake's side, of course. Which was harder than one would think, the snuggly-bug he was.

It was kind of ironic - she'd normally never felt any serious urge to stay in the bed during the weekends. During the only days where she could afford that luxury, it was suddenly becoming something she wanted to avoid. It was annoying! Or maybe laziness just tasted the best when there was something to do?

She just had to get out of bed so she could leave - so very, very carefully she started to wriggle her way out of Cupcake's embrace.

Cup mumbled again, then rolled over, releasing her from his hold as he buried his muzzle in her pillow. "... zzzzz... you shmell like luff... zzzzz..." A single hoof twitch, and he was out again.

She got up, and the moment she did, she realized something felt... odd...

Something in town. Something very faint... her senses only picked it up slightly, and even then it was only due to her ties to magic that alerted her that something was possibly going on nearby... ... something Dark.

He wouldn't possibly start killing Thunderclap that early, right? Besides, everypony knew that dark rituals worked the best after a good breakfast, not before... unless Midnight was very angry about having to get up early, there was no reason for him to emit so much Dark Magic!

And yet, she could most certainly feel it. Breakfast? Morning shower? Even tooth brushing - everything was unimportant in the face of the potential apocalypse. So Obsidian simply (and quickly) left the house, to follow that trace.

That dark trace, as it turned out, led directly into Ponyville, and precisely to Sugarcube Corner. With the fog of her latest nightmare still looming large in her mind, Siddy found herself attracted to the front door, where she heard the last snatch of a conversation from inside.

"... you sure you're okay?" Licorice's deep, rich voice rolled out of the open doorway. "You don't look okay..."

"Yeah, yeah... I'm fine... shtop it alreddy, wouldja?" That was Clap's voice... sort of. She sounded as if she'd just woken up as well. But she'd always known Clap to be a morning pony - this wasn't at all what she should sound like at this point in the day. Heck, she should be jogging right now!

"I jus' wanted some pastries... izzat a crime 'r' somethin'?" No, that didn't sound right at all.

That... wasn't Midnight. Which sadly meant some serious bad news, as Clap had never shown any ability to cast Dark Magic, especially being a pegasus and so on. It meant that either Midnight was inside as well, or he had already cast something rather wicked against the poor pegasus. Hopefully Licorice wasn't using Dark Magic too; it would be a rather annoying thing to learn about. So, preparing herself for some form of bad news, Obsidian boldly entered Sugarcube Corner.

The shop was the same as she remembered it; no burns, no fire, no rubble. Whew.

Licorice was the same as she remembered him; tall, dark and handsome, as well as strong and sure... but he had a look of worry on his muzzle she hadn't seen since the Umbral Incident. It didn't look good on him, even though he still looked good.

Thunderclap Dash, however, did NOT look the same as Obsidian remembered her. She looked... pale. Like the colors in her mane and fur were a bit faded. She also seemed... older somehow, as if she'd aged ten years in a single night, her muzzle was shallow and her eyes held heavy bags under them, like she hadn't slept a wink in weeks. Her gait was a bit unsteady, and as she went to walk out, she ran smack into Obsidian.

Catching herself on the wall, she turned and started to speak. "Why'ontcha watch where-... oh. Hey, Siddy," she sounded a bit better, seeing Obsidian standing there, but she still sounded a bit slurry and tired. "You wanted shome pashtries too?" She held up a bag... though Siddy could have sworn it looked like she was straining just a bit to do so. "Y'want shome? I c'n share, if ya wanna..."

Stalwart had been with Midnight, right? The idea that they had possibly spent the night together was probably too optimistic, but Obsidian at least needed confirmation that Midnight got back to his home. She didn't notice him casting anything during their walk... and before that Thunderclap looked completely fine (or even better, considering that they had just left the spa), so he had to have done something during the night...

Where was Clap living? Damnation, why didn't she know? "Thunderclap Dash? You look and sound terrible." Obsidian wasn't well-known for her tact. She walked closer to her pegasus friend. "You really, really shouldn't walk around in this state. How are you even able to stand still, girl?" Dark Magic... were there any traces on the poor pegasus?

"Hello, Licorice. Have you seen Mica or Stalwart, perchance?" She had to have a very, very serious talk with Midnight... and hasten her own studies - if he had done this to her friend, the act was a clear declaration of war!

Licorice looked up from the counter at her and smiled that heartbreakingly handsome smile. "Uh-uh, I haven't seen either one all day. You saw Thunderclap, right?"

"I'm right here, dummy," Clap said, now leaning a bit against the doorway and trying to shake the cobwebs out of her head..

"Oh." Licky seemed a bit embarrassed, but he still gave her a smile too. "Okay, well... if I'm right, Stalwart should be at work, shouldn't she? I mean, she's a Royal Guard Trainee now, isn't she?"

"Yah... an' she EARNED dat, too..." Clap turned and started walking away from the shop... but slowly, and with an obvious wobble to her gait. "'Kay, if y'don't wanna pastry... I guess I gotta go an' eat 'em up m'self..."

What was it with the pastries? It was quite innocent thing, but in the current situation Obsidian was getting slightly paranoid, and the fact that Clap was here shopping and talking about sweets, instead of trying to jog, was worrying her.

"Clap, wait for me!" she cried out. One shouldn't get so much important stuff to do before breakfast and a shower! Obsidian followed her, quickly. "You really don't look very well... maybe you should sit down for a bit? I live nearby, after all..."

"Hunh?" Clap looked at her like she didn't understand her for a moment... then she simply shrugged and kept trying to walk non-chalantly. "I'm... f-fine. Just feelin' a bit under the weather, 's all. Decided ta take a pers'nal day. Havva lil' treat while I rest up an' stuff... I slept like crap las' night..."

Obsidian could now feel the lignering effects of Dark Magic... and it was coming from Thunderclap. There was no longer any doubt; something had been done to her, and whatever it was had left her drained.

She stumbled, and dropped the bag onto the ground as she leaned against her friend. OOF, but she was heavy! "Shorry," she slurred out as she tried to right herself, "um... crack inna sidewalk; my bad."

Was it possibly some form of long range Dark Magic attack? Or perhaps Midnight snuck by her house? Maybe Tourmy and Amy would be able to help her find out something more about it? After all, Obsidian could use some quite powerful magic, but it was Tourmy who knew the most dangerous and damaging spells.

"Thunderclap Dash, I insist. You didn't just sleep like crap - I sense something else, but I'll need to check it carefully. Please, Clappy?" Giving her friend the puppy eyes was probably pointless, considering that Clap probably wouldn't even notice... But it couldn't hurt to try, right?

Clap turned to say something... but the puppy-eyed stare she was getting seemed to have an effect after all. "O... kay. Yeah, shure - why not? 'Sides, you gotta nische house... you an Cuppie-Cup-Cup-Cupster..."

She changed course, and started to head for Obsidian's home. She even gave a weak flap of her wings as she tried them out, to no avail. "I'd rashe ya, but m'wings hadn't shlept too good lately..."

Teetering and tottering, the two of them made it to the cottage. Outside, Tourmaline was working in the yard; as soon as they drew near, his ears perked up, and he looked up at Thunderclap with alarm - he could sense it too, apparently. He gave Obsidian a questioning look - one that said he was a bit shocked at what he felt from the pegasus. He set down his rake and trotted over.

"Obsidian... Thunderclap... what's," he motioned to Clap, "this all about?"

Whatever had hit Thunderclap had hit her hard. Bad sleep, eh? So it probably happened at night and continued on up to now. She had to get rid of this dark magical stench, figure out how Thunderclap was attacked... and possibly maim Midnight - preferably without worrying his mother.

Okay, maybe that third point wasn't the best possible idea... but it would be quick and painless! Well... almost painless.

"Dark Magic, my brother. Thunderclap was attacked, and I'd like to figure out how, when and how to get rid of the effects."
Besides, she really needed a shower and breakfast. "Clap, did you sleep in your home today?" Didn't she have a home in Cloudsdale...?

Tourmaline's expression grew hard and serious. "Not... good. Alright, let's get her inside, and we can figure out what's going on from there." He looked at his sister. "Cupcake already left, so it'll just be the three... ahem FOUR of us." He nodded his head towards the attic window, where Obsidian saw Amethyst standing and looking out at the three of them, a similar expression of concern on her muzzle before she saw them looking and shut the curtains.

Guiding her inside, Clap took one look at the couch and smiled. "Now datsch a good idea, dere," she murmured as she made her unsteady way to the couch and plopped herself onto it; Siddy could hear the springs groan in protest as she did.

Tourmy turned and looked at Obsidian. "Let's... hit the kitchen and make her a nice, fresh pot of coffee, shall we?" The nods and looks he was giving her seemed to indicate he wanted to speak with her in there... without the pegasus present.

Thunderclap took the idea that she'd maybe been the victim of a magical attack rather well... or was too dazed to hear them or understand what they were talking about. Still, it was probably for the best to talk without her around - a nice, sweet discussion between siblings... besides, in the kitchen, Obsidian could finally make herself something to eat. Maybe she should call in a sick day, or something like that? This was BIG.

"Yes, dear brother, quite a good idea," Obsidian agreed. She took a last look at Clap, to make sure she wouldn't fall off the couch and hurt herself, and then turned and trotted to the kitchen after Tourmy.

As soon as the kitchen door closed, Tourmaline whirled around and looked at her. "It's not your doing, because I don't feel your magical vibe... which means there's another Dark Magic user here - and I will NOT alLOW that!"

He made his way over to the fridge, and began to gather a few light foodstuffs, placing them on the table in front of her. "Obsidian, this is NOT good, not at all! I can't even defend myself, with this damnable lock on my horn! Dark Magic in Ponyville - and it isn't ours - could spell disaster if it causes a stir; they'll blame US! They'll TURN on US, and MAKE us SUFFER!"

He started the coffee pot, then sighed and sat down at the table, putting his head in his hooves. "Okay, from the top... what is happening here?"

Bah, of course it wasn't her doing - what reason would Obsidian have to curse Clap in such a manner? The pegasus would have had to have been impossibly annoying for even a consideration of such a thing, and even then the dark princess knew other ways to deal with things like that. Less life-threatening... or at least less visible.

"We have a rather powerful Dark Magic user in Ponyville with a personal grudge against Thunderclap. He is more powerful than I thought apparently, as he did meet her yesterday - but I didn't detect any spells coming from him. However, Clap said she had a terrible night, so I think this spell was possibly cast yesterday or during the night... and our fellow Dark Magician either snuck up on her house, or perhaps he cast it from an exceedingly long range. I had hoped that either you or Amethyst could help me identify the spell." Obsidian decided to keep the information that the said Dark Magic user in queston was an alicorn prince to herself.

The door to the attic was near the kitchen, and Tourmaline gave it a bit of a hard glare. "Amethyst probably wouldn't be willing to help, here - in fact, I'd dare say that we might have to keep this from her, else she might try to ally herself with them, if it meant getting her lock off."

He sat and began to think. "Well, from what I felt, it seems as though your friend out there is suffering from a dark curse of some sort. Not... good. There are a large number of dark curses, and some of them are..." he sighed, "... irreversible."

Tourmaline took up a strawberry from the food he'd put out and slowly chewed it as he continued to think. "But the signs I'm seeing - and feeling - look somewhat familiar. Onyx cast a number of torturous spells on Amethyst, Ruby and I, so there may be a chance it isn't one of the permanent ones. Still, she doesn't look good - and if we are still feeling residual magics, it may still be going... which means Thunderclap will continue to progress from bad to worse unless we can figure out how to either suspend it, or stop it altogether."

Irreversible? Oh dear - keeping Thunderclap in her current state would be quite a sad ending for a mare able to pull a Sonic Rainboom - and, of course, if it continued to deteriorate, she would end up in a far worse state, sooner or later.

Just how did Midnight manage to curse her? And Amethyst... maybe she should just lose that short bone on her head. Obsidian had faith in her sister, but if she would ever try to betray them, the dark princess would be glad to remove the source of her temptation, once for all.

"I will go to the library, look for a few books. And perhaps..."

She got quiet for a moment as she was thinking about the worst possible thing. Oh, the things she had to sacrifice for friendship!

"... I'll send word in for a day off, both to deal with this curse and to try to contact the pony responsible for it, to stop him from further attempts." Who would ever think that the son of the Princess of Friendship would bring so much trouble into Obsidian's life?

"Him?" Tourmaline raised an eyebrow. "Something tells me you know more than you're letting on... which, in my experiences with you, are par for the course." He leaned forward in his seat. "So... I would suggest you disclose whomever he is, so that I might be able to possibly calculate what we can do about this situation." Whatever else Tourmaline was, he most certainly wasn't slow.

Of course, the new question was how much she could trust her brother? Maybe he was getting more into this whole idea of 'friendship business' than Amy, but he had still tried to kill her. He could possibly end up seduced by darkness once again, and he was the only pony around that could take care of Clap... at least until Obsidian met up with Mica.

"An alicorn prince named Midnight Star," she said eventually. After all, if he would try to 'visit' Obsidian it would be important for Tourmaline to keep him away from Thunderclap. "He was thoroughly bullied by Clap when they were young, and that's apparently enough for him to spend quite a few years looking for Dark Magic in order to reciprocate a vengeance."

The damnable fool - learning Dark Magic, just to hurt a single pony. What a waste of time.

Tourmaline's jaw dropped open, and a single bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. "An... alicorn... prince?" NOW, he looked worried. "Not... good."

He stood up and began to pace. "Onyx had sought out information regarding a small hoofful of possible Dark Magic practicioners, and one of them was suspected to be an alicorn; it was going to be one of her first steps after 'waking' Father... of course, she had no idea she wouldn't be alive after His return..."

In her head, Obsidian heard the gory >BLORTCH< sound again, from when her eldest sister popped like a pimple.

"But this... Midnight, did you call him?... apparently has quite a chip on his shoulder, if he's doing this to your pegasus friend. I would wholeheartedly suggest that whatever you do, you approach it with the most extreme caution and care; an alicorn has powers far beyond a mere unicorn, Grey Magic or not, and a prince would have far too many allies to confront in public. And remember, we may be 'accepted' into pony society now... but if word gets out about MORE Dark Magic, so close on the heels of the recent fiasco..."

He gave a gusty sigh. "... we might be next on the proverbial chopping block." He took up another strawberry... but paused before he ate it. "For the record, though Amethyst might attempt to parley with this alicorn prince of Darkness, I have no aims to that end whatsoever - I most certainly learned my lesson, and besides..."

He actually grew a small blush on his muzzle. "I actually have... something to lose by going back to it."

Popping the little red fruit into his mouth, he began the makings of the pot of coffee. "So, if you plan to deal with this, you very well can't be expected to foalsit a stupefied pegasus; leave her here, and I'll see to her needs. In the meantime, investigate - but make no accusations... yet. Those can only truly be made with evidence... which we will need, no doubt."

Ooooh, did Tourmy manage to get himself a marefriend? Did he, did he? Obsidian had to sneakily ask around, or maybe even go to the most important source of informations - Gunther. He had to know something!

But first things first. And right now, Obsidian reminded herself that she was very hungry - so she joined her brother in eating the food set out on the table. "We can introduce Amethyst to him... later, after dealing with these problems and reforming her a bit more. I'm sure an alicorn brother-in-law would be an useful ally."

Unfortunately, the crush Stalwart had on Midnight possibly meant that it was merely a jest - Obsidian wouldn't try to stand between the petite guardian and her prince... at least as long as there was no risk that he might kill her, sooner or later.
Apparently, Onyx knew about the dark prince - which meant that there was the possibility that there just had to be something about him in her diary! Yet another reason to get books from her secret stash today.

To be fair Obsidian wasn't that worried about the 'proverbial chopping block' Tourmaline had spoken of - in the worst possible scenario, they could just try to free their father and escape from the village afterwards.

"Today is the princess' birthday party. It should give us some time, as I seriously doubt that her son would miss that. If things get any worse, I can always just get the gang together and hope for some kind of flashy magic of friendship," she joked dryly. Or at least, she hoped it was a joke. "Anyway, I know a guardian, a very literate diamond dog and a few other ponies that could help me with the investigation. I'll do my best, dear brother."

A hoofful of dark magic practicioners? Maybe one or two of them could be reached later...

"Let's hope it's enough, in this case... granted, Thunderclap isn't exactly my favorite personage... but, I admit, no one deserves to simply waste away like that." A light sparked behind Tourmy's eyes, and he looked as though he suddenly had an idea.

"Wasting away... that leads me to think-"

The attic door opened, and Amethyst quietly walked into the kitchen. She stared back and forth at the two of them for a moment, then simply frowned.

"You two seem 'chummy'... how nice for you both." With that, she made her own way to the fridge and started rummaging around, presumably looking for breakfast-like items... and ignoring the foodstuffs on the table. Tourmy shook his head at Obsidian, reminding her to keep quiet over their current predicament.

Oh? Then who was his personal favorite personage? Damnit, if not for Midnight, Obsidian would have a wonderful opportunity to have plenty of fun with looking for rumors and so on. Sadly, in the current circumstances this kind of humorous activity would have to wait - quite a while, potentially. Damnable bastard. And, due to Amy's incursion, Tourmy didn't even could finish his thought. How annoying!

"Amy! I'm so glad to see you. Do you want to get chummy too? It's important to nurse healthy relations between siblings and I'm pretty sure you didn't receive your daily hugs today!" Obsidian chirped, a bit hopeful that it would make Amy want to escape from them.

Amethyst's eyes narrowed. "Touch me, and I'll make sure your coltfriend gets a double dose of candy before you get home."

She turned back to the fridge, rummaging around until she pulled out a jar of grape preserves and what looked like... like...

"Is... is that... meat?" Tourmaline said with suspicion.

Amethyst smiled sweetly... but didn't say another word. She s-l-o-w-l-y unscrewed the jar and dipped the suspicious meat-thing into it, then took a big bite of the jelly-covered meat stick. "Yum," she said.

To be fair, using a sugar-drugged Cupcake as a weapon wouldn't be a very bad idea. "Weeeell, it's important for you two to get along, and you would be first on the frontline in this case... and where did you get that?" Obsidian was interested. She hadn't seen any meat in the shops... did Amy perhaps visit some diamond dogs?

Amy now looked rather pleased with herself - possibly because of the disgust on her erstwhile brother's muzzle. "Oh, I have my secrets," she grinned, "but I'll happily tell you if you get this damned lock off my horn."

Tourmaline glared. "I eat that jelly, you know?"

Amy's smile redoubled. "Oh, well then... care for a bite?"

Tourmy pushed away from the table in disgust. "FEH! I should've killed you when I had the chance."

"Too late; missed date!" She said as she bit off another chunk. Tourmaline grumbled under his breath as he headed back outside, shooting Siddy urgent looks as he did. Once he was gone, Amethyst's smile fell back into the sour, dour face she typically wore.

"So... why does your little pegasus slave stink of Darkness?" she casually asked.

Obsidian decided that even a small diversification in her diet wasn't worth risking it, especially as Amy really didn't seem to like Ponyville and its surroundings as much as the rest of her (very reduced) family. "A small accident, sister. I'll fix it soon," Siddy shrugged and followed Tourmy. She really wanted to know what this little 'wasting away' idea meant.

"Accident? Oh-HO!" she exclaimed, "so you have taken my advice and started using them for experimentation! Bra-VO, Obsidian! For a while there, I thought you didn't have it in you, but color me impressed!"

If Amy was anything like Tourmy, she'd be able to TELL it wasn't Obsidian's work... but, the angry mare was known for baiting her siblings with words such as these.

"Now, if you'd just be so kind as to do that to everyone in this sewer pit called Ponyville... then, why, I might just forgive you for turning me into a useless, washed-up has-been."

She jammed the meat stick into the jar again, brought it out, then held it out to Obsidian. "Since you're finally starting to feel like yourself again... want a biiiiiiite?" Her grin said she knew Obsidian would turn her down... but she wanted to poke at her, all the same.

Poke... well, it was a good thing her dagger was locked up in Twilight's Palace.

Impressing Amethyst was hardly something worth of bragging about, though luckily it wasn't something to worry about - especially in a situation where she was able to believe that Obsidian would be able to hurt one of her friends. Of course, Obsidian did have to work on her Dark Magic - as part of her Gray Magic studies - but experimenting on her friends? That would be low.

Meat... hmmm... "With grape jelly? Are you sure it's a good idea?" Obsidian took the meat stick and sniffed it suspiciously. Why would anyone want to mix tastes like that?

"... naaah, I do believe I shall pass. Bon appetit," she said as she returned it to Amethyst and turned around to leave.

"Fine," Amethyst grumped, "I didn't really wanna share with you anyway!"

The words followed her into the living room, where the blue pegasus lie on the couch, looking rather worn and tired.

"Heeeeeyyyyyy..." Clap mumbled, "there's my beshtie. What'cha dooooin?" The cup of coffee that Tourmy had brewed sat on the table next to her, half-drained. As thick as Tourmaline made coffee, she should've been wide awake... instead, she looked like she still hadn't slept for days.

"Siddeeeeee," she moaned, "I losht muh bag o' goodies when I dropped 'em... wouldja get 'em for me? Pretty pleashe?"

Awww, it sounded as if Obsidian had really dissapointed Amethyst. However, she would stand by her opinion - grapes? On meat? If she hadn't stuck it directly into the jar, she would have considered it more seriously, to be fair. By Darkness, it was absolutely heartbreaking to see Clap in such a state. A proud, active (perhaps too active) pegasus was now turned into an exhausted-looking, bleary-eyed pony... except that no amount of coffee would be really able to help her.

"Do you mean your pastries, Clap?" Obsidian asked carefully.

"Yeah, dem. Thosche pay-striiiieeees..." She swooned a bit, falling back on the cushions and moaning as if she were in pain. "Oh, geez... I godda get shome schleep... you maybe got shome, like..." She paused for a number of seconds. "... shome schleepytime tea, 'r shomethin' like dat?"

Though the accents of some modern ponies were really terrible, making them almost completely impossible for Obsidian to understand... Clap was even worse right now. Sleep was a good idea... but sleepy time tea? Uh, there had to be something like that; after all, they had to put down Cupcake to sleep after he overdosed on sugar.

"Tourm, could you get her a blanket and pillow? And look to see if we still have any of that special tea for emergency situations with Cupcake? I'll be leaving for a bit..."

Tourmaline, who was currently going through drawers and such, looked over his shoulder at Siddy. "Yes, yes... go be a super sleuth, and figure out what to do about her," he pointed a hoof at Clap, "because I swear, if she hoots at me about how 'cute' I am again, I'll get her a gag to go with her tea."

Clap gave a drunken-sounding giggle. "Yer cyoot when yer mad, Tourmy-Wormy-Squirmy..."

His glare made Obsidian wonder if he wasn't practicing to kill with a glance. "... and hop to it, SIDDY," he growled.

"Consider it practice," Siddy smirked at him, "you'll find your own partner, one day." At least probably. Or maybe he already had. He mentioned that he had someone to stay for in this town, right? Aaaah, if only there wouldn't be this alicorn-shaped problem around!

But he was right. Obsidian had to leave - quickly - before the situation could get any worse.

Author's Notes:

I really didn't expect Tourmy and Amy to end up as they did; I had simply figured they'd be destroyed. However, Siddy's want to experience a family overruled the decision, and she ended up with two rather interesting roomies. I can hardly wait to show you folks more from those two.

And Ruby, in her dreams? For a dead pony, she sure gets around... but is it merely a figment of Obsidian's imagination, or is there something more at work here? Well, I've said it before, and I'll say it again - no spoilers.

Seven: Woolgathering (Without The Sheep)

Did Clap have any pastries with her at all when they were leaving Sugarcube Corner? Obsidian seemed to recall such... but where did she lose them? The Dark Princess could try and fetch them, but only if it didn't take too much time.
Otherwise, she had to get to the library.

Oh, and take... *sigh*...a day off. Hopefully, nopony would think she was slacking off.

Sure enough, the sack was where it had fallen from Thunderclap's hoof, only a block down the street from her house. However, it seemed there was already a pony already there, looking curiously at the bag. As she watched, the unicorn levitated it off the ground and in front of himself. He opened it and looked inside; a smile began to spread on his muzzle as he saw the contents.

But those weren't his!

Well, as far as Obsidian was concerned, she wasn't forbidden from using overwhelming firepower against thieves, right? Hopefully not - because she had a lot going on her head right now, and didn't want to waste too much time on dealing with something this trivial. As long as it helped her pegasus friend feel better, she didn't mind this small favor.

"Oh, great, yes - that's where we lost our bag of pastries," Obsidian trotted closer to get the unicorn's attention and resolve the whole thing peacefully. He looked up at Obsidian, then frowned as he closed the bag and brought it behind him with his magic.

"Hey... finders keepers! Apparently, you didn't want it TOO badly, or you wouldn't have left it on the ground like that! You can't just take something back after someone else claims it! Don't be petty about your loss." He backed up a few steps; his volume seemed to be attracting some attention to them both, and other ponies looked on curiously. "YOU lost them - I found them. As far as I'M concerned, they're mine."

"Is that so?" Obsidian said with a sigh. Apparently, this HAS to take more than a moment. Grand. "Well, I'm sure we can most certainly ask the local guards if the true owner is the one who found it... or the one who paid for it. I'd be interested to hear their take on this, but we don't have to," Obsidian offered gently; after all, there were far too many witnesses for her to be able to be much more... eh, forceful.

The unicorn made a show of looking around. "I'm not worried about any guards... plus, as far as THEY know, it was mine to begin with! So, you're just gonna walk up to a guard and say, 'someone stole my sweetroll?' You think they'll honestly believe you over someone like me?"

He started stepping backwards, making his way away from Obsidian. "You snooze, you lose. Now begone, and let me eat my pastries in peace," he snarked.

So he was gonna play that way, was he? Obsidian grabbed the bag with her own magic - positively certain that said unicorn didn't have any training in levitating objects from someone as talented as Lemon Custard - and started to pull. "That goes two ways, anonymous citizen..."

The unicorn pulled back. "HEY! Get your magic hooves off! Let go!"

The bag, made only for holding pastries and made of recycled paper, only took one strong tug before it ripped in two, dumping the precious cargo onto the ground, where they became covered in dirt.

The unicorn scowled at her, then turned to walk away. "Fool... now nobody gets any. Besides, they looked like lemon sherbet; I don't care for that, anyway. Too bad." He kept his eye on Obsidian, but turned and started to leave the scene.

For Obsidian, it was a victory. To her, it was better to end up with nothing, rather than let the enemy have even a fraction of it. It was just a matter of principle - in her father's kingdom, he would have been severely punished for stealing, and even moreso for daring to argue with a royal! Obsidian didn't think that such a punishment would be a good idea in THIS day and age of course, but some sort of proverbial spanking would do that one a bit of good.

Though not right now, of course - she didn't have enough time to deal with petty thieves. She smirked as she saw him fleeing the scene - she was certain she could at least remember what he did look like. Maybe there would be an opportunity later to deal with this issue...

Lemon sherbet, eh? She would have to buy some for Clap later; right now, she merely gathered the poor remains of her hollow victory with her magic to ensure not to leave a mess in the road, while resisting the urge to throw it at the back of the retreating coward's head.

Of course, in the end, he'd get his - especially if Obsidian could deal with this whole 'Dark Magic Alicorn' business quickly. It would surely leave her in a foul mood - and with the Dark Magical experiments she was planning, that poor bastard could possibly find out that trying to steal those pastiries would end up being his biggest mistake in life. What little life he would have left, that was.

A few of the onlookers seemed disappointed that there wasn't more drama... but moved on anyway. An older couple came over towards her, and the elderly stallion held out a small sack.

"Here, young'un - we heard th' whole thing, an' m'wife here thinks you were cheated; here, take these bits an' go get yerself summore pastries. Never mind that blasted thief; he'll get his, I'm sure of it." The older mare simply smiled sweetly at Obsidian, not saying a word.

"Say," the stallion continued, "you hear anything on th' street 'bout how Princess Twilight's cancelling her birthday party?"

Ah yes, Equestria's Random and Surprising Acts of Kindness! It really did remind Obsidian that she lived in a such a completely different day, age and nation, and warmed her cold, artificial obsidian heart.

She smiled sweetly at them as she took the sack. "Thank you so very much, I truly appreciate that. And no, I can't say I've heard anything about any cancellations. Might I ask your names, please?" Damnation, Cupcake was going to be very, very disappointed. Maybe Miss Pinkie Pie would know something more...

"Me? I'm Short Round, and this here is Whisper Winds." The stallion and his wife gave a polite bow, and smiled at Obsidian as they stood. "She might not be th' loudest in th' room, but she can still make MY heart trip-hammer pretty loud, and that's fer sure!" The elder mare blushed prettily, half-covering her face with a wing.

Though both of them had a faded yellow color to their coats, Short's mane was a bright blue and neat, while Whisper's was a soft pink, and loose and long. Even Obsidian could tell they must have been quite the sight in their youth.

"Well, we heard that she's puttin' a stop to it 'cause her son Midnight's come down with some kinda sickness; such a shame too - I was gonna dance with my Whisper there, jitterbuggin' in public for the first time in 'bout ten years. Still," he smiled at the pegasus, "don't mean we can't fire up the ol' record player an' hoof it at home, right dear?" Whisper smiled and nodded, evidently liking the idea.

"An' what's yer name, hon?" Short Round asked.

So... that brazen bastard not only dared to curse her good friend, but also ruined the hard work of her coltfriend!? That settled it - he was going down. Midnight wouldn't even know what hit him!

Short Round and Whisper Winds... it wouldn't be too hard to remember that. "Obsidian," she said as she introduced herself; sometimes she was amazed that there were ponies who still hadn't heard about the mare who headlined the defense of Equestria against an undead invasion. Apparently, heroes weren't getting fame as quickly as she'd hoped.

But both of their eyes grew wide when she spoke her name.

"W-wait... you're the one who helped stop them confoundin' zombie ponies we had ta deal with? You, an'... uh..."

Whisper leaned over and whispered into her husband's ear a moment. "... yeah, yeah, with them friends o' yers, right? Cupcake an' Thunderclap an' even that new trainee Royal Guard, Stallion-"

Whisper nudged her husband's ear again with her soft namesake. "... no, Stalwart, right? Well, hitch me ta th' wagon an' call me Porter, but you're a hero, ma'am! I had no idear that we were speakin' to a bonafide HERO! Wowwee!"

Whisper looked at Obsidian and nodded her head in recognition, and even had the respect to blush a little bit.

"Hey, if'n ya don't mind, we'd sure like ta bend yer ear sometime an' speak t' all the old folks at the Silver Sands Retirement Home, if'n yer ever around them parts! Sure would be grand ta have a hero like you, talkin' 'bout what ya did fer Equestria an' all!"

Ah, so they did hear about her exploits! Perhaps it was a bit vain of her to think that they would be able to recognize her appearance as well. Hopefully, she hadn't gotten too proud or vainglorious lately - on one hoof, she recently defeated the pony she considered to be the most perfect being in the world, so it was kind of justified... but on another, she didn't do it alone, and met other wonderful ponies along the way. Hmm.

"I'll remember to visit you, then," she agreed quite happily. Meeting new ponies was always interesting - each with their own experiences and stories to tell. In all honesty, Modern Equestria was a place she'd like to explore a bit. "But don't forget, there were also Mica and Gypsy, too..."

To be honest, maybe Gypsy would be interested in visiting them with her? Old ponies and a diamond dog who loved history - yes, that should work out nicely!

"An' the nerve of that stallion, stealin' yer pastries like he was such a hot item! Ma'am, I'm sorry y'had ta deal with that." Whisper nodded empathetically at her husband's rant. "Well, s'long as you make it over to th' shoppe anytime soon, you'll be able ta get summore, I'm sure of it!"

The two elderly ponies smiled at Obsidian. "Well now, we oughtta get movin'... after all, if'n we can't dance at th' palace, we'll just do it at home! Y'comin', hon?" Whisper nodded to her husband, then turned and bowed deeply to Obsidian. With that, the old couple started away, waving.

"An' hey, if'n y'ever find yerself in the south part o' town, stop on by! We stay in th' house with th' BIG weathervane!" Short Round called to her.

Obsidian couldn't disagree with them about the pastry thief; hopefully it wouldn't turn into a big delay. In a perfect situation, she would find one of her friends around and ask him or her to buy the pastries for Clap, while Obsidian herself would be finally able to get into the library at last, or possibly even meet with Midnight.

She bowed back in response and waved to the nice elderly couple as well. So... they had their own house here, yet they were visiting other old ponies in this retirement home place? Did she hear him correctly?

There was the average amount of bustle in Ponyville, but there was only one thing on everyone's minds:

"Did you hear Princess Twilight cancelled her birthday?"
"Yeah, I know - rough stuff, her son freshly home from Griffonstone... and he's sick!"
"I'll betcha it's something he caught from a griffon..."
"You hear? She just called the whole thing off!"
"And I had my nice, new dress ready for it!"
"Maybe she's just faking it, to surprise us?"
"You know how she feels about her colt; it's no joke, she's stopped it from happening."
"Do you think he's gonna be okay?"
"He's an alicorn; of course he's going to be just fine..."

Twilight's cancelled party seemed to be the talk of the town, at least for what she heard from passers-by. That meant Obsidian's options were rather limited: she could go with the 'pastry' plan first and get them for her sick friend - as Friendship is Magic and kindness is part of Harmony and so on, it would not be the worst possible idea... though she could also go straight to the castle to find out more about Midnight's mysterious sickness... or, she could check Onyx's diary first, to find out if there was anything in there that could help her figure this out.

She started to look around somewhat frantically, allowing herself to waste a minute or two in the sheer, lucky hope of finding one of her dear, unbusy and willing friends completely by coincidence. And she did hear a voice she recognized...

"... but NOT what you'd call 'ambitious', y'know. S'a part o' life, an' I'm just tryin' ta get through it, y'get me?"

She knew that voice... it was Gunther Gadfly! And it sounded like he had someone with him?

"Yeah, but it's not really much of a problem for YOU, Gunther; 'ambition', to a dragon, usually means more treasure. Not me, I mean, but..."

There he was! Gunther was flapping past above her... and he seemed to have a dragon with him. Maybe he knew something?

"Yeah, yeah, yeah... big high-and-mighty lizard's what you are!"
"Hey! Very funny, Gunther."

A dragon? Well, her brother's friend surely had some interesting friends as well. Also, hearing a dragon saying that he considers 'ambition' to be about something else other than gold was somewhat scary, to be honest; as soon as dragons grew old enough to notice that there were other interesting things around them, they would try to claim them.

"Hey! Hey, Gunther!" she waved to him, trying to get his attention.

The griffon stopped in mid-flap, and hovered as he looked around. The dragon, however, pointed Obsidian out. "Down there!"

"Hey, that's... yyyeeeeaaaahhh, I know who that is!" Gunther flapped his way down and landed with a solid thump in front of her. The dragon's landing was a bit more fluid, and he touched down next to the griffon. "Heya, kiddo! Don't tell me you're jealous of me hangin' out wit' yer brother, and you wanna hang too? I mean, s'cool... you an' me an'-"

"Gunther," the dragon gave the griffon a look, "someone who flags you down like that probably has something else on their minds."

"No way," Gunther grinned, "ev'ryone's got me on their minds, heh. So, what's the haps, hunh? Somethin' up?"

Again with that thick accent! If words could be weapons, Gunther would be bashing her head in with blunt force trauma, to her agonizing death right now. It didn't help that he was quite a character, and Obsidian sometimes had problems with understanding what he meant, even without the little language barrier.

"Sun's up," she replied with a completely serious face. "I hoped you would know something more about the situation with Princess Twilight's birthday... and, by chance, have you seen Cupcake today?" Hopefully, he'd be up to some delivery quests later.

Gunther looked at her. "Cup? Yeah, he's at the palace, taking stuff down... and lemme tell ya, he looks like someone kicked his kitten."

The dragon spoke up carefully. "Um, I know about Twilight's situation... i-if you're one of the-"

"Yeah, yeah, she's one o' the good ones, it's arrite," Gunther assured him.

The dragon turned to face Obsidian. "Twilight's really upset, because Midnight woke up this morning looking awful! He's all sorts of sluggish, and he barely seems to be able to stand up without getting all wobbly; Gunther and I were on our way to Zecora's, to see if she might have some kinda potion that would help."

"I c'n confirm dat," Gunther added, "'cause I seen him myself; yikes, he looked rough! Dat's why we're headed to pick up some medicine... if'n she's got it."

"But yeah, Cupcake's at the palace with Peppermint Patty and a few others. I would've figured Cup would be really let down by this - he arranged the party - but he seems like he's just... worried."

"Aw, don'cha worry about it, Spike," Gunther said, "Mids'll be fine, you'll see."

"I hope so," the dragon sighed.

So, he looked exactly the same as Clap did? What kind of curse would hurt the caster as much as the intended target? It would make sense, though... considering that since he was an alicorn, he might possibly be more resistant than an average pony... and such a cost would still make this kind of curse work. The same amount of punishment that could kill a target, yet would merely weaken him for a bit... which also meant he could get better just in time to dance on Clap's grave.

That was about the only theory that Obsidian could come up with - unless, of course, she would find a third party involved, willing to strike down both a Prince of Equestria and one of its newest heroes.

"Thunderclap's got it too; I took her to my home to allow her to sleep for a bit. I believe it may be some kind of spell... could you possibly mention it to miss Zecora, and let me know what she tells you, yes?" To be honest, Obsidian hadn't met any mysterious zebras from the forest, but she'd heard that name around town. "I'll check at the castle and hit the library, to look and see if there's anything that already exists about this strange condition," she added.

To be honest, she initially wanted to ask Gunther to get some pastries to Clap, but in the current situation it was out of the question.

Hmmm, there was something else... something about a dragon who was named... Spike?

"Ahhhhh, yes... now I recognize you; you helped kill my father," she realized, saying it without any malice, anger or hate whatsoever - she just stated a plain fact. "Well, good luck with Miss Zecora."

Spike turned and blinked at her. "Wait... wai-WHAT!? What do you mean I-"

Gunther gave a short bark of a laugh. "HA! Really, Spike? You ain't heard o' Obsidian already? I'd figure the princess wouldda toldja 'bout her already."

The dragon looked at her like he half expected her to blast him at any second... but when seconds passed and she didn't, he relaxed a bit. "Uhm... h-hope you're not mad about... y'know... that... b-but, it was-"

"'Nuff," Gunther said, "we gotta jet - yo, I'll ask about spell-type-stuff when we get ta Zecky's - c'mon, Spike; you two can catch up latah!" Gunther waved as he headed off, with the dragon still looking at Obsidian like he was trying to figure her out.

"Don't worry; I tried to kill him too... or at least hurt him," Obsidian said in the most reassuring voice she could muster. If anything, she was surprised that this dragon was still around, and yet they'd never met before.

Spike blinked at her... then he gave her a slow nod, and turned and darted after Gunther, catching up quickly to fly side by side with him.

Well, that was fun - to the castle, then.

Twilight's Castle had guards at every door... and they had their jobs to do. "HALT! No visitors today, by decree of her royal majesty Princess Twilight Sparkle!" The guard at the front had a neutral face on, and simply barked his orders out.

When he did, however, another guard came around the corner to see what was going on. "Another well-wisher, probably come to-"

He stopped when he saw Obsidian. "Hey, I know who you are! I saw you during the Umbral Incident! Meter," he turned to the other guard, "this is who Stalwart was talking about! Y'know, the one who dealt with Sombra?"

The guard who had stopped her now gave her an actual look. "Whoa, hey... this is Obsidian? I didn't think she was so... good-loo-"

The second guard smacked the other on his chestplate, and he stopped talikng instantly. "Don't mind him; he's kind of new here."

"B-but, Princess Twilight said-"

"Yeah, she said the palace was currently closed to the public... but THIS is a local hero. She might even be able to figure out what's wrong with Prince Midnight."

The second guard turned back to Obsidian. "Go on in - we won't keep you here."

Ah, yes - finally, somepony who had both heard about her and knew what she looked like, and was willing to just help her out a little bit from the goodness of his heart. Obsidian's life would be far easier if everypony else would also treat her with such reverence.

"Thank you kindly. By the way, have you seen Stalwart today, perchance?" Considering that she left her with Midnight yesterday, her little friend might possibly know something more.

"Stalwart Stance? I... think she's inside. Check the Grand Hall; she may be there for the cleanup." The other guard shook his head sadly. "A real shame; I was hoping to take my marefriend to that party..."

"Through the doors," the second guard went on, "and to the right where you see the servants going. Can't miss it."

So he thinks? It wasn't exactly promising, but it was the best hope she had at the moment. Besides, there was a chance she could meet Cupcake here as well. Considering how big the whole 'birthday' thing was going to be, there surely was a lot of cleanup to do.

Obsidian nodded and went into the castle, following the path the guard told her. For a second, she thought about heading to find Midnight first, but it was important to get some intel before facing a potential enemy - even if he was allegedly sick.

When she reached the Grand Hall, she saw what looked like a gathering of mopey ponies. There were a number of servants there, all in the process of taking down the balloons, rolling up the banners and taking away what looked like large numbers of folding chairs; the looks on their muzzles were of heartbroken apathy. Obviously, the whole afair had been quite looked forward to... and it did these ponies no joy to have to wrap things up before they could celebrate.

Towards the center, Cupcake stood on a tall ladder being held in place by Wart. It was strange, though - instead of a look of outright misery, he had concern writ large over his features. He didn't seem to relish what he was doing, but he didn't seem to have his head into it, either.

As she approached, Wart looked over her flank at Obsidian. "Lady Siddy? What brings you here?"

Cupcake looked down at her. "Siddy - Midnight's NOT right; we should talk." He finished unhooking the disco ball from the central beam, and climbed down carefully. He and Wart then turned to face her properly.

"I fear that something is wrong with Prince Midnight, yes," Wart said, looking just as concerned as Cupcake did, "and Princess Twilight cannot figure out what the cause may be."

"Yeah, Auntie Twily is really worried." Cupcake gave Siddy a look that begged her to have some sort of plan or idea.

Oh well - all of that plethora of work going to waste, all because somepony decided to play with a little bit of Dark Magic.
Everything would have been neatly avoided if the blasted princess wouldn't have made such a fuss about her birthday in the first place... and if Midnight hadn't come into town for it, if he wouldn't have used magic beyond any normal ponies' comprehension! Or if the princess would just buck up to the fact that her dear son would have to stay in bed for the duration, and proceed normally.

And luckily, Stalwart was already here. Wonderful - it meant she wasn't an equine sacrifice by Midnight to summon some ancient powers of evil or anything like that.

"Yes, we should talk. Is there any place where we could chat privately, the three of us?" Wow, Cupcake really seemed to be worried; that was never a good sign.

Wart stood up straight. "I do believe there is a section of the palace which is not currently in use; the library is currently closed, though I have access through magic. I will have to return to my duties soon... but as this relates directly to what is happening to our royalty, I shall deem it necessary to take some time to discuss this."

As she began to walk towards the library, Cup followed. "You should have seen him, Siddy! He could barely stand up, and his words were all slurred and broken, like he was a wind-up toy whose spring was uncoiling! And his eyes... he looked like he hadn't slept in days - but he'd looked just fine, yesterday!"

Yup, everything sounded as perfectly similar as Clap's current condition - but what could be causing it? Did he really hate her that much to inflict such pain on himself, just to get his revenge? If alicorns were truly as powerful as Obsidian had heard, then he surely would have other means and ways to do such a thing!

"Clap looks about the same, Cup. She's currently in our house, on our couch resting," she said quietly as they walked along.

"What!? Thunderclap, too? Oh, wow... this is BAD bad, isn't it?" Cup seemed more and more concerned by the minute.

They reached the library and, with Wart opening the lock, they were inside. It was deathly quiet in here - more than usual, as the three of them were the only ones present.

"M-maybe he brought some sort of illness from Griffonstone?" Wart mused.

"It's not just an illness, Stalwart - it's a curse. A Dark Magic curse. And I'd be rather grateful if you would publicly keep quiet about the fact, please... at least until I find out something more."

The castle's library - Obsidian's librarian instincts were purring to her that she was in the best possible place to look for some nice, juicy clues. She couldn't help but wonder what secret tomes of ancient lore Princess Twilight could be hiding in there.

"Stalwart," Obsidian asked, "did anything strange happen yesterday between you two, after we parted ways?"

The petite guard shook her head. "I escorted Prince Midnight to his quarters, we spoke for a moment, then I dismissed myself to return to my duties. I went home when those were done, but when I arrived this morning... he looked as though he'd been ravaged in the night! And you are certain it is some form of curse?"

Siddy's coltfriend spoke up. "Wart, if Siddy says it's Dark Magic, then I'm sure she knows what she's talking about."

Wart got a look of shock on her muzzle, then bowed in front of Obsidian. "Lady Siddy, do forgive my lack of faith; of course, you are correct."

Cupcake looked at her. "So... what can we do?"

"Unfortunately I am correct, Stalwart. It's so strong that even my siblings, despite their current magical limitations, could still feel it."

What would Obsidian do in the same situation? There were plenty of ways to kill a pony: Direct sneak attack. Poison. 'Accidents'. Magical spells that didn't kill both caster and the victim.

But... what if Midnight didn't cast it? He had a rather strong emotional connection to Thunderclap, so perhaps his livid hatred could have been used as some kind of catalyst, or perhaps channeling?

"I want to meet with Midnight. Then, I plan to hit the books to find out more about this curse. Do you think you could get some form of guard duty near the prince's room, Stalwart? It would be nice to have somepony I can trust near him. The same goes for Thunderclap, but you still have plenty of work to do here, right Cup?" That fact was a bit of an annoyance; Obsidian would love to simply send him home to keep eye on her as soon as possible.

Wart saluted smartly. "I know exactly the pony to ask about switching shifts; though it will mean I will be working through most of the day, I will be where you require me, Lady Siddy."

Cup nodded. "Yeah, I have to help clean all this up - which I HATE, because it just feels like fun is going down the drain as fast as it can. But once I'm done, I can make my way back home and keep an eye on her-"

His eyes got wide, and he looked at Siddy with alarm. "Wait - who's watching her now? PLEASE tell me it's not Amethyst!"

Obsidian glared a bit at Cupcake. "Tourmy, Cup... Tourmy is watching her right now, because among other reasons, I didn't really want to keep an unconscious pony alone near my charming, stab-happy sister. Come on, Cup - do you think I would ask Amethyst for anything like that?" Duh.

Cupcake facehoofed. "Y-yeah, of course, right... I just..." He sighed. "I just have a lot on my mind, is all. Yeah, I know you wouldn't do that to Clap - sorry."

Wart looked towards the doors. "If I speak to Lemon Custard, I am certain he would find a way to grant you access to Midnight... but if you have a need to go there right now, then I suppose I could escort you there. If you should wish."

Cupcake placed a hoof on Siddy's shoulder. "Whatever happens, if you need me... I'll be right there. Go be the Big Brain now, and let's get this dealt with so we can try to see if this can be put to rest."

"To be fair Wart, I think that an official path through Lemon would be a bit safer in this situation." If convincing Lemon of her good intentions was necessary to get to Midnight, then he was apparently placed under pretty secure guard. With all this Dark Magic stuff around, Obsidian didn't want to risk making any mistakes - especially considering that Princess Twilight was apparently quite scared for her firstborn.

"I know - it's all right, Cupcake. And I'm sorry all your hard work is wasted," she answered in kind to her coltfriend, pat-patting him slightly. After all, she knew firsthoof how much he worked on all this stuff.

"So Stalwart, may I stay here while you go and speak with Lemon? I could use the time to look for anything I can find about curses." Princess Twilight surely had some books about the more murderous spells somewhere in her collection.

Wart nodded. "By your command," she said, and went to the doors... but she glanced back at them for a moment. "I shall tell him you have a suspicion, but no further details will come from me - I will assure him your intent is pure. Five minutes." With that, she left.

When she was gone, Cup turned to Siddy and offered a hug. "I could use one right about now," he said as he gave a sheepish grin.

Five minutes, eh? It might not be too much time, but it should be enough for her to at least glance at the books around her... okay, four minutes; one could be spent on Cupcake. She complied with his request, giving him a healthy hug. Okay, so perhaps she'd needed a hug as well, at least a little bit. Obsidian felt somewhat better after that - more energetic.

He smiled sweetly as she gave him what he asked for, then turned to the shelves. "Alright, what are we looking for? I can at least help you search the stacks, right? No sense in just sitting here when there's stuff to find out!" He made his way to the other end of the library, and looked back over his shoulder at her. "Dark Magic in general? Curses? Dark Magic Curses? Anything that rhymes with curses?"

"Dark Magic in general," she said back to him, "as there is very strong connection between Mid and Clap, and I wonder if it was possible for somepony to use it to curse them both," It was starting to make some sense - at least until she met with Midnight himself. Hopefully, in his current state he would be harmless.

There wasn't much time for talk - she started to look around for anything at all on the subject as well.

Four minutes was not an ideal amount of time to search a library; it wasn't long before the door opened again, and Wart stuck her head inside. "Lady Siddy? Cupcake?"

Cup spoke up, "Hey, did you find him?"

Wart nodded. "He says he will allow a quick visit, but Midnight's quarters are supposed to be off-limits; he implied heavily to be as quick as we can. He does, however, trust Lady Siddy, and says he will try to make his way to you to speak on this matter, as soon as he is able to."

Cup looked at Siddy. "Well, at least it's something - let me finish up with the cleaning, and I'll go home to see to Clap. You gonna be okay here?"

The little guardpony scoffed. "You forget whose hooves you leave her in the care of, Cupcake."

He smiled. "Yeah, you're right - Wart's got your back, Siddy; see you at home okay? And be careful."

Wart watched him leave, then motioned to Siddy. "Follow me, please."

Cupcake was really worrying her poor head - first asking her about Amethyst, then messing with Stalwart... though it seemed that Siddy wouldn't have to have the pleasure of talking with Lemon on top of everything.

"See you later, Cup. Good luck, and send Tourmy my way if anything changes with Thunderclap." The only alternative would be sending Amethyst... which might not be such a good idea. But for now, the only option left was following Stalwart.
Too bad they couldn't find anything among the numerous books in the library in such a short amount of time... but then again, she was still perfecting her librarian craft.

Wart marched on, looking both adorable and deadly serious in her shiny new armor; she walked as if she expected Siddy to give a full report on her conduct.

"If I may?" She suddenly asked, still escorting her charge. "If I am correct, it would seem as though Dark Magic has only been involved since your arrival in Equestria - do you possibly believe this may have something to do with Onyx, perhaps? She was a deep planner; mayhaps her personal records would hold some insight as to what is happening here? Or perhaps in Ruby's notes, there may be-"

She stopped in mid-stride, and turned to Obsidian with an apologetic muzzle.

"My apologies, Lady Siddy... I am aware that the loss of Ruby was a cruel blow, and I mean not to bring up memories that might harm you. Please forgive me." With that, she turned and kept walking. "Yet still... mayhaps you already possess notes on such a phenomenon?"

"I plan to look through Onyx's notations after my upcoming meeting with Midnight. I want to possibly gather more information about the nature of this strange curse first." To be fair, Obsidian doubted that Ruby would keep notes about this specific sort of spell, especially as she'd already met her - kind of - and talked about the whole ordeal.

"Don't worry about mentioning Ruby, Stalwart. Despite her death, I've spoken with her quite a lot after her demise, so it doesn't hurt quite as much as it first did," Obsidian admitted. Hmmmm... there was the part of Ruby she'd shunted into her hoof mirror, as well as the trace of her in the amulet, and then she'd seen her spirit at Clap's Sonic Rainboom, then there was this dream...

"I haven't found anything yet, sadly. I hope Gunther and Spike will be back from Miss Zecora's before I leave - anythng they might learn from her would be helpful."

Wart looked at her strangely when she spoke of talking to Ruby... but said nothing as they came upon a pair of guards standing at the double doors.

"Gentlecolts," Wart said with an authoritarian voice, "Lemon Custard requires this individual to pass, so that she may assess the Prince."

The guard on the right spoke with just as much conviction. "None shall pass withou-"

Wart then held up a scroll, which unfurled before them. Both guards read it, then saluted. "Very well. You may pass."

Apparently, it really was a good idea to check in with Lemon, in this case. Wart opened the door for her, then stood against it from the inside as she closed it back behind Obsidian.

Author's Notes:

Thunderclap suffering from a curse was one thing, but to hear Midnight was suffering too was a monkeywrench I threw in on Siddy; until this point, it seemed to simply be a foregone conclusion that the alicorn prince was the culprit... and I like making things a bit more difficult than that.

And yes, the sweetroll joke continues. No regrets.

Eight: Sombra's Shards

The room's curtains had been pulled shut; there was only the light from a small table lamp to show anything of the interior. There was a wastebasket filled with used and discarded tissues next to the royal bed, and a wheezing, rattling breathing could be heard from within the bed itself. All around the room were get well cards, bouquets of flowers and other such fare... but, reading a card or three in passing, Siddy discovered that - save for a few - they were ALL from his mother.

"Hunh?" The sound came from the bed. "Who'sere? Whassat?" He sounded just as lethargic as Clap had been... and he looked about as fit, too. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his wings drooped from under the blanket and onto the floor on either side of him.

His head wobbled a bit as he turned to look at them both. "Schtally... an' Obshidian? Whash th' meanin' of dis?"

Obsidian's life would be far, far more difficult if she hadn't gone that extra mile and defied all of the negative expectations Lemon had about her; having an ally in the higher ranks of the local administration was quite useful! Without his help, her actions would have probably been quite limited... if she'd have been allowed to do anything at all.

She went inside without any hesistation, immediately noticing the terrifying amount of gifts; when did Princess Twilight have the time to get all of these?

"I just want to help. I've heard about your state..." It wasn't a lie, technically - she just kept to herself the fact that she'd mostly wanted to help Thunderclap.

Okay, thinking... thinking... well, it had to be connected with both Thunderclap and Midnight themselves - if it was just a normal spell with a wider area of effect, then Obsidian, Mica and Stalwart would have gotten hit with it as well.

"I would never have guessed I'd ever see an alicorn in such a state..." She trotted closer to closely inspect the prince for any traces of magic in him; there had to be something useful she could find here!

Midnight's eyes opened as he looked at her. "I'm sho shorry, Mish Obshidian; I should be in bedder form than thisch. I juscht feel scho... tired..." He gave a big yawn and a stretch, which left him shivering at the end of it. "What're you two doin' here?"

Wart stepped forward, and her voice was soft and calm - a rarity for the little mare. "Midnight, we have reason to believe there may be a curse involved... and we wanted to know if there was anything you could tell us that might assist in our plight?"

The alicorn groaned, and rubbed his eyes with his hooves. "A cursh? What kinda cursh? I dunno anythin' 'bout no..."

He blinked, then turned to look at them both. "Wait. Waaaaaaaaiiiiiiit... What kinda cursh?"

Wart looked to Obsidian.

Oh yes, I'd be grateful if you would stay quiet about the situation - that was exactly what Obsidian had asked Stalwart to do earlier, right? And that's precisely what Stalwart did NOT do, in front of the pony that shouldn't hear about it! The same one who shouldn't know that Obsidian knew anything about his strange activities! Damn. damn, damn!

If Stalwart wouldn't have mentioned 'assisting in their plight' and so on, Obsidian would have been DELIGHTED to turn the tables against her and quickly lie that it was just a blunder - that the word Stalwart wanted to use was 'crush', and that the little guard wanted to see Midnight because she had an adorable little crush on him and was worried about him.

"Something to do with Dark Magic, unfortunately. I've felt something strange since this morning, and the moment I'd heard about your state, I wanted to check you over. Sadly, I'm not aware of too many practicioners of this kind of magic..." Damn, that big mouth of Stalwart's! "This exhaustion is obviously not natural - did you see anything suspicious today or yesterday after we'd parted ways? Or perhaps you had some form of nightmare...?"

"Nightmaresh?" Midnight squeaked, and his eyes grew w-i-d-e.

Wart looked as though she was starting to lose hope for him, and there was a trickle of fear in her expression. "It seems as though you do know something about that; please, what can you tell us?"

His eyes looked back and forth at them both, then he slowly slid himself under the covers, with only his eyes, horn and ears poking out. "I... n-n-no, no nightmaresh. Really. Honesht."

The little mare leaned in closer. "Midnight! You're avoiding answering, aren't you? I've seen that look over and over, and it means there are things you'd rather not discuss... but this is important, Midnight! This could be how we find a cure for you!"

"... I... well, I did... uhm... h-have a... a nightmare," Midnight eventually muttered.

"About what, pray tell?" Wart asked directly.

He slowly let his eyes wander over to look hesitantly at Obsidian. "... y-you."

Oh? Now that was interesting - and as far as Obsidian could tell, his reaction seemed to be rather natural and honest (not that she was any sort of expert, really - especially considering that her upbringing messed with her social skills considerably, and she hadn't lived in Ponyville long enough to fix that yet). It was especially strange, considering that Obsidian had also gone though a nightmare concerning Midnight...

"Is this so? Tell me more, if you would, because that's something new - I consider myself the last pony others would have nightmares about." Especially compared to her father, of course. To be fair, Obsidian didn't think initially that Midnight would really have any nightmares - she just added it to her question on a whim, as she recollected details of her own dream. With this new aspect, however... it was most certainly getting interesting.

The alicorn looked around, then reached out and took a tissue from the nightstand. Under the blanket, he gave his snout a loud HONK as he blew it clear, then dropped in into the overflowing wastebasket.

"It... it wash like I wash looking owt at Ponyville... b-but it wash all... blashted. Mish Obshidian, you were all shorts of evil dere, flyin' 'round an' blashtin' othersh with beams o' darknesh. An' dere wash dis one udder pony dere, who wash tellin' me dat it wash gonna be a bad thing if I didn't... uh... do shometing."

Wart gave Obsidian a worried look.

Obsidian blinked. And then she blinked again. What in Tartarus... that was way too similar to her own dream. Either he knew about it or there was something more scary around than she thought initially.

"Flying? Well, it has been a while since I had wings in a dream... anyhow, do you remember any particular details about this other pony? Did anything stand out?"

Midnight groaned, but he tried his best to sit upright in the bed... something he failed at, but the attempt was there. "It wash... a shtallion. He, um... h-had a long black mane, an' he kept adjustshting his glasshes as he shpoke... like it was a habit 'r' shomething... and he tol' me dat he knew-"

Suddenly, Midnight began to have racking, heaving coughs that brought him into a sitting-up position. Wart looked panicky, but she leaned him forward and patted his back with a hoof. "Midnight?"

"... he... h-he hadda gray coat... anna kinda-curvy horn, too. He shed he wash waiting for... for..." Midnight looked like he was trying to remember something... but he shivered and sat back again, his muzzle a picture of defeat. "... I can't remember..."

Did this possibly mean that yet another of her damned siblings survived the Equestrian attempts to root them out, create a cult and was planning to bring havoc to Equestria? Damn, she'd hoped for a bit more of a normal life after that annoying mess with the Umbral zombies!

"That's... quite helpful.... and rather worrisome." Waiting for something. And according to Midnight, it had to do something with her. Was he really being honest with this talk about her destroying Ponyville? For that matter, was the Ruby in her own dream real? But what could this mysterious enemy possibly get from convincing Obsidian to befriend Midnight?

Gah - was it too much to ask that at least ONCE, something in her life could be simple!?

"Thank you, prince - you've helped quite a lot. Please, rest - and stay assured that I don't plan to destroy anything nor anyone in Ponyville." Even if she did turn against her current hosts, she would prefer to enslave everypony; after all, killing and destroying was such a waste of resources.

Midnight muttered something about sleep, then shortly joined it, as she heard soft snores before the two even left the room. Though Wart had a look as though she had something to say on her muzzle, she was interrupted before she could speak.

"STOP. RIGHT. THERE."

Outside in the hallway, standing with a look on her muzzle that said 'this had better be good' was Princess Twilight Sparkle. She looked as though she'd been having a rough day, and had exceedingly little patience for whatever was going on here. Wart automatically saluted and stood at attention.

Twilight looked back and forth between the two for a moment... then her angry expression softened as she sighed heavily. "Obsidian, I don't know what you were doing in Midnight's chambers, but... I assume you're trying to help?"

At first, Obsidian thought about scolding Princess Twilight for using such a loud voice while her son tried to sleep - but she quickly realized it wouldn't end good for her. Not at all.

"Yes, princess. Could we talk outside? The prince just fell asleep." Perhaps the princess herself would know something more... though Obsidian doubted that she had too much experience when it came to Dark Magic.

Twilight gave a sigh of exasperation... but she nodded and turned, headed down the hallway flanked by guards. And Wart. She motioned for Obsidian to follow.

"I don't know what else to do, Obsidian; he's been like that since he woke up this morning, and he isn't responding to medicine or magics - what's worse, I recieved word that somepony else is also stumbling around and looking tired, but nopony could give me a name. Still, if this is the first sign of an infection, then it will be one the likes of which we've never seen before."

They came at length to the Throne Room, where Twilight made her way to her seat. The guards looked at Obsidian, but one glare from Wart sent them both outside to guard the doors. "Please tell me you know something? Anything?"

Hah, 'somepony else', eh? At least it was only one of them - and right now Obsidian would just love to ask Clap if she had experienced any nightmares as well...

"Yes, princess, we know. It's not an infection, but a curse - with Dark Magic origins. The other pony that was mentioned is Thunderclap Dash, but I sent her to rest at my home as soon as I'd noticed her state. At the moment, the best lead I have is the fact that Prince Midnight had a nightmare tonight... one eerily similar to the one I had. In it, he apparently saw a unicorn stallion with a curved horn, gray coat and glasses - sadly, I don't know anypony who looks like that, but that curved horn... I just wonder if I could possibly have another sibling running around."

Twilight's muzzle fell. "Another sibling? Obsidian, I don't know if Equestria can take another Onyx, lying around in wait! This is bad, this is BAD..."

She took a calming breath and began to pace nervously. "I have next to nothing about Dark Magic Curses, and what little I DO have comes from the Crystal Empire; your father had some notes, but there was nothing in them about a curse like this..."

She then stopped. "Wait... LUNA! I'm sure she might be able to figure out at least something more here - I can ask her to take a look into Midnight's dreams! That way, she can tell us what she sees going on, and maybe she can even figure out a key to the cause."

"Obsidian," she went on, "make sure to keep an eye on Thunderclap tonight; don't let her stay alone. Meanwhile, I'll get in touch with Luna, and figure out what she can do for us." She pondered for a moment. "Maybe she could cast her spell that links dreams together, and I could see for myself what's happening with Midnight and Thunderclap."

Wart shifted in her armor, and Twilight looked at her. "Stalwart, if you have something to add, I wouldn't mind hearing you out; you don't have to stay silent."

Wart nodded. "Your Majesty, I find it alarming that you would put yourself, the only monarch in Equestria, at risk by taking such a measure; should we not perhaps leave such a thing to Princess Luna?"

Twilight nodded grudgingly. "You're... you're right, Stalwart. I shouldn't put myself at risk when there's already enough trouble going on... but..."

She now looked right at Siddy. "Maybe you could work with Luna?"

To be fair, Obsidian was already wondering how to reach to Prin-... er, Luna; her memories about her last dream visit were still fresh. Whoever was trying to mess with Midnight's dreams was going to have a Very Bad Time soon - hopefully.

"Yes, princess. I had already wanted to propose that, as I had met her not too long after my arrival to Ponyville, and I hope that her powers could help us with this mysterious stranger. My brother is currently taking care of Thunderclap, and Cupcake promised to get home as quickly as possible - meanwhile, I'd like to check out a few sources at the library; I think I could find something useful there."

Curious - could this mystery unicorn also appear in Clap's dreams? Perhaps it was the same stallion... and a similar vision.

Twilight nodded. "Very well; it sounds as though we have a plan. I can get in touch with Luna, and I'll tell her to make her way to you when you go to sleep tonight. For the duration of this incident, I'd like to have Stalwart remain with you; she is comfortable with you, and I expect she will be a good defense if anything should go wrong."

Wart's stance got a little taller at the surprise praise from a royal.

"Meanwhile, I'm waiting for my assistant to get back - we're going to see if Zecora might know anything that could help... but if this is Dark Magic at work, I don't know if she can. Still, it can't hurt to try."

She softly added, "... I hope."

Twilight looked to Obsidian. "Please be careful, and let me know as soon as you find something out - hopefully, your Grey Magic might be able to discover something we keep missing."

For the moment, Obsidian doubted that Grey Magic could find its own metaphorical plot. For all this talk about Grey Magic coming from everypony - from Twilight to Ruby - she still considered it at best as a nuisance in comparision to the powers she had initially, or what she'd experienced after obtaining that wonderful Light amulet. Especially that second point - THAT had been most interesting.

Friendship was magic... and magic was power. Thus, friendship was power. Wasn't there a villain that tried to claim the title of 'Empress of Friendship' or something like that? It sounded as if she'd gotten that idea right.

"Perhaps Miss Zecora will be able to find a way to at least mitigate the effects of this spell. I've already met Spike on my way here and told him everything I knew at the time." Hmmm... so with this development, she had to check in Onyx's diary. Perhaps Midnight was guilty of starting this problem, in some way...

"I wish you the best of luck," Twilight said as she stopped pacing and, with a flash of a teleportation spell, she now had a quill, parchment and ink in front of her. With her magic, she began to write. Wart saluted, then motioned for Obsidian to follow as she made her way into the hall again.

Teleportation was a rather useful spell, wasn't it? Obsidian bowed respectfully and followed Stalwart, leaving the palace.

"To the library, then - my library. I'm sure we will find something there - my late sister surely kept a number of useful things, and I doubt anypony short of my father knew so much about Dark Magic as she did."

Then it hit her - maybe they could wake Sombra from the stone? After a short yet intense interrogation, he would surely help them discover the... naaaah, it was too foolish to say out loud, even as a jest.

Wart nodded, and followed Obsidian as she made her way back across town. There were a number of other ponies about, all looking glum about the cancelled festivities. Obsidian even saw a few gaily wrapped giftboxes... in a trashcan, awaiting pickup. The general feeling all around was one of sorrow and worry; a number of ponies seemed to be talking all about poor Prince Midnight, and many hoped he would feel better soon.

Waste. So much waste. Plenty of ponies' hard work was ruined, which was quite bad enough on itself... but they were also throwing away gifts? What kind of wasteful madness was that? Obsidian growled angrily under her breath at the sight.

Sorrow, worry - yes, she understood it, all right... but there was just no reason to get rid of everything in the most decadent manner, as if Midnight's sickness suddenly rendered all these ornamentations and gifts useless. She wondered what happened with all the food that was surely prepared as well - was it going to be thrown out too? Of course, the princess could most certainly order her servants to do it, as the ultimate ruler of the entire country... but Obsidian didn't like waste, no matter if it was about lives or gifts. She didn't like parties too much in the first place, but she could still count it as a waste... or even a double waste.

"Lady Siddy... I'm pleased Princess Twilight has assigned us together," she gave a small grin, "since my job began, I have missed your company. Though it is everything I'd hoped it would be... I admit, I miss my best friend."

Bah! And all these talks about the prince's health - fools! Utter fools, all of them! Did they think that alicorns were as fragile as other ponies? Even the princess - if she cared so much about Midnight to just ruin the celebration for the entire town, then why did she send him away for so long? Couldn't she have done something besides seemingly exiling him to an entirely different country?!

"Perhaps we should spend more time together after work, then. Despite your initial protests, you seemed to enjoy our spa visit a lot," she snapped herself away from this state of growing annoyance, just in time to reply Stalwart.

Wart grinned. "Thank you so very kindly... I admit that I had gone simply to ensure you were okay, yet I did find myself enjoying the experience." She then leaned in closer to speak softly. "However, should you wish for something else to do, I am certain we can come up with something other than pampering ourselves. Honestly, it felt like something of that nature could happen once a month - yet Thunderclap arranges one of those every week."

Once they arrived at the school, the magic key Obsidian was given to the library let them both inside. The room was hushed and quiet, even quieter than Twilight's library had been. Wart followed alongside as they made their way towards the back. "I hope that we can find what we're looking for here, Lady Siddy."

Once a week, eh? Well then, Miss Dash apparently earned more cash than Obsidian had thought, considering the prices in the spa. Clap was quite an interesting pony - so many different things that, at first sight, wouldn't seem to be able to mix too well.

"Yes, maybe we should come up with something different. We'd have to think about it, though - in my free time, I'm usually either with someone from our group, reading or spending time with Cupcake." Technically, the third point was included in the first one... but considering that they were a pair, Obsidian decided to distinguish it separately.

"Well, now... I just need to find a few books." And find a way to send Stalwart off for long enough to grab Onyx's notes. Obsidian really didn't want anypony to know about that stash - it was her own little secret, and she wanted to keep it that way.

"Lady Siddy, I would be honored to assist in the search." Wart made her way over to the first row of shelves. "I assume I'm looking for anything pertaining to Dark Magic? Very well, I shall use the titles to help me find what I am able to." With that, Wart started scrutinizing the shelves... leaving Siddy ample time to do whatever she needed to.

Let's see... with Stalwart gone, Obsidian quietly took Onyx's diary from her secret stash. Now though, there was yet another problem - she had to hide it, more or less... she didn't know if such secrecy was really necessary with Stalwart, but it was better to be safe than sorry, right? So she simply took up a blank piece of paper, quickly folding it into a kind of cover flap and putting it on the diary - Done. It was hardly the best cover she'd seen in her life, but it helped maintain a minimum of secrecy.

But... did she really need it, though? Princess Twilight had ordered her to research Gray Magic, after all. However, this way Obsidian could be sure that no pony that shouldn't know about this book would learn about its' existence. She quickly started to skim through the diary, looking for any mentions about any alicorns learning Dark Magic, male siblings or any Dark spells that would look similar to the curse put on Midnight and Clap.

Fortunately for her, there was a whole section on Dark Magic... but it was far too wordy for her to skim lightly; she'd have to take time to read it properly. However, there was a page that stood out to her as she almost passed it. It was written out like a list:

[Onyx - Aquamarine - Jade - Peridot - Tourmaline - Amber - Diamond - Sapphire - Ruby - Opal - Amethyst - Quartz - Obsidian]

Each name had a page number next to it - Onyx was definitely intelligent enough to make an index like that... but otherwise, unless she delved further into the book, she wasn't finding anything that seemed to help her sit-

Wait. Waaaaaaaaaiiiit...

Each of the gem-names had a page number next to it, and turning to the page number listed under Onyx revealed an entire page on her.

{Myself, the persistent shard. My predilection for magical manipulation is only proceeded by my passion for raising Father from the dead, and I have discovered most of the necessary tools to do so. I shall merely require Ruby to fill the pendants with power, from both sides of the magical moral compass... though I'm unsure that she'll be up to the task. Amethyst is impulsive and hot-headed, and Tourmaline is an idiot. But no matter - the best path will reveal itself, I'm certain. I haven't gone through all this trouble for nothing, and I refuse to let the opportunity slip away from me. I may be a bit ambitious, but that's because Father always taught me that a Princess must be constantly striving to accomplish things; what sort of princess would I be if I didn't endeavor to grow beyond the purview of the Crystal Empire's borders?}

The narrative went on a bit, but eventually Siddy realized that, in her description, Onyx basically told about her strengths and what she focused on; curses, sadly, were not among them. But that particular type of magic might be under another, maybe?

Stalwart continued to scour the shelves, occasionally taking a book and placing it gently on the floor next to its original bookcase, as if making note that these specific books may hold something important.

Obsidian could almost hear her own heart fluttering as she noticed that tiny bit prepared by Onyx. Perhaps her sister was an evil, annoying, smug and utterly condescending creature that failed to smoothly bring back their father due to turning Obsidian into her enemy, and then she died a most horrific death because of it... but the (not so) Dark Princess still felt a bit strange after seeing notes about her siblings. All of them. And herself, of course.

Considering their history, it felt almost like a family photo or other keepsake. In fact she felt a sudden urge to copy these pages and take them back home... or something of the sort.

Let's be honest, here: at the moment, most of Siddy's siblings turned out to be rather vile and hostile, but she still felt a sting of sadness at the thought that most of them might have perished before she could meet them at all. Let's see which ones were stallions... how did this unicorn from Midnight's dream look again? He had glasses, right? Hopefully, Onyx had noted that their father screwed up somepony's eyes during the process of creation.

Among the names, there were symbols next to them; the males all had the same sigil, and they were as follows:

[Aquamarine - Jade - Peridot - Tourmaline - Diamond - Quartz]

She had six brothers... well, had was possibly the operative word here, but the revelation of it was intense. From there, she saw that each one's page had a quick list of things therein that each brother was known for.

{Aquamarine, you foul little braggart. Each encounter I've had with him proves that he was self-centered and cruel, but his abilities with explosive and attack-focused spells is second to none. When he blasts-} Nope - not this one.

{Jade is a master thief, and his ability to either blend in or become fully invisible is useful for what our plans-} Nuh uh. Not that one either.

{Peridot spent his life researching curses, and it shows in his work.}

Bingo.

{He had always been known by Father's slaves to inflict this sort of suffering on others, but not because he wanted to - but because he wanted first-hoof knowledge on what sort of damage the spells could do. Maybe he had his reasons, but still my sources tell me he fell anyway. The Crystal Empire was no fan of Father's, and they systematically found and attempted to destroy us. Fortunately, Father had prepared for such an instance, and had many of us buried away in shard form.}

{Unfortunately for Peridot, this happened far too late to save him from being torn apart by an angry mob, right in front of the Delvar Libratorium; his curses had spread from mere slaves to the rest of the populace, and the public had decided they weren't going to take this abuse any longer... impudent fools, as they did not own the land they lived on, so they did not own themselves enough to complain!}

{Yet, all the same, it was the death of Peridot that led to each of us being stored away in shards, as that seemed the best alternative to the fate that Peridot suffered. A shame, as I was never able to collect his essence - his power is gone.}

Curious. What if good old Peridot managed to do something that was even beyond the reach of their father - to transcend the boundaries of reality and cast off the shackles of his mortal form? Dark Magic was powerful, and Obsidian was sure that a clever curse could work for Peridot even after the demise of his body.

Their father had decided to hide his soul within his 'children'... Ruby survived in the mirror and amulet, and then shown up as a ghost, then in her dreams... or perhaps Siddy was just daydreaming? For now, this case was still had too many questions to answer - so she really shouldn't taint her investigation with fairy tales about cheating death.

The Delvar Libratorium... what was that? Obsidian continued to read the diary; maybe there would be something more about Peridot... or maybe Dark Magic cultists who apparently knew an alicorn.

The page continued. {Though there have been a number of different curses that have been invented during Peridot's time, I wonder if he would still be a part of that particular branch of magic. He seemed to have at least a fledgeling interest in mind control as well, though nowhere near the likes of Amber's power level. But, as many of us shards have proven, we are far more capable than others believe...}

{Since the days of Peridot, there have been a few researchers who have braved the Crystal Empire to study some of the works within, including those who have shown an interest in Peridot's studies. During my time in freedom, I have learned that only three individuals have sought out his works and notes; one is a griffon, and therefore harmless - griffons can't cast magic, so I have no doubt that it was either curiousity, or simple research that was probably simplistic and foolishly angry. One is an accomplished healer and probably has designs to take poor Peridot's work and use it to undermine any sort of curse that may come along later - something the stallion himself would never approve of.}

{The third, believe it or not, was (reportedly) an alicorn, though the extent of this study was unknown; the deed was apparently done while I was in shard form and by the time I managed to get this knowledge, it was almost a decade old. I assume it was one of the princesses, trying to gather information to undoubtedly save the day... yet, when I ask my 'innocent' questions of them in my disguise, they seem to know nothing about the Delvar Libratorium. I have to be careful not to bring it up again, in case they're using it as a means to weed out the rest of us shards... but it infuriates me that my contact could barely recall an alicorn. I mean, really - how many of them are there?}

{Still, the fact that only three instances of Peridot's work being reviewed occurred... it makes me wonder if we'll see his power rise once more - even without his presence.}

A griffon as well? Oh, how wonderful - completely by coincidence, Obsidian knew that Ponyville currently had an alicorn that was practically raised up by griffons! Too bad there weren't any details about this supposed griffon - it would be far easier if Onyx would either write more about him, or at least about the methods she used to learn about him. However, sadly it seemed that Onyx and her contact didn't know very much about the identity either. Perhaps it would be wise to visit this place... who knows what ancient knowledge she could find here? Who could be this contact? Onyx was writing it in her own diary; she really didn't have to be oh-so-mysterious.

As far as Obsidian was concerned, the griffon could probably be written off as the culprit. Said alicorn (assuming that it really was Midnight, and not some mysterious new alicorn) was struck by a curse himself, so he was either innocent or had just botched a curse so badly that he got hit with it himself. An accomplished healer... Obsidian had learned a lot in a rather short amount of time. Sadly, the answers merely brought up new questions.

She quickly checked over the diary, to see if there were any pictures - maybe Onyx, somehow, managed to get some sort of artwork of her siblings?

In the back of the notebook, after the pages ran blank due to Onyx's untimely demise, there was a single square of what looked like wax paper... and inside the carefully folded paper was...

A drawing?

Yes, it was a drawing, and an old one at that. The drawing consisted of what appeared to be headshots of a number of different ponies - ten of them, to be exact. Each one was a unicorn, and each one bore at least a passing resemblance to Sombra, in some shape or form.

None of them were labeled... but Obsidian saw Ruby's smiling muzzle and picked it out almost instantly. Further along the parchment, there was Tourmaline, looking haughty and sullen... Amethyst, with her teeth bared in a glare... Onyx herself, wearing a self-important smile...

... and among them, a rather studious-looking stallion. Wearing spectacles.

Obsidian herself wasn't in the drawing, but with her separation from her siblings, it wasn't hard to determine why. Who had done such an artwork? There was no signature, but the level of detail was plain as day; the drawing was exquisitely done, and the faces looked so alive, she almost expected them to start moving!

Hopefully they WOULDN'T start moving - otherwise Obsidian would freak out juuuuust a little bit. A little, tiny bit. Yeah.

So... hello there, Mister Peridot.

She had to make a copy. She really had to. After all, it was the closest thing to 'family photo' she had. Hmmm... maybe Tourmaline would know who made this picture? To be fair, Obsidian already had to make a copy of the photo she had with Clap and Wart, after their visit to the spa - she could slash two enemies with a single sword and get copies of both photo and this picture.

But first things first - The Delvar Libratorium... perhaps she could find more informations about it's whereabouts...

Unfortunately, there wasn't any other mention nor directions to such a place; she might be able to ask around about it, and would likely get more answers from a citizen of the Crystal Empire than anyone else.

"Lady Siddy?" Wart asked from the library's larger room, "I... have found several titles that hold the phrase 'Dark Magic' within them... yet somehow, I do not feel as though they will bring us any closer to knowledge." She didn't come back this way, so Obsidian was still able to work... but what was the guard mare tallking about?

It would have been far too easy to just get an address, right? Considering that princesses apparently didn't know about that, it seemed that Obsidian would have to... well, go home to the Crystal Empire for this one.

Home. Though to be perfectly fair, she didn't know too much about the Crystal City and its current state. It was probably pretty different than the one from the time of her father's rule, and even then she was fairly isolated from its affairs.

"Why, Stalwart? Is something wrong with them?" Okay, one last quick check in the diary to see if there was more info about Peridot, and she would return to her friend and the books she'd found. Heh, to be fair, she should - as a proper librarian - scoff at her a bit for talking so loudly in the library. And herself too, while she was at it.

Wart was standing next to a shelf and pointed at it when she saw Siddy coming her way. "These... though I don't know if it's what we're seeking."

On the shelf were eight books that were lined up next to each other. Their titles were... not what was expected.

"Crinos: The Dark Magic of Lust"
"Crinos: The Dark Magic of Seduction"
"Crinos: The Dark Magic of Romance"
"Crinos: The Dark Magic of Desire"

... they were adolescent romance novels. From the cover arts, they were juvenile and somewhat tacky. Apparently, they were insipid little love stories for fillies and mares to get a thrill from. And Siddy was willing to bet that not a one of them had anything useful to tell her. Well... about REAL Dark Magic, anyways.

"Am I correct, Lady Siddy? These do not seem... as informative as one would hope." Poor Wart; she didn't even realize what they actually were; she had ony found titles with Dark Magic in them, but was lost on the concept of what they were.

Obsidian deadpanned. Her horn flashed as she took up one of the books, in this case 'The Dark Magic of Romance', and levitated it closer to her to check out the contents, ready to read a random sentence from the book. If Onyx was clever and tricky enough to hide books about Dark Magic in such a strange form, then it would be grand to discover. If they were simply romance novels, then at least they could get a laugh of it - and they honestly needed it, considering how grim their current situation was.

{"Oh please," the little mare trembled beneath the gaze of the mighty stallion, "I beseech thee, do not prey upon my helpless form, for I am merely a chambermare, and I beg thee not to go any further..."

"But your lips beckon me, my dear," Crinos rumbled softly in her ear, feeling the mare tense up next to him, shivering with the delight she hid from view, yet her body was deliciously expressing anyhow, "they call upon me to kiss them, and when I do, thou shalt be forever under my spell... my DARK spell..."

The mare's trembling redoubled, and she turned to face the mighty stallion. "Oh, and what of my betrothed? Shall he never know my love, for I should have it unto another? Neigh, neigh! Do not tempt me with thy muscles, or thy mane, or thy violet eyes of desire!"}

... FEH, this was awful.

Wart cocked her head and blinked a bit. "Is... i-is this what we were seeking?"

Too bad. It would be exceedingly funny if Onyx would have hidden something useful in these books. Nopony would ever think to check there, after all - unless some poor mare would actually look for campy, low-quality romance novels, of course.

"There is nothing informative in here about Dark Magic, and I already have a coltfriend so no - I don't think there is anything for me here," Obsidian chuckled slightly. "You, on another hoof... perhaps you'd want to borrow them? It's important to try new things in life - you already enjoyed the spa despite your initial protests, so maybe you'll enjoy these books as well?" she teased her slightly.

"Th-these books?" Wart stared at Siddy as if she'd lost her mind. "But... b-but they're not what we seek, yet you say they may do well by me?" She glanced at the shelf again, then grew a determined look on her muzzle. "If you suggest them, Lady Siddy, then I shall endeavor to try them. I still am not entirely certain as to why... but I shall, at the very least, read the first of the set."

She levitated Crinos: The Dark Magic of Lust from the shelf, and placed it carefully into her saddlebag. "I assume that you will make sure to record my borrowing of this book?" Always so serious. It was one of the things that made Stalwart who she was... and, on occasion, also made her somewhat adorable.

Obsidian struggled to keep a serious look on her muzzle - it was very, very hard. Living with Cupcake, she sometimes forgot that not everypony was able to get jokes as well as he did. And that teasing Stalwart could sometimes backfire, in a rather bizzare and/or hilarious way. She didn't stop her, though - after all, perhaps Stalwart would like it? The little mare was so obsessed about the royal guard - she really could use a hobby that wasn't connected with her job in any manner.

"Yes, I will make a note of it. I've already found some interesting notes while you were looking at the books here, so I think we can leave soon... and I also think we need to visit a bakery, to fetch fresh pastries for Clap. And I need to make a copy of a few things; do you possibly know of a scribe's corner, or perhaps someplace else that could handle this? You do realize, of course, that I'm still not quite up-to-date with modern services and technologies..."

Wart grinned. "Indeed! There is a shop, not far from here, that specializes in magical dupication of writings and other such paperwork! It would be an easy trip to make, and it is not but three doors down from Sugarcube Corner; we would be able to strike two targets with only one sword!"

Seeming satisfied with the plan, Wart made her way to the library doors. "If you so wish, I would be honored to see to the fetching of pastries, while you get your copies made? It would halve the time spent on this trip, and would accomplish much. Or shall I continue to stay at your side, Lady Siddy?"

"That's a good idea," Obsidian agreed, "Lemon Sherbets. Here, take this," Obsidian quickly gave her the bits she got from Short Round, that nice old stallion. "I just have to clear up a few things on my desk and record that borrowing of yours. Oh, and close the library back up, of course." So, it was that close to Sugarcube Corner? Good to know.

Stalwart gave a salute. "I shall not fail you, Lady Siddy! Those Lemon Sherbets shall never know what hit them!" With that, she made her way out of the library, headed toward town. Now, Obsidian had a few moments alone to do whatever she needed to do to prepare for whatever would come her way next.

The library was quiet and tranquil, and the sounds of the day were soft and muffled in here.

Author's Notes:

I wanted to make it obvious that the caster of this heinous curse was NOT Midnight... but possibly something more. Red herring, it was - and there's always more than meets the eye when it comes to Obsidian's siblings. IS Peridot to blame?

The artwork was done by Lord Valtasar, the guy who fashioned the cover for Obsidian: Daughter of Sombra. I think he did a bang-up job of it, and during the course of this story, I promise you'll get to meet every last one of them. N-joi.

The Crinos novels are the Equestrian equivalent to romance trash; no actual magic involved, just sleazy storytelling. Something for bored housewives on rainy days alone, or lonely young fillies looking for a thrill. And, apparently, small guard mares. *chuckle*

Nine: Makin' Copies

Well, damnation; she'd hoped Stalwart wouldn't just walk away here and now, in case she wouldn't be able to find this supposed shoppe specializing in magical duplication... stuff. She thought they would go rather together, to be fair, and part company at Sugarcube Corner.

Hide the book. Record the borrowing. Close the doors. Aaaaaaand... lock. Done.

Once everything was dealt with in turn, she found herself headed towards Ponyville. The day may have been bright and sunny... but there were many ponies about who seemed to be a bit less enthusiastic about the day as they went about their business.

Upon reaching Sugarcube corner, she didn't see Wart outside... but sitting next to the window was Gypsy Rover, with his nose in the air and his tail wagging happily; he was apparently there to enjoy the sweet smells coming from the bakery. It was no secret the diamond dog loved sweets, and it wasn't too surprising to find him here. He was taking in lots of hungry sniffs, and had his eyes closed in savory heaven as he occasionally licked his lips, dreaming about the cupcakes inside, no doubt.

About three buildings down, there was a sign that proclaimed, [Carbon's Copies]. The building itself wasn't more than a single floor, and the door stood open.

Whew - no problems on the way. No surprise attacks made by mad alicorns, dark unicorns and other various types of villains. She didn't lose her way, and immediately found the place she was looking for. Not bad! And she even found a friend...

With no second thoughts, Obsidian approached Gypsy to get his attention; it was always better to have more friends around, right?

His ear twitched at her approach, and as he turned to look at her, he smiled happily and his tail wagged anew. "Oh, h-hello Siddy! This one is glad to s-see you! He would ask h-how your day has been, but..."

He glanced around a bit at the other morose ponies around them. "He w-w-would assume that today is n-not a good day for a-anyone... least of all, P-P-Princess Twilight. Have you h-heard? She c-cancelled her celebration because her child has fallen s-s-sick... a shame, truly. This one was looking f-forward to tasting the cake that C-Cuppie told him about."

"Gypsy, it's quite difficult not to hear about it, truth be told." Come on, almost every single pony around (and more than just ponies, apparently) was informing everyone else about the most important tidbit of information today. "I'm actually investigating it, and I've already met with Midnight today. Do you possibly have some free time later?" Maybe Gypsy would know something about this 'Libratorium' place? "... have you seen Stalwart come to the bakery, perchance?"

"Th-this one has free time n-now, if you so wish," his muzzle grew more serious, "and it is good of you t-t-to investigate this sad th-thing... and this one would be honored t-to help you in any way he may."

He then turned and glanced into the window, looked around, and smiled. "S-s-stalwart Stance is waiting in l-line, Siddy - and she seems int-t-tent; was she sent for sweets by the P-p-princess?"

"No, for Thunderclap. She's, uh... also sick as well. A long story; I'll explain later, okay?" Whew, Obsidian's personal paranoia over this entire affair made her slightly worried that Stalwart could possibly have been attacked on her way here. "Give me a moment, please - I just need to visit Carbon's Copies first, and I'll come right back."

The Dark Princess quickly turned around and trotted to said shop - too bad she didn't have the spa photo with her, but hey, there was no rush with that one... and possibly further chances to create more of those kinds of photographs in the future.

The shop was small and humble, and a grizzled-looking unicorn stood behind the counter, lazily turning the pages of a book. His mane was a deep blue, but was beginning to get shot-through with grey, and his coat was a pale yellow. The cutie mark she saw looked like a sheet of jet black paper, curved into a scroll-style look. When Obsidian walked in however, he looked up and smiled broadly, stowing the book under the counter.

"Heya, hiya, hoya there! Welcome to Carbon's Copies! I'm Carbon Paper, an' I'm here to do what needs doin'! Expansions, shrinkages, color or good ol' black-and-white, you can get it here! And I'd be doubly honored to do some work fer such a lovely young thing as yourself, ma'am!" He was bordering the edges of old age, so his flirty remark was more compliment than actual pick-up line. He looked excited to have a customer, and was eager to please.

A lazy day here, eh? This stallion seemed to be rather bored, and Obsidian didn't see too many customers around...

"Hello, sir. I require two copies of this picture," Obsidian said as she pulled the drawing from Onyx's diary out of her saddlebag. She was able to ignore (more or less) the stallion's flood of words - after all, she was living with Cupcake; if she was truly bothered by ponies talking so much, her current living conditions would be absolutely terrible.

Carbon took the picture and looked it over. "Hmmmm... nice artwork, there! I can see why you'd wanna be sure to keep a few copies around!"

He looked up at her. "Sure, I can do this, no problem! Now, you just want direct copies, you want it enlarged? Maybe shrunk copies you could put in a wallet or locket? I don't know that I could colorize it, unless y'want the yellowed paper color transferred over as well... but black-and-white's m'specialty!"

He surrpounded the picture with his magic and brought it to a table near the back. "So, any o' those options something you'd like, or do you want me ta stop rattle-trappin', and just make two regular copies?"

It's not that Obsidian was trying to be rude, or that she didn't want to make the effort to be polite - she just wanted to cut to the chase and get back to her sick friend, among other important things.

"Hmmmm... what is the price difference between a regular copy and black-and-white?" Cash was, of course, important too.

He grinned. "Well, regular copies's are four bits apiece; fancier stuff's a bit more, but I promise I won't break yer piggy bank, if ya know what I mean. B&W's are three bits each, though - a bargain, if ya ask me!"

Four bits each, eh? Well, not bad, not bad - photographs and easy ways to make copies of them; ah, the modern world was fascinating, truly. "Two regular copies then, please," she said as she grabbed her purse in her magic from her saddlebag, to pay the copier for the service.

His grin lit up like a miniature sun. "You got it, cutie pie!"

He turned and levitated out a steel rod and two more sheets of paper. After cutting them with scissors to match the size of the artwork, he then laid them out on the table and a glow surrounded the picture and one of the sheets. His magic levitated the bar towards the table, and he grew a serious look on his muzzle.

As she watched, the metal bar began rapidly zipping back and forth across the blank paper, and slowly the images on the drawing began to take shape on the copy. It was like he was redrawing it exactly... only much faster than she'd ever seen anyone draw, write or... well, about anything!

Meanwhile, he leaned back onto the counter and smiled at her again. "This's the easy part, trust me - you'll have yer copies in no time, honest! With two copies at the regular price... that'll be eight bits, missy. Though I'm tempted to give ya a discount, as you're the prettiest customer I've had in today!"

He gave a chuckle. "Sorry if I'm comin' on too strong, there - I'm just an old stallion, admirin' a young mare, is all. Whoever your coltfriend is, he's a lucky fella."

Ah, wonders of the modern technology. In her good old days, it would take either a very specific magical incantation, or the long and hard work of somepony very talented... most likely in chains. It was saving a lot of time for everypony.

Obsidian paid the said price and waved her hoof dismissively. "Don't worry about that, sir - I'm flattered, I assure you." After all, she was used to it from Cup... more or less.

He nodded, took the bits from her and floated over the first copy. It was uncanny, how much like the original it was - the two could only be told apart by the age of the paper; otherwise, the drawings were all the same on both. While she looked them over, he finished up the second copy - as good as the first one - and floated it over to her as well.

"Give 'em about two or three minutes to dry before you fold 'em or put 'em away; ink needs time to set properly, but it shouldn't take but a moment or two. Otherwise, there ya go!" He grinned kindly at her. "You ever need anything else copied, you don't hesitate to come back and see me, y'hear me beautiful?"

The copies looked just eerily alive as the original, so it was probably just a matter of art quality - not some kind of ancient curse put on this piece of paper - whoever created it was a true artist. "I'll need to come back soon to copy a few other things," she admitted truthfully as she continued to admire the perfect, spotless copies.

Okay, so - just in case - she had copies of her siblings' appearances. Maybe Princess Twilight would appreciate one, since it would be probably a bit easier to find these other 'princes and princessess' if their appearances were known.

Carbon's muzzle almost sparkled at those words. "Hon, I'll be here until sunset; you come back any ol' time, and bring anything you want to be copied! I'm yer stallion!"

Outside the door, Gypsy poked his head in and gave a sniff. "Siddy?"

Carbon looked past her at the diamond dog. "Heya, hiya, hoya! How ya doin' there? You need a copy, pupster?"

Gypsy blushed a bit, then shook his head. "Oh, no no no... this one w-was waiting for his friend to come out. W-Wart is already waiting at th-the-"

Speaking of Wart, she stepped through the door and marched right up to Obsidian. "Mission accomplished! Lemon Sherbet pastries, five of them, and fresh from the oven, Licorice assures me. As expected, I have done my duty well."

Carbon stretched over the counter to look down at the little mare. "And ain't you just the cutest thing, all done up in your little suit of guard armor! And it almost looks real! Did yer momma make that for you, little filly?"

The look that came over Stalwart's muzzle told quite the tale... mostly the one about how she was five seconds from angrily correcting Carbon of his mistaking her for a young filly.

Oh dear, oooooh dear... 'I'll be here until sunset' was apparently a lie, as the old stallion was going to die soon in a rather brutal way. Obsidian hadn't seen Stalwart killing anything since the Umbral siege, so it was going to be interesting... though to be fair, Stalwart was kind of cute in her little suit of armor.

Four seconds...

Not that anypony would be stupid enough to say it aloud, as it would both discourage the little mare and possibly end rather painfully for the offender. In the end, emotions might not be the only thing hurt.

Three seconds...

"She's an adult, sir... and a royal guardian. Didn't you hear about the mare who stopped an undead assault on Twilight's castle during the Umbral Invasion?" Obsidian tried to correct him, in hopes to deal with this whole misunderstanding without hurt feelings... or bloodshed.

Carbon blinked at her for a moment, then looked back down at Wart, squinting to see her clearly. When he did, his eyes went wide and he sat back up. "I DO apologize, ma'am - my eyes ain't what they used to be, and I thought, with your height, that-"

"It. Is. FINE." Wart ground out through clenched teeth. She then turned to Obsidian and cleared her irritation with a great huff of a sigh. "Shall we go now, Lady Siddy?"

"Hold up... Lady Siddy? You mean... you're..." he pointed a hoof at Wart, "... which makes her..." and then at Gypsy, who was slightly cowering in the doorway, "... then he's..."

The elder stallion made his way around the counter and gave them all a sweeping bow. "I am so sorry about that! I swear, I didn't even realize who you were! Look, look, here," he rushed back around the counter and took eight bits from his register, "here, n-no charge, honestly! I had no idea that you three were... well, you three! These copies are on the house, I swear it!"

Wart stepped back a pace, looking taken a bit aback by the abrupt change in attitude. "I... um... appreciate your recognition, citizen. Thank you." She tossed a glance at Siddy and shrugged.

At least he believed her quickly; at this pace, soon there wouldn't be anyone around that wouldn't know the story of how Obsidian and the rest of the gang, and even more of them would realize what they look like. "No no, it's fine - really. Eh... see you later, citizen," she repeated the term from Stalwart. Obsidian collected her picture and its copies and quickly retreated from the shop - planning to give the old stallion a few days to calm his nerves. Yes. That should be fine.

Wart and Gypsy fell into step on either side of her. And to think, when she'd first arrived here, the two of them had seemed only passingly interesting, with Wart's initial attitude being somewhat irritating... yet now, flanked by her loyal companions, Siddy felt more at ease. They had grown to become good, dear friends... something the old Obsidian would never have guessed.

"D-d-did this one hear correctly that Thunderclap is s-sick?"

The encounter had been pretty strange, to be fair. Obsidian had never seen so much shock in another pony's eyes, after learning who they were dealing with. Also lately, plenty of ponies seemed like they were intent on trying to give her money. Not that she was actually complaining about that bit; this way, she was able to save money for pastries for Thunderclap, and didn't have to suffer a setback after that scoundrel from ealier tried to steal a sick pegasus' belongings!

"... yes, Gypsy - and it's the same thing as Midnight has. Did you, perchance, hear about..." Obsidian stepped closer, to whisper without fearing that somepony would overhear her, "... a place called the Delvar Libratorium? It's in the Crystal Empire, methinks."

Gypsy's eyes lit up; he knew of it, no doubt.

"O-o-of course this one knows it! The Delvar Libratorium was built in the d-days before Sombra, as the sole contribution of Ravitz Delvar, a sorceror rumoured to be of great ability and power. The libratorium was called such, as it supposedly predates the more simple word 'library', and many of Delvar's own sp-spells are ensconced within! It is a place of wonder for th-those who would study all sorts of magics, and has been one of the places that this one wishes to visit during his l-lifetime!"

The diamond dog's tail was wagging fast enough to almost make a whisking sound behind him. "Oh, dearest, fondest Obsidian - i-if you were to go there, may this one humbly beg you to t-t-take him along as well? It would m-mean so much to h-him!"

Wart turned a skeptical eye towards Obsidian. "I would say the better question might be if Princess Cadence & Prince Armor would be willing to receive you there, Lady Siddy. Your father's reputation proceeds you, and even if you may have been a local hero to many..." she sighed, "... there are still those who might look... disfavorably... upon your presence there."

Oh... well now, that got Obsidian thinking; why would Gypsy know about it, but the princesses did not? Especially the two older ones - Celestia and Luna - surely would remember this place, if it was that important and famous... or, more likely, perhaps Onyx didn't ask them? And Gypsy had almost stopped stuttering during his explanation.

"Gypsy, you know that I would prefer to go with all my friends - including you - on all of my more interesting adventures. Especially when it comes to the research of ancient, historical monuments and so on."

Stalwart had a point - but there was still something the little mare didn't think about. "Do they have to know, though? At the moment, I don't even look like my father - no Dark energy seeping from me. As far as everypony would be concerned, we would be just a group of young tourists from the Friendship School, interested in vsiting a famous place steeped in history."
The other option would be reconquering the entire place, of course; her father did it, and she defeated her father, so she had to be stronger than him and, by extension, stronger than the Empire could withstand, right?

The diamond dog gave a yip of happiness, and actually hugged Obsidian for a brief moment. "Oh, thankyouthankyouhankyou! This one will d-d-do his best to help out a-and earn his keep! Oh, THANK you!"

Wart, however, remained skeptical. "Perhaps... but understand that, if there are those in Ponyville who know of you from your efforts, then twould not be much of a stretch to say that word may have spread by now about our exploits. Not to mention that there may be advance word as to whom you are already in the Court of Cadenza; doubtless, someone would identify you..."

"Unless w-we disguise her!" Gypsy broke in.

"What? A disguise for Lady Siddy?"

"Y-y-yes! We could make certain she appears a-as another race - p-p-perhaps some false wings, and a-a-an invisibility spell over her h-horn, and she wouldn't appear to be anything l-like herself!"

Wart seemed to ponder the thought, as Gypsy turned back to face her. "Do you th-think it would work b-b-better, Siddy? This one th-thinks it would!"

Obsidian sort of deadpanned at Stalwart. "Come on - ponies that live in this town don't even recognize us by how we look. Do you think that any of us, myself included, would be recognizable in another, completely different country? And it's not like we would just waltz into the Crystal Palace and demand an audience - we can simply avoid everything except our goal. Simple enough."

Wart again grew thoughtful, as Gypsy seemed ready to wag himself to death at the prospect of seeing this Libratorium place.

As she got to her house, she saw the curtains for the attic window draw closed quickly, as Amy was wont to do. She also saw Tourmy's basement window as well... but the curtains weren't drawn at all, and his light was on.

Inside, she heard from the open window what sounded like coughing and sputtering - in Clap's voice. Followed quickly afterwards by Cupcake, saying: "Look, just drink it - it'll help, okay?"

Okay, it was time to act quickly and check what mysterious thing Cupcake was giving to Clap; hopefully it wasn't even more coffee - in her current state, it wouldn't help much... in fact, it probably might be kind of harmful. Perhaps the pastries would help... as well as her newfound knowledge about the nature of the curse that was put on the poor girl.

It would be wise to check later to see if Madam Zecora gave anything useful to Spike - or perhaps Princess Twilight would remember (despite the grief and anxiety she was currently feeling) that Clap was sick as well, and would possibly send somepony to help her?

Regardless, one thing was most certainly certain: the sooner Obsidian could meet with Luna in their dreams, then head directly to the Crystal Empire, the better.

Inside the house, Cup was holding a glass of what looked like some sort of bright green drink, while Clap had her tongue sticking out and was busy trying to shove Cupcake away from her. "No! I don' wannit! It'sh NAZTEE!"

"But it's healthy, too! My mom used to make it for me when I was sick, and after drinking it, I got better! You can't just lie there and be sick!"

"Watsche meh," she said with weak defiance.

When the three walked in, Cupcake sighed with relief. "Siddy! Wart! Gypsy! Oh, thank Celestia! Will you please tell Clappie she should drink this health-shake? It's really good for her, no matter how it tastes!"

"It tasches like VOMUT!" Clap groaned. Siddy noted that the pegasus seemed to be a slight bit better... but only a bit. Well, at least she was apparently in a bit of a better mood, after a nice little nap - and apparently just strong enough to resist Cupcake's healthy assault. To be fair, it was an improvement over her initial state from earlier.

"Clap, please drink it - we have something to bribe you with, but I won't give you any of it... or tell you what it is... before you drink it." Note to self - never get sick; Obsidian really didn't want to check to see if this taste was as bad as Clap was saying - though in all fairness, some of the gruel that she had to eat back in the days living within the Crystal Empire was terrible, so she was probably prepared for this health-shake... thing. Probably.

Clap pushed out her lower lip in a pout. "Dasche not fair."

Cup grinned and tossed a grateful smile at his marefriend. "See? Even Siddy says so; now you have to." He held out the drink (which smelled faintly of vinegar and ketchup) towards the sick mare, who took it timidly from him and stared into it.

She looked up. "You're BOF meen."

Cupcake winced at that, but sighed and said, "Do it, Clappie. Please?"

Clap eyeballed them all... then tilted the drink back, and swallowed it in two gulps. "BLEEEEAAAAGH!!!!!" she bellowed, and began to cough as though she would throw up... but she kept it down, and with a whimper she settled back onto the couch.

"... now... bribe... gimmeh..." she muttered, shooting Cupcake dirty looks.

Okay, from the sound of it, it would either help her... oooooor kill her. There were no other options; any curse that Peridot or his apprentices could put on Clap would surely never conquer a body that just lived through such a terrifying experience!
Obsidian could only hope that her nose was wrong, and that there was no ketchup mixed with vinegar in this mysterious, cruel potion.

"Warty, it's time for the bribe," Obsidian said to her little friend, "and by 'bribe', I of course mean the pastries."

Stalwart nodded, and brought forth the sack - and as soon as Clap saw it, a smile slid across her muzzle. "Awwwww... you 'membered! Thanksh, Obshidian! Yer a REAL pal... not like Mr. Stuff-Ya-With-Yuck over here..."

"Hey! I was trying to help, Clap!"

She reached for the pastry sack, which Wart gave her. She opened it up and looked inside, smiling as she saw her favorite treats within. Her head then slowly came up and she looked at everyone else. "Ummm... I c'n share..."

Gypsy's tail wagged merrily behind him.

"Thank you, but I don't want any, Clap - you need to eat to get stronger... and perhaps to also get rid of that aftertaste. But don't worry; I'm sure Cupcake will sooner or later reaffirm himself as the better baker by making something even tastier than this stuff." Besides, sweets were, uh, sweet. Too sweet, sometimes. Equestrians surely loved their sugar.

"Later on, I will try to cast a healing spell on you. Mister Spike was going to visit Madam Zecora, and I informed him about your state, so I hope he'll remember to visit us and tell us whatever she tells him." Obsidian started to explain what she did to help her friend feel better. "Hmmm... will your mother possibly worry over your whereabouts? Maybe we should send her a message... and perhaps Mica, as well."

Clap mumbled something unintelligible, but began to munch on the pastries. Gypsy, effectively separated from his beloved sweets, hung his head and tail... until Clap held out one of the pastries to him and waggled it. He leapt up and took it, a look of infinite gratuity on his happy face.

Wart sighed and looked over at Cupcake. "Any other word from the palace?"

Cup shook his head. "Nothing. Auntie Twi has kinda sequestered Midnight into his own room, and is pacing the throne room while she waits for Spike to get back to her. Otherwise, I've been here since I finished up there... so if anything's changed, it'd be more likely that YOU would've known, Warty."

Gypsy looked at Clap with what could almost be called 'puppy love', but he then looked over at Siddy. "This one thinks it might b-b-be wise to summon Mica here, and we sh-sh-should speak about all of this together."

"Yes. Yes, it would be." What about Clap's mother, though? Why did it seem like the only pony around that was thinking about the poor pegasus' family was the one pony that didn't even have a mother in her family tree? "I have to talk with my brother - he is in his room, I presume?"

Cup nodded. "Downstairs, eeyup; Gunther's with him, as he said it'd take a bit for Zecora to finish mixing her potion up. Spike's still there waiting, but Gunny decided he didn't wanna wait."

Gypsy sat next to Clap on the couch and grinned as she smiled and handed him another pastry, on her second one herself. Gypsy happily took the treat and munched away. Wart actually sat down, which was a feat unto itself for her to relax even in that small way. Cup went back to tending to Clap, fluffing her pillows and straightening her blanket.

Obsidian went downstairs to find Tourmaline's door cracked open just a bit. Inside, she heard soft voices talking. Tourmy and Gunther, no doubt... but they were speaking very low and softly.

Okay, it was an important bit of information that Madam Zecora was preparing something - good. Hopefully it will help. Also, it was hard not to eavesdrop, just a little bit. It wouldn't hurt anypony... but then again, it would be sort of mean. Besides, Obsidian kind of trusted her brother - far more than their sister, at least. So she simply walked up and knocked on the door.

"Dear brother of mine, I'd like to talk with you a bit..."

Her knock opened the door... and revealed both Tourmaline and Gunther in a rather close embrace, muzzle to beak and seemingly about to kiss...

Gunther looked up and his eyes went wide. "Duh, uh, uh..."

Tourmaline, however, jumped up to his hooves. "OBSIDIAN!"

Oops.

Author's Notes:

Eeyup, love is in the air. It really shouldn't matter WHOM you love, as long as you get to experience it with someone special, right? };)

So the old stallion in the shop, Carbon, isn't some sort of creepo or anything; he was just a guy who thought Obsidian was pretty. The scene where he finally recognized them, though, was fun... and I chuckled myself at Wart's surprised acceptance.

And yeah, she's reeeeeeeeally touchy about being called a filly; imagine how much it happened after she'd gotten out of her younger years?

Never let Wart get to one. NEVER.

Ten: And Makin' Connections

Interestingly, Obsidian's first thought was 'I wonder what Amy would say'...

"Tourmaline... doors can be closed, you know; you have only yourself to blame if simply knocking on one can open it," she stared at him. She wasn't staring in anger, mind you - but in shock. It had never occurred to her that the same gender could do things like that; she wasn't so much as adverse to it, as she'd just never really considered it before.

She just stood there, trying to make sense of it.

Tourmaline stormed over to the door and nearly slammed it in her face... but Gunther spoke up. "Whoa, dere... h-hey, Tour? Maybe... maybe we outghta just... y'know... tell her, right? I mean, she can't unsee it now, can she?"

Tourmaline stopped... sighed... then motioned with a hoof for his sister to enter the room. He waited until she was in, then closed and locked the door, shooting her an angry look as he made his way back over to Gunther on his bed, then sat next to him.

"... well? I'm QUITE sure YOU have SOMEthing to SAY, don't you?"

Gunther looked at the stallion. "Chill it out, Tour - it was MY fault I didn't close dat door b'hind me. An' she had no idea, so... leddit slide, 'kay?"

He huffed... but stared at the floor for a minute, and muttered. "Okay, fine. Speak."

Of course she had something to say to him... that's why she came here in the first place and, let's be honest, she'd prefer for the damnable doors to be properly closed anyhow! She was not a strong pony, after all - her knocks were not powerful enough to force open anything that wasn't already open.

"Yes. I have something to say to you..." she then placed a copy of their family group portrait before her brother. "Peridot. I need more information about him, and you are obviously considered a better source of information than Amethyst might be. Did you know him?"

Tourmaline's eyes went W-I-D-E as he saw the drawing. "Wh... wh-where did you... get that? I haven't seen that drawing since..." he looked up at her, then understanding crossed his features, "wait... oh, of course. Her notes, no doubt. I suspected you had some of them, but this..."

He carefully picked it up and looked at it. Gunther leaned over and pointed a claw at it, grinning. "Dat's you... an' it's gotcher good side, too."

"Oh, hush you," he said, but not unkindly.

"Peridot, you say? Well... he certainly fits the bill for curses, that's true - he created them like they were cupcakes, with almost no effort. He always was the one who hit the books the hardest; honestly, he was smarter than Onyx, if you ask me. It was truly a tragedy, when he got caught by an angry mob, and..."

Tourmy shuddered visibly, and Gunther wrapped a wing around his back. The stallion looked to him gratefully, then cast his eyes to Obsidian. "He's... gone, though. How would he have been able to place a curse on anyone? As far as I'm aware, there's no way he could-... wait. Waaaaaaiiiit..." His muzzle grew serious, and he now looked at Obsidian with worry writ large on his features.

"Peridot was a genius when it came to curses. Something tells me he may have actually gone so far as to have maybe left some sort of safeguard on his research - something that would suppant a curse on whomever disturbed his works. THAT sounds like the Peridot I used to know: exceedingly clever, but vengeful when it came to his personal studies."

"Whadda nice family," Gunther said with sarcasm.

Tourmy shot him an eyeroll, but turned back to Siddy directly. "Obsidian, we want to find the source of this curse, we'll have to find out if Midnight read any of Peridot's notes... and from there, we might be able to discern what the curse is, and maybe even how to stop it."

Tourmaline sat forward. "Did Midnight ever say he went to the Delvar Libratorium? It was Peridot's favorite place to study, and he was there during almost ALL of his free time."

A thought... should Gunther be there at all? They were discussing matters of dark lore and the secrets of one of the alicorns. Obsidian herself was careful enough to not just whip out Onyx's diary in the presence of her little friend, so the current situation was kind of surprising to her. She'd expected her brother to either discuss it later or show the griffon the door - not to talk about all this stuff in his presence!

"There were a few creatures that supposedly visited this place, yes..." Obsidian cleared her throat. "Er... is it safe to keep Gunther here during this particular discussion?" She decided to cut right to the chase.

Tourmaline frowned at her. "Well, that depends - was it safe to allow your coltfriend and the rest to hear about Onyx, or Ruby, or-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa... hold up, Tour," Gunther broke in, "look, as much as I'd liketa hear about yer charmin' family, I don't wanna be one who sticks out like a sore pinfeather, here... if youse two need some breathin' room, I know when I'm not needed."

Tourmaline's expression changed into... something soft? THAT wasn't something Obsidian was used to, but it wasn't a bad look for him. "But what if I need you?"

Gunther ruffled the stallion's mane. "Eh, I'll be just upstairs; Thunderclap looks like she can use da comp'ny, anyhoo. You two do dat talky-thing..."

He leaned in close and gave Tourmy a gentle nuzzle. "I'll be right heah," he said, and tapped her brother's barrel over his heart. Obsidian saw the rather sweet smile Tourmy gave him, and the griffon winked at her as he left.

Watching his 'friend' leave, he turned back to Obsidian. "I love him, you know... and I hope you can accept that. Now," he cleared his throat, "where were we?"

That was highly unusual; for a moment Obsidian even started to wonder if Gunther was male - after all, she was hardly an expert on griffons... so perhaps she was just mistaken? But no - Tourmaline was using the 'him' pronoun. Then... was Tourmaline a mare?

Relationships were strange. She could hardly figure out her own, so it was probably pointless to try to understand somemone else's at the moment.

"No, it may not have been exactly tactful to tell my friends those things, but when they heard about Onyx and the rest of the stuff, I was still kind of wondering why they didn't like being told that they were fine tools or understand jokes about torture," Obsidian deadpanned. She still had a rather different view on those things than the majority of Equestrians, she was sure about that.

"But you are not me, and Gunther is not a well-trained, though rather small guard mare or a crazy party pony with his own cannon... so I hope you understand my point."

"Now, we were talking about Midnight and the rest of this fiasco. As far as Onyx noticed, there was a single alicorn that visited this 'libratorium' place... as well as a single griffon and a famous pony healer. Annoyingly, she had no idea who this alicorn might have been - however, considering that we have an alicorn in Ponyville who spent his foalhood in the griffon lands, I think we can safely assume that Midnight was the one to visit this place.... and he was visited by Peridot in his dreams." Despite the fact that they were alone, she lowered her voice enough to start whispering.

Tourmaline's eyes bulged, and his voice stressed his words even though he also lowered his volume. "Whaaaaaat? In his DREAMS!? Peridot didn't have THAT kind of power! He was all about his curses, and... and..."

Tourmy stood up suddenly. "Obsidian, I have a VERY bad feeling about this, but... he was also starting to study in another direction, as something he claimed was merely a hobby; mind control." He began to pace a bit, though slowly and thoughtfully. "It stands to reason that he would most certainly put a curse on his works... but, what if he managed to create a Mind Control Curse? Something that has the potential to make others do whatever he commanded - or at least, whatever instructions were written into the spell's creation."

He pondered. "Peri could be QUITE vengeful, at times; he even managed to teach Onyx a lesson about meddling in his affairs, when he framed her for ruining one of Father's most useful slaves. He could be intellectual and savvy when he wanted to be, but the amount of spite he always seemed to keep inside was downright poisonous in its' intensity."

He sat back down. "If he created a curse that controls minds to obey whatever commands he instilled within them, then it might be as easy as wiping those commands from the spell itself; without them, it might simply fade away on its' own."

Of course Tourmy had bad feelings about this - it was hard not to! Whomever was meddling here managed to strike two ponies - one of them being an alicorn - with an unknown curse, and they still didn't know what kind of curse it was, how he did it, how to fix the problem and so on.

"He sounds like an absolutely charming fellow. You know, I really wish we would have more normal siblings, really - with the amount of crazies in our family tree, I'm starting to think our father was a psychopath." After all, they were made with parts of his own soul, right?

"So, the more things progress, the more it sounds like I should pay a visit to our dear brother's favored workplace, look for the source said curse and fix it... hopefully without getting cursed myself."

Obsidian rubbed her aching temples; she'd just wanted to have a nice day at the spa - and even that was ruined by an enraged alicorn, Dark powers and annoying dead brothers. Wonderful.

"I'm still curious as to how Clap got cursed, but I guess I won't come up with any working theories without getting more information. I've already booked a meeting with Prin-... Miss Luna in our dreams today, to find out the exact nature of Peridot's sudden incursion into Midnight's nightmares. And I guess I really should book a ticket to the Crystal Empire for tomorrow morning."

"Well," Tourmy started, "if Midnight has any animosity towards Thunderclap, it may be that the alicorn himself could be possibly commanded to harm someone else - and naturally, if he truly hates her, that may be the target. Or, it's possible that Clap is on Midnight's mind so much that the spell's effects are bleeding over into that simply because he has alicorn-level magic; we don't really know HOW powerful he is, and it's credible to think that his power might be manipulated through the curse, instead of Midnight himself."

Her brother gave a grave look. "Worst case scenario? The curse has a command that FORCES him to target another to spread the curse, and Clap might be next to dream someone else into the curse - which might be you, if we aren't careful." He sighed. "If only we could see into his dreams... well, if I could, that is..."

It was a sound theory - sadly, it was just a theory, and Obsidian wasn't willing to act based on only that. She didn't want any guessing - she wanted solid knowledge.

"In this case, it could possibly be a wise idea to block Midnight's magic... assuming that this idea of a 'bleeding curse' is accurate, of course," she mused.

Tourmaline nodded, then pointed at the silver band around the base of his horn. "This means that the Equestrians still don't trust me - probably with good reason, I'll admit - but because they trust YOU, you'll have to go at this by yourself. I can only help you when I'm available to; doing this... dream thing... with Princess Luna will be all you, sister. But you have my support, here in the waking world, should you need it. It's the least I can do after you've treated me so well... especially considering that I DID try to kill you." He gave a small grin. "Something I am admittedly regretting more and more each day, for your information."

He sighed. "And as much as I wish I could accompany you home to the Empire... I'm fairly certain that my leaving town would be severely frowned upon. But I shall be with you in spirit, anyhow. And should you discover anything vital, please let me know - I personally lived around Peridot, and I have a good idea about his motivations and ways."

Nodding, he looked at Obsidian. "Good luck, sister. Oh," he gave a slight blush, "and,er... please don't tell Amethyst about Gunther; I'm still trying to put aside my want to murder her, and her teasing won't help in that regard."

Oh, that was a good sign; was he regretting trying to kill her or trying and failing to do so? Hopefully Spike would visit them - this way, he could carry a message to Twilight regarding putting some magic blockers on Midnight, as it could be a wise move.

"Tourmaline, I'm not sure it would only end in teasing... so yeah, I won't tell her anything. No worries." Who knew what she might do if she learned about the fact that her rival of a brother had someone to love? Considering that they'd made a secret out of it, maybe it was illegal or something? At any rate, the less Amy knew, the better.

"I shall bid you farewell, then. You will hear about the results of my investigation as soon as I can possibly relate them." She turned around to leave the basement, yet paused in his doorway. "And don't forget about locking your door, in the future."

"Tell Gunther that," he griped at her flank as she left.

Upstairs, Cup, Gypsy and the groggy Clap were all chatting about pastries and such, while Wart simply sat and watched them. From the kitchen, Amethyst was standing at the doorway and observing, but when Obsidian looked her way, she frowned and went back into the kitchen fully, where the sounds of dishwashing met her ears.

"Ish not sho big a deal," Clap was slurring as Siddy entered the room, "it jusch feelsch like I'm... I dunno... schlow? I don' know schlow real well, scho I figgre dish ish whadditz like, right?"

"Well, slow is slow, but as long as we can still kinda understand you, then I guess it'll just take time for you to get over being sick; that shake will help, trust me." Cup then looked over at Obsidian as she entered the room. "Hey, Siddy - Gunther said he'd be back later; Spike the dragon passed by and said he had something that might help Midnight."

At least now, she didn't have to tell Gunther about doors - though hopefully, the lesson had been learned through their 'shared experience'.

"Yes," Wart suddenly broke in, "and he also stated that, should the cure work on Midnight, he would seek authorization from Princess Twilight to do the same for Thunderclap."

Gypsy watched everyone talking, but he gave Obsidian a curious look. "Siddy? Are we g-g-going to the Delvar L-Libratorium, still?"

It seemed that everything was fine and dandy up there - even Clap looked a touch better than before. Just what was this curse doing - sapping her energy or something? She didn't look like she was being mind-controlled, or actually physically sick or anything... just slow, as she said herself.

"Something that might help Midnight, eh? Then I guess I should go back to the palace, then..." Harmony damn it, Gypsy!
Obsidian pressed the edge of hoof to her lips, to hopefully show him not to blurt such things so loudly. "I still plan to, yes - don't worry about that."

The diamond dog's tail wagged happily, but Cupcake gave her a bit of a concerned look. "What's a... lee-brah-tor-ee-um? Can you eat it?"

Wart's eyes darted over to Siddy's face, then she turned to Cupcake. "A libratorium is a library; it's a great hall filled with ancient books. Lady Siddy requires... eh, some reading material that is unavailable to her here. Are you saying you would wish to accompany her to search bookshelves? I am certain she would not mind as such, as long as you remain quiet and calm, and assist in reading each and every title-"

"Bleagh," Cup replied, "never mind, no thank you - no offense love, but you're more the bookworm than I am; best of luck finding what you're looking for, though."

Clap groaned and stretched out languidly. "I'm jusch glad I'm heer wif my frienz... you guys're da BESCHT!"

"Well, we need somepony to stay with Clap anyway, Cuppy." Obsidian agreed with his reasoning, even if the term 'bookworm' hardly held any positive meaning. "I'm sure Mica will gladly help as well, and the more ponies around our dear pegasus friend, the better, right?" She looked around. "Did anypony inform Mica... or even know where he is, at least?"

"Mica..?" Clap gave a light mutter. "He schould be ad home... right?"

"If he's at home," Cup stood up, "I know right where he'll be; I can go get him! That is, if Gypsy wouldn't mind staying behind to keep an eye on Clap for me?"

The diamond dog nodded. "This one will d-do so, y-yes."

"Okie dokie lokie! I'll be back in no time!" Cup practically skipped his way out the door, giving Siddy a peck on the cheek as he passed her. Heh, Cupcake was such an energetic coltfriend that sometimes turned out to be a really useful advantage... at least as long as nopony was feeding him too much sugar, of course.

Clap looked at Obsidian as Cupcake left. "Thanksch for the payschtriesch; dey were delishusch. An' I'm tousched you 'membered, too. Yer a good frien', Schiddy."

Wart held a look on her muzzle that said she was curious as to what Obsidian may have learned from Tourmaline, but she said nothing.

"It's nothing you wouldn't do for me were the situations reversed, Clap. It would be rather foolish of me to leave to go get pastries, then return without them, right?" Though due to one damned thief, she had to buy them again first. "Okay... I've talked with my brother and learned a few useful things about your current condition, Clap - I'll go check what Miss Zecora possibly prepared for Midnight, and get back here as quickly as possible, okay?"

"And I shall accompany you, Lady Siddy," Wart proclaimed as she stood up nimbly, ready to go at a moment's notice as usual.

The pegasus covered her face with a foreleg, then waved a hoof at Siddy. "Okiesch. You be careful oud dere, 'kay? Nummore fighdin' dead schtuff, right?"

Wart saluted. "Any challenge we face, she will have ME at her side; worry not, Clap."

Gypsy nodded, and rose to start fluffing Clap's pillows, which she snuggled into as the historian made them fluffier. Wart went to the door and opened it... but shot a look back towards the kitchen, where Amethyst was once again looking around the corner. The little guard then looked at Siddy, and raised an eyebrow.

A quick question: why were all of them - Obsidian herself included - afraid of a multiply-beaten mare with no magic? She knew that any possible physical attack on Thunderclap would end pretty quickly... as well as rather badly for Amy.

The Dark Princess trotted closer to Gypsy. "Don't talk about our trip around Sister Amy... and in case of any trouble, call my brother. Okay?" she whispered. She really would like to have at least a bit more of a 'normal' family - less murderous, you know? Just who in Equestria possibly thought that boarding Amy with herself, her sweetheart and her formerly-targeted brother in a single house would be a good idea?

Gypsy nodded, then cast a glance at the kitchen as well. "This one sh-sh-shall, Siddy. T-take care."

When they left the house, Wart moved close to her. "It seemed as if your sister had an interest in what is going on; you don't suppose she might actually know something about all of this, do you? Though she is... distasteful... to be around, it would be remiss to simply count her out of the equation. After all," she gave a firm look, "she is experienced with Dark Magic as well, is she not?"

Wart then simply fell into step with Obsidian. "However, you know your siblings better than I; it is your call, Lady Siddy."

"Amethyst has no magic powers right now, and I think - or at least hope - that our brother Tourmaline would notice if she was up to something. Besides, nothing we've found at the moment would indicate that she participated directly in this."

Unless, of course, Peridot somehow managed to contact her... but she was neither a griffon, nor a famous healer or an alicorn, so she supposedly didn't have any contact with his curses lately. Of course, Obsidian didn't even think about Amy as a potential helper - no, she could only consider her a potential agent of the enemy.

"Perhaps I should try to learn more about Amethyst later, though... it would be wise to know more about her abilities and skills. Those mind-controlling helmets of hers were quite impressive, I have to admit."

Wart scoffed. "Lady Siddy, only because she is your sibling, I shall keep my ideas of what we should do with her to myself."

At length, they reached Twilight's Palace once more. The guards out front allowed her inside, but when she went to head to Midnight's room:

"None save the Princess and her medical staff shall pass," said the rather tall and muscular guard.

"I'm a princess - duh." She sighed with resignaton. "Then could you at least inform her that I'm here?" Obsidian scoffed.

Guards - they were always problematic. She had spent entire day doing anything she could to help, and she still had to deal with guards. Grrrr...

"Or maybe at least you could tell me where the dragon named Spike is?" she asked hopefully.

"Master Spike," the guard spoke as if he was beginning to feel a bit grumbly himself, "is in the Map Room. Back the way you came. In the main hall."

"Lady Siddy would ask that you keep in mind her own royal status, and treat her with the according respect, Wind Walker," Wart said, her eyes narrow and dangerous.

The guard sighed, then looked at Obsidian again. "The doors to the right of the throne room, madam - you cannot miss them."

"And informing Princess Twilight of us?"

"She will be notified, yes."

"Good." Wart then turned to face Obsidian. "Shall we go, Lady Siddy?" Her eyes darted to the tall guard when she emphasized the title.

It was good to have a short, loyal guard nearby, really it was. Stalwart was proving herself to be exceedingly helpful each time Obsidian got into any problems lately.

"Thank you", she said shortly to the guardian with a calmness in her voice. At least with this knowledge, she wouldn't waste too much valuable time. "And yes, Stalwart... let us go."

Obsidian turned to go to the... uh, main hall, right of the throne room... she should visit this place more often, really.

Wart dutifully led the way. In a short time, she was opening the doorway into a room that held only a large round table and some important-looking chairs. Each chair had some sort of symbol on it; Obsidian picked out that one of the strange logos was actually Professor Fluttershy's cutie mark, and another was Princess Twilight's... and yet another was the triple-apple symbol that had graced her room at the palace - well, her second room. The table itself held a map of all of Equestria - as well as a few outside locations. The detail was uncanny; the Crystal Empire was even there!

In one of the chairs, leaned back and sleeping peacefully, was the purple dragon from earlier... snoring, with his head on the table.

Chairs for the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, eh? There was a breach here, however, in the loss of Applejack - was Equestria made almost defenseless without the brave orange earth pony? Obsidian and her friends used some kind of friendship power during their struggle against her father, but they didn't get any fancy amulets, sadly... and it looked as though she could avenge her father's second defeat! Here and now! The dragon responsible for his defeat was currently helpless and not suspecting anything of the sort...

Yes, yes... but this was hardly the time for jokes.

Oooooh, but that map was shiny and nice! Did Princess Twilight possibly commission it to plan out her conquests in the future? And wow, the Crystal Empire looked so small compared to the entirety of Equestria.

"So, Stalwart... how much risk there is that he might cook us alive for waking him up?"

Wart looked down at the sleeping dragon and gauged the possibilities. "As far as I've seen, he functions more as Twilight's assistant than a typical dragon; though he may be capable of harm, I do not believe he would wish to cause it."

A snore escaped Spike's mouth, along with a single drop of drool. "Then again," Wart sighed, "he may actually be harmless."

He may be... but juuuuust to be sure, Obsidian cast a shield spell over the two of them and carefully trotted closer to poke at the sleeping beast. "Mister Spike...?"

"... mmmmhh... mmmmore diamonds, please... zzzzzzzz..."

Wart facehoofed, then sighed, straightened her stance, and took a deep breath. "MAKE WAY FOR PRINCESS CELESTIA!" she suddenly shouted out at the top of her little lungs... which was a formidible shout indeed!

"VWAAAH!" Spike jumped up and took a straight-standing pose, a salute made before he realized what was going on.

"I... heeeeeeeyyyyy!!!"

Wart let loose a small smirk. "At ease, dragon."

"Y'know, you COULD have just woken me up nicely," the purple dragon grumped. "Especially as I could get you in SO much trouble!"

"And how would you manage that, Master Spike? Perhaps by speaking of your great accomplishment of sleeping on the job? Or mayhaps to include how you allowed the two of us to slip into her majesty's map room? Or-"

"Yeah, yeah, I GET it. Fine," he huffed, his gaze turning to Obsidian, "I bet you're here about Thunderclap or Midnight... probably both, am I right?"

By Darkness, Stalwart managed to spook Obsidian as well - who would ever have thought that so much scream could fit in such a small body?

"... yes, both. It is connected, after all," she admitted, smoothing back her mane and trying to get into a more stable frame of mind.

Spike tossed one last dirty look at Stalwart before focusing on Obsidian. "Well," he began, "when Guther and I got to Zecora's, she said that she had a possible cure, but there was no way to know for sure... y'know, the way she rhymes and stuff... and she told us to watch over him when he drank the stuff; if he burped a blue cloud, he would be okay."

"Gunther took off, as he didn't wanna wait around, so that was MY job - the reason I'm so sleepy, by the way - and once she finished making the stuff, I brought it back and let Twilight know what she'd said. Y'know, without the rhymes, though. So she had me give Midnight the stuff..." He gave a gusty sigh. "He didn't burp anything. He just groaned and rolled over. That was it. Since then, Twilight's been worrying herself into a tizzy, and I think she's gonna panic if he gets any worse. Right now, she's having some calming tea with Fluttershy, so that might help for now... but if he's no better tomorrow, or if he's worse..."

A pained look crossed his face. "Poor Twilight. Poor Midnight. And I've got no CLUE as to what's going on! So," he looked at Obsidian with seriousness, "since I told YOU what's happening, I think it's fair that you tell me what's happening on your end."

Obsidian facehoofed, quite hard. She had such high hopes for Miss Zecora and her mysterious potions but, alas... the universe decided to dissapoint her. She could only hope that whatever it was the alicorn was given wouldn't make the situation even worse. At least Cupcake's strange health-shake seemed to invigorate Clap... at least enough to make her actively resist drinking it.

"From what I've discovered, it's a curse - probably created by one of my brothers who was quite interested in curses and mind control, so there is a possibility that Midnight could fall victim to his plots despite the fact that my dear brother is dead... and has been for quite a long time. I'm planning to investigate it more thoroughly tomorrow, including a visit to his preferred workplace. I've also consulted the entire matter with Tourmaline, and we are afraid that this curse could possibly... er, leak. And that's the reason why Clap is so unwell."

Spike listened seriously as she spoke, then grew thoughtful. "So... one of your not-so-nice siblings has apparently left behind some kind of... what, trap? Safeguard?... when they were still alive, and Midnight somehow found it?" He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Great. Just great. So now, we have to go whereever it was this sibling of yours did his studies, and we'll have to see if we can find the source of it all. And Tourmaline says it can... leak? Oh, that isn't good; what if it gets to be an epidemic? What if it spreads to everypony in town?"

His eyes grew wide. "What if Twilight's next!?" He turned to look back at Obsidian. "Okay, so I take it you know where your brother did his studies, so where are we headed tomorrow?"

"I think it could also be useful to put one of those anti-magical rings on his horn; it could make the possible side-effects less dangerous and..." Obsidian blinked. "Wait... we?"

Spike nodded. "Yes ma'am; this concerns Midnight, which concerns Twilight... which concerns ME. I helped raise him just as much as she did, so I'm NOT going to take no for an answer on this, Obsidian. I won't get in the way, and I might even turn out to be helpful, if you give me a chance." He gave a slight grin. "I mean, I'm not just an alicorn's assistant because I can type, y'know?"

Wart gave Siddy a sidelong glance. "He has been of significant help to the Element Bearers in the past, Lady Siddy; mayhaps he could have a point, after all?"

The dragon simply crossed his arms. "This is my struggle too, Obsidian... all I want to do is help."

Hmmm... keeping a dragon around should be very useful, to be honest. There was also a matter of Obsidian's presence in the Crystal Empire - with Princess Twilight's assistant around, it should be easier to calm an angry mob if anypony noticed her.

"Of course - I wouldn't dream of objecting to this. I'm just surprised, that's all," she admitted. Of course, a dragon would probably attract plenty of attention... but that shouldn't be too much of a problem. Keeping a national hero around or something, now that could be problematic, yes... but just a dragon? They should be able to handle that, easily.

"It would be a pleasure," Obsidian nodded.

Spike grinned, and visibly relaxed. "Good. I'm glad we agree on this." He then sighed and looked to Siddy with a bit more gentility. "Look, I know I'm at least somewhat responsible for Sombra's defeat before, but even YOU had to deal with him too. I really hope, even with all that, you and I can end up being friends. I mean, to hear Twilight talk about you, it's like she thinks you have the potential to be the next Starswirl the Bearded - and for her, that's saying a LOT."

"Even though beating Sombra was a good thing, I still feel like there might be some... I don't know, leftover anger in you somewhere, but I just wanted to say that I was only doing what had to be done to protect the Crystal Empire... something I hear even you, yourself have at heart." He held out his claw. "So... can we shake on it? I'd much rather be on your good side."

Wart lifted an eyebrow, waiting to see what Siddy would do.

"The next Starswirl? That could be complicated... I'm not sure if I can grow a proper beard," Obsidian joked, though it did feel rather nice. After all, he was quite an important scholar, wasn't he? She could only hope she wouldn't dissapoint the princess. And herself.

Then, however, she giggled. Leftover anger? Really? "I only regret that I'd learned a few interesting details about the fight that turned me into an orphan so late. Otherwise, I would rub it in my father's face, to crush his inflated pride and force him to realize what a pathetic weakling he was." She reached out a hoof to shake his claw.

Let's say her relations with her father were rather... complicated.... and her feelings toward him were practically pathological.

Spike himself chuckled at her joke. "Well, there are spells which can do that - mustaches, at least - just don't mention it around Twilight."

He gladly shook her hoof, and the light in his eyes grew a bit more. "Okay, now that we're through with that part... you wanna go see Midnight? I can get you through the doors, if you've already tried that is; Twi's kinda put him on 'need-to-see-only' status, but I'M one of the few who can bypass that rule!"

Initially Obsidian wanted to refuse; there was nothing to gain from such an encounter, and she would prefer to go back to her home in Ponyville, if only to plan her trip to the Empire, indulge in some research, and maybe even relax a bit... but then she realized that Midnight was currently slow in his illness. If he was behaving like Clap was, then even Obsidian herself should be able to notice any attempts to lie. And besides, Ruby ordered her to befriend him, right?

"Yes, we do... we both want to - right, Stalwart?"

Wart looked to Obsidian. "Lady Siddy, the only reason I would leave your side is if you ordered it - and even then, I would have to agree you were of a right mind to allow such. Of course, I shall accompany you." With that, she walked to the door.

As she did, Spike leaned in and spoke under his breath to Obsidian. "As gung-ho as she is, I'm kinda impressed she's so nuts about you. I hope you know you have one heckuva friend, there." Spike rose and folllowed, heading out the door and down the hallway again.

Of course she knew Stalwart was a great friend - in fact, the little mare probably deserved a hug, a freshly-baked pie or any other proper signs of affection to show her that Obsidian appreciated it. But later; there was too much to do right now.

"None save the Princ-..." Wind Walker glowered at Siddy and Wart as he saw Spike heading the small procession.

"Stand aside, Wind Walker," Spike said with a bit of inflated authority, "we've come to see to the patient!"

With a low grumble, he moved aside. Spike flashed him a toothy smile as he passed, leading Wart and Siddy to Midnight's room. Reaching it, the dragon held up a claw, then carefully opened the door and poked his head through it.

"Midnight? It's me, Spike - I brought a couple of friends who want to talk with you, if you're up for it?"

"Mmmph," came from inside, "'kay. Hiya, Shpikey."

"Hey." Spike looked at the sick alicorn with almost a fatherly concern in his eyes. "Okay, you two - c'mon in."

When Midnight saw who it was, he sat up just a bit more. "Again? What, am I dat populhur now? Hiya Shtally, Obshidian... whasshup?"

You know, with both Lemon Custard AND Spike on her side, it really should be easier to move around the castle.

"Well, yes, you are popular, I suppose. We were around and decided to check in, to see how you feel. Trust me, we are doing our utmost best to cure you." She trotted closer... a sick alicorn was quite an unusual sight. "Are you feeling any better? I heard about Miss Zecora's potion..."

Midnight gave a woozy smile. "Id taschted like schtrawburriez; I wandid anudder, but dey tol' me id wasche all dey brought. An' it... meybbe helped?... but I schtill feel awful..."

Spike leaned forward. "Well, even if it only helped a little bit, it was worth me going to get it."

"Yah-hunh," Midnight wobbily nodded his head, before lying back against the covers.

"Midnight," Wart asked, her voice uncharacteristically meek, "we're going to do everything we can to help you get better, my dear friend. Lady Siddy, Master Spike and I are already working on plans to research ways we might help you deal with this... illness you have. Hopefully, our work will bear fruit, and we shall have you back to your old self in no time at all."

The alicorn blinked a bit, then nodded. "Thank you, Schtally - you alwaysch wasch a good frien' ta me."

"I'm also investigating that nightmare of yours. I think I can even identifiy the stallion that appeared in your dream," Obsidian added, studying the look on his muzzle. "I still wonder why he appeared there, though - did you ever visit the Crystal Empire? He was a citizen there, if I'm not mistaken..."

Midnight nodded slowly. "Yesh, I did. I did a lot of schtudying dere... I visited da Nebuloush Network Hall... da Sunbursht Memorial Library... the Delvar Libratorium... all da plasches dat had schtuff for me ta lerrrn, I schpent time dere. And I lerrrn'd a LODDA scthuff..." He looked at Siddy with the slightest hint of worry in his eyes. "Wasche it da, uhm... schtudying... dat did dish?"

She had a feeling he wasn't talking about a typical study curriculum.

"Perhaps... did Gavin encourage you to visit these places?" she tried to guess. There had been a griffon, after all - this one was almost blind, which would - in a way - make him a bit similar to Peridot. And of course, he would be a pretty valid target for mind control, considering that Princess Twilight (for some reason) sent her son to their homeland instead of, say, just asking Princess Cadance to take care of him or something. It was a wild guess, but it would make more sense, right?

Midnight thought for a moment, then shook his head lazily. "Nnnnope. Can't shay dat happened; he'd rather hav me doin' chores an' schtuff. Thought dat it wasn't worff my time."

Wart looked distressed to see her friend (and possible crush?) in such a state, but she seemed determined to stay put; both he and Siddy needed someone there, she felt, and it would be against her very fiber to leave them for a moment of weakness like this. Still, it was heartbreaking seeing her so very distraught like this.

"Schtally," Midnight looked at her, "it'll be okay... don' wurry scho musch." Wart gave a brave grin... but that look still haunted her eyes.

"Obshidian, whadda you think mighta happuned?" He asked her, his own worry beginning to be visible. He may have been a full-blown alicorn... but it didn't mean he was immune to fear.

"The Delvar Libratorium could be infested with rather annoying curses. At the moment, I think that you could have activated one of them by accident," she admitted. Damn, so perhaps Gavin was innocent... but there WAS a griffon! Onyx had even said that! And there was an alicorn present who was raised by griffons! She felt as though all the puzzle pieces were here, and yet she was failing to see the whole picture.

"We're going to investigate it, of course. Whatever curses were put there, I should be able to fix it... as soon as I can identify it correctly," she reassured him.

"Delvar..." Midnight's face suddenly seemed to light up with realization... and then, a sort-of fog seemed to settle behind his eyes and into him, and he moaned and laid back down again. "I dunno... I juscht feel scho... tired..."

He almost seemed to deflate as he lie there, and moaned pitifully. "Meybbe... I dunno... I juscht wanna schleep..."

Uh-oh. Did she just activate some sort of trigger within the curse? Damn! It seemed that he went from 'not bad' to 'so tired' in a moment. Whatever it was that he knew, this curse was apparently trying to mask it.

"I shall bid you farewell then, Midnight. Sleep well and remember - we shall handle this," she promised him, trying not to feel too discouraged. Her dead brother was apparently a rather clever pony...

He nooded and murmured a farewell.

"Midnight... by the shield on my flank, I shall do my utmost to save and protect you from this horrible thing. Lady Obsidian and I will find this curse's source, and we shall eradicate it! You have my solemn vow."

The alicorn smiled weakly at her. "Thank you Schtally, Obschidian... thank you..." With that, he shut his eyes and groaned softly.

When they left the room, Wart turned her head away from her friend, and Obsidian heard a sniffle. "We have to beat this, Lady Siddy. We just HAVE to..."

Her paranoia really wasn't helping, as she just had no idea whom she could trust. Her friends were more trustworthy than Obsidian herself, and it was a fairly safe bet that Tourmy could be probably trusted too... but the rest? An alicorn with Dark Magic would be the obvious culprit in this sort of given situation, but she was completely lost when he was just another victim!

"We will, Stalwart... we will. I'm growing quite tired of my family's many dark and secret plans," Obsidian admitted with a gloomy sigh - and then pulled her little friend into a hug. She assumed that the guard mare needed some kind of consolation.

Wart put her forelegs around her, and she could feel the strong little mare shaking against her with silent sobs, punctuated only by sniffles. After a long moment, Wart stepped back and wiped her eyes with a hoof. She looked at Obsidian now, and yes, she'd been crying. But the look in those eyes was one of determination... and faith in her dearest friend.

"I apologize for my moment of weakness, Lady Siddy... but your words fuel my fire, and I believe you. I have faith in you, and we shall defeat this, no matter what it is." The guard mare redoubled her stance, and straightened her shoulders.

Wart gave a small, cute cough, then nodded to her friend. "Did this interview possibly hold any further clues for you? I hope it did."

Stalwart had stood against zombies, nightmares and King Sombra himself - and yet, it took the illness of an alicorn prince to get a negative emotional reaction from her. She was truly worried about him; Obsidian was almost jealous - though she had no doubt that Wart would worry about her just as much in a similar situation.

"Yes. Only a few... but it did, indeed," Obsidian admitted. "I don't think we can find anything more around here. We'll have to make some preparations for our travels to the Crystal Empire, though. Did you ever visit the place? Or, for that matter... have you ever left Ponyville? You surely understand that I'm not very experienced when it comes to travelling."

Wart now stood a bit taller. "I will have you know, Lady Siddy," she said with a smirk, "that I have travelled to the Crystal Empire a few times in my life, and that I would be remiss to add that I have been complimented for my salute and my posture there! Prince Shining Armor himself told me that I had a Royal Guard within my heart, and I felt as if I had grown twenty times my size that day!"

The pride in her was clearly expressed; she was happy to be sharing this with her friend, and it apprently meant quite a bit to her. "Though, during my travels there, I admit that I did not wander far from the castle; I do not know of this 'Delvar Libratorium' place, but I am certain we can easily be directed to it."

To be fair, a pony twenty times the size of Stalwart would be pretty big... though still not quite as big as a pony twenty times the size of somepony of average height, though.

"I'm currently more worried about trains and everything that concerns them. As in, I have next to no idea what to do about this futuristic piece of technology, which was completely unknown back in my own days." No, really - Obsidian never had to plan a train trip before, and right now she was a bit worried about the idea. It was indeed a good thing she'd thought about it so soon.

Spike, who'd been waiting patently by the wall, now stood up and smiled. "I can take care of all of that, Obsidian - I know who to talk to, where to go, and what tickets we'll need. Leave all that up to me!" He smiled proudly. "After all, I am a number-one assistant! We'll be ready to go as soon as tomorrow morning, if you want."

Wart grinned. "Excellent. You are, indeed, a boon to your Princess."

He blushed brightly. "Awwww, I know it. But thanks!"

Wonderful. Really wonderful. With such an assistant at her side, there was no small wonder that the princess became... well, a princess. "I would most gratefully appreciate that, thank you kindly."

With all the issues plaguing her poor head, it was nice to know at least that she didn't have to worry about that one particular thing. "I can't think of anything else we should do here, so I think it's time to go back home and prepare for this meeting with Pri-... er, with Miss Luna. And please, don't forget about blocking Midnight's magic, Mister Spike."

Spike nodded. "If I explain to Twilight what you think might be going on, she shouldn't mind putting him under 'magic restriction' for a few days. I'll make sure she knows."

Wart nodded to Spike, and Obsidian and her small friend departed, headed for home. The night was nearly upon them, and the streets were beginning to empty out. Shops were closing (though Sugarcube Corner was still open, she noticed), and the veil of night would soon be upon Ponyville properly.

As they made their way through town, the guard mare spoke up thoughtfully. "Lady Siddy, perhaps you would do well to find an assistant of your own? Though I am certain that one as diligent as Spike may be difficult to find, my thoughts say that you might be able to accomplish much in restoring faith in your line with the right sort of help." It was small talk... and from a small mare, at that.

Hm, her own assistant... that was a thought worth of spending some time on. After all, until today she didn't even realize that it was a possibility. "I'm not sure if it's even necessary, Warty. Except for situations like the one we just left... I'm, uh, merely a simple librarian - there is nothing that I can't handle, especially with the help of my friends. I'm fairly sure Princess Twilight needed an assistant far, far more than I would." Especially a cool dragon one.

Wart stopped in the street. "Lady Sid-... Obsidian. There are many things about you that others may overlook, but I would never say that you are a 'simple' anything; you are as multi-faceted and brilliant as the Crystal Heart on your flank. I will not," she chided kindly, "listen to you doubt your worth, especially when I know far better."

With that, she stared walking again. "Now, with that out of the way, perhaps we would do well to make certain we have food for the trip; I would say that we perhaps ask Cupcake to prepare something for us to take along?"

Perhaps... who knew; maybe it would be fun to be 'simple', at least for a bit. Live life without siblings trying to ruin the world, kill everypony, enslave Equestria and so on. Oh, and it would be nice to live without having to see her sister die in front of her, while being completely unable to help - Obsidian was kinda sure that simpler ponies didn't have to deal with something like that too often. Yet Stalwart apparently thought that this use of the word 'simple' diminished her worth... hmmmm...

"That would be the best option, yes," she agreed. Buying prepared food would be too expensive, and the rest of them didn't really know how to cook properly. Especially Obsidian herself. Her cooking attempts, at the moment, were so miserable that she started to think that her cutie mark should have included something about poisons.

As the two of them neared the house, Obsidian could hear what sounded like voices within. Angry voices.

"... couldn't have TOLD me this was happening!?"
"It wasn't like we were-"
"NO! I can't, I won't forgive this! This is insane! I mean, LOOK AT HER!"
"Mom, itsch not like-"
"NO! I won't listen to another single word! You're coming home with ME, AND THAT IS FINAL!"

Oh, dear.

Author's Notes:

Obsidian was always interesting in how her reactions could take on different properties; even when she agrees to some things, in her head she blasts them apart, scoffing and such over things. It's a cute duality in her, and it makes her a fascinating character.

Eleven: Mothers And Sisters

Okay, let's take a guess as to what's going on, shall we? Perhaps Mica finally showed up here, and was now arguing with Cupcake after forgetting that he was supposed to be one of the calmest and wisest ponies in the entire gang? But it wasn't; in fact, it wasn't even Mica's voice... added to the fact that Clap had also just used the word 'mom'. Obsidian didn't really have any experience with mothers - she technically didn't even have one of her own, after all.

It seemed that somepony finally let the elder Miss Dash know, just as Obsidian had advised. This was gonna hurt, wasn't it? Oh well - no point in prolonging this. Gloomy and anxious, Obsidian trotted into her home.

When she opened the door, she saw the current scene:

Cupcake was standing between the door and the couch, almost physically shielding Clap from the verbal assault that was coming at them both. His muzzle held a look of fear, but firm determination as he stood gallantly.

Thunderclap was sitting upright, and looking a bit better still... but she was still sallow-cheeked, sunken-eyed and weak-looking. Now, worry and distress was quite visible as well.

Rainbow Dash, bedecked in a medal-covered flight jacket stood near the center of the room, fury and indignaton writ large over her elder features. She looked about ready to lay waste to anything in her path, just to reach her precious daughter.

Tourmaline was eye-to-eye with her, standing at his deceptively impressive full height, and looking just as angry as the mare he was facing seemed to be.

Gypsy was not in view, except for his drooping tail that was poking out from behind the couch, shaking nervously as it lie there, not at all wagging.

"We've BEEN taking CARE of her since we FOUND her! She's JUST as SAFE here as she would be ELSEwhere!"
"She's not gonna BE elsewhere - she's coming home with ME!"
"YOU should NOT preSUME to KNOW what's BEST for HER!"
"I AM WHAT'S BEST FOR HER!"

Cupcake wore a panicked look, as he tried and tried to think of something to say that would make all this better... and failing.

Apparently, from what she saw, about the best thing for Madam Dash and her angry presence would be a stun spell. She clearly wasn't in the proper state of mind to discuss anything rational with them here. Oh, come on - they had a sick Thunderclap here; why was everypony doing their utmost best to disturb her? She needed some relaxation!

"Silence, PLEASE," she did her best to ask as quiet as possible, though the effect was ruined by her urgency. "Just... come on now, there is really no need for behaving like this!"

Dash, hearing her voice, now rounded to face Obsidian. "And YOU! You're the worst part of all this, you worthless piece of trash! If you would have NEVER come here, then my daughter wouldn't be suffering from some cockamamie curse! You're JUST as bad as your father - or maybe worse! Because she thinks the WORLD of you - and now, what does she have to show for it? Some scars, a dead aunt AJ, and now this! I wish you'd never been found, you stupid sack of shadow-shit!"

Stalwart Stance lunged between Dash and Siddy, and went muzzle-to-muzzle with her! "YOU WILL DETRACT THAT STATEMENT, RIGHT NOW!"

"Bite me, HALF-PINT! She's a LOSER!"

And then, Wart struck her. In the stomach.

The whole room gasped... but Dash just looked up with a newfound rage. "Oh, it... is... ON!"

And she jumped on Wart. The two of them began exchanging blows, slamming hooves into each other as they rolled past Obsidian and out the door.

"N-n-n-n-no v-v-vio-v-v-vio-l-l-len-lence!" Came the cry from behind the couch.

"MOMMA!" Clap wailed, and jumped up off the couch, running for the door with a wobbling gait.

"NO! WART!" Cup yelled.

"YES! TEACH that BITCH a LESSON!" Tourmailne cried out with angry gusto.

The fighting now outside, Cup looked at Obsidian and came to her. "She's mad, she's angry, she didn't mean it, please don't be upset, she didn't mean any of it!"

Now, now, when adults were behaving like this, what were their children going to think? Sadly, Gypsy's cries for peace didn't work - as usually with pacifists, with no argument of power to back their pleas they were simply ignored. Obsidian, however, wasn't Sombra or Onyx - both of them were known for reacting rather badly to insults, while the current situation was almost making Obsidian giddy instead of upset - she wasn't angry at being insulted, but rather pleased at the prospect of actually punishing the ever-egotisical Rainbow Dash. She had to be extra careful and diligent to keep her sadism in check.

"Cup, telekinesis, please... I need help to restrain them," she ordered quickly to her coltfriend as she stepped out of the house, intent on moving the two fighting ponies away from each other. Honestly, she was kind of disappointed in Clap's mother.

Outside, the fighting continued for a hot minute... then, Cup's aura covered them both, and they were yanked apart quickly.

Wart, to her credit, instantly stopped struggling, and even had the sense to look a bit surprised that this had happened to begin with. Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, was kicking and flapping her wings, fighting to get at Stalwart.

"Put me down! I'm gonna MURDER that little stain! Let me GO!"

"NO!" Cupcake yelled, and 'that' look crossed his features. "You're being an insipid little child, whose favorite toy has found other playmates, but you INSIST on being the only one to play with it! You come here, into OUR house, blast me with your anger, do Celestia-knows how much damage to Clap's health, and then tell the pony who's trying their hardest to help her that she's a problem!? YOU are the only problem I see here, and I think you should take your rainbow-colored butt HOME! NOW!"

With that, he released Wart carefully, and dropped Dash on her face. Cupcake looked positively LIVID, and was breathing quite hard.

Dash got up quickly, then pointed a hoof at the lot of them. "Twilight's gonna hear about this! Oh-ho-ho, is she gonna hear about it! And YOU" she pointed at Wart, "are gonna be busted down so low, you won't be allowed to guard a walnut! And YOU" nowpointing at Cupcake, "are gonna GET IT from your MOM when I tell her what you just said! And YOU..."

Her hoof now pointed at Obsidian. "STAY THE TARTARUS AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER, YOU BLACK MAGIC BIT-"

"Mom... schut up." The silence was so clear, you could hear Gypsy still whimpering inside.

"I'm schtaying, Mom. You're out of your head wif worry, and I'm not a foal anymore! I'm friggin' GROWN, Mom! You need to go home, calm down, and think all disch through firscht! You know how you get when yer MAD!"

Dash stared at them all for a moment... then, with hatred in her eyes, she took off like a shot into the air, flying at such speeds towards Twilight's Castle that it left a wake of wind that blew leaves down the street. The second she was gone, Thunderclap Dash burst into tears.

Obsidian, as it was mentioned, was taking all of this hubbub rather well (at least as long as she wasn't being sadistic - luckily, she was a good girl and was doing her best to flat out ignore more of the stupid ideas she sometimes had), but hurting her friends was a completely different case. And it seemed as though the elder Miss Dash was doing all she could to anger Obsidian remarkably right now...

But first things first.

Stalwart didn't seem to be hurt, so Clap was more important right now. Obsidian quickly made her way to the pegasus and applied her emergency hug. "Here, here, Clap... no worries. She'll be fine, given time," Obsidian muttered.

Stupid elder Dash.

Clap just wrapped her forelegs around Siddy and bawled like a baby. Shortly, they were both embraced by Cupcake, then by Wart... then, haltingly, by Gypsy as well. The lot of them stood there, comforting Clap as best as they could. And just as the moment seemed sweet and safe...

"BAH! I wanted to see the little guard imp get her block knocked off!" came the disappointed words from above them. Amethyst, leaned out of her window, made a distasteful face at the love-puddle below.

Stupid Amy - she should get punished more often.

"Amy, dear, you DON'T want to know what I want to see. Especially as I can quickly turn this dream of mine into a reality."

Kittens. There would be little, mewling kittens everywhere.... and among them would stand Amethyst, covered in tuna. Yes, that plan would be quite entertaining...

"Whatever," came from above, followed by the ungraceful slamming of a window. At least they managed to get rid of her before she said anything more.

Cup chuckled. "Heh, leave it to Amy to put things in perspective, I guess. You... okay, Clap?"

Clap nodded, sniffled, then looked up at them all. "I... I love you guysch."
"We love you to, Clappie," Cup said as he placed a delicate kiss on top of her head.
"Y-y-yes. A-al-a-al-always," Gypsy added.
"Undoubtedly," Wart seconded.

"You are the best Thunderclap Dash I've ever met - and regardlss of how elusive the solution is, we will help you," Obsidian added.

Still, even with all of this cameraderie... there was someone missing, something lacking. "Cup, you didn't find Mica?"

"Dash's mom showed up as I was rounding the bend, and asked me if I'd seen her; when I told her where she was, she made a beeline for our place - I was worried. I never got to even get off the next block." Cup stood back and gestured. "C'mon... let's go inside and get Clap out of the weather."

Gypsy, Clap and Cupcake all went inside... but Wart stayed where she was. Upon closer examination, she was trembling a bit. At the door, Cup looked back at her, then at Siddy, and raised an eyebrow.

Great- that foolish old pegasus didn't hurt Wart, did she? Obsidian practically jumped towards her, already worried, to examine her and apply healing magic where it was necessary. "What's wrong, Stalwart? What ails you? Ribs... chest... oh, please not the head..."

"... she'll tell her... and... a-and I'll... I'll be expelled from the Royal Guard..." Stalwart looked at Siddy with fear in her eyes and blood lightly dripping from her snout. "Everything I ever wanted to be... and she'll... she'll make them take it away from me..." She shut her eyes and gave a trembling sigh.

Then, just as quickly, she stopped shaking, and looked up with a fierce stare. "... but I would do it again, and again, and a thousand times again, because I will not stand for such horrible things to be said about you. Please tell me you paid her cruel words no heed, Lady Siddy." She straightened her shoulders, then began to walk (with a light limp) towards the house. "If I am destined to no longer be a guard for royalty... then I shall be a guard for my friends. And that will have to sustain me."

Obsidian trotted behind Stalwart, casting magic over the obvious pains - her snout, her leg...

"Stalwart, I don't pay attention to stupid things, and if anypony would try to expel you for such a triviality as that, then it would mean that these entire, mighty decrees about friendship I've heard from the local ruler are naught more than blatant lies... and I truly don't think the princess would be so dishonest and petty."

Wart looked at her with a small, yet bright smile. "Thank you. You are always going to be a Princess to me... and it's times like these that affirm that in my heart." The glow of healing covered her, and Wart sighed with relief as her wounds were dealt with. Giving Obsidian a grateful smile, she held the door open for her.

And inside, Cup was busily fussing over Clap, while Gypsy brought another bowl of food from the kitchen. Tourmaline, however, was busy pacing the floor and glaring at it. As if he wanted to KILL it.

"Tourmaline? Uhh... maaaaaaybe you should relax a bit," Cup tried, "she's gone now, so-"

"FEH!" He said as he turned and nearly bumped into Gypsy as he headed to his downstairs room, huffy and angry.

"... well, that was awkward," Cup shrugged.

"Obshidian?" Clap asked from where she lay, "I'm shorry about Momma; she getsch mad an' don' thin too good when sche isch."

Well, everything seemed to be more or less fine... or at least normal again. "Don't worry about that, Clap; she would have to try much harder than that to make me pay attention to her raving," Obsidian waved a dismissive hoof. "Hmmmm... I do believe we still require Mica's presence, though."

"This one c-could fetch him... i-i-if it would be a good id-d-dea?" Gypsy said, trying to be helpful.

"Seeing as how I couldn't even get away from home, maaaaaaybe it would be a good idea," Cup nodded, "just don't forget to bring yourself back as well; we need you too, buddy." After all that had just transpired, seeing a light wag return to Gypsy's tail was a good start. He nodded and made his way outside, taking off on all fours towards where he apparently knew Mica to be.

"So," Cup turned to the rest of them, "this dream-thing with Luna is gonna happen tonight?"

Good thing that Gypsy offered to help - that way, they would get Mica with them sooner AND Gypsy would have something to do to stop worrying about Clap and her stupid mom. That was one thing off of her mind...

"Yes, Cup - tonight. I hope she'll be able to help us with this problem..." She looked around a bit; Tourmaline was all riled up and had escaped to his basement, but she wasn't sure if she was supposed to do something about that or not - after all, maybe all he needed was some privacy for a while?

"Say, shouldn't we prepare supper for our guests? I'll gladly help... aaaaas long as you'll keep me from accidentially poisoning us all, of course." That's what a proper host should do, right? Serve guests without making them sick?

Cup laughed. "Siddy, lovely - I already have most of it done... but if you wanna take care of dessert, then I'd be happy for the help!" However, he also slid up next to her and slipped a foreleg around her middle, snuggling into her neck a bit. While he did, he whispered, "Of course, you might wanna check on Tourmy after you do that; being a big sister means making sure your brother is okay, too... after he cools off, of course."

That done, Cup then released Siddy and trotted over to Clap, poured her another cup of tea, and began to fluff her pillows. "Cuppieeeeee," Thunderclap whined, "I'm comfy 'nuff! Leeme 'lone about all dat!"

"Nonsense!" he went on, "Everyone can use fluffier pillows!"

It was so very good to have a coltfriend that could both curse away a stupid rainbow-maned pegasus mare AND prepare a dinner for everypony in no time. Sometimes, Obsidian tended to feel outright lazy next to him.

Wait, since when was she a big sister? The only reason why she had a dominating position in the family to begin with was that she still had her magic! Her family was so strange that the youngest daughter suddenly became a 'big sister'. Wonderful.

But enough of that. She could at least check what desserts they could prepare... in fact, when was the last time when they met together, all six, in her house? Too bad that the circumstances weren't a bit happier.

Here was her problem: There were a number of different sweets, as well as many, many different ingredients in the kitchen. Fruit, veggies, spices, candies, and other things that she couldn't quite identify by sight or smell alone. There was a veritable cornucopia of stuff in the pantry to make any number of desserts... IF she knew how to make desserts.

Granted, Cupcake had taken time to explain and show her what he was doing in the kitchen... now, if she'd been paying enough attention, she might be able to make something after all...

Nope.

Nope, nope, nope - no more poisoning ponies. She had no idea how different kinds of fruits and candies ended up working with each other, what things were tasty, what was too sweet for an average pony and so on. It certainly didn't help that, until her grand awakening after a thousand-year long nap, she hadn't even eaten that many sweets.

Okay - waiting for Cupcake it was, then. She was not going to risk health of her guests, especially as one of them was already sick... well, cursed... sickeningly cursed. Next time when Cup would explain things in the kitchen to her, she would make notes. That would be the easiest way to learn from him, right?

The door to the attic opened, and Amethyst made her way into the kitchen. She gave Obsidian a slight look, then a wide berth as she went around her to get to the pantry, where she started rummaging around inside.

"So," she spoke with her head in the cupboard, "what in Tartarus was all that about? I mean, if you feel like telling me or something..." Was this an attempt to communicate? Or was it a set-up for some sort of trap or mean joke?

"As I'm certain you've noticed earlier, Thunderclap doesn't feel well - Dark Magic, as you've also no doubt noticed. Her mother apparently didn't like the fact that she was here, but instead of discussing it she went full peabrain," Obsidian explained calmly. "That already makes a second parent I'm fighting with... I do hope this won't turn into a habit," she added dryly.

Maybe she could make pudding or something? The box of pudding mix had instructions on the back of the package; perhaps even Obsidian could do it without any casualties.

"Yeah, I noticed. It's a Viral Curse, and it'll spread like wildfire if left unchecked." She kept rummaging in the pantry, as if she hadn't just put a name to the curse that nobody else had been able to identify. "Did Tourmaline move the jelly so I couldn't have my meat snacks the way I like? I wish I'd killed him sooner; I'd be eating in peace by now."

Ha, so they were right about supressing Midnight's magic! At least one of the things they'd come up with seemed to work exactly as they thought! Considering that Amy really hadn't known that they were discussing that little detail, Obsidian would assume it was a truthful bit of advice.

"No idea, as I didn't see any jelly since this morning. Besides, he had more firepower before - so it's quite possible he would kill you, not the other way around. Did you spend much time with Peridot, mayhaps?" Obsidian asked innocently.

She gave Obsidian a glare for the 'more powerful' comment, but went back to searching anyway. "Peridot? Yeah, I did - we dated for a bit, but that was because he actually enjoyed my company, of course. I mean, we never did anything nasty to each other... but WOW, did we have fun with everyone else!"

Standing and turning back to face Obsidian, Amy paused. "Come to think of it, that curse on Slapdash positively reeks of Peri... but he's been dead so long, it couldn't be him."

She sighed wistfully, then went to the fridge and buried her head in it, probably still searching for jelly. "So who's been to the Delvar library-thing lately?"

Wait. Waaaait... what did she say? They did what? "Dated?"

Amy was scary, and Obsidian was still able to forget that little detail from time to time - scary in more than a single meaning. In fact, she could probably twist everything, even the most innocent thing, into its more warped, wicked version... but nope, it didn't matter how much Obsidian thought about it - it still sounded bad.

She pulled her head out of the fridge just long enough to give what looked like a small, sad little smile. "Well, that's what I called it; he just humoured me, because I was his favorite sister. What it truly was happened to be more like 'we went out and killed others for fun'; I can remember it now, fondly - Rotting Lung Curses, stabbings, Blinding Curses, flayings, Insanity Curses, bloodletting..."

She sighed. "Ah, the good old days are always farther away than you'd like, but still feel so close at times, right?" Catching herself, she poked her head back into the fridge again. "But that was a long time ago; before Onyx took over, before Father sent us away, and before YOU killed our family's future. Just for the record."

Now seriously, where was that jelly? Tourmaline didn't have any reason to take it... unless he wanted to do something very strange with Gunther. And Amy's story still sounded rather wicked, but in a more normal sense. Obsidian felt some relief - first, dating siblings? That simply sounded wrong. Second, it could mean that Amy was possibly able to feel love, or at least some wicked version of it.

"Insanity curses sound kind of interesting, but the rest probably falls under my definition of 'wasting resources'," Obsidian mused. There had been little to nothing that sounded like it would be useful for a single one of her plans. Granted, messing with minds of her enemies could come in handy... but none of the things mentioned by Amy would help Obsidian with her ambitious plans of researching life and death.

"And remember that our father literally turned Onyx into a splash of color on the street; I don't think the rest of us would have a very happy ending in case of his victory. This way, you are at least alive."

Hopefully Cup didn't take that jelly - after all, it had close contact with Amy's meat stick; no telling how it affected the taste.

"So, how does this viral curse spread? Is it one specific type of curse, or would it be possible to modify other curses to work in this way?" That could be useful... for more than a single reason.

Amy paused in her searching, then slowly extracted herself from the fridge, turned to meet Obsidian directly, and shut the fridge door.

"Wait. One. Second." Amethyst had a look on her face which spoke of her usual sourness... but there was something else there that didn't quite look right. Something Obsidian couldn't quite put a name to, but it was there.

"After everything that you and Tourmaline have been saying to me, and all the times nobody wanted to talk to me, and even with whatever this situation is... are you honestly telling me that, now that I have some sort of USE for you and your little gang of dumbasses, that NOW you want to talk to me?"

A scowl set in place on her muzzle. "Even IF I haven't exactly been very 'friendly' to anyone, I kinda thought that either you or someone else in your little Glee Club would even TRY talking to me... but no. Since I've been here, all of you have just been ignoring me or snarking back at my snark. Not a single one of you has even asked if I'M alright after all that happened." She crossed her forelimbs over her barrel.

"So, answer me this; why, after being treated like the bastard child nobody wanted, should I even bother to help YOU out... when about all you've done for ME is make sure I'm not sleeping under a bridge somewhere? You think that's fair? You think that's how families are supposed to act?"

Obsidian finally figured out the look on Amy's face; it was disappointment.

"And everyone says you're the good one; seems to me, you just wanna use me when it's conveinent for YOU. Guess you DO take after Father a bit, after all." Wow.

Obsidian raised her hoof and opened mouth to reply, but stopped. For a moment she thought that's because her subconscious was stopping her from saying something stupid, so she tried to come up with a different reply, but still had some problems with it.

You should have died instead of Ruby... Die... DIE...

Obsidian heard a hateful whisper in the back of her mind. She was irritated... and that wasn't a good thing.

Yes, I take after him, thank you for the compliment. Now answer my question, before I outright force you to spill all of your secrets! I could have killed you, I had so many opportunities to do it, and nopony would bat an eye at another body during Onyx's coup, so OBEY ME....

Even Stalwart told Obsidian that she was not average - then perhaps it was the right time to stop trying to act like an average mare? She defeated her father and forced two of her siblings to join her - she was practically a hero of Equestria already! She shouldn't have to deal with stupid things like elder Dash or Amy's complaining.

"I don't really know how families are supposed to act - especially ours. I think that there could be an unconscious bias because you and I had a rather more violent history than the one I had with Tourmaline," Obsidian lowered her voice. After all, Tourmaline only tried to kill her... and at least had talked with her in a non-threatening manner before their father's defeat.

You are the one who's behaving in a creepy way, as you didn't show a single sign that you want to do anything with us, and as far as I'm concerned, keeping you here is the kindest thing I can do with you - even it if drives me kind of CRAZY because I'm still afraid of you and each time when something bad happens I'm worried that I'll find a knife in my back, literally or metaphorically...

"I'm not exactly good with other ponies, either. The fact that, as you said, everyone says I'm the good one just makes everything easy for me," It was practically cheating; sometimes she felt as if she was 'being good' only because it was the simplest way.

There are times when I get thoughts, plans and ideas that really don't fit the mentality of the good pony that everypony thinks I am, but they are there and they fit ME. I'm always afraid that, just as you said, I take after Father... not just a bit, but a lot. And that one day, everypony will notice that simple fact and reveal that I'm just an impostor, a cheater that by sheer dumb luck found herself on the winning side, and that I don't deserve their trust, don't deserve their friendship - and that I won't care about it at all, because they will be RIGHT. I'm quite the accomplished actress, hm? I bet I could simply use Cupcake and leave without caring one bit about his feelings...

... sigh...

"I assure you... I'm really trying to do my best, but it's apparently not enough. I'm... a damned terrible pony; I know I often make mistakes, but I can at least try to correct them, yes? Especially as you inform me about them. Incidentally, I've got a kind of... gift for you today..."

And right now I'm acting as if you are right because that's how a good pony should react...

"No, sister. I don't think it's fair, and I'm sorry about that. I'm simply not sure if I'll be able to fix the problem before I can stop worrying about this whole mess with Clap's curse and so on..."

Amethyst stared at her for a moment... then, with a huff, her look of disappointment redoubled. "Are you serious? No angry words? No yelling? Not even a slap to my muzzle? You have GOT to be kidding me!"

Now she stormed forward, and with some of the speed she'd shown before as Onyx's stooge, she was just THERE, right in front of Obsidian, almost snout to snout with her. "By Darkness, they ARE changing you! And not for the better - but for the worse! You, Obsidian, are turning into a snivelling, whining and apologetic coward! I come at you with such fierce anger, and all you can do is APOLOGIZE!? Why don't you GET MAD? Scream at me to SHUT UP? Put a hoof into my gut or my face for being such a BITCH?"

She stood upright, and looked down on her. "You're supposed to be some kind of Grey Magic specialist, right? If that's so, then you're losing your Dark Side, Obsidian. You're letting all the namby-pamby Light siders swallow you up, and leaving nothing for your darkness to hold onto. Soon, you'll be just as stupid and shallow as THEY are... and when the time comes that you have to pull from the Dark Side of you, you won't be able to... and you'll fail everyone."

She gave an angry huff of a sigh. "Darkness is all I have left that's completely mine anymore. You? You don't even have THAT. I pity you, because you never even realized that I've been trying to reach that delicious darkness inside you..."

She turned and headed for the attic door again. "... but I think you killed it with kindness. Now, go watch your friends die because you won't force me to tell you what I know; it might even be good for you, stupid..."

Obsidian decided, right then and there, that Amethyst didn't deserve any pudding.

"STOP... RIGHT... THERE."

Obsidian didn't play or try to be subtle - she simply lit up her horn and took firm hold of Amy's tail; she either stopped, or left without it.

"Amy, dear-heart... I think you've mistaken me for somepony else. Tell me, when was the last time you ever witnessed me getting truly angry? When have I even struck anypony? Why then, praytell, should I reply to this, er... 'fierce anger' of yours with an aggressive and enraged reaction, hmmm? Even when I was still naught more than hosting Father's Dark Magic, I wasn't truly that violent. What's next - mayhaps you'll be surprised that I don't particularly like flaying others alive?"

Under all the bravado and of all things that Obsidian could do, she was exceedingly afraid she would end up using others. Manipulating them. Hurting their feelings. Even at her very worst, she really wasn't all that violent...

Well, okay - Onyx was an exception, but Obsidian had PLENTY of reasons to go lethal with her - including the fact she'd wanted to use so many other ponies to bring back their Father on HER terms. It eventually backfired on poor Onyx, but Obsidian had no idea about it at the time.

"This anger of yours is not even worthy of me lowering myself enough to be upset in any manner over it. Right now, you have actually inadvertently cheered me up; I was afraid that soon I'd be rid of the whole annoying 'Light Magic' thing - but here you are, telling me that I'm about to lose my Dark Magic. On an average between the two states, it probably means I'll be able to maintain that unstable mishmash of Grey Magic... so thank you, Amy. It was a very..."

She stepped closer to her sister. "... illuminating..."

Another step. "... discussion."

Right now she was practically breathing in Amethyst's face. Obsidian's horn flashed once again... and using magic, one of the copies of their 'family portrait' floated its' way over to Amy.

"Here. I've made a copy of this for you; do with it whatever you want to. You're welcome, o dear sister of mine..."

Get mad? Hah - good one. To get mad, she would have to stop being mad in the first place, at least for a single, solitary moment without self-deception or weak-willed acceptance!

Amy's smile spread across her muzzle like a stormcloud rolling in. "Now THAT is more like it! Maybe there IS still some fire in you, as low as you've allowed it to gutter... but at least it's better than the whiny little brat seated at the table three seconds ago!"

She took the drawing... and stared at it for a moment. "Hmmp. And here I thought I'd never see Diamond's work again."

With a shrug, she looked back at Obsidian. "Not worth getting angry over, you say? So, even after my poking and prodding, you honestly think I'm not getting to you? That you're 'in control' of your feelings? That you just think you can maintain your 'greyness' without any problems?"

Her smile turned cold. "By all means, thank you for the picture... though I prefer the look on Ruby's muzzle when I threw my blade into her, honestly."

Obsidian had no idea whether she should laugh or cry at the attempt Amy just made; the poor mare tried so much that it was cute - in its' own, Amethyst-y way. She could just laugh at Amy, or perhaps facehoof... deadpan, whatever - just no reaction seemed to be similar to any emotion that Amy tried to instill in her. If not for Amy's pathetic whining just a moment before, all about how she wasn't accepted, blah blah blah and so on... maybe it would have worked.

Right now, however, Obsidian faced so much internal monologue that she almost felt drained because of it, and one of the first thoughts she had was actually about Ruby... Amy couldn't possibly have seen Ruby's face when she made that throw; she was facing Obsidian and not Amy. What's more, she threw her blade at Obsidian... and it was done at no short distance. Immediately after the throw, Ruby had teleported them away. There was just no way she could have seen it.

Obsidian deadpanned. "I do love you sister... and I care about you, even if sometimes I can't express that properly," she said eventually.

But you reeeeeeally don't quite know how to hit my buttons yet, thank you very much. Did you think that I was so merciful that I spared you, perchance? Quite the contrary; at that moment, I was the most sadistic creature I could imagine...

"Perhaps next time, we could go together to the day spa? You know, as sisters? There is no possible way you would still feel alienated afterwards, as this place is simply marvelous. And afterwards, some ice cream; there is no pony alive that doesn't like ice cream, so I think it would be the perfect way to finish this small jaunt before returning home."

The smile dropped, and Amy's muzzle wrinkled in a scowl. "FEH," she said, and headed for her door again. However, when she reached it, opened it and began to step upstairs... she paused, her back to Obsidian.

"Peridot's Viral Curse doesn't affect the magic of the victim... it affects their dreams. Which means that whoever the infected one dreams about, that will be who catches it next. And the process repeats every time an infected victim goes to sleep. He slaughtered an entire village with it once... it took about a month, but not a single soul was left alive. It was glorious. And FAR more fun than any 'spa day'."

With that, she closed the door behind her and headed upstairs.

Heh, her exclamation of sisterly affection was totally worth that look on Amy's muzzle, right here and now. The poor thing just couldn't quite get to her little sister, eh? And she even... even... uhh...

Dreams. Infection. Whoever was infected, dreamt of who would catch it next...

Uh-oh.

Author's Notes:

Amethyst is not a pleasant mare. Then again, can you blame her? Cruelly trained by King Sombra, then ordered about by Onyx and forced to work with her brother (whom she hates), then having her magic stifled while living among her Grey Magic wielding sister... honestly, it's a wonder she hasn't outright rebelled already. Why would she gut it out like this? All in due time, folks...

And as for RD's attitude, I offer this question: if it were YOUR only child, how would YOU react to basically being told that your care wasn't necessary? Still... a bit overblown. However, we ARE talking about Rainbow Dash, after all - overblown is kinda her thing, y'know?

Twelve: It Gets Worse

Obsidian was SO damned tired of her erstwhile siblings trying to kill her... even if they were doing so completely by accident, or because they were already dead.

She could feel her heartbeat getting more and more rapid as panic settled in and made itself at home in her chest. She returned very, very quickly to the main room, looking for Clap.

Dreams... and she'd fallen asleep after she came to Obsidian's house, right? So if Amy was right, then there was still a helpless victim somewhere around them ... or perhaps it had happened during the night? Midnight dreamt about her... and yet she was still walking around freely, with no physical problems.

"Clap?" she said gingerly as she kept doing her best not to panic, "Clappie, it's important - please wake up..."

Cup shushed Siddy as she walked in. "Shhhhhhh! The poor thing just got to sleep a few minutes ago - don't wake her!" he said in a hushed tone as he motioned with his hooves for her to lower her own voice. Sure enough, lying on the couch was a peacefully sleeping Thunderclap Dash.

Obsidian very, very carefully tapped Cup's side with every other word she spoke. "Dreams of the cursed ponies pass it on to other ponies in their own dreams. Wake. Her. Up." She only now noticed that her hoof was shaking a bit; was she just that level of scared, or was it a warning sign of the mysterious curse? She wouldn't be able to finish her research on bringing back dead ponies if she became a dead pony!

Cup gave her a questioning look... but when he noticed her hoof trembling, he nodded, then made his way over to Clap's side.

"Heeeeeeyyyyyy... Clappie? Wakey-wakey. C'mon, girl - we, uh, sh-should try to get some more tea into you."

"... mmmmmMMMMMMRPH," Clap groaned. "Leemee 'lone..."

"C'mon, Clapster, Claparootie, Claparino..."

"MMMMMmmmgh! StoooOOoooOOOOOoooop!"

"Sorry, girly-girl - but we need you awake now, 'kay? Gonna get you all wakeys, so we can give you, uh... m-more medicine!"

THAT made Dash's eyes open wide. "Nuh-uh! I'm not gonna drink dat schtuff nummore! Itdsch NASCHTAY!"

"It's good for you, Clap! C'mon - I'll make some fresh, just for you!"

Wart lifted an eyebrow at Siddy, wondering what in the wide, wide world of Equestria was going on.

It seemed that convincing Clap to drink this terrible stuff was a wise decision, if it could wake her up in such an instant! Obsidian practically jumped towards her with a solidly focused look on her muzzle.

"Clap, Clappy, Dashie, Thundie... I want to ask you something that's very, very important, please... did you happen to dream about anypony while you slept? In the night, after coming to my house, including just now?"

"I... uh..." she still looked a bit drowsy, but Obsidian could see her mental wheels turning. "I... hadda dream, yah," she muttered after a moment, "it wasch aboud disch byoooooooootiful rivah, an' dere wasch birds dere, an' flowers dere, an' treesch... an' me an' Mica had ourschelves a pick-a-nick... id wasch a nische dream..."

Uh-oh.

"During the night, or after I'd brought you here? It's extremely important..."

"No, afder I god here... wen you wasch out geddin' dosch nummy paschtries fer me, you good frien', you! Id wasch shuch a nische dream... bud, I don' geddit. Wasch disch aboud?"

Obsidian spoke hesitantly. "This dream... uh... i-it's connected with your illness, Clappy; it's a special, unwell dreaming. I... just had to know." Obsidian, in quite a bit of distress now, patted her softly then turned away and quickly trotted out of house. She stopped there, waiting for either Cup or Wart to follow her.

Wart instantly was directly behind her, galloping a bit in her exit in order to keep up. "Lady Siddy! What's wrong? You look as though you had seen a ghost! Did you have an epiphany, or is something else going on?"

"This curse spreads through dreams - that's what Amethyst told me. We need to check on Mica as quickly as possible."

She still didn't mention that Midnight had dreamt about her - she had to confirm it first. It would be strange, though; Midnight dreamt about her earlier, so why wasn't she sick?

They were roughly halfway when the duo met Gypsy headed their direction... and the look of stark panic on the diamond dog's muzzle was not a good sign. As soon as he saw them, he scampered his way over to them, skidding to a halt in the dirt of the road.

"S-S-Sid-S-Sid-d-d-dy! S-s-s-som-s-someth-th-thing-g-g's wr-wr-wr-wrong-g-g w-w-wi-wi-w-with M-M-M-Mi-M-Mi-M-Mic-c-ca!"

Eeyup, he was panicking. Damn.

"Can he walk?" Obsidian asked, deciding she may as well be resigned to her fate.

Gypsy began to sputter another reply, then simply consigned himself to a sad-looking shake of his head. His tail was hanging low, and he gave off a soft whimper as he stood there.

"Damnation! This is dire! We must find a way to contact Luna, so that we may begin this dream-search... the sooner we discover what we can in the dream realm, then perhapsch we can schee to... to..."

In front of Siddy and Gypsy, Wart's eyes began to grow purple bags, and her entire form began to slump slowly down under the weight of her armor.

"... oh... oh Lady Schiddy..." Wart teetered a bit, then fought to steady herself... and won, for the moment. But who could be dreaming about Wart? If Thunderclap was awake and...

... by the shield on my flank, I shall do my utmost to save and protect you from this horrible thing. Lady Obsidian and I will find this curse's source, and we shall eradicate it! You have my solemn vow....

... Midnight! This... oh, this was bad. Very, very bad.

The easiest way to control the infestation would be killing those who were cursed, though Twilight probably wouldn't let them even so much as touch Midnight. And Obsidian, of course, really didn't want to murder her friends.

"Gypsy, is Mica's family with him? Please, please, tell me that he is in the presence of ponies who can take care of him!"
Obsidian really hoped that this Umbral affair would have meant the end of her family problems...

Gypsy nodded vigorously. "T-th-t-they-y-y-y're k-k-kee-k-kee-k-k-keep-p-p-ping-g-g h-hi-h-hi-him aw-w-w-w-wa-a-a-ak-k-ke t-t-to t-t-t-tak-k-k-ke m-me-m-me-m-med-m-med-m-"

"... medischine?" Wart tried to offer helpfully.

The diamond dog looked at Wart, nodded, than pointed at her... and tripped over his tongue so much, he simply let out a bark and kicked at the dirt, slightly shaking with frustration.

"Are you schaying he looked like I do?" the sickly little mare asked.

Gypsy let out a yip, and applauded eagerly.

"Lady Shiddy, we schould ged Prinschessch Loona to help usch schee to disch as schoon asch posschible... and I tink... I need to... get disch armor awf..."

She wanted her Royal Guard armor off? In public? Stalwart Stance was too tired to wear her specially made suit of Royal Guard armor? Oh dear, ohhh dear, oh Darkness...

"Gypsy, I will take Stalwart back with me. You go and tell Mica's family that keeping him awake will prevent more illness, that it spreads only during a victim's sleep. Obviously they can't keep him awake forever, but they can't let him sleep for very long, okay? Will you tell them, please?" Peridot, you sick bastard...

Gypsy nodded rapidly, then turned and literally dove into the dirt, where a hump formed and began zipping rapidly away from them both.

Wart teetered a bit, caught herself, then shook her head as if in a daze. She then looked to Obsidian, and even as worn and sick as her face looked right now, there was still a shining light of courage and pride there, behind the pain and weakness. "I will NOD be carried, Lady Schiddy - if we go back, we go back togevver, and I refusche to burden you wif myschelf... bud, if we are to make id, we will haveta move quickly now; I can feel my energy schapping, and I don' know how musch longer I'll lascht."

Even in the midst of a magical curse, Wart wasn't about to lie down and surrender.

Gypsy went off to do The Thing - good. Now, she just had to deal with Stalwart. "Wart, you do need to save your energy... and carrying you is the easiest way to handle this. It's important," Obsidian really didn't want to argue about it.

The guard mare dropped her steel chestplate at Obsidian's hooves, and her helmet soon followed. "Then carry my armor; id'sch not worff leaving behind, bud I can shtill run wiffoud id... my armor may be a buhrden, but I schall NOD be. Now, inschtead of arguing, letsch GO awreddy!"

With that (and a deep breath to get herself started), Wart began an unsteady trot that slowly changed to a slightly wobbling gallop - she wasn't as bad off as Clap and Midnight had been, but she still didn't look good. Plus, when Stalwart Stance made up her mind, it would take moving a mountain to change her plans. After all, she did give Midnight her solemn vow... and if anypony was serious about that, it would be her.

There was a lot of stubborness in that little body, for certain. Obsidian would gladly argue that a physical burden was less annoying than a mental burden... which she felt a lot of, as she was looking at Stalwart's trot, but it would be just a waste of time. Instead she just took Wart's armor, very carefully checking twice to make sure she got everything and didn't lose any of the pieces, and moved after her petite friend... then she had to raise Tartarus in Twilight's palace.

The two of them made their way back to Obsidian's in record time... though, by the time they arrived, there was a disturbingly loud wheezing coming from the small mare, and she almost fell against the doorframe when they arrived.

"What's going o-... Wart! NO!" Cup yelped when he saw the state she was in.

Wart, however, waved away his concerned words. "No huff time puff for wheeze wordsch..." she managed to get out as she tried to catch her breath.

The stallion looked at Obsidian with alarm as she entered. "Oh, at least it's not both of you, but... what happened?"

Damn it, Wart... if she ended up dying from both the curse and exhaustion, then Obsidian would continue to research her father's process of developing artificial bodies only to raise her from dead and scold her thoroughly for being unreasonable with this 'carrying' issue.

"I am under the assumption that Midnight dreamt about Stalwart... and Clap dreamt about Mica, as he got hit with this curse too. I need to warn Princess Twilight that it's not just a simple curse; it's a plague - and one that can easily hit the most important ponies in the entire country to boot! We need to be both quick and careful, otherwise it will turn out that my siblings got the last laugh after all..."

Ugh, first Onyx, now Peridot. Why Ruby was the only good pony in the whole bunch? For that matter, why was Obsidian herself not affected? "Please take care of Stalwart, okay Cup? I'll go check on my brother, and then I'm leaving for the palace as quickly as possible. I can't afford any more mistakes on my part."

"But, Siddy - what about the meeting with Luna? Are we ditching the whole 'see what's wrong in the dream world' thing? I mean, after all the prep, are we just not doing that anymore?"

Clap groaned. "Pleasche can we do id? I'm SCHO schleepyyyyy..."

Wart tried to get off the wall... and after two attempts, she succeeded. "Lady Schiddy... perhapsch we schoold go to the dream realm, scho dat we can tell Prinschess Loona about dis direc'ly... maybe schee would kno whad to do?"

Cup looked worried, Clap looked exhausted, Wart looked close to collapsing... and Obsidian had a decision to make. By Darkness, it was far too much!

"I have to alert the princess, guys - it's a plague and she has to know, especially as she can fall victim to it as well! After all, Midnight most certainly would be able to dream about his own mother." Or possibly even his unknown father; Obsidian still couldn't understand why she would barely hear about the more masculine parents involved. Her whole world had revolved around her own father - and it was really strange to her that most of the ponies around cared more about their mothers.

"I need to learn the trick to teleportation after this whole mess is over with," she muttered under her breath. "We just need to stall for a little bit - it would be a possible idea to at least send somepony to Princess Twilight, but we're, uh... kind of running out of un-busy individuals."

Maybe Gypsy... but he didn't have the sort of bluster that would let him get to the princess at any cost.

"I can go, Obsidian," came from the basement doorway, where Tourmaline was standing. His muzzle held a firm look, and he made his way towards the door.

"After all," he spoke, "if I show up there with this silver ring in place, it will most surely attract attention; from there, I should be able to get an audience with the princess quickly. You stay and take care of your friends." He gave her a small, determined grin as he passed her. "And let your big brother take care of the problem."

With that, he made his way out the front door, headed towards the palace at a full gallop. Well, Tourmy was realizing her plea before she was even able to say it aloud. After all, she just wanted to ask him if he'd go in her stead, only to find out that he was going to do so already, saving her the effort. Wonderful - one problem down, and only hundreds more to go, it felt like. But it was at least one less thing to worry about or occupy her attention.

Cup was pacing, but his face seemed as though he were thinking instead of panicking. "Okay, so... I guess I'm supposed to stay awake and keep an eye on everyone? So, in case things go wrong, I can wake you all up?"

She still wasn't sure if the current circumstances would be ideal to try this. Also, there was the matter of her own immunity... but what if one of Onyx's books was protected by a curse as well? She dreamt about Midnight after all, and then he became sick. Did he dream about anypony else since she discovered the books?

Obsidian couldn't trust anypony except her friends and Tourmy - not even herself, it seemed.

"Yes, Cuppie - in this situation I think we can..." she sighed, "...well, we can take a risk and meet with Luna to possibly learn more about the curse from the inside."

Cupcake looked worried, but he made his way over to Obsidian and hugged her tightly. "Okie dokie lokie... but you listen to me, missy - you come back to me safely, you hear me? You and everyone else, okay? You can't leave me here alone now; I'll miss you too much. Just... b-be careful, okay?"

He planted a quick kiss on her lips. "I love you, Siddy."

To be fair, Obsidian was currently just as worried as Cupcake was. Possibly even more, because she knew that Midnight already had a dream about her, and she dreamed about him too... and she really didn't like the implications of it.

"I'll do whatever I can to fix this mess, return home and hopefully have one of those 'normal' lives I keep hearing so much about," she replied instead of the traditional 'I love you too'. She did return hug, though - rather strongly.

Perhaps Sombra's shards were simply immune? Onyx and their Father were probably too clever to just let Peridot run around cursing everything willy-nilly, so maybe he was forced to adapt the spell to avoid targeting any of them by accident, or they received... uh, curse-vaccines of some kind?

Cup brought out the blankets and pillows, and before long Obsidian was lying on the floor, comfortable on the quilts and comforters he'd arranged into a makeshift bed for his sweetheart, with a wall of pillows behind her.

Wart was seated in Cup's favorite comfy chair, occasionally groaning and trying to remain brave in the face of danger.

Clap moaned and griped about having to stay awake for much longer.

Cup simply sat and sipped at a cup of tea, watching Siddy with a small, warm smile.

Though her thoughts were worried, Cup gave her some of his calming tea, and it wasn't long before she felt herself drifting off into Slumberland...

~>-<~

She found herself still lying on the floor in her own living room... but there was nobody else here.

The couch still had blankets where Clap had been lying down, but no Thunderclap. Wart's armor was piled in the floor, but no Wart. There was even a steaming cup of tea and a cute teapot that looked like a strawberry... but no Cuppie. As far as she could see, she was alone. That tea had been simply divine; maybe she should drink it more often? It could do wonders for her mental stability...

Obsidian, Luna's voice echoed throughout the house, step outside; I have been waiting for you.

Moving from the nightmare into the dream proved to be smooth and without any problems. The beginning of the dream was fairly simple, almost boring - she just found herself in the very same place she had just left, only she was now alone. How quaint. With nothing better to do, she left the house, quickly; she wanted answers, she wanted help, and she didn't want to make a princess (who had once kicked her father's plot soundly) wait for very long.

The outside, however, was NOT like she would have thought...

Though Ponyville itself was intact, the sky was all sorts of wrong; instead of fluffy white clouds, there was a greenish fog that seemed to cover the breadth of it, and there were all sorts of scrolls, books and papers that were floating, suspended in mid-air as if they belonged there.

Standing in the center of the crossroads was Princess-... sorry, EX-Princess Luna. She was looking directly at Obsidian with a small, sad smile on her muzzle.

"For once," she sighed, "it would be nice to meet with you when there wasn't an issue to face. Twilight tells me you know something about what's plaguing Midnight, her son. Please, what information can you share with me?"

It seemed like there was something a wee bit chaotic going around in Dreamland. It was strange for a dream, really... well, one of HER dreams, at any rate. Obsidian bowed to Luna, of course; she had been taught by the most infamous tyrant in known history to be respectful of royals.

"I share the sentiment, princess... and yes - it's a viral curse, crafted by my late brother Peridot. He was once an expert on this particular topic, working on new types of malicious spells during his studies at the Delvar Libratorium. It spreads from pony to pony during their sleep; each time a cursed pony dreams about someone else, that creature gets cursed too. It makes victims very tired... so they sleep, bringing ore victims into the cycle." It was a rather clever spell, really - it was preparing ground for its own propagation.

Luna returned the bow, then listened intently as Obsidian described the situation. When she'd finished, the alicorn mare wore a grim look, indeed. "A virus, you say? That is quite disturbing... and to know that it comes from Sombra's family line? No offense to you, Obsidian... but I am not thrilled to hear of another such problem cropping up so soon after the last one. You and I may have to speak further on this subject, so that we might prepare for any more unpleasant family visits, so to speak."

Obsidian took no offense from Luna's words to her; she was growing tired of her own family's shenanigans as well. At least the number of potentially dangerous siblings was getting smaller... so as long as she didn't have any crazy aunts or uncles, everything should be fine soon.

She gave a thoughtful look, then gazed at her again. "I do not suppose that you would happen to know where this viral curse originated from, other than who created it? If we knew where the first incident occurred, we might be able to look into the dreams of this victim, and decide for ourselves what is going on. Though I assume Midnight was the first, I will also say that I have heard tale of another who may be afflicted: Thunderclap Dash. Do we know who started this?"

"Well, Midnight admitted that he visited the Crystal Empire, specifically including the Delvar Libratorium. There's a possibility he accidentially activated some kind of trap or defense," Obsidian admitted. "At the moment, I know of only four cursed ponies - aside from Clap and Midnight, Stalwart and Mica - my friends - fell victim to it as well. I should technically be cursed too, as Midnight admitted to dreaming about me... and yet, here I am - fine. Midnight also admitted he'd had a dream visitation from my late brother."

Luna nodded. "Then we will have to venture into Midnight's dreams. Come - I will open the way. If there is anything to learn there, then we should pool our knowledge together to figure out how to put an end to this, once and for all."

Her horn glowed, and a small hole appeared in the middle of town. Slowly, the hole grew until a full-grown alicorn could step through with wings extended to their full wingspan. She went to it... then paused.

"Is there anything else we may wish to know before we venture into his dreams?"

Was there? Obsidian had already told Luna everything she'd learned about the nature of the curse, about its possible origins...

"I had already felt a trace of Dark Magic in Midnight during our first meeting, before he fell ill. I was initially afraid that he just hated Thunderclap so much, as there is supposedly a lot of bad blood between them... but now, I can't help but wonder if it was just an early stage of the curse. I later had a dream about Midnight, similar to the one he had about Peridot, but I feel fine - so it only adds to the overall confusion."

Could Onyx possibly guard her diary with a curse? Maybe she should ask somepony to read the books she'd found and watch the results of such... experiments on ponies, yay!

Luna slowly nodded to Obsidian. "As I feared; his dreams have been... hazy to me lately, and I cannot tell why. Hearing that he may have been affected by Dark Magic is one thing... but if there is hatred there along with it, then I fear that Twilight Sparkle's son may be trying to become a practicioner of Dark Magic."

She nodded. "Very well, then - we should attempt to stay together, and we will confront Midnight directly about what he has been doing, where he has gained such knowledge, and then we can assess as to how to put an end to it." She turned to the portal, squared her shoulders, sighed deeply, then stepped through.

"I hoped I could investigate it without any rush or making a big fuss... but apparently, the idea didn't stick," Obsidian admitted gloomily. At first, she was fairly certain that Midnight just cursed Clap and that was all. In fact, if Clap admitted to dreaming about him in return, Obsidian would have already accepted it as a good explanation for the whole start of this plague. It would be pretty ironic for him to get hit with his own curses... but well, at the moment this theory didn't have any basis in fact.

"Yes, princess," Obsidian said as she followed Luna into Midnight's dream.

However, the very moment she stepped into the portal, even though she knew next to nothing about them, she felt that something was wrong.

Everything swirled and wobbled around her, and she heard Luna's voice drift off into the ether as Obsidian felt like she was falling, falling, falling...

But when the falling stopped, she wasn't in Ponyville. There was no Twilight's Palace here. She wasn't even in the Griffonlands, where Midnight might have imagined himself to be.

Obsidian was in the Crystal Palace, on the throne room balcony, over looking the beautiful city below. There wasn't a single pony in sight again, but she had the extremely distinct feeling she most certainly was not alone. The sky was the same greenish color as Ponyville's had been, and the various writings were still hanging in mid-air. Aside from that, it was almost as if she'd come home, after all.

Now why would Midnight dream about the Crystal Empire? Specifically, the Crystal Palace to boot? She was connected to this place, not him! He was born in Equestria and lived in the homelands of the griffons; why would this place appear there, especially with so much power that it managed to separate Obsidian and Luna?

Unless it wasn't Midnight's dream anymore.

Everything and anything was possible... and her lost brother had shown himself in the alicorn's nightmare already. The Crystal Throne Room - if there was anypony else here, then she should look in the throne room first; perhaps going to the Libratorium would be a more obvious option, yet as she'd never seen it in the older days of the Empire, she had no idea where it was located.

"1,037 years, 8 months, 16 days, 4 hours and 17 seconds... a bit shorter than I'd expected, but you're here, nonetheless."

The voice that spoke up from behind her was soft, a bit nasal, and precise. Each letter was carefully enunciated, even though the words themselves sounded as if the speaker was slightly distracted. The stallion that stepped up next to her on the balcony was a bit taller than she was, but lanky. He appeared to be rather bookish, the kind of stallion you'd see hiding in a library, rather than conquering nations.

However, his grey coat and his black mane were almost perfect color-copies of Sombra's own... though the mane was short, neat and had a braid going down the rear. And his blunt horn had a reddish tint to it, much like Siddy's own. He wore a smart, yet reserved suit vest with spats, and the cutie mark he bore on his flank was of a thick-looking tome with a black Crystal Heart on its' cover.

The final thing that set him apart from his resemblance to Obsidian's father was a very thick-lensed pair of glasses that sat on his face, framing the bright red eyes that sat in the skull behind them. These, he adjusted as he stepped lightly next to her and looked out over the city.

"I'm glad to see you took the bait," he said in a very calm and non-threatening manner, "but I still would rather have met you as soon as I learned you existed. It would have been a 42.16% better chance for Father to be ressurrected by now, and we would all be living here, in his royal palace. Still, at least I get the opportunity to meet you at last, Obsidian."

Author's Notes:

A curse that spreads during the victim's sleep, which makes its' victims drowsy as a side effect of the illness. Oh yes, quite a clever curse at that - imagine if such a thing hadn't been caught so quickly?

Poor Gypsy; the more agitated and worried he gets, the harder it is for him to speak. I knew a guy like that, and the experiences I had with him are part of what influenced that reaction. After all, stuttering can be extremely frustrating to those who suffer from it - especially when it's important.

Thirteen: Introducing Peridot

He did it.

He actually did it; somehow, he managed to be here in this dream, despite the death of his physical body. It seemed to be a far more elegant solution than their father's pathetic attempt to restore himself in a manner which brought about his quick downfall. Peridot's knowledge could put her research on the right track.

"I'm quite pleased to meet you, brother; Amethyst says she misses you," she stated kindly. "I find the fact that you are here... exceedingly interesting."

"Amethyst..." he said contemplatively as a small, meek smile crept across his features before he turned to look at Obsidian. "I do miss her - quite a bit, actually. She made me feel like I was free to be myself, like I didn't have to hide myself from doing what needed to be done..."

The smile faded until he wore the same distracted and distant look he'd had in the drawing.

"Yes, I agree; exceedingly interesting... I suppose it would be. To be perfectly honest with you, I'm simply glad that I could finally begin gaining a hoofhold on the alicorn; I've been more or less trapped inside his mind... at least, until the pegasus mare showed up, that was. That provided the proper trigger to set the rest of my work into motion; from there, I just kept learning more and more..."

He now faced Obsidian, though his eyes seemed to be a bit off to the right, instead of looking directly at her. "I've been wanting to meet you ever since I learned you were alive... which, admittedly, was not very long ago. It was from the mind of Thunderclap Dash that I first saw an image of you - until then, I had only ever heard Father's brief description of you."

He blinked once. "His description didn't do you justice, of course." Well, it was disappointing that she only got only a dry and basic description; Obsidian didn't actually learn very much about their father's opinion of her... though it probably wasn't so positive, as he wasn't really known to be a doting parent.

So, Peridot's Curse was allowing him to settle in the minds of other ponies? He could potentially turn into a country all by himself! That wasn't just a method to defeat death, but also a good way to assert control... of course, she didn't know any of the details yet, either.

"Oh? May I ask what he said about me?" It just didn't feel fair that her siblings apparently knew about her, but she had never learned about them. It could possibly be some sort of mistake or oversight on their father's part, perhaps?

"He said you were becoming more suited to your magics, that you were a mare, and that you were the last resort; otherwise, he kept mostly quiet about you. In fact, the only reason he told me anything at all was due to the fact that I had calculated the chances of there being another sibling... and at an accuracy of 98.8%, my results told me you existed."

He turned and began to walk back into the palace proper. "Please... walk with me." Slowly, she followed along.

His gait was slow and small; he didn't step like a conqueror, nor did he hold himself like one. In fact, except for his accomplishments in curses, this unicorn stallion seemed more suited to teach at the academy than to be the son of Sombra.

"Questions - I know you have them, as I have calculated an 87.3% chance that you're here to learn what to do about the effects of the Curse. But I'm not just speaking about that, Obsidian; I hold a LOT of answers... and since it has been long and long since I last had the opportunity to speak at all, please feel free to ask me whatever you wish. I have no reason to lie to you, and I would be quite glad for the conversation - a true rarity for me."

Even when he turned to face her, he still never quite looked her in the eye.

So he had a lot of answers, did he? Well, good - she had lot of questions. "How did you manage to link yourself to this curse? Do you have access to every pony affected by it?"

"I do, yes. I was beginning my research into Amber's mental compliance magics, and had discovered a way to link aspects of some of her spells to my own curses. Combined, I could effectively take over another creature's mind, supplanting my own lifeforce into their shell... something I am currently in the process of doing with the alicorn, Midnight Star. I am actually somewhat looking forward to having an alicorn's body and power... and admittedly, it was the last body I ever calculated I'd end up inside of - only a 7.16% chance, in all."

He looked around the throne room as he went on. "Combining the spells was easy... but leaving a delayed reaction trigger in the middle of my notebook was a challenge. I died, still uncertain it had worked at all... until the day Midnight found and read it in the pursuit of his studies - that event was 3 years, 2 months, 20 days, 4 hours and 47 seconds back, for the record. I spent all that time, locked away inside his head."

"You see," he sounded as if he honestly were trying to instruct rather than explain, "I had calculated the spell combinations perfectly... but I hadn't factored in the necessity for emotional energy to be able to act as a catalyst for the curse to properly take full effect. And to think, if he had not returned home and discovered a major source of his childhood misery here, I would have remained inside his head until either I was possibly triggered by another, different highly emotional moment... or I would have died along with him, whenever old age takes alicorns."

Okay, the part about taking over Midnight's body didn't sound too good to her, but the rest - it was really, truly fascinating. Obsidian wouldn't complain one iota if she would have had such a knack for math and magical theory!

"It would possibly take a moment, indeed - has any alicorn in the history of ponykind died of old age?" Obsidian shrugged slightly at her own rhetorical question. "It's really an exquisite spell - a masterpiece, even. As far as I've come to understand, it could potentially turn entire nations under your direct control... and it allowed you cheat death in a much cleaner manner than our father's plans."

Of course at the beginning, Obsidian thought that King Sombra's plan was similar - she had honestly expected him to take over Onyx's body... not destroy it in a rather visceral manner and grow his old one back.

"What would happen if your original host would die, but somepony else would find your cursed notebook afterward?" she asked with visible interest.

"Oh, it wouldn't have mattered," he explained, "as my life essence was stored in the single curse; at this point, my notebook is... more or less aside from the information contained therein, completely harmless. The initial curse is what made the transference possible; otherwise, I'd be able to inhabit multiple beings, but my soul would be so fractured and stressed from multiple separations, I wouldn't hold any semblance of control at all. No, the soul is focused on the single spell, and that spell was cast when Midnight read my notebook's pages."

"Though, for what it's worth, I do have access to all the memories and thoughts of those under my curse... which is where I saw you. From there, I simply manipulated a number of resources until I was certain you would end up contacting Luna and entering Midnight's dreams. There was a 14.2% chance you might not have done so, but I was hedging my bets that you would - though it appears you haven't been to the Delvar Libratorium yet. Strange, as I was certain to a percentage of 89.4% that you would have."

He shrugged lightly. "Still... here you are, and I am glad we have this moment to talk for a while. The other parts of Midnight's mind should do well to keep Luna occupied until I decide to throw her out of the alicorn's dreams. And yes, I have that power; Luna is not the be-all, end-all dream master as one would surmise."

"Travel to the Crystal Empire to visit the Libratorium would take a while, and I've only recently learned the place even existed to begin with. I was planning to get there tomorrow morning, but first I wanted to gather as much information as I could here. In fact, I've already booked a meeting with the princess before I'd learned about you," Obsidian admitted.

Hmmm... so he was able to overpower princess Luna in a mind he controlled? Interesting - very interesting. This curse was truly an astonishing invention; too bad there wasn't any fail-safe that would allow Peridot's essence to return to the notebook safely. It would make things pretty easy for her.

"And why am I not affected? Is it your personal choice, or a property we hold as shards?"

"It was my choice," Peridot nodded, "as I didn't want you to be affected, so you were not. However, I did use the curses on your comrades to make sure you came here - but I wasn't going to use the same on my own sister, no. The curse responds to me, to my wishes, and does what I tell it to... at least as far as certain commands go, at any rate."

It made sense - a plague didn't have to behave in an organized or predictable manner if it had sentience. It was hard to figure out any given rules of illness if that illness could make its' own decisions when it came to its' victims.

He stopped in front of the Crystal Throne, regarding it solemnly. "The Libratorium was my favorite place to be in all of the Crystal Empire; it was quiet, had few visitors, and held just about any book on any subject I ever sought out. I was at peace there, quite a number of times, and I learned so much from it's wizened and hallowed halls. As soon as my subjugation of the alicorn is complete, it will be the first stop I make when I return home."

He now faced her again. "You could come with me, Obsidian. You, Amethyst... even Tourmaline, though I doubt he would want to ally himself with us again, as I'm sure he has far too many bad memories with Onyx for him to ever find himself on this side of the balance, more's the pity."

"We could all come back to the Empire, and we would all live in the palace, doing whatever we desired, and enjoying Life to whatever extent we chose. No one would be able to withstand us if we worked together, and there's a 92.8% chance that, no matter what may come, we would possibly live for quite a long time... especially when we gather a few of the others."

"Others?" Obsidian asked, "I've heard that the rest of our siblings were all long deceased... or do you have some way to bring them back as well?"

"Dead? No, I would actually assure you that they are not dead - some still exist, but in shard form. They were dormant for quite some time, then Onyx discovered them, used her ability to manipulate magics to effectively 'copy' their powers for herself, woke Tourmaline, Ruby and Amethyst, and did as she wanted with them. Of course, if my calculations are correct, Onyx may have awoken others as well."

"In fact, I would gauge that, to a degree of 79.79% percent that, with you being active in the world, a number of them will eventually return to living status from their shard-forms. As you were the failsafe, the others are slowly beginning to gather strength again, to face the world around them. Though there are a few who might possibly wish not to follow in Father's hoofsteps, the fact remains that not all of them will be particularly pleasant to deal with."

His expression grew grim. "However, I can reassure you that from what I've witnessed, Onyx herself will not be among them."

Obsidian patted her chin. "That makes sense. You are really well-prepared, and you've planned everything with an almost surgical precision - and I feel that it's worth of the highest praise. Oh, and er... Onyx wouldn't be among them anyway, as the last time I saw her, she was busy experiencing a rather messy death."

"Yes - Thunderclap Dash had a complete and direct view of that happening, and it was considerably gruesome... though, in all honesty, not completely undeserved. Though I may have been the smartest of us, she was the most resourceful, the most ambitious... and the most likely to make mistakes, such as not calculating the chances of her survival of Father's return."

"The idea as I've come to understand it was for him to eventually work his way down the line, as necessary... each of us being an opportunity to reform his body and mind, should he have been defeated so many times. Unfortunately for us, there was a 97.2% chance that each of those returns would have been just as... 'explosive'... as his first one was. Him being sealed away as he currently is actually makes it a miracle for us to survive on."

He then gave a light nod. "And I appreciate the sentiment, but praise never was important to me; only results. And here you are, which proves that result in spades."

Obsidian gave a soft sigh of relief. "I'm glad you seem to fully appreciate our father's final fate; I was afraid you wouldn't approve, and plan to attempt a reverse of the this situation." Obsidian herself could think about a few situations where the restoration of their father could be a good idea... but this situation wasn't one of them.

"However, do you truly believe that your plan of taking over Midnight will work? Equestrians usually find a way to deal with situations like that, sooner or later - even when those enemies are united, as shown to us by Chrysalis, Tirek and... uhm... a-and that small pegasus filly."

"Oh, I have every intention of completeing my possession of the alicorn. And no, I have no designs on freeing our Father..."

Peridot, the humbly meek and vastly intelligent brother, went over to the Crystal Throne and sat down in it, looking at Obsidian once he was settled in.

"... because I am going to conquer Equestria. With the power of an alicorn at my beck and call, I will be able to cast more curses than I was ever able to when I was alive. And those curses will spread far and wide, and will affect every kind of creature on this entire planet... which, then, I will deduce who should live and who should not, and I will make it so."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "It's not much of a secret that I don't like the presence of most indviduals... but by my calculations, if I can reduce the planet's population by 95%, then there would only be a 9.27% chance I would ever have to actually meet with anyone I did not wish to meet with, and we can all live our lives in peace... however we choose that peace to be represented."

What a surprise; it turned out Peridot was too intelligent for his own good, really... and perhaps a touch psychopatic, maybe? Come on now, was Ruby really the only pony in the famiiy that didn't want to murder everypony else around them? Or perhaps her favorite sister wanted it too, but hid it incredibly well?

"That's a very extreme and rather wasteful plan, brother; why does every single sibling of mine seem to love wasting a workforce so much?" she asked, sounding somewhat annoyed.

"Workforce? You misunderstand - we wouldn't NEED one, in a world like I have calculated."

His voice was earnest, sincere, and somewhat pleading as he continued on... not at all the voice of an insane being, which made the words all the more creepier. He sat forward in the throne, as if he were pondering strategy. "If there are so few beings left alive, then there would be no need to deplete the planet's resources by mining it; money would be meaningless, and when divided equally, the remaining work that would be required to live would be minimal... as well as keep our bodies in shape. Anything we could want, we can just have, because there would be no more demand for anything at all."

He looked toward Obsidian, yet again, not AT her. "I don't want to destroy them because of some twisted, psychotic passion; I want them gone because I have no need for them in my kingdom. More mouths to feed? More complaints to hear? More wars to fight? If anything, we would be doing our environment a favor by eradicating the drain on natural resources. The world doesn't need so many others doing whatever they want and causing so much trouble; imagine how peaceful the world would be if the total population of sentient beings were reduced to a double-digit sum? We would be able to live easier, simpler, without so many others here to make life difficult."

Well, he had a point. Even a few of them.

Surely a kingdom with no subjects would be pretty easy to manage, and the amount of arguements, conflicts, wars and other unpleasant public things would be greatly reduced. At least until Amy would try to kill Obsidian, or Amber and Diamond would possibly both want the same book and so on. Yes... a dead world, devoid of any life worth living, with nothing to bring any meaningful kind of change, and nothing more than their own companionship - what a Tartarus it would be.

"I think we may have a slight conflict of interests, then... because I would certainly want more ponies around. I don't care about environmental issues or peaceful nations - if anything, it sounds like a soul-crushing, complete and utter application of boredom... and with nopony to see this nature or enjoy this peaceful life, their existence to us would be irrelevant. Even our whims would be meaningless - can you imagine Amethyst just settling on reading books, or perhaps even planting carrots? Or me? I, incidentially, happen to like other ponies... and I'm actually a bit surprised by that, because I've spent most of my life only with our dear father and a few slaves present, which were - let's be honest - merely walking, talking tools."

What worth would anything have? Even their father, as cruel as he was, would hardly enjoy ruling the world with almost nopony to lord over! They could plunder anything, but with nopony to see them even the most beautiful dresses and the greatest riches would be just random scraps of metal and fabric.

Stupid Peridot.

Peridot sat back on the throne and thought for a bit- he didn't seem angry, or rushed, or even concerned. He just pondered her points for a moment, then cleared his throat before speaking again.

"My life, by comparison, has been quite the opposite, Obsidian. I was always surrounded by others, who would argue, push, shove, discourage, mock, yell, beg, connive, waste, yammer, steal, lie, cheat, parade, cry, scream... and I do not enjoy it. All the sheer senselessness of being forced to live among so much noise, from every direction, pounding into my skull... I felt as though the Libratorium was the only refuge I had against them all, and even THAT was packed with other beings at times. There was nowhere to hide from the deluge of others just being alive."

Now, he began to tremble a bit, but the look on his muzzle wasn't one of anger; it was nervous fear.

"ALWAYS talking. ALWAYS laughing. ALWAYS making so much of a din that I couldn't sleep at night. OR in the daytime. So much... much... to deal with, and no end in sight for me at all. How was I supposed to live in a world that was always grating at me? Making me feel like each spoken word, each hoofstep, each existence was driving needles into my skull?"

He sighed. "Do you know why they tore me apart in front of the Delvar Libratorium? Hmmm? Because I dared to speak my mind. I dared to tell them they were overcrowding myself and my family, and that we would be better off if they were all dead. For the sakes of their foal's futures, for the sake of the planet, for the sake of HARMONY... they would all have been better off as fertilizer for plantlife to grow from, rather than continuing thier own warlike and sorrow-filled existences and passing that misery down from generation to generation."

"Tell me, Obsidian," he said, "did you ever feel that? The press of others around you? The helplessness of just being in a sea of beings, with no safe metaphysical dock in sight? Have you ever felt the needles in your head?"

Oh yes, of course - and Amy's stories about going around villages, cursing others and perhaps experimenting on slaves and so on were just a fairy tale, right? Amethyst just wanted to tell her a Bedtime Story before meeting with Luna! What a damned good sister she was!

"I like this sea of beings, Peri. What really makes you think that this silent world of yours would be silent enough? That, sooner or later, you wouldn't regret keeping us, your siblings, around? Or perhaps keeping so many animals, that can roar, sing, cry and otherwise mess with your perfect, organized life? If anything I've heard from Amethyst and Onyx was true, then you had your fair share in their misery as well. Ponies don't have too many wars, last I checked. The most misery I've seen came from our own family, trying to hurt others for their selfish gains. And I'll try to ignore that part about their foal's futures because, come on... there would be no foals if everypony was dead!"

Peridot was insane and his logic was illogical. All of his bright mind was wasted on sheer lunacy, it seemed; what a shame...

"In fact, if everything bothers you so much, why do you insist so much on living?" It wasn't urging him to commit suicide or such nonsense; she was truly curious what excuse he might have for sticking around long after he was supposed to be deceased.

He listened to every word she had to say, his unknowable mind active behind those glasses as he did. When she finished, he closed those eyes and gave a large, slow and sad sigh.

"I never said I didn't cause my share of misery, no - but it's negligible when it's done to those who aren't imprtant to me. I think that will end up being the reason we'll end up fighting each other, Obsidian... the presence of others never bothered you the way it did for me."

"I set my curses on them because there were too many for me to deal with, mentally. Each time I released a life from this world, it was one less disturbance I had to endure, one less being to cause trouble, one less hassle to deal with, one less needle in my brain. And the more of them that died, the better things got for my peace of mind. You don't understand, and... and I'm afraid you never will. In fact, I'd give it a 77.4% chance you're contemplating how to put a stop to me right now."

His eyes opened, and he cast a longing glance out of a nearby window. "The living world is... it's incredible. So much to learn, so many things to see... it's the biggest classroom that ever existed. And it's FULL of classmates who just don't care... and don't care to give you a chance to learn for yourself, either. Certainly, I committed myself to learning, but... but it's hard to focus when the shrieking din of existence is screaming in your mind the entire time."

"If I felt guilty for doing the things I've done, I cant recall it - I always enjoyed making certain that there were fewer living beings around to cause me such grief, and among my siblings, Amethyst seemed to empathize with that mentality the most. Did you know we used to go out and slaughter villages and townships, simply because it was something that helped me deal with the actual, physical pain that others caused me, just by being alive? She called it 'dating', which was cute... but it was always about the body count, to her. Myself? I just wanted peace and quiet, and there was no other way to get it than getting rid of those who made it so awful in the first place."

"Obsidian, I don't want us to be enemies... but I calculate a 98.68% chance that, if you didn't have any issues with me otherwise, you would have them once I inform you that your friends who are infected will not be spared. I won't retract my curse, and I plan to put an end to each life that takes it up. That will include those who you know that have caught it. For what will inevitably be your anger and resistance, I am sorry."

He didn't sound angry, or insane, or even slightly miffed... if anything, his voice held a resigned sorrow to it, as well as what sounded like centuries of exhaustion.

His math was wrong - there was more like a 98% chance she was contemplating how to put stop to him... which rose to 100% as soon as he mentioned not being willing to retract his curse. She could agree with him that the world was incredible, and that there was plenty of things to learn. Bah, she'd love to learn with him - but, sadly, he seemed to be pretty firm on insisting to remove everyone she wanted to learn about there. Even if she would be some insane, Dark-Magic abusing mare - like Onyx or Amy during her old days - she would still prefer all those little ponies around her to live, if only to worship her and work for her glory.

There were simply too many differences between her and all of her siblings.

"I'm telling you now - you shall fail, Peridot. Because for all that power and might that may be hidden in that alicorn body, and for all this incredible brain of yours, the world is not only about math and chances - it's full of surprises, mysteries and secrets, and each single pony is a little world unto their own. You will probably spread a lot of chaos and havoc, maybe even raise a pretty impressive body count... but sooner or later, this wonderful world you want to study will stop you. You weren't able to prevent your body from being torn limb from limb, and the mere fact you'll have more power won't change the fact that you are still the same pony - one who sees the wonder of Life and considers it garbage."

She tried to give him a chance. "Just give up, here and now. I'm sure we'll be able to think up something that won't end with misery, chaos and destruction for everyone around. There are places untouched by pony hoof, there are libraries almost bigger than our father's palace. Are you saying you really can't see a future where you won't have to clean bones away before sitting to read?"

Obsidian knew it wouldn't end well, but she still didn't want to simply give up on her brother... especially with such a brilliant mind at stake! Especially especially as he could still end up murdering plenty of ponies before finally being stopped. Because his ideal stood against everything she wanted, both good and bad.

Peridot sighed again, then slowly stood up. "No. I won't surrender. You should already have understood that when I spoke of what my plans were. But I also understand that you don't feel what I feel. You don't see the way I see. It doesn't hurt you like it does me. So, regardless of whatever arguments may come, I do believe we will never quite see eye to eye on this subject." He looked down. "More's the pity."

Now, he looked back up. "But for what it's worth, it was good to finally meet you... and frankly, if you do manage to best me, then I believe you will have a grand future ahead of you, and I am certain your friends will be happy to have known you. I will not speak ill on that; if you win, you deserve to be happy."

He stood there for a moment, quiet. Then, when he spoke again, she could almost hear his pain. "Obsidian? I will make sure to put both you and Luna out of these dreams safely... but may I ask a single, solitary favor of you before you go? May I... may I have a hug first? I promise you, no tricks, no backstabbing, no treachery; just a single embrace between the sister who has it all, and her brother who wants it all to go away. Would you, please?"

He now looked up at her - actually AT her - and gave the saddest smile she'd ever seen. "I want to remember you like this... not... however things end up afterwards."

"I don't want to fight with you either, brother. We could do so much together..." Obsidian said with a resigned voice as she moved forward to give him the hug he wanted so much. It was obvious that he wouldn't listen to any reason; he was like a foal that got plenty of toys and just wanted to destroy them all, because they were taking up room for the ones he liked more.

Still, she did hug him. Funny... just a few weeks ago she was utterly confused and almost scared to death by her first hug.

He hugged her back; his coat was warm, his hooves were careful, and he gave her a slight nuzzle as he did. "Thank you, Obsidian. I am truly sorry that the world won't stop hurting me long enough to be a better brother to you."

Though it seemed as though he never wanted to let go, he eventualy did, stepped back, and looked down once more. "Please, tell Amethyst that she is still the best date I ever had. And try not to hate me too much... because the world you speak of does sound nice..."

He looked up at her with obvious pain in his sorrowful stare. "... it's just not one I can live in. Farewell, my sister."

With that, Peridot lifted a single hoof, and the Crystal Palace swam and rolled out of focus. It was disconcerting, but not painful. But she could swear she felt a streak of pure misery roll out around her before she lost complete focus, and it wasn't her own.

~>O<~

Author's Notes:

Nobody can really know how someone thinks for certain, can they? There are those who might agree with Obsidian, in that Peridot is a psychopath and a monster. There are possibly also those who sympathize with him, even if they don't agree with his methods. The question would be how one chooses to see Peridot, of course.

Next Chapter: Siddy gets an unexpected ally in her quest to stop her brother - one who has some very, er... colorful language. Reader discretion advised.

Fourteen: A Flurry Of Activity

She awoke with a start to find herself in her living room, on the floor on a palette of blankets, surrounded by pillows. Around her, Clap sleapt peacefully. As did Wart.

And, with an empty teacup in his lap, so did Cupcake.

She had to move fast; she knew Cupcake was a heavy sleeper, so she simply lit up her horn and stung his flank with a pinprick of magic. Just a little jolt to wake him up - almost playfully. Luckily, she still didn't quite understand about flirting; she needed him awake NOW.

"AYY!" Cup yelped as he leapt out of the chair, hit the ceiling, then landed back in his chair, only for it to break under him and spill him into the floor. Sitting in the pile of broken wood and cloth, he looked up at her. "THAT was really shi-... wait, OH NO!"

He jumped up, and looked like he was trying to hold in his panic. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I must have fallen asleep, DAMN this peaceful tea, I'm SO sorry, are you okay, what's going on, were you successful!?"

Really shi-... what? Did her coltfriend just try to swear? And how did he manage to wake up this fast? At least he was alert and fully operative for an emergency.

"Midnight is possessed by my dead brother's spirit, who wants to murder the entire world just to keep others from disturbing his reading time - and we need to stop him. Please awaken and inform the others, would you?" She turned around to leave the house. She would have to sprint to the palace. ... just how much time did she have before Peridot would gain full control of Twilight's son and unleash some Curse of Mass Destruction?

To his credit, Cupcake didn't gape, didn't ask 'what', and didn't just stand there; even as she left, she could hear him rousing the others and getting them up and active.

The run to the palace was a bit more lengthy than expected, so by the time she arrived there, she was panting a great deal herself. She may not have been overweight, but she most certainly wasn't used to such physical strain.

The guards at their post saw her coming, and by the time she got to the doors, Spike was already poking his head out; he looked a bit bleary-eyed, but he looked at her with all seriousness as she approached. "Obsidian? You're a teensy bit early for the train to the Crystal Empire - like, six hours early. What gives?"

By Darkness, was the path here always this long? Or perhaps she was still tired from the busy day she'd been having? Or, Darkness forbid, her condition was getting worse due to her new, comfortable life.

"MyBrotherWantsToPossessMidnightAndKillEveryoneWeNeedToStopHimNOW," she informed Spike in a single breath. "CallThemAllTwilightLuna... Ce... lest... ia..." she gasped as she found herself in dire need of oxygen.

Spike's eyes widened. "WHAT!? Aw, come on! Why are these things never easy!?" He turned and looked to the guards. "Raise the alarms! If there's something going on here, then we-"

"Master Spike," one of them began, "are you sure that this mare is telling the tru-"

Spike let loose a squirt of green flame that passed so close to the guard's snout, she could see his shorthairs crisp. His eyes went wide, and he looked at the dragon.

"I. Said. Raise. The. ALARMS!" he told the incredulous guard, who spun around and ran into the palace, calling for all guards to get to the throne room immediately. Spike turned back to Obsidian. "Sorry; sometimes you gotta give 'em a scare to get 'em moving, but the royal guard is really more efficient than that. C'mon - we gotta get to Midnight's room, and quickly!"

As she ran (and he flew next to her), Spike asked, "So how did you find this out? Did you finally manage to find the source of all this? And why would Tourmaline want to do such a thing; I thought he was trying to reform!"

"No no no, my DEAD brother, Peridot!" In the heat of the moment, she almost forgot that her other brother was still alive, not crazy anymore and even came here to deliver the news. "He's behind the curse! And now, he wants to use Midnight's alicorn-level power to decimate everyone in the world! Good thing I thought ahead about those magic inhibitors; it should give us a moment." It had been a really good idea, it seemed - she was proud of herself.

"OH! And I forgot to mention Cadance - yes, call Cadance too! If Peridot escapes, he will most certainly go directly to the Crystal Empire - straight to the Delvar Libratorium," she added as she realized she hadn't listed all of the alicorn princesses.

When they turned the corner to reach the room she'd seen Midnight in, there was a burst of bluish energy that came rolling out of the doorway, taking the door, the guards next to it, and what seemed to be another unicorn and flinging them away like so much waste paper.

The glow persisted as it grew, and the guards moaned as they started to get up... but then fell back down, every sign of Peridot's curse visible all over them. From inside came what sounded like a double-layered voice... and one of them was the voice she had just been hearing in her dreams.

"No. It will NOT end so simply," the voices said in perfect unity.

Midnight stood there, no longer looking even the least bit ill. The only obvious change that could be seen was the bright red eyes that now glared out from his head, with a rolling mist of red energy pouring from them as he regarded the scene before him.

"Waste..." they said, and that was when Spike groaned next to her, and sagged against the wall, barely managing to stay upright.

From behind her, Obsidian felt a tingle of energy, and then a shield enveloped her. "SISter..." a voice groaned, "you HAVE.. to GET... outSIDE... of... HERE..."

Lying on the floor beneath the door was Tourmaline, who looked as sickly as Clap had been when she'd last seen her... and the ring on his horn was cracked. The shield was coming from HIM. "GO... and GET... his... NOTE... book..." Tourmy rattled out through raspy coughs.

Peridot/Midnight's eyes narrowed. "NO."

Tourmaline hissed in defiant anger at the alicorn pretender. "YESSSS!"

Spike cried out, "RUN!"

Obsidian ran. Was she simply too late; was Midnight's power already too strong to be contained by magic inhibitors? There had to be some way... or did they fail to comply with her request to begin with? Notebook, notebook... but how she was going to get back to the Crystal Empire? Trains, carriages... teleportation...

She will get there, by Darkness - even if she would have to hijack somepony! But at the moment, she mostly hoped that she'd manage to meet the local princess on her way out.

Twilight Sparkle herself was making her way up the hallway, towards her son's room with several guards in tow, and they all stood at the ready to defend as Obsidian rounded the corner. "Obsidian? What's going-"

"Waste."

The guards around her quickly slumped and staggered to the floor, and the alicorn princess herself tried to generate a shield... but even as it popped into existence, Obsidian could see the telltale dark bags forming under her eyes anyway.
"Ohhh... Ob-shidian? Whash... happunning?"

Peridot/Midnight was making his way up the hall, striding with purpose as his red eyes locked on the Grey Princess herself. "I shall NOT stand idly by any longer; I will END them all, and there will be no more pain."

Twilight added Obsidian and her guards to her shield, but it wouldn't be much longer before she too would collapse to the horrible curse. Damnation! Obsidian lit up her horn to add her own power to the princess' shield. "End of the world, I'm afraid. I need to get to the Crystal Empire, NOW!"

Oh please, please, please, at least let Twilight do something effective in this entire fiasco...

Twilight Sparkle looked at Obsidian firmly, then gave a single nod. "I don't... know... whadsch going... on here... bud... bud I truscht you... know... whad you're... doing..." There was an overglow that enveloped Twilight's horn, and her eyes began to glow brightly.

Peridot/Midnight strode forward and his face wore a very angry look. "WASTE!" he yelled out in a Royal Canterlot Voice that shattered Twilight's shield, just as-

>POP<

Obsidian now stood on the very same Crystal Palace balcony that she'd joined Peridot on in her dreams... except this time, there was an entire kingdon full of subjects below her - living, breathing and carrying on with their lives.

But that wasn't all... Obsidian... didn't feel so good...

Guards... she had to find the guards... by Darkness, please - let it just be the effects of post-teleportation sickness... she didn't want to go through another living Tartarus, like she had with Onyx... but there was no time to waste.

First things first.

Obsidian tried to get off the balcony as quickly as she could. Cadance, Shining... frankly, any of the usurpers would do; she just needed a bit of help with her situation. Her first step was wobbly... and so was the next one... and the next one...

Dammit. He'd gotten her. It was like trying to swim through thick mud... and that was just the thinking part. It felt like her entire being was slowly hardening like concrete; eventually, she just wouldn't be able to move at all. That would be bad.

"Hey... hey, what the..?"

It was a voice that sounded like it was surprised at such an appearance. Eventually, a young mare trotted her way over towards Obsidian from one of the nearby hallways. She was thin and shapely, but was wearing a hoodie and seemed to have the hood up, even though she was indoors.

She stepped close, but still held back out of reach. "What... w-what's going on here? Are you... are you sick? You look really sick..." There was genuine concern in her voice, and a look of worry on her curious muzzle. "What's up, yo?"

"...curshe," Obsidian slurred, "Schon of Schom..." she coughed, "... Schombra ish c-coming... I need heeelllp..."

The Bastard; she was here alone, with no friends, in a practically alien place and suffering like she was in the midst of a full-blown fever...

He could actually win this fight.

"... oh, shit." The mare's horn lit up, and she ducked down to get a better look at Siddy. "Wait... YOU look AWFUL! And what's all this fuckery about Sombra? He's a statue in the Palace Gardens near Ponyville... unless someone's broken him out! Oh, shitshitshitfuckSHIIIIIT!"

The mare then placed a wing around Obsidian and began to lead her down a hallway. "Look, we HAVE to get word out about something like this - but you look like you're about to fall OVER! Let's get you to a seat, then we'll call for the guards - but first, I need you to breathe, focus, and tell me what's going on, okay? When they get here, I'll repeat it to them, but you don't look like you'll make it that long!"

Clap had it so much easier... or mayhaps in an alicorn body, Peridot's Curse was simply stronger, more potent? "Schombra's schon... Peridot... Delvar Libratorium... he hasch a nodebook dere... an' we neeeed it to schtop him. He posheshhed da body of Twilightsch's schon... and wantsch to kill everypony. Schee teleporded me, bud I god hid before..." Of course, it wasn't that simple, but it was the best she could do with her lips feeling like gruel, and her horrid sickly-lisp.

The mare's eyes widened. "Wait... the Delvar Libra- I was just fucking there!"

She stood up and looked at Obsidian with shock running across her features. "Are you telling me that Auntie Twilight is in danger, and we have to get to the Libratorium in order to fucking save her!?" A look of pure fierce determination came over her muzzle, and she looked at Obsidian again. "Okay, look - hop on my back, and I'll get us there as quick as I can! If what you're saying is right, we may not have TIME to grab a guard or two!"

She turned and spread her rather impressive wingspan. "Climb on! I know where it is by heart!"

Obsidian didn't have too much of a choice; she really wasn't even in the shape to properly think about it. She simply had to trust the... er, pegasus?... so she somehow managed to crawl onto her back and held on as tightly as her aching body would let her.

The mare adjusted to ensure Obsidian didn't fall off, then ran for the balcony and took off into the night. Normally, the Grey Princess might have enjoyed flying again; this time, however, she felt as though she just wanted to sleep, and sleep forever...

"Hang on! We're gonna be there shortly! You can make it!"

By Darkness, it was like her veins were filled with molasses and ground glass!

"Around this turn, then just a quick jaunt north!"

Peridot had been so reserved, so quiet-seeming, so bookish... how could he have accomplished something as perilous as this?

"Don't you die on me, Twi-Dammit! HOLD ON!"

Oh, she wasn't going to die, duh... she just had to... well, maybe... take a short nap... that would be all...

"Notebook... Peridot..." she kept muttering as her mind felt like it was drifting off into the void, "...brother..."

Their arial path brought them around a bend, and that was when the world seemed to shift lazily to one side. They came down right in front of a large, old-looking stone building with a number of stains from centuries of weather-wear on it. There was a sign next to it, but Obsidian couldn't make out a single word it said.

The mare she was riding didn't even slow down to open the doors; one blast from her horn tore the doors off their hinges and sent them flying as the two of them slid to a stop inside. The mare carefully got Siddy off her back, then looked at her in shock and a bit of panic. "Okay, this notebook, yo - where is it?"

Wait. Waaaaaiiiiiit...

Horn... AND wings? So, she wasn't just a pegasus after all, huh? Thinking was getting to be really hard.

"No idea... Midnight found it... id'sch god to be eeschay to noticsch..." Hmmm... it would mean her random ally was probably an alicorn; those had both wings and horns, right?

"Wait - Midnight? He was here, a few years ago... and he said he was studying... ummmm..." She looked around frantically for a moment, then gave an exasperated sigh. "Luna fuck me with the moon, where did he say he was at!?"

Then, the blue light outside the front door grew MUCH brighter, and a voice that boomed like thunder spoke up. "No. I forbid it."

The mare's jaw dropped, but she took hold of Obsidian with her magic and darted for the main atrium, leaving the foyer behind and shutting the doors quickly behind them. "Oh shit, was that Midnight? What the ever-loving flying FUCK happened to him!? What- NO. NO PANICKING, I AM NOT AUNTIE FUCKING TWILIGHT!"

She glanced around a bit, thinking on her hooves... then her eyes widened. "Wait! He was here studying magical applications - maybe the Elder Tomes section would have something like that! Come on, sickly savior; we're going notebook hunting!"

"STOP." The doors of the atrium splintered as a blast of blue energy slammed into them, making toothpicks out of them as Peridot/Midnight stepped through. The mystery mare dashed her way towards another section, Obsidian in tow.

"WASTE." his voice rang out.

"I fucking recycle, jackass!" the mare screamed over her flank as she kicked another door closed behind them, then her horn glowed. The sound of her running went left; she and Obsidian went right.

"Seriously, what in the bloody blue FUCK is going on here!?" she smouldered as she checked shelves rapidly, still moving.

She was a little foul-mouthed, wasn't she?

"Viral curse... he is... insane..." It was all so tiresome; Midnight/Peridot was going to win this battle easily. Something could possibly stop him sooner or later, but right now he was going to catch up with them. There could be no victory here... yet Obsidian found that she still didn't really want to give up.

"Great, juuuuuust great. Leave it to ME to find the burglar who's NOT a fuckin' burglar, and to have to deal with the possessed body of an alicorn who is, by your words, insane." The mare huffed out a short sigh. "Well, Dad always said I had a nose for trouble; guess he was more right than he knew..."

She turned and began quickly looking over different display cases, searching for something she wasn't even sure she could identify. "Okay, focus - stay with me here. Talk to me, tell me who you are, keep your eyes open, all that good shit... just talk to me, okay? No sleepytimes on my watch, got it?"

But... what if she didn't want to talk to her? Really, a nap was a great idea... she'd just close eyes for a second and... no. No. NO!

She shook herself semi-awake. "I need... to learn... a Teleportashun schpell... or schome... messchage schpells... laderrr..." she muttered. "I'm... Obshiddian..."

She certainly wasn't enjoying the sensations she was feeling; was this how sickness felt like? She'd never actually been sick in her entire life, to her recollection...

The mare stopped cold. "Whoawhoawhoa... YOU'RE Obsidian? Like, the Obsidian that was found in the catacombs? The Obsidian that Dad was freaking the fuck out over? The Obsidian who saved Ponyville from Sombra?"

She blinked. "You're... the same age as me, practically... whoa..."

She then shook her head rapidly, and resumed her search. "Well, we can have a decent little chat later, 'kay? Right now, you gotta tell me what this Tia-Damned notebook looks like, or this is gonna take longer than we have, honeybunch."

Oh, how nice; her grand glory preceeded her, it seemed - it was good to hear that she was able, even unknowingly, to spread such a reputation. "It'sch... ummm, old. My brother... usched it... a thouschand yearsch ago... to contain his spirit..."

Damn, did she actually know anything at all about this damned notebook? "... I've, um... n-never scheen id. Id wasch here... da whole time..."

The mare spun to look at her. "Are you fucking kidding me!? You're here to find a notebook, and you don't even know what it looks like? Oh, Celestia sodomize me with a horn, what the fuck do you expect ME to do, then?"

"WASTE," a voice suggested, and the solid-looking doors of the Elder Tomes section crumbled to ash right in front of her eyes.

Peridot/Midnight stepped through, and turned his gaze onto Obsidian and the new mare. He opened his mouth to speak again, but the mare's horn sparked up, and he got a wad of crumpled paper from a nearby wastebasket shot into his open mouth, making him momentarily gag.

The mare took hold of Obsidian again, and flew through the open doors to the right, entering into a hallway that was displaying a number of historical documents in display cases among the bookshelves.

"How... could you... not know... what the... fucking thing... looks like!?" She gasped between breaths.

Hmmm... historical documents. Maybe it could be here? After all, it was technically historical. "I'd... juscht learned aboud id... very recshently..."

She felt like she was completely useless now; she couldn't even deal with a simple curse. It was kind of pathetic... maybe there could be a trailing scent of Dark Magic on it? She had to do something...

"I'd kind of hoped... that the magic... inhibitorsch... would work for... ad leascht a bit..." She was looking around with her weary eyes. Notebook, notebook... "Midnight... didn't schay... anything more to you?" Maybe she could make a last stand, or at least cast a shield? Peridot... you damned insane bastard...

She gave Obsidian a wry look. "Hey, don't judge me - I'm trying to recall the details of a convo I had years ago! Just give me a minute..."

"WASTE."

"FUUUUUCK!"

The mare unceremoniously dumped Obsidian under a table behind a stand depicting ancient drawings and diagrams, and toppled some chairs over the front of it in an attempt to give Obsidian a place to hide; meanwhile, the mare herself darted up to the ceiling of the room and gathered a shelf's worth of books with her magic, watching the ash-transformed doors as Peridot/Midnight strolled in. She didn't give a catchphrase or snarky comment; she began pelting him with the books, and when he brought up a shield after the third one, she shredded the pages out of the remaining books and slung them about until sight was almost completely obscured by flying paper.

"STOP! Do NOT mistreat the books!" he bellowed.

"Kiss my puckered asshole, you possession-parading prick!" the mare yelled.

Peridot/Midnight whirled to face where the voice had come from, only to miss the mare darting behind another nearby shelf behind him. Apparently, she was good at misdirection.

"Obsidian. Surrender. I still offer you a chance to see my world firsthoof."

That was when Obsidian noticed the display for diagrams that she was sitting under. Among the displayed works, there was one that was stored in a glass case; what looked to be an almost crumbling sheaf of papers, bound by what looked like twine, that were actively displaying... what was...

Amethyst's dagger. It was unmistakable, as Obsidian had stared at the dagger that had killed Ruby for hours before it was confiscated and taken away to the royal vaults. It was a rather detailed drawing, as if the artist had taken their time making certain it was done correctly. What were the odds?

Peridot/Midnight, having not yet noticed Siddy, kept scanning the shelves for any sign of the wily mare... who was still staying out of his sight path. So far.

It was madness... but nopony could ever tell Obsidian the odds and convince her that a situation was hopeless. She was found in the catacombs after a thousand years of slumber, which was a small miracle on itself... she managed to get a group of wonderful friends, who somehow were tolerant to her antics - even during her very first day out - and didn't simply tell her to shove everything into the place that the Sun never shines upon.

Bah, she stood with these very same friends against monsters straight out of a nightmare made by her sister... and somehow, still prevailed. She and her friends met her father, and she thought he was the greatest warlock in the entire known history of Equus... he had an undead army on his side, he could have had her on his side if he hadn't treated her so badly when it was important... and yet, they defeated him, and he was cast into stone...

Let's be honest; the universe was cheating on Equestria's behalf - so Obsidian very carefully checked if Peridot was looking in her direction and reached towards the display case. If only she could get it before he'd notice...

The case wasn't light; it was a struggle just to get it off the display stand, and felt like a tug of war to get it under the table with her. Yet, there it was. It wasn't an entire notebook; much of what was here looked as though it was salvaged as best as possible... there may have been all sorts of information that was missing here, and that was a bit of a shame. The writing she did see was neat and orderly, small but quite clear to see - kind of like Peridot himself. The drawing was highly detailed, and the description underneath was factual and concise.

But unfortunately, nowhere in the drawing was there anything about ending a curse; she'd have to get the pages out of the case before she could see anything else on them.

Peridot/Midnight was now using his horn's magic to fling shelves aside, looking for the foul-mouthed mare. Said mare, meanwhile, was circling around to the far end of the room, watching the possessed alicorn with razor-sharp attention.

Now she had to open it. Problem Number One - Peridot was around. Problem Number Two - she had no time to waste. Problem Number Three - she had no focus necessary to operate with any sort of precision.

Obsidian did her best to force the case open using her magic, trying not to break the glass, as it would surely attract the alicorn stallion's attention - though hopefully, this whole shelf-flinging display would give her a room for a small mistake.

The very second that the casing cracked open, Peridot/Midnight's head swiveled to look directly at Obsidian.

"NO," he said simply, and began to speak again... however, at that moment, the mare shoved over a bookshelf, which toppled against another, then another, and like a line of dominoes they cascaded towards the alicorn.

Peridot/Midnight simply put up a shield, but it was enough to keep him busy as the same mare then blasted above him with her horn, shattering the skylights above and sending a rain of sharp glass down onto the entire room. Being under the table, Obsidian was safe, and the shield meant HE wasn't going to be hurt... but the sound was jangling, and LOUD enough to perhaps distract him?

The alicorn mare had bought her some time, at least. It was a shame that Obsidian herself wasn't in any shape to fight... but she could at least get the notebook out of the case, and look for a potential way to escape. She really doubted she could simply look for information in these wrinkled pages in a middle of fight, but perhaps in another place...

Was the alicorn even close enough to help her get away from Peridot?

"Your fight is futile. STOP," the dual voice said simply, yet loud enough to rattle Obsidian's bones, "You know nothing of the power I hold..."

A blast of energy tore into the floor in front of him. "Okay, listen to ME, you sack of warmed-over foal shit! You're nothing but a blowhard bully, and you need to crawl back between your mama's fuckflaps and gestate for a while more, because it's OBVIOUS you were brain-damaged at birth! Fuck you, fuck your plans, fuck your possession - because apparently, you can't even do the job yourself!"

"STOP TAUNTING ME!" the voice screamed, "IT HURTS!"

"GOOD, SHITHEAP! LET IT FUCKIN' ACHE, YOU MISERABLE COCKSUCKER!"

Peridot/Midnight was distracted... but to what end? Obsidian hadn't even gotten the pages out of the case yet!

Well now - Obsidian was certainly learning a few new vulgar words! That mare sure was creative. ... wait, what did he say? 'It hurts'? Was he really insane enough that taunts were THAT distracting to him? Apparently he'd found himself a worthy opponent in this mare, as she was taunting him with a skill of an elderly sailor who just found that his alcohol was replaced with saltwater.

If she was looking to find anything in those pages, Obsidian couldn't dream of a better opportunity - she quickly got the diary out of the display case, using whatever means she could. Of course, she would prefer to do it quickly... but if her magic wouldn't allow her to do so easily, then she could simply break the case open. As she did, she waved to her new friend to get her attention.

It was locked solidly tight... but for what it was worth, the case itself was made more for display than safety. Though it felt like trying to throw a punch through tar, she managed to crack, chip, then smash the glass casing while the mare continued to berate the alicorn. The pages felt like dry leaves in her hooves; so much so that a small chunk came off, falling to the floor.

At that exact moment, Peridot/Midnight let out a shriek of pain, then tuned to look at Obsidian with full attention... and the look on his face was ANGRY.

Before a single word escaped his lips, however, the mare suddenly threw the Crystal Empire royal flag over him, and cinched it up tighty around his head. "Eat it, you cock-hungry butt-stallion!" she roared, and with that, she actually leapt onto his back! She looked over at Obsidian, her face a pleading quiery as to what to do now, as Peridot/Midnight began to buck.

Didn't she know any stunning spells? Or perhaps something to cut off his oxygen? Damn, she could just try to choke him from where she was! Come on, Obsidian was barely standing on her own legs, and she had no idea what her new friend could possibly do; at least once, she would gladly be relieved of command and just let the alicorn fight in a way she liked!

"Disorient... him... schomehow... and help me... GED AWAY FROM HERE!" The curse had to be somewhere in the middle of the mass of pages - she had to find it! And hopefully in a way that won't destroy the entire notebook in the process. She just needed a moment or two!

"NO!" There was a blast of energy, and the mare flew off Peridot/Midnight's back and hit the floor, skidding to a stop near Obsidian; the flag disintegrated, leaving a very angry alicorn standing there, regarding the two of them together.

"PUT. THAT. DOWN. NOW."

The alicorn mare's head swung to the side and looked at the aged, crinkled pages in Obsidian's hooves... and something sparked behind her eyes. She reached over and, with a quickness, she yanked on a corner of the drawing. With a brittle rip, it came off.

Peridot/Midnight jerked backwards, and let out a howl of pain. The mare looked at Obsidian directly. "The notebook! He's tied to the-"

Her words were choked off as a blue ring of energy appeared around her throat, and jerked her upwards. Slowly, she floated out towards him, until they were muzzle to muzzle.

"ENOUGH." The mare's eyes bugged out as the ring began to tighten. She scrabbled her hooves at it, but then the alicorn prince spoke.

"WASTE!" he practically screamed, and the mare instantly grew dark circles under her eyes, and her struggles grew weaker and weaker.

She'd been afraid that might happen. Obsidian had hoped - really, really hoped - that she could find said curse and simply remove it, freeing Midnight in the process and letting her brother fade away peacefully, leaving his notes behind him to read, remember and understand.

Sadly, when it concerned her family, Obsidian very rarely got any of the results she craved.

She turned away from him - just to cover notebook with her own body - and started to demolish it, with hooves, magic and damn it, she would even bite it, just to save the alicorn mare in time. In the process, she was destroying the wisdom of the ages that could potentially help her with her own resesarch, the most important belongings of her deceased brother... and sadly, the very thing that was keeping him here. She at least tried not to destroy the picture of Amethyst's blade.

The shrieks from behind her were at the same time both sickening and terrifying. It sounded as if Peridot himself was being shredded just the same as his notes were. Sobbing, wailing words ground against her ears as he shrieked through his pain.

"OBSIDIAN! AAAGH! ST-STOP IT! STOOOOOOP! IT- I-I-IT HUUUURTS! RRRRAGH! OHH! YAAAAAGGHH! STOOOOOOOOOP IIIIIIIIT!" Bursts of blue energy continued to splash and arc outwards, smashing shelves and sending nasty blackened lines up and down the walls. "STOOOOP! PLEEEEEASE! PLEASE, NO! KILL M-ME, BUT SPARE MY NOTES! PLEEEEEEASEEE!"

By Darkness, she hoped Midnight would survive. She looked behind herself, but continued to tear pages in the notebook, just to keep him occupied.

"FREE MY FRIEND AND THISCH BODY!" she demanded with a shaking, tired voice - watching her brother's torment, even if he was an insane maniac... or maybe because he was just insane, not fit for this world... was still gut-wrenching. "I don't want to deschtroy it... bud you leave me no choische! Releasche Midnight or elsche!"

It would have sounded better if she wasn't still lisping.

The possessed alicorn was quiet for all of a moment, then... "... do it."

The dual voice sounded resigned, weary, and tear-filled. "If I cannot make this world as I NEED it to be, to live without pain... then END it. I have lived far longer than I should, and I just want my pain to stop. END IT."

There was a choked sob... then the next words were a rage of anguish.

"DO IIIIT!!!"

The voice sounded as if he was right behind her.

"... f-farewell, my brother..." Her horn became surrounded by a magical spell aura, and his notebook flashed with the light of a star.

A ring of blue energy rolled outward from behind her... and the moment it happened, Obsidian instantly felt her body expel the illness that she'd been suffering from. Her sight cleared, her muscles stopped resisting her, and her fever vanished. She was back to normal, physically. How she felt about it all was another story entirely.

"OH! Me, Luna and Celestia in a filthy-fucking-THREEWAY, that sucked!" The mare, apparently, was okay... and, Obsidian now noticed clearly, was an alicorn herself! "Well, that... was interesting. FUCK, I don't wanna have to do all that again! It was just... ohshitMidnightareyouokay???"

The groan from behind her had only a single voice in it. "I think... I want... to lie down... for a few... millennia..."

The alicorn mare looked over at Obsidian. "How about you; you okay?"

Once again, Obsidian was completely and utterly back to normal - no sign of sickness, no Dark Magic muddling her mind and no insane villains trying to kill her. It absolutely didn't change the fact that as soon as she regained full clarity of mind, she immediately felt that she wanted to throw up.

"... I just... came back home to... t-to kill my brother.... I..."

Damnation... she really did it; she had killed him. Of his own wishes - or he would otherwise kill everyone around him, and she had to somehow free Midnight from the possession... but still, she had ended her brother's life. Her own brother. It seemed to be far simpler and more innocent when she was just destroying the notebook, but now... now that the deed was done, it felt like almost like a physical weight.

"I managed to keep our Father alive. I saved my sister's life, despite all that she did to me. I protected my other brother... but I never..."

She was staring at the wall in front of her, but it was clear that she didn't actually see it; she was focused on something completely different. To add insult to injury, there wasn't even a body - no remains to mourn. He had passed like a rogue wind, and she couldn't do anything about it.

"Can..." she tried her best to simply speak without sorrow, "... can anyone get in touch with Ponyville? I'd like to know if everyone there is... okay..."

The mare made her way over to her, and hesitantly placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Your broth-... oh yeah, you said that. I... I'm so sorry. I mean, I can't even imagine what it must..." The mare stopped; no point in rehashing things.

She gave a small sigh, then turned back towards Midnight. "Mids... you look like you just fucked a manticore. The HARD way."

"I... I r-remember... parts of it, but... but it's hazy..."

"Don't strain yourself, Mids - I got this feeling you've already been through a shitstorm. You sit down, and let me get hold of Dad; you'll be okay..."

She made her way back to Obsidian. "Ummm, Obsidian? Yo? You feel like staying here with Mids until I can get some help?"

"Yes, I... y-yes..." Obsidian waved her hoof distractedly, still thinking deeply - but hey, it's not like Midnight really needed any immediate medical care. Even in her current state, she would notice if something extreme were to happen to him, so it was probably good enough.

"Go on, er... would you happen to be Flurry Heart of the Crystal Empire, perchance? Or did I miss the existence of any other siblings?" she asked suddenly, trying to guess. To be fair, as far as she remembered, Flurry was born even before Cupcake was... and the mare had said that they were of a similar age. Hm, perhaps she was a younger sister..?

She gave a smirk. "My rep gets ahead of me... heh, cool. Yeah, that's me - in the fur. And Radiant Heartshine's off in Yakyakistan right now, so... you got the more capable sister. Imagine that?"

She stood up and headed for the cracked doorway. "You two just hunker down, and I'll be back faster than a jackrabbit's fuck!" She darted out, flying for the palace.

Midnight, meanwhile, looked over at Obsidian with a worried muzzle. "Obsidian?"

"She was using quite a number of words I don't really understand... but I think I shouldn't repeat them in front of your mother. Or anypony else, for that matter," Obsidian concluded - and stood up. "So, do you feel alright? Horn, wings, everything working correctly? Basic mental capabilities in evidence?"

He gave a groan, and rubbed his eyes. "Well, I can actually DO stuff in my own body again, so I guess I'm okay. I don't feel sick anymore, and that's grand. I remember... a lot of pain. I mean, mental pain - every time someone got near me, it was like someone was shaking a can full of glass chunks next t my ears... and everytime someone else came along, the sound just got louder and harder. When you and Stally came to see me, just the two of you there felt like I was being overwhelmed."

He then looked down. "I want you to know, though... he was... glad, in the end. H-he wanted to... make the world more quiet. But if he couldn't do it, then he was just as happy to... t-t-to... you know..." His gaze went back to Obsidian. "If that intensity was what HE was feeling all the time... then I understand why he wanted to do what he wanted to do. I get it. It was... it was impossible to live with, at least for me. I can't even imagine what that was like for him, if that's what he felt from the world around him."

"I'm sorry it happened. I'm sorry I looked those pages over. I'm sorry I ever got any of you dragged into this mess. But, really, I had NO IDEA that anything was wrong with me, after reading those notes! There was nothing but this... itch... that I felt from time to time, but... how was I to know what it really was? I'm just... just... sorry, Obsidian."

So he was feeling fine - good. Otherwise, she would have inform Princess Twilight that her son unfortunately got maimed right after his return. His words were failing to cheer her up, though. She understood that Peridot somehow really suffered around others, and that turned him into a mad pony, wasting his potential.

But it didn't change the fact that she would have liked to save him. To truly help him. Not give up on him and... murder him. Midnight... he was the one who technically started all of this...

"Your feelings towards Thunderclap activated this curse. Without that, my brother wouldn't ever have returned," she said after a moment with a calm voice. Perhaps a bit too calm.

Midnight huffed a sigh. "Yes, I get that. But I don't have a lot of closure from all that - and it still hurts, even to this day. Maybe it's easier for ponies like you to just let things like that go, but for me? It was what sent me away from those I cared about, to live in another country under the guise of 'expanding my horizons'. My mother was furious that I wouldn't tell her about it, and she was determined to make certain I was safe."

"But my time there? I spent a lot of it stewing over what Thunderclap had done to me. Probably TOO much time on it, as I dabbled a bit into Dark Magic because of it - but just to protect myself. Heck, those pages? I was studying the dagger design for one of my classes; I never even had revenge on my mind until... u-u-ntil I saw her."

"That night, I dreamed about you and her, and he showed up, telling me he'd calculated the odds of teaching her a lesson while we worked together. He never lied - he simply didn't tell me his plans, long-term. And for what it's worth, he did seem kinda nice, if a bit... I don't know, distant? Preoccupied?"

"But yeah, even if it WAS my anger that triggered him... I honestly had no possible way of knowing what would happen, as I apparently picked up that curse from studies that had NOTHING to do with revenge." He hung his head. "But it still cost you a member of your family... and for that, I am truly sorry, Obsidian. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me... just like I'll have to find it in MY heart to forgive Thunderclap Dash."

"I usually don't hold grudges, Midnight; I doubt you will be an exception. However, I hope you most certainly will mend your ways with Clap, who is truly a completely different pony now, and who also had some rather traumatic experiences in her foalhood..."

She glared at him. Hard. "... Because, unless you do... I doubt we will ever be friends."

Midnight nodded. "I... guess I get that now. After years of trying to bury my feelings, seeing her just... just..."

He sighed. "But you're right. It's time to let bygones be bygones, and to just let go of the past. Holding onto it isn't doing anyone any good, and who knows? Maybe she really will turn out to be a decent friend to me now. It won't exactly be easy, but..."

He looked at Siddy. "I guess if YOU can partner up with Flurry Heart to save Equestria, then I guess I can put aside my foalhood traumas and fears. It seems to be the least I can do, after all this."

He slowly stood up, dusting himself off carefully. "And I'd rather be friends with you than not - after all, I think YOU will be about the only other being I can talk to about Dark Magic without getting suckered into doing something wrong, or stealing my soul, or stuff like that... and I kinda need someone to ask questions to. I hope... h-hope that you'd be okay with that?"

Did that mean she could have access to her own Dark Magic-using alicorn? One that possibly knew many things still unknown to herself? Probably without any hostile agenda? Not bad.

"Dark Magic is dangerous... but I have to continue my studies with it as well. To better understand Grey Magic, you see." That big joke of magic, bleah. "Now, let's move to more serious topics - do you like Stalwart?"

Midnight blinked. "Stally? Well, yeah - she's one of the best friends I ever had when I was a colt; she always defended me, and she always knew how to make me smile or laugh.... she was like a sister to me, i-if I had a sister, that is. Why would you-..."

His eyes widened; NOW, he got it. "I... well, I uh... never considered her like that before. I mean, she's still a great friend... and she's not ugly, not at all. She's smart, and brave - VERY brave - and kind, and..."

He gave a chuckle. "Y'know what? I never considered her like that before... but she wouldn't be a bad marefriend, would she?"

"Perhaps; I'm not really very knowledgable about this topic, but I think she deserves a bit of attention for her hard work today," A satisfying ending, it seemed; good won, evil was punished and...

And as long as Obsidian wasn't thinking about it too hard, she could actually avoid tormenting herself about Peridot's fate.

Midnight gave a thoughtful smile. "Maybe. She DOES like anything dealing with royalty... maybe I could bring her here for a tour of the Crystal Palace? I mean, if she hasn't already had one, that is."

He gave a stretch, then looked at Obsidian. "Though honestly? If Cupcake wasn't already snuggling up to you, I'd already have asked you about a date; you're more my style, honestly." He blushed a bit, but still smiled at her.

Well, she was working hard too - she deserved a bit of attention as well. Heh, Cupcake would surely be able to help her relax. "You are well-informed for a pony who just came back to Ponyville," she noticed. Hm, she didn't tell that him before, right?

It would be good for Stalwart to have her very own prince to protect, eh?

He chuckled. "More like Cupcake couldn't keep quiet about you; he's pretty crazy about you, y'know. If I thought for a minute he wasn't up to par as a coltfriend..." Midnight shook his magnificent head. "But I know he's about the best choice you could have. He'll treat you with respect and real love, so I'm not worried about how you'll be treated - he'll love you like you should be loved."

He then gave a half-lidded, smooth smile. "If things don't work out, feel free to give me a ring..." then he laughed, "unless things DO happen between Stally and I!" He gave a wistful grin, then looked to the windows. "I always called her Stally... because I kinda think calling her a 'Wart' just never sounded right to me."

When he looked up, the muzzle he wore looked intensely relieved. "And I wanted to thank you for all you've done; I know it wasn't exactly for ME, but... I am truly grateful that you came to my rescue, as it were."

Obsidian tilted her head a bit to the side... which, fairly speaking, was kind of cute. "Ring?"

Oh yes, she could guess Cup would tell him plenty of things. She simply had no idea that they'd met elsewhere at some point today or yesterday - her coltfriend didn't mention that, and today Midnight had been dearly sick.

"Oh, well... it's kind of my job. Saving Equestria, bringing justice to villains, spreading harmony, friendship and laughter everywhere and so on." Especially as Applejack's death broke the circle of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony... which meant that Obsidian and her little gang really were important as a line of defense for Equestria.

Midnight gave a chuckle. "Well, you're in good company among the citizens of Ponyville - I swear, a number of others there have had their hoof in saving everyone as well... but that's-"

"Obsidian." It was a voice she hadn't heard in quite some time. "I expect that all this has an explanation?"

Sure enough, standing at the doors was a contingent of royal guards... and in front of them, the older pony who had last seen her when she was fresh from the catacombs. Shining Armor, they had called him, and his armor certainly was shiny enough.

Well, he still hadn't explained what he meant by 'ring'; was it an idiom? Some custom? She really had no idea about many things, and it was sometimes strange to realize that other ponies may not know she couldn't always understand them.

But the guards were here. Pretty late, to be fair. You know, if they were always this 'useful', then perhaps the princess should abolish this branch of military for good.

She turned to the usurper... but, should she bow? Or not? A short bow it is, then. "Good evening; we were stopping an insane pony from destroying all of ponykind," she explained briefly.

"Yes..." he intoned, "my daughter said something to that effect." He gave a very pointed look around. "And from the look of it, she made quite a mess in here, too. I assume it wasn't you, as I've heard from my sister that you are just almost as studious as she is. Which is a mean feat, to be sure."

He seemed to accept her... but Obsidian couldn't shake the feeling that she was being closely observed right now.

"This is where we escort you to the palace, and you tell me everything that's going on here. And I mean everything."

Author's Notes:

The idea of an alicorn being foul-mouthed like this just makes me giggle at the concept. All prim and proper... except for this one. Incidentally, this character is the initial reason for the 'Profanity' tag above... though, as happens in real life, you'll see how such language influences others as the story progresses. And do keep your eyes on who swears and who doesn't.

And so, foe vanquished, threat dealt with, roll credits, right? *chuckle* Not so fast, folks... this was only the beginning.

Fifteen: All's Well That Ends... Umm... Wait...

About an hour later, Shining Armor had finally finished writing the last bit of their explanation down on the papers he'd been filling out since they arrived here, and then put the clipboard to the side, giving a soft sigh as he did.

"... and you say that Peridot is gone now? No more incidents involving him? No more curses in our future from this individual?"

Obsidian didn't even have the ability to make any kind of mess, considering her state during the fight. It felt like a small miracle that she didn't fall unconscious immediately afterwards. Apparently this curse wasn't simply making ponies tired, but perhaps blocking their energy? Their strength? She'd need to study it closer to know for certain, but with Peridot and his notes gone... she wasn't really able to do that now.

"My brother was exceedingly honest - perhaps too much so. At the end, he said that destroying the notebook would end him - I don't have any reason to believe he could return, in any way... and likely wouldn't want to," she admitted sadly.

Shining nodded, then sat back in his seat and looked to Siddy's left. "And you don't feel anything out of the ordinary?"

"No, Uncle Shiny," Midnight said with a smile. "I feel fine now. I know you'll probably tell Mom all about this, but I assure you, I feel just fine."

Now, he looked to her right, and his muzzle took on a slightly kinder look. "And YOU'RE okay too, sugarlump?"

Flurry Heart rolled her eyes. "Ugh, Dad! I told you not to call me that in public!"

That brought a smile to the elder captain's face, and he looked all three of them over. "Well, I'm glad this turned out well; curses running rampant in Equestria are no laughing matter, and I hesitate to think of what might have happened if even ONE thing had gone differently. You have some sort of luck about you, Obsidian... and for that, I'm eternally grateful."

He stood up. "Alright - I've arranged quarters for you Obsidian, and you'll have a free train ticket back to Ponyville tomorrow. I've already sent word back to Twily- I mean, er, Princess Twilight, and word has already come back that everyone involved is well and alive." He cleared his throat. "I have been told, however, that Tourmaline is being held in a cell until they can replace his magic restraint, but I'm told he'll be released as soon as that's done, so no worries there. He's even being kept in one of the nicer cells, so he's not shivering in a cold cell. No worries."

So Obsidian had finally met an Equestrian with a father! Really, considering all of her friends, she almost believed that they multiplied by parthenogenesis! It reminded her to pester Cupcake a bit more about his own father and, sooner or later, perhaps even meet him.

"I'm not sure if I would call that 'luck'... rather more like a 'trouble magnet'," Obsidian rubbed her temple with a hoof. Her first meeting with her siblings, and she had to defeat an undead invasion. Her second meeting, and she had to stop a plague from wrecking the entire world. She was somewhat afraid to meet the rest of them - and as Peridot said, there would be a 'rest of them'.

"I'll need to talk about my siblings with the princess... but honestly, it's not like Tourmaline would attack anypony, I'll have you know." Except maybe Amethyst, of course. "If I may, there is also one more issue I'd like to ask about. May I?"

Shining Armor regarded her for a moment, then nodded solemnly.

"My friends were afraid about the general reaction if I came to visit the Crystal Empire. Is there anything I need to worry about? Because I'd like to visit this place properly, with no races against death, no pursuing villains and so on."

He looked at her for a moment, steepled his hooves and took a deep breath, letting it out before he answered. "Well... honestly? When you were first discovered, my wife and I had quite a discussion about you. And frankly, I admit that my side of it wasn't very kind. Your ancestry left me... apprehensive at you ever being allowed into the Crystal Kingdom again at all. I made a number of points based on the idea that we had no way to tell what your plans were, what you might try, or even if you'd cause any trouble in Ponyville..."

He then fixed her with a kinder look. "But my wife, Princess Cadence, thought differently. She felt that you deserved a chance to prove yourself, and that we would be remiss to allow you to show us what kind of pony you are. She's always been about spreading love... and you were no exception to that rule. I wasn't on board with the idea... at first. But when my sister told me about what you'd done and how you defeated Sombra, regardless of who he was to you... well, I guess you swayed me to your side of the fence, so to speak."

"Obsidian, if you want to visit the Crystal Empire, all you have to do is talk to either Princess Twilight or Spike; they'll arrange things and inform us, and we can prepare a passport for you to come and go as you please. You are not at all restricted from here - your original home - as long as you continue to prove yourself to be worthy of such."

He gave a slight frown. "Tourmaline and Amethyst, however, will remain banned from the kingdom until they have earned the trust of the populace, and their restraints are legitimately removed. Until then, those two are a flat 'no'. Understood?"

Good to know. It seemed that they would be able to visit after all, just as she had promised to Gypsy - though it would be wise to let the Crystal Ponies clean up the mess in the Libratorium first; the poor puppy would have a heart attack if he could see it now.

"I'm sure Tourmaline will get his restrictions removed soon, and Amethyst... well, I'm not that crazy about bringing her anywhere, so yes, it's well understood. Thank you." Maybe it wasn't going to let her seize any sort of power in the kingdom of her father... but it was good enough for now, anyway. "Is there anything else for us to discuss...?"

Shining Armor shook his head. "If anything else crops up about this, I'll send word to you, and we'll discuss it then; for now, I believe that's everything, as far as I know."

He stood up from behind his desk, and made his way over to where the three of them sat. "I'm glad no one was hurt, and I'm actually sorta looking forward to your visit now - maybe you and Flurry here could even end up being besties, eventually?"

"Dad. Please. You make is sound so... dorky."

He gave a laugh, then went to the office door and opened it. "Midnight, you're to get home to your mother immediately; I'm sure she's practically chomping at the bit to see you well. Flurry, hon? If you would, will you take Obsidian here to The Crystal Inn? The Royalty Suite there is waiting for her."

Flurry nodded, then paused. "Wait... not inside the palace?"

The captain leveled a look at his daughter. "Next time, Flur - baby steps, okay?"

She rolled her eyes, sighed, put her hood back up and motioned to Obsidian. "C'mon... before my Dad gets all weird again."

To be fair, Obsidian would probably be able to get back to her old room to rest for the night, if necessary. In fact, it could be an interesting experience - she wondered if they'd found it at all, breaking through all the secret paths, locks and other unpleasant things put in place by her father. Maybe she could get there, after all? "As far as I'm concerned, we've already bonded somewhat over this experience. Farewell, prince," She stood up and went with Flurry out of the room.

Once outside, Midnight bid his farewells and headed presumably for home; once he was gone, Flurry Heart looked over at Obsidian and gave a smirk as she motioned to the office door. "So, yeah - that's my Dad. Sorry he's sort of a tightass, but he takes his job pretty seriously, you know? Plus, it's where he really excels, too - keeping others safe and stuff like that. You shoulda seen him when-" She stopped in mid-sentence, then just chuckled. "Well, he's been pretty active, even for a geezer. But he's my Dad and stuff."

"He seems to be a... different type of father than mine was," Obsidian noticed as they walked.

The two of them continued along, Flurry leading by pointing as she walked next to Obsidian. "So, I hear you saved Ponyville; did you do it by yourself, or was it more of a team effort?"

"Oh, it was very clearly a team effort - even when I had this Light Amulet, and was filled with so much power that I felt like a goddess! My friends helped me greatly with the fight, and it was their friendship that kept fueling my magic. I had to do a few things myself, especially when my sister captured us... but without my friends, my father would most likely be sitting on the throne in this very palace."

Which sadly wouldn't be as nice a thought as Obsidian had once believed, not such a long time ago. She had learned a lot since the Equestrians had woken her up.

"Yeah," Flurry waved a dismissive hoof, "friendship is magic and all. I hear that shit all the time, and believe me, no matter how tired I get of hearing it... it fucking works, so I don't really knock it."

"Still, I'm kinda curious as to who latched their proverbial ships to your dock - I mean, yeah, I know about Cupcake. Frankly, who doesn't? But what about the rest? I hear you actually have one of the few diamond dogs that go to the school for a friend. Is that true? What's he like?"

Obsidian gave a soft grin. "Gypsy Rover is poised to be a great scholar, one day. In fact I think you'll end up meeting him sooner or later, because I'd promised him yesterday to visit the Delvar Libratorium with him. He was very excited about this prospect, so I'm not going to renege on this promise. Oh, and he likes origami, too. The rest... you know, just sort of... happened. You meet one friend, then that friend shows you another, and before you realize it, you are swarmed with creatures that just want to tell you that they like you," she shrugged slightly.

The fact that friendship worked was one of the very important reasons why Obsidian was so very insistent for her siblings to to give up mass murder, cruelty, savagery and other things during their past meetings. Oh, and she didn't like wastefulness, either.

"By the way, I'd like to check something in one of the store rooms... at least it was used for storage when I was here last time. Second door to the left from the throne room's left rear door?"

She lifted an eyebrow as Obsidian mentioned the storeroom. "Those lead to... okay, that's kinda funny. It's Mom's sewing parlour now; she LOVES to sew, and she makes all sorts of shit there. Some of it's even good. Why - what was it?"

Sewing parlour... hunh. A sewing alicorn? Flurry was right, it was a bit funny.

"I simply thought I could check on my old room, that's all. You know, for me, only a few weeks or so have passed since I last saw it."

Flurry stopped. "That was your room? Or, like, did it LEAD to your room, because Mom said there used to be a door or some shit there; said it led to the catacombs, where I'm not supposed to be... even though I go there anyway!"

She laughed brightly. "Hey, if you're down for it, I can take you there? There's a LOT of ways in, and only a few that Mom and Dad know about! It's, like, HUGE and shit... I've wandered down there off and on for YEARS, and I even have a little hidey-hole in there, too. I mean, y'know," she cleared her throat and tried to act as though it weren't as big of a deal as she'd initially showed it to be, "if you want to do that kinda stuff, though."

"It did once lead to my room, yes," So they found a path to the underground corridors, did they? She was curious if they had found the door to her room as well; she remembered that she had always preferred them closed. "The shortest way to my room goes through your mother's sewing parlour, but I should be able to find it easily enough from other ways in, too."

Hidey-hole? Normal ponies were strange.

Flurry, though trying to act cool, obviously wanted to share what she'd found with Obsidian; she just didn't want to look like a dork when she did. "So... that's a 'yes' to the catacombs, then? I mean, if you wanna..."

"Yes, yes it is. Besides, I'm curious how many paths, secret doors and other 'fun stuff' you've found." Obsidian would perhaps be a bit paranoid about living in a palace with unknown catacombs, built by the previous ruler who could possibly return at any time.

Flur tried her best to maintain her aloof attitude, to keep her cool and level-headed personality intact, so as not to appear to be just as much of a dork as her father was.

It lasted all of three seconds.

"Okay, c'mon!" She galloped away down next to The Crystal Inn, and made her way around the back. From there, she hopped over some low hedges, snaked her way under some tree roots and squeezed past two large boulders before zeroing in on a single spot on the grass that was a bit browninsh. Not suspiciously so to passersby... but obviously a secret entrance to Obsidian.

The alicorn mare knocked a hoof on it squarely five times, and it sunk into the ground, revealing a staircase inside, made of thick purple crystal. "Okay, right down here - this shit's gonna blow your mi-... wait. You've probably SEEN this already." Her crestfallen expression lasted as long as her cool one. "Fuck it! I wanna show it off anyway!"

She hightailed down the stairs and into the cool, dank caverns beneath. The earthy smells... the cool air... the chilled temperature...

... home...

From what she was seeing here, not only had they found different ways in, but they even managed to get to those areas which were beyond the palace? Maybe the princess hadn't found it from the inside, as Obsidian's room was one place that had been rather hard to find. Quite impressive.

"You know, until recently, I'd never left the palace or this place much. In fact, the first time I'd ever stepped outside into the city was when the Equestrians found me," she said with a slightly nostalgic tint to her voice as she stepped down into the familiar dungeons.

They were, hmmm... ah, yes! There was the training room to the left - now it should be a fairly simple matter to locate her own quarters. "Let's go; it's not that far," she confidently trotted forward, counting corridors. One to the left, one to the right, second to the right... okay, now turn right...

"Pretty clever on my father's part, to build something so impressive and hidden from the public, yes?" she asked, proud at her parent's achievement.

Flurry watched with a modicum of awe as Obsidian expertly gided her through the underground tun-

Wait.

Around a corner, there was a passage that Obsidian had never seen before. It looked as though it had been made only about a decade or so ago, from the look of the crystal surrounding it. What was this? Still, her room wasn't far at all, and Flurry seemed eager to see what Obsidian, her newest friend, was going to show her.

Were the Equestrians using this place as well? Or perhaps Flurry, using some of those alicorn powers of hers, built it as her so-called hidey-hole? It could be dangerous... and frakly, Obsidian had already had her token dangerous adventure today. Which meant that luck was on her side, right?

"Flurry... this cavern is new; have you ever seen it before?" It's not just that Obsidian didn't noticed it before - it was fresh.

"Please be careful, okay? Don't touch anything yet," she trotted closer, checking the surroundings with her magic. Another sibling? Onyx's hideout?

"That's the place," she chuckled knowingly, "THAT was where there'd been this cave-in, and Dad had a few workers clear the way. They found some cool rooms in there, and there's even some weird-looking displays for these really pretty crystals! Other than that, it's harmless, I promise... I can show you, if you want?"

She seemed happy enough to explain... but something about this tunnel still seemed... strange.

By Darkness, it was a rather mundane explanation... but something here still felt very, very wrong, and Obsidian was not going to fall into another trap and potentially doom Equestria yet again.

"I'm curious, but first... pray tell, do you know how to teleport? Just in case there might be another murderous sibling of mine, or perhaps a mad copy of my father, or a pet monster of his or anything like that..."

Flurry laughed with some snark. "What, you think I'm dumb enough to hang out down here if there's some freaky fucking monsters around? Come on, gimme a break! There's just the weird rooms, and that's all - no critters, no copies, and no fucking ponies! I swear, we're the only living things down here... except for a few spiders, but they're no bigger than my hoof, and they squash easily."

She blushed a bit. "D-don't tell Fluttershy that part, okay?"

Flurry began just moseying down into the new tunnel, heedless of any possible threats therein. "Don't be a pussy, Sids! Let me show you the Black Room - it's wicked cool!"

She was too confident and didn't answer Obsidian's rather important question - and the Dark Princess was (understandably) a bit afraid about some unknown rooms in her father's catacombs.

"I'm not a cat," she said petulantly. Why would she call her a cat? It really made no sense.

"And Flurry! The Libratorium was full of old books, and yet there was my brother who almost unleashed a plague... wait for me!"

She had to follow Flurry - to protect her from any dangers that could be hidden inside this old place. Besides, she didn't want another alicorn possession around to have to deal with; the next one might be worse, right?

As they walked together, Obsidian VERY much got chills down her back; something about this place almost called out to her; she could feel it in her very core as it seemed as though, even though she didn't now this place, she should have...

There were a few doorways down here, each leading to an antechamber, and each one of a different color. However, the one Flurry led her to was black.

Pitch black. Jet black. Blackest black.

The entire room was smooth-walled, but carved at a slightly askew angle that made anyone in it feel as though the room was tilting to the right a bit. The black stone was cool to the touch, and the high ceiling had only a few stalactites growing from it - which were black as well. In the center of the back wall was what looked to be a finely chiseled altar of the same black material. Nothing stood on it at all, but underneath it was what (at first) appeared to be cracks in the surface.

However, they weren't cracks - they were ancient Crystallian letters, carved into the altar over a thousand years ago, though still as crisp and cut as the day they were made. They were four letters, evenly spaced and elegantly carved.

They were, in order:

O - N - Y - X

"Pretty cool, right?" Flurry asked.

Author's Notes:

'Sugarlump': a word that is endeared to parents everywhere, while equally vilified by children the world over. Nothing can embarrass one quicker than a parent's pet name for you, uttered in public among folks you hope will become your friends. All you can do is try to live down the shame, and hope those friends don't gossip.

Sixteen: Plus Three

By Darkness...

"We need to go back, seal this place up, inform the princesses and get as many guards here as possible, right now... and Flurry? I'm not joking," Obsidian replied, stepping away from the room as if she expected it to pounce on her at any moment.

What was this place? Was it simply Onyx's room? Her prepared 'tomb' for her shard-self? Something else entirely? There were so many things she didn't know about her siblings, or her own kind as a shard/artificial pony created by King Sombra - and she didn't want to learn more by getting into dangerous situations like this was turning out to be!

At least once, she'd like to learn something in a peaceful manner...

"Oh, relax already; I've been coming down here for YEARS, and not a single fucking thing has happened during all that time! Fuck, why are you so damned paranoid? Look, whatever has you spooked, I swear you're just freaking out over bullshit!"

She gestured around the black room. "I've been in this one LOTS of times, and nothing has happened to me yet! And it's not gonna, either. So, park your paranoia-cart at the side of the fucking road, Sids - there's nothing here, okay?"

She then smiled. "Besides, I'll show you one where it actually has something on the pedastal! C'mon, chickenshit!" She gave a laugh, started to leave the room... then stopped and turned to face Obsidian.

"Don't, uh... don't take offense to that. Really, I'm just messing with you. I don't mean you're really chickenshit or anything, I just... you're just really being paranoid, and I swear to you, there's nothing here that will hurt us."

She left the chamber and moved to another one across the way. "Here, come see this one - there's actually a really cool crystal on display here!"

Obsidian ran to grab Flurry before it was too late. "Flurry! These crystals are exactly like the one I was freed from!"

If she recalled correctly, Peridot told her that their siblings were slowly gathering strength, so it would be quite possible that her brother/sister would be in a bit of a weakened state. She really, REALLY didn't want to face yet another spawn of her father's Dark Magic right now; damnation, she'd just stopped one - she wanted to at least see her coltfriend before running into another!

Flurry stared at Obsidian. "So, wait... you mean the other three crystals here might be, like, your brothers and sisters? But... but that's awesome! Shit, we can maybe see if we can figure out who they are and stuff - hey, let me go!" She jerked herself away from Obsidian.

"FUCK! Calm the Tartarus down! What, you don't believe me when I say that I've been here literally thousands of times, and nothing's happened to me? You think I'm lying to you?" She shut her eyes, took a deep breath, then looked at Obsidian again. "Look, okay? I helped to save your ass a few hours ago - the least you can do is fucking trust me! There's no way, NO WAY I would lead you somewhere dangerous! Can't you give me some of the benefit of the fucking doubt, girl?"

She made her way towards another chamber, then stopped. "Look... how about this, okay? Just LOOK at the rooms, and if you STILL think you need to ruin my fun by sending Dad down here and shit... well, fuck, we can do that. But I really don't want him to know I even come down here, okay? And if you sqwawk, he will know. So shit, give me some fucking trust and take a damned look, okay?"

Now she looked a bit peeved. "I mean, what, do you think I'm some dumbass or some other shit like that? Just take a LOOK, okay? If you still feel like pissing yourself, we'll go get Dad. Okay? Okay?"

If Flurry was trying to guilt-trip, shame or dare Obsidian into doing something stupid, then she was wasting her time. She was barely able to feel any guilt, her definition of shame was a bit warped, and she really was not in the mood after having to kill her brother.

"Actually, I truly do believe that nothing has happened to you... but you see, that's the problem with my siblings; nothing happens, nothing happens, nothing happens and then boom - some kind of complication comes up, as if it turned out that the presence of another shard is the only thing necessary to wake them up, revive an army of zombies or unleash a dream plague that could destroy the world. You know, it would be nice to at least eat dinner before another dangerous adventure! Besides, I wouldn't have to tell anyone about your involvement; I wanted to see my old room and stumbled onto this place. That's all," Obsidian shook her head. "And yes, my family makes me very paranoid - and I'm sure you can understand that."

She trotted closer to the doors to at least peek, though - but if there would be anything written about 'Aquamarine', she wouldn't waste one moment of time calling for the guards; she would simply run off and find as many explosives as she possibly could. If Onyx described somepony as 'cruel' and 'self-centered', then chances were good that they were probably not a very nice pony.

The room was mostly made of crystal which glowed a soft white, with a slight blue tinge to it. The walls, floors and ceiling were beautiful, and had a mosaic pattern that seemed to keep doubling in on itself. Each corner seemed to shine, and the entire room looked as though it were angled towards the altar at the far back end.

There, on top of a rock-chiseled altar, hovered a single shard of crystal. It was dark, but seemed to glow with an aura the same color as the rest of the room. It hung there in mid-air with no support, no holder, nothing; it spun lazily in place, refracting the glow of the room all around it. Underneath, there were letters in Crystallian again, but more of them than the last chamber's altar had. They were just as finely done as before, and read as follows:

D - I - A - M - O - N - D

"There, okay? See? Nothing's jumping out at us, nothing's shaking the floor, nothing's gonna fucking KILL us, okay? It's just... well, I think it's really cool how it just hangs out in the air like that, like it just doesn't give a fuck about gravity! Always has, too - at least since I found it, it has."

Flurry then gasped with an overexaggerated expression. "Oh! And look! NOTHING HAPPENED!" She sighed with irritation, her muzzle now giving the Dark Princess a flat look. "Amazing, I know..."

"In this case... fine, I'll say it - you were right. It's not as dangerous as I was afraid it might be... and it looks really pretty," Obsidian had to admit.

"Okay, yes, it's my brother... as I'd hoped it might be; I don't know very much about him, though. There's always a chance I could look for some information about what sort of stallion he is, so that I might prepare a proper warm welcome for him."

With Onyx's diary (and the family portrait drawing), she could write out a nice, proper report about him. "Then we can think how we might talk about it to your father in a way that won't tip him off to your long-standing presence in the tunnels, okay?"

The cavern was beautiful, truly; Obsidian almost wished she could simply walk inside and admire the entire area more closely. However, she was fairly certain it would most likely turn out to be a bad idea if she didn't think things out first.

"And to be direct, Flurry - ALL of my siblings... except the one that I got to watch die in front of me... have tried to kill me, so far. So I would say that, yes, I'm very properly paranoid. Now, let's move along - I would really rather prefer to check on my old quarters before we leave. And I DO wish to leave."

Though she groaned and rolled her eyes... Flurry nodded and began walking next to Obsidian. "You didn't even see the one in the acid waterfall, or the one that puts out the weird mist stuff... but okay, okay, okay... FINE. If you wanna put a wet blanket on the fun I have in here, I guess I don't really have any fucking choice, do I?"

Crestfallen (and maybe a bit petulant), she and Obsidian made their way back towards the tunnels she knew of. "I guess we'll head over to see your old room, then we'll just GO, okay? I mean, it's not like I ever had the chance to show this shit off before... and now I'll never get to. Thanks." All the same, she still followed.

You know, maybe they wouldn't be besties after all.

In other circumstances, Obsidian would be a bit more curious... but she had already experienced death today, fought for her life and really just didn't want to risk anything more - she'd had her limit for today, thank you very much.

Obsidian groaned; Flurry's complaining was starting to annoy her severely... and besides, finding these crystals in their dormant state actually was useful. Would she really miss out on what she might learn here because she was possibly both paranoid and lazy?

No. No, that would NOT do.

"Oh, fine then! I suppose it would be a smart idea to learn which ones they are, at any rate. Afterwards, I'll prepare a nice, detailed report on all of them and sweep them all up together - the sooner, the better. Peridot told me they were gathering power and might possibly wake up in the near-future... so yes, it IS actually a good thing you've brought me here before they'd managed to free themselves."

Flurry looked at her a bit, then gave a sigh. "Okay, look - I just... I really haven't shared this with anyone at all, because I figured they wouldn't appreciate it. Then you come along, and you practically fucking lived here! I mean, if I was ever excited about showing it all off to anyone, NOW would be the right time to be excited... but just like most of my life, I find something cool, and I'm told it's not a good thing, and steps get taken to wrestle it from my hooves."

She sighed. "When I found the little phoenix? 'No, Flur - it's just a baby'. The time I helped Jynx discover her powers? 'No Flur - she's just gonna cause chaos'. The time I just wanted to see what was locked up in the forbidden vault at Aunt Twily's? 'No Flur - you don't understand anything there.'"

"I just wanted to share this cool stuff with someone who might actually think it was cool, too. But no, I feel like I fucked up again, and now I just feel like I'm being... well..."

She sighed. "... like I'm being a fucking brat. And if I am, then fine, tell me and we can go, I'll show you to the Inn, and you can make your reports or whatever. And I'll just... go home." Flurry Heart shook her head. "I don't mean to be a brat... but I know I have the potential to be one, so... yeah. If I'm being that way, just tell me. No big deal."

But her expression told Obsidian that it apparenlty was a big deal... however, she seemed genuine, and looked as though she was realizing what she was doing was wrong. At least, in this case it was.

"I'm sorry, okay? Let's just... go see your room. Then we can go."

Obsidian really didn't like the idea of checking on the rest of her siblings... especially when nopony knew they were here in the first place, and they had zero support. Flurry seemed to realize that it wasn't the best idea as well, for many reasons - good. However, Flurry apparently needed some cheering up, so Obsidian trotted forward to give her a light hug.

"It's fine, Flurry. Just, you know... not today, not that. Share with me anything else you want to, and I'm going to be interested - you have my word. But, when it comes to my family..."

She lowered her voice a few notches. "Let's say that I'd prefer to return here with at least a small army; you've seen what one brother was capable of, already. I'd rather not experience any of the others firsthoof."

Siddy stepped back and regarded her kindly. "Anyway, I most certainly would like to hang out a bit more with you; you have a very interesting vocabulary. Just... not here, please?" She looked behind her at Diamond's floating crystal... and shuddered a bit. "To be honest, the fact that I was transformed into a crystal shard like that just creeps me out."

Flurry accepted the hug well enough... but she didn't seem to even register it. "Sure. Yeah. Okay," was all she said as she headed for the tunnel entrance. "Well, let's go, then - you're room's not gonna show itself off."

There was decidedly less enthusiasm as she walked along, and she didn't talk about the crystals anymore. "Dad and a few of his people did a lot of exploring down here at first, but they sorta left it alone after he got the basic layout. Sealed up a lot of the entrance-ways and stuff. There used to be more ways down here, but... well, not anymore."

She looked around at the walls a bit, then the ceiling, then the floor... seemingly anywhere but at Obsidian. "Then Auntie Twily came down here to study some of the crystal formations... and I'm pretty sure that's when they found you. I wasn't told anything about it, though - I found out after the whole thing with Ponyville happened, like anyone else did."

They reached the tunnels Obsidian knew well once again, and Flurry simply turned the corner and headed for the direction they'd been travelling in to begin with. "Word spread pretty fast; a lot of the citizens here were pretty worried when they heard that Sombra had a daughter, but when they heard about how you beat his-... I mean, how you beat him, they kinda lightened up a bit. There's still some who'd probably turn their muzzles up at you, but there's also those who would probably thank you, too."

... yes, okay... maybe that idea of guilt-tripping Obsidian would work anyway, despite the fact that she knew it was absolutely stupid that she sort of felt bad for letting Flurry down; she just couldn't stand to see her like this.

"Well, the ponies who seem to think they outclass me or anything like that... at worst, they merely amuse me. You really should have seen Rainbow Dash react when she realized that her daughter was cursed too..."

Gratitude was always nice to receive, though. "... alright; let's say that I could possibly try to convince your father to come here to inspect the situation before he acts on it. Would you wish for me to suggest to him that you could come along too?"
She tried to at least salvage something good from this rather worrisome situation.

Flurry shrugged half-heartedly. "I don't know why it would matter - it'd be another reason for him to tell me 'No Flur'. Besides, I'm used to not having anything fun to do, so it's not that big a deal. And hey, he'll just cordon off the whole section anyway, so..."

She stopped, then hung her head. "I'm doing it again, right? Well, shi-... I mean, great."

She turned and started to head back the way they first came in. "Look, you don't need me here for going to check on your old room - just go get a look, and I'll... I'll wait for you by the boulders, alright? Take whatever time you need; I don't have anywhere at all to be."

She started walking back. "Besides, I just want to get back home, okay? I feel... feel like I could use a nap or something. I just don't want to f-... to mess up anymore today."

Darkness and damnation, did all young princesses behave this way? Perhaps Obsidian was an exception to the rule or something.

"Flurry, wait... what if I could talk with Princess Twilight about this? Or even your mother - I've heard she has a few different opinions than your father does; perhaps she would be interested in dealing with this situation a bit... differently? And if not, then perhaps Princess Twilight could intervene - we just saved her child, after all."

She most certainly was hesitant to get back to her sharded siblings... but also didn't want to leave Flurry feeling low like that. Obsidian really was a big softie, from time to time.

Flurry Heart just turned and looked at her plainly. "Look, no matter WHO you tell, they'll seal up the tunnels... and I'll lose a place I've been coming to and playing in since I was a filly. I'll have NOWHERE to go that I can't be found, and I'll have to try to forget ever having seen so many cool things down here."

"I... get why you're weirded out by it, I do. But..." For a moment, she got a bit of her spark back. "... but all the stuff down here? It's like one HUGE fucking secret, and it's one I got to keep for years! They won't understand what it is like I do... like WE do! They'll say it's too dangerous, and they'll wall it all up! Do you really want that? Never going back to your old room again? Never even knowing if, fuck, if this brother of yours is even evil at all? They won't bargain about it - they'll just do it! 'For the good of Equestria', they'll say - and no, you WON'T be able to talk my Dad or my Aunt out of it!"

She sounded like she was pleading her case, and Obsidian was the judge, jury... and potentially, the executioner.

"Look, okay, look - we don't HAVE to tell any of them, do we? What if, you know, you do your studies or whatever, and when you finish figuring things out, we can come back here and deal with whatever ourselves? I mean, I haven't ever touched those crystals, and I still won't, until we know what's going on with them! We could do that, couldn't we?"

"Wall it all up?" Now that was an option Obsidian didn't consider; it would be a terrible idea, for quite a few reasons, each one worse than the last! There was no way that a simple wall could ever really stop her siblings; it would merely keep all the potential horrors cozy and safe under the Crystal City, giving them time to prepare for a proper assault. There was no way they could be sure that they could cover all the ways into the catacombs, and missing a single one could doom them all anyway.

However, considering that the Equestrians had banished Nightmare Moon for a thousand years, sealed Discord in stone, threw Tirek into Tartarus and so on... they were apparently rather content with just throwing their problems under the rug and hoping that the 'contained' Ancient Evils wouldn't free themselves anytime soon.

"They... th-they can't do that! It makes no sense! They will still be here - just waiting! A single overlooked exit would let them escape... or allow somepony to retrieve them. Besides, I don't want to keep them in stasis; the Equestrians freed me, so why wouldn't they free the rest of them as well? As long as they abide by the rules, of course."

Now it looked as though Flurry was starting to shift her mood back to a hopeful one. "They WILL! Dad will have these tunnels filled with all the concrete he can get his hooves on, and everything down here will STAY down here! Come on, Sids - you can't tell them about this place! They wouldn't understand at all, and it would just keep US from getting down here!"

She walked over and looked Obsidian right in the eye. "They gave you a chance because Anutie Twily found you by accident - what do you think she would have done if she'd have known Sombra's children were down here? Let me clue you in - she wouldn't have fucking come down here to study crystal formations, that's for sure!"

Obsidian facehoofed over the revelation... though she also felt the sting of existential horror; she was only here by mistake, where she could have been simply sealed in and left for good. Damnation, the thought was unnerving...

"I won't let anyone take my siblings... at least, not before learning more about them. Let's go back - but I still want to see my room first. Oh, and just in case we manage to activate some sort of trap or something, we'll have to run away as quickly as possible or teleport... you know how to teleport, right?"

Flurry raised a hoof and wiggled it a bit. "Eh... my teleports aren't exactly all that good yet. I mean, yeah, I can DO it, but... I don't always hit the right mark. Not, like, in walls or anything, but... uh..." She blushed a bit. "More like trying to 'port down the hallway landed me in Manehattan, once."

Obsidian had to learn how to do it herself. "I've heard that's a beautiful city; I don't travel too much normally, but I can make an exception, I suppose. So, is there anything else we have to discuss?"

Flurry looked at Obsidian carefully. "I dunno... are we telling Dad or Auntie Twily about the catacombs?"

"Well, rest assured that I won't allow anypony to just seal my siblings up like that. I will at least check on them first - but to do that, I... probably need to identify the rest of the crystals," Obsidian admitted with a resigned voice. She initially thought that Flurry just didn't want to share her toys... not that those toys would be practically destroyed.

With that, Flurry's mood brightened considerably. "Well then, what the fuck are we waiting for? Look, I'll show you!"

She almost skipped down the tunnel again, headed back to where they'd been. "Okay, there's like twelve chambers down here, but only three of them have any sort of crystals on the altar-things; the rest are crystal-free. I guess that would mean that the rest of your brothers... and maybe sisters too?... aren't here. I mean, who knows where they are, but it ain't here."

They passed the Diamond room and two more before she stopped outside another. "This one has the weird crystal and the mist it puts out. I meditate in here sometimes, but I haven't ever tried to smell it or breathe it or anything like that, and I'm pretty sure you shouldn't either - but it's visible from the door, and the mist only reaches about halfway through the room, so you should be okay to look at that shit from here."

Mist... well, at least it didn't sound like Aquamarine. A good thing, as she didn't want to meet him just yet... or possibly ever.

"I just need to read the name..." Hopefully, this wouldn't be a mistake - she didn't want to face another possibly psychotic member of her family, get poisoned or cursed or so on today. It was a simple plan, really - just read the names and go. She just had to focus... so she would look from the doorway, as she didn't want to get too close to that mist. Hopefully she'd be able to read whatever was written there.

The room had an almost orange-ish tint to the walls and floors, and the ceiling was covered in what looked like some sort of moss or fungus. There was a dull glow to it all that gave off just enough light to see where you were going... and when to stop. The mist Flurry had spoken of covered the floor - but only about halfway in, as she had said. It flowed and rolled along, like a cloud come down to earth.

The flow rippled outward from the altar, where there was a small, ceramic-looking bowl in the middle; on it was another shard, just like Diamond's - only this one had a similar yellow-orange aura. The mist seemed to be flowing up from the small bowl, but Obsidian could pick out the small runnels of mist that looked as though they were leaking from the crystal shard itself. The letters underneath were visible, but just barely through the mist:

A - M - B - E - R

Amber; mind control. This might become rather tricky to deal with - yet also potentially useful. She just had to find out how powerful her sharded sister really was. Of course, releasing a pony that could force them to follow her orders with a mere blink or something could be too dangerous to set free... at least for the two of them alone. Maybe Midnight could help; he was an alicorn and he was indebted to both of them, technically speaking. "Okay, I've got this one; let's see the third one."

Flurry led her to the last chamber on the right. "This is the coolest one - and kinda the obviously dangerous one, too. The waterfall in there? It's some kind of acid - it eats through almost anything I've put in it. Almost."

"Almost?" Obsidian asked curiously, "What could possibly have survived contact with this acid, then?"

Perhaps they could identify it? Sadly, without any sort of preparation, Obsidian couldn't take a sample - and even then, it wouldn't do her any good, as she didn't know much about chemistry. She could mayhaps garner some help from the school...

Flur gestured to the chamber opening. "Once you get this one, we can go on to your room - but if you know anything about these crystals, mind if I ask what? I mean, after we get back into the main tunnels, if you want?"

"Indeed, I'll gladly tell you - after all, it would surely come in handy for you to know as much as possible about them, right? But first things first - where's that waterfall?" Obsidian stepped lightly towards the cavern's entrance to check for herself.

The room had a greenish hue to it, but every surface - walls, floor, ceiling - had a glassy sheen to it that made it look as though it were wet or slippery. In the back of the room was a cascading waterfall of what looked like a muddled green liquid; the acidic smell here was fierce, but not a single hole could be seen on any surface - though there was a small pile of half-eaten things nearby, like branches and slivers of metal... probably Flurry's doing.

In the center of that acidfall was the altar, unscarred and whole, with a crystal shard over it, suspended by a metal brace around its' center, with chains going to the four corners of the room that held it in place; the acid washed right over the shard, altar and chains... but none of them looked even the slightest bit damaged. The crystal shard itself was as black as the rest, but the liquid surrounding it suffused its' eerie green glow. The letters beneath were hard to make out, but after some deliberation, it came to her:

J - A - D - E

Jade... thief, invisibility. Her cursed brother. Why there was a damned acidfall over him, though? And where was this acid coming from in the first place? So many questions, so few answers... maybe whoever put this crystal here just wanted to be sure he wouldn't accidentally turn back into a pony without being covered in flesh-melting acid; Obsidian doubted that Jade's skillset would let him survive that.

"Okay, that's all of them - let's go." Obsidian walked just a bit faster than normal to head back to the main tunnel.

The mist coming from Amber could possibly work in a similar manner - but she'd need to find a way to check it somehow, just to be sure. Maybe the mist was knockout gas, or maybe just made someone very sick, or possibly hallucinate?

If her theory was correct, then Jade and Amber were put there by somepony who really didn't want them to get out. Maybe Onyx? Hadn't Peridot mentioned something about her skill at stealing powers..?

Flurry smiled as she looked at Obsidian with an intesity. "Isn't it cool, though?" She immediately smiled grandly, looking quite happy to have shared this with someone. "Okay, so - we keep these a secret, and when you figure out what the fuck to do, we can go from there, right? I mean, I won't tell anyone else... but if you tell others, it's okay... just not anyone in my family, got it?"

"Got it - just please make sure to check from time to time, to be certain they are still here, okay? Just in case... I don't want any more 'family surprises', really."

Three more siblings... two brothers and a sister; maybe they would actually be nice? Diamond was honestly quite a good artist, and that wasn't something she would immediately attribute to a psychopath. Also, his cell didn't seem to be secured by anything dangerous, as the other two appeared to be. "To my room, then - and afterward, I'm more than eager to check out this 'royal suite' that your father mentioned he'd reserved for my visit. I've spent the entire day running around Ponyville, honestly."

There was no protest from Flurry as she walked along next to Obsidian, headed in the direction the Grey Princess knew so well. "It's weird... you say they're your brothers and sister, and you even say YOU were one of those crystals once? I mean, cool and all, but... that's gotta be fucking hard, hearing that you weren't born, but... grown? Like a spellborn foal, but in crystal form? THAT had to be some sort of head-fuckery to deal with, I'll bet."

"Well, I did kind of... have a mental breakdown when I first heard it - fairly hard one, at that. It didn't help that I already had plenty of difficulty with living in Modern-Day Equestria, as everything seemed to be completely and utterly alien to me.
At least I learned that I don't have to wonder who my mother is..."

Hmmmmm... her room should be up ahead of them; luckily, it seemed that the Equestrians hadn't found it - otherwise, the door would probably be visible by now.

"Wow... I'm sorry that it sucked like that. I can't even imagine what it must've been like for you, with the adjusting and stuff. I guess our Equestria is really, really different from your Equestria, hunh? Still," she smirked, "from saving Ponyville, to dating Cupcake Sprinkles, to helping Stalwart Stance get into the royal guard, all the way to having to beat a possessed alicorn? I'd say you've adjusted pretty fucking well, considering. You oughtta be proud of yourself, gurl! You've really done a decent job of not losing your shit & going all 'vengeful conqueror' on the world."

Flur smirked. "By the by... you and Cuppie? He's cute and all, but he never really had much interest in... well, anyone until you - I'll bet his Mom was really fucking surprised when she heard about it!"

Did the entire world know already?

"A proper conquest needs preparation first; after all, I can't just follow in my father's hoofsteps and personally invade some nice little township, as it would be obviously suicidal at the moment. I don't even have his mind-controlling skills, so I'd have to choose a place with a rather meek and small population to rule over. At best, I could possibly head a small cult city, like Headmare Starlight once did," Obsidian explained while she kept counting some very specific cracks in the wall.

... five... six... seven...

"Besides that, living a normal life is quite enjoyable, actually - I like being able to see the world, learn about it and so on..."

Flurry gave her a look as she spoke of her preparations... then gave a slow smirk. "You're fucking with me, aren't you?" Then, a touch of worry when she repeated, "... aren't you?"

She eventually came to a stop in front of a particular section of wall... which was when it started to physically ripple, eventually dissapearing and exposing a hidden door. Obsidian smiled slightly and cast a little spell that had no other function but to open a specific magical lock.

Her Father had never needed a key - if he wanted her to stay in her room, he just had to order her; she wouldn't have ever dreamed of disobeying him back then.

"Ahhh... home." Obsidian pulled the door open, looking into her quarters.

Actually, it looked more like a prison cell than a normal room - it had a bed that, in Modern Equestria, probably wouldn't be fitting even for a prisoner, a very plain and simple desk with a few neatly organized papers on top of it, a length of stickwood stained with crimson leaning against the door frame, and a single enchanted crystal on the wall to provide some light - and that was all.

The Dark Princess happily trotted inside, looking around fondly. "Whew... it looks so small now! And, ah, I almost forgot!" She reached over to the desktop, taking a single scroll from it, which she carefully opened. "Treatise on The Futility of Self-Rule... yes, I do believe Gypsy would be interested in this, if for the historical value alone."

Flurry stepped inside cautiously and stared around the room for a moment, taking everything in as she did - especially the stick.

Especially the stick.

"This... is your room? I mean... this is your room? I'd have thought you had a nice room like I did - fuck, I'd have thought you'd have a room that was, you know, comfortable! This looks more like a fucking prison cell than a bedroom!"

She now looked at Siddy with a bit of conciliation. "Yo, I don't mean to sound rude or anything - I'm sorry if it does, but... I mean..."

She spoke quietly. "You deserved better than this, Obsidian. This is the kind of shit that criminals, hardened ones, would be forced to sleep in. And to think that you lived here... it makes me kinda mad, and I'm not really fucking sure what else to say, other than you should have been treated better than this bullshit."

"I've noticed you are using this world 'fuck' in many different combinations. I wasn't even aware that it was possible to use a single word for so many things... and I kind of have to guess what you mean from context, sometimes. I assume you asked if I was joking about those preparations; yes, I don't intend to conquer the world. It would be nice to repeat Princess Twilight's career and find wings on my own back one day... but I'm not really interested in any sort of military subjugation," Obsidian calmed Flurry - or at least she hoped it would calm her.

Obsidian looked around... well, okay yeah - it was a bit rough. "Unfortunately for me, my father wasn't a nice pony. Luckily, right now I do have better conditions; in fact, I'm overwhelmingly satisfied with where I am now. I wonder... what about the rest of my siblings? I was isolated from them, but they seemed to have enjoyed a bit more freedom than I did."

She giggled. "And to think, during our first meeting, Cup called me 'spoiled' - can you imagine that?"

Flur chuckled. "Well, if he does it again, call him a 'meanie'; it's the closest thing to a swear word his Mom's ever said, and it even makes him cry. But only use that shit in emergencies... because it really DOES make him cry, and a crying Cupcake is kinda heartbreaking."

She looked at Obsidian with a grin. "But seriously, I'm glad you're getting better treatment now. Now that you see how it can be, I hope you realize that life is better than... than, uh..."

She leaned forward a bit. "Okay, what the fuck is on the stick? Is that blood? It's blood, isn't it?"

"I did - I did exactly that. And yes, he ran away crying; you could imagine my shock, I'm certain," Obsidian giggled once again... which, in the middle of this ghastly room, might have come across as a wee bit creepy.

"Sids," she deadpanned, "explain the stick, girl. I mean, as far as it goes, the rest of this room seems downright fucking miserable... but if you tell me the blood on that stick is yours? I'm gonna break it into fucking splinters."

Obsidian looked at the stick. "Well, there are really two options here: it can be mine, or it can be my Father's. And can you imagine me striking my father?"

She thought about it for a moment. "Actually, destroying it would probably be a wise call - not only does he not need it as a statue, nor will I allow him to touch me ever again... but it's also not exactly the wisest call to keep a blood-coated stick around when most of my siblings know Dark Magic."

Flurry Heart's horn glowed, and her magical aura surrounded the stick... and it stattered into tiny pieces, mere splinters (as she'd threatened) before she balled it up into a small chunk of particle-wood, then it caught fire and smouldered into ash as the alicorn princess stared at it with such intensity, Obsidian may have felt a bit sorry for the thing...

Okay, really, no she didn't. But that stare...

"So, anyway," Flur said as the ash blew away into the tunnel hallway, dispersed completely and thoroughly, "now that we got to see your room from the past, let's get you into your modern suite, shall we?"

She seemed much more chipper than earlier, and possibly Obsidian had bonded a bit with her over their shared secret now, too. Maybe not besties overnight, no... but still, possibly later. Possibly.

"Yes indeed - as I said, I can hardly wait to see that 'royal suite'. My father kept telling me that luxuries can spoil a pony... but I think I deserve some spoiling today."

Obsidian trotted out of the room, and as soon as Flurry left it as well, she closed the door and locked it with magic. After a moment, the illusory wall reappeared, covering the doorway completely. "I can at least take a souvenir with me," she said as she thought about the scroll in her saddlebags.

The two of them made their way out of the tunnels, and slipped quietly out of the hidden access area. It wasn't a long walk to The Crystal Inn, and Flurry promised to watch over the crystals until Obsidian could study things further. With that (and a goodbye hug), she left the Grey Princess to herself.

Author's Notes:

Three more siblings to deal with; Siddy's family is fairly large, right - so what reason were they simply left here? Reasons and explanations to be had will be forthcoming, so don't think that question won't be answered... just understand that the answers Obsdian could get might be answers she didn't want to know.

Before anyone just blasts Flurry Heart for being so pushy about the shards, do keep in mind that this was something she'd kept to herself for almost all of her life; the prospect of her Father or Aunt going ballistic & burying everything under concrete occurred to her when she was little - and the terror of that possibility has been nestled in her mind for a long time. Don't blame her for wanting to save it from possible destruction; teenaged willfulness, right?

Seventeen: Ninjas And Tea Parties

The room was opulent, though actually not as fashionable as the Rarity Suite had been; it was still rather nice, but far more subdued and regal-feeling. The bathtub was somewhat luxurious, as it was big enough for Siddy to fully submerge herself if she chose, but otherwise it was quite comfortable without being ostentatious.

What a day.

Ah, yes - luxuries. Normally she wouldn't be so happy about that detail, as she didn't really need it, but let's face reality - this day had been completely and utterly awful. She had to work like a harried slave, fought for her life, was almost certain that the enemy she had faced would kill her, all of her friends and the entirety of life on the planet...

She deserved this. And with that thought, she willingly went to the bathtub for some very radical relaxation in the warm water. In fact, it felt nice to be alone for a change. It was so quiet; she didn't have to hurry to let Amy, Tourmy or Cup in. She was completely alone, and everything seemed to be good and well.

The bath was incredible. What was more? The towels on the rack were soft and oh-so-fluffy, and by the time she came out of the bathroom, she was relaxed, clean, and more than ready for sleep. The bed provided was actually firm enough to support, yet still soft enough to be restful; whomever had made the mattress should have been given the highest awards in Equestria for making something that was as close to perfection as beds could get. It wasn't long at all after her head laid down upon the pillow that she sunk into a deep, sweet slumber...

~>-<~

"Are you gonna pour the tea, or do I have to do it myself?" Ruby sat across from her at the small table, one eyebrow raised in a question as she waited for service.

The tea set between them was actually one of Cupcake's, but surely he wouldn't mind if she dream-shared it with her favorite sister, would he? There were small teacakes, cookies, and even a few orange slices in a small bowl. The entire setup was adorable to behold, and Ruby herself was wearing a light, breezy sundress that nicely accented her lovely mane and tail.

"Oh, come on now - we talked about a tea party, and now we get to have one! Don't be a rude hostess," she teased, smiling happily as she just looked at Obsidian as if she had truly missed her.

It was a wonderful feeling to just let everything go. Not to have to concern herself with even a slight care about her siblings, the fate of the world, even her friends - just dive into the silence, embrace it and open her mind for its' soothing effects. She needed it, really - after the day she'd had, both her body and mind were simply exhausted and craved a chance to relax.

Honestly, as soon as she heard Ruby she could only nod her head with a smile and pour her favourite sister some tea. Really, with being her 'dead' sister, Obsidian had barely had any time to mourn her. Of course, she'd gotten initially angry during her discussion with Amethyst... but only because she had been complaining.

"You look lovely, Ruby. You always look lovely, but today you've really outdone yourself! This dream also looks far more pleasant than usual," she noticed as she poured some tea for herself as well.

Ruby smiled sweetly, took a sip from her cup, and daintily placed it back onto the saucer. "You've been doing so well, and you've worked so hard... I thought, 'how can I help the bestest sister ever to have a good day?' So naturally, I knew you just had to have some tea time with me!"

She gave a cute giggle, and used her magic to toss a cookie in the air, catching it in her mouth, chewing it, and giving an adorable gulp before washing it down with another sip of tea.

"And thank you for the fine compliment! I think you look nice today too - but then, I always thought you looked nice. Even when you weren't exactly fresh from the powder room, so to speak." She gave her head a light toss backwards, sending her luxurious mane rolling behind her shoulders. "You've been doing a LOT lately... and you should be recognized for it. It might not be fun to talk about, but you deserve the calling out - I know it wasn't easy to deal with Peri, but he was suffering - even back when he was alive. I never truly understood before; I tried to do what I could to be nice to him, but he always seemed as though he would avoid the rest of us. Well," she amended, "everyone but Amy, that is. I still have no idea why those two were so close..."

She shook her lovely head, took another sip, and continued. "But he's not suffering anymore - and that's thanks to you, Obsidian. It might have hurt to do what you had to do, but I believe he would have thanked you, if he'd had the chance. It was a sort of mercy, I guess you could say... but I know it had to be difficult for you."

She leaned forward and wrapped her forehooves around her sister. "But don't ever think you're some kind of horrible pony for it; you did what had to be done, and you're a LOT stronger than anyone really knows. And I love you for being strong."

"Now," she started, "if it's okay for me to change the subject? I know you found some of our other lost siblings, but I'm not sure which ones. Really, I thought Onyx had simply misplaced them, or captured them, or something like that... but I guess not. Which is news to me, really."

"But it might be a chance for me to help you out some more, especially if they're siblings I know... I mean, knew well." She only gave a slight sigh before continuing. "Besides, it'll be some good small talk for me to remember about them, and it's a small way I can still help you, even if I can't be there myself!"

She glanced about a bit, then gave Obsidian a sweet grin. "It's strange, to exist like this and interact with you after what happened to me... but honestly? It's wonderful that I get to do this, and I hope beyond hope that you enjoy my visits here as much as I do. Because, even after everything else, I want to know you better... which might be why I'm still with you; it's Life's little way of giving you something good, even amidst all the bad you've been through." Her smile widened. "Best of all, we BOTH get to know the sister we wanted to know the most... and right now, teacakes!"

Her horn glowed, her magic wrapped around said goodie, and she floated it up in front of Obsidian's muzzle. "Try it! They're absolutely yummyfied!"

Obsidian didn't waste time with her own teacake, catching it with her teeth - she repaid in kind, doing the very same trick Ruby had done. Indeed, they were good... one could even say they were 'dreamy'.

Ruby giggled, then took a bite as well. "Mmmmmmmm! They're wonderful, aren't they?"

"I discovered Amber, Diamond and Jade," Obsidian said to Ruby after she'd mentioned she didn't know which siblings she'd discovered. It also reminded her that she didn't quite get the chance to tell Flurry much about them - the alicorn had been too upset at first, then the moment with her room... and they kind of forgot about that part.

"And of course I enjoy your visits, Ruby. I'm not sure how I would handle... well, the fact that I'd lost you in the physical world, if not for them." Frankly speaking, Amy would probably already be in a bad state. Right now, it almost felt as if Ruby was simply living somewhere nearby and visiting from time to time - it would be a completely different situation if her demise would have stolen her away for good.

She enjoyed the teacake quietly for a moment, then her smile brightened as she took in what Obsidian said. "You found Diamond? Oh, that's wonderful news! He was such a sweetheart! He was an expert in healing magics, and he had a gentle soul..." Her face fell a bit. "Father... didn't really approve of it, though - he kept saying Mundy was weak because of his mercy, and he tended to punish him for it on occasion. But even though he did, Mundy always kept his kind nature; if you found him, I promise you're gonna really like him!"

She then sighed. "Amber? Oh... well, I don't like saying anything bad so much, but... but she's kind of... well, she's nasty. Like, all the time, just mean and nasty. Father usually made her do all sorts of hard things, and made her work to develop her control until she... she kiiiiiinda snapped." Ruby looked up, as if she was pondering. "She controlled a lot of slaves that Father had, and made them beat each other to death. And when Father came to stop her, he was... uh, he was smiling about it. He said she finally had succeeded in doing what he'd told her to. She... well, she tried to control him, but of course he knew better; he'd been prepared, and he beat her for the attempt. But he was still proud."

She gave a concerned look. "Amber... I dunno if she should be allowed to be free, but... but I always felt sorry for her, for how she was treated. Maybe if she had enough love to counter her foulness, she might... well, I'm not sure, but I believe she's still got something besides evil in her."

Then, sadness rolled across her features. "Jade. Oh, poor Jade..." Ruby gave a sniffle, then looked as though she was trying to fight tears. "Jade... got a LOT of beatings. He stole from Father when he was younger, and he was never forgiven for it. There was... a lot of... t-torture involved... and Jade, he..." Ruby gave a slight shudder, then hung her head. "... Father made Peridot curse him. Jade always had a talent for curses, and Father... he..."

When she looked up at Obsidian, there were tears in her eyes. "... he made Jade a MONSTER. His entire body is... well, toxic. I mean, he breathes poison, his skin is poisonous, and his bite is venomous. He's in constant pain, and because of it, he... he j-just doesn't care. If anypony deserves some sort of mercy, it's him... but don't expect him to give it back."

"Jade was beaten, whipped, chained and cursed. The last time I saw him, he was sealed away in his shard form, and placed in a waterfall of pure acid, so he... h-he would hurt and hurt and hurt, until the day he gets free. Poor, poor Jade..."

Father was proud of Amber? To be fair, even despite the fact that Obsidian herself had bested him, she still felt a touch of envy at the words; she had been working so hard to get him to acknowledge her and be proud of her, and yet... she never felt that it was enough to satisfy him.

But at least she got it better than Jade, it seemed - to steal from King Sombra himself? It certainly didn't sound like a wise idea. She wondered what it was he'd tried to take that drove their Father to be so very rough with him - perhaps something personal? His armor, or perhaps his cape or... Darkness forbid, was it his crown?

The poor fellow deserved help, but Obsidian really doubted she would be able to provide it without plenty of assistance involved. It would be the easiest to ask the princesses for help - but what if Flurry was right, that they were going to be completely unreasonable? Sealing them away in this situation would be outright cruelty, due to Jade's fate - he may have been a danger... but he was also a victim.

Just like the rest of them, technically speaking.

"Overall, I have a brother that I can theoretically already release, who shouldn't make any trouble... another brother that needs to be released as soon as possible, directly into care for his body, his state and his mental well-being... and a sister that should be immediately robbed of her magic, right after her release," Obsidian concluded, "so I'll need to prepare properly..."

Ruby sighed and took another sip of tea. "You will. I mean, if you could reach Jade, it would be wonderful. But I still say you need to be careful with him - Father pretty much beat the 'pony' out of him, and even HE sees himself as a monster. He even said it a number of times..."

Even if Obsidian couldn't reach him, even if he would end up in an asylum or a prison... it would probably be a far more preferable fate than being stuck inside a crystal and drenched with acid. There had to be a way to get rid of this curse... oh, and she would also need to a touch of research on mind control, too.

Ruby shook her head sadly, then looked at Obsidian with caring eyes. "And how are you doing? I mean, you've been through a lot lately, and even though you have friends who really do care about you... your sister here cares, too. So really, you can tell me everything and anything that's on your mind." She gave a slight grin. "Because I love my sister, and I'm here to listen to her, if she needs me to."

Everything that was on her mind? Obsidian didn't know if she'd be asleep that long.

"Princess Twilight practically wasted all the hard work done the other day by Cupcake... only because her son felt ill, could you believe that? I don't understand why she wanted to have this festival-thing called a 'birthday party', but then she ends up cancelling it because Midnight seemed a bit tired - seems like a bit of overkill to me, especially as the entire town was full of anticipation for it! She could have, oh I don't know, merely postponed it? Or just get on with it anyhow, since each and every pony around me seemed to be looking forward to the proceedings - and they were rather upset when the entire affair was called off. Besides, we've already freed Midnight from Peridot's curse; it didn't even take us that much time..."

She sipped at some of her tea. "But noooOOOOoooo, let's be ungrateful! I even saw perfectly-wrapped gifts in trash bins; why was everything just disposed of like that? What a complete and utter waste..."

Ruby gasped. "In the trash? Oh, my... no no no, that sounds HORRIBLE! It sounds to me like someone should let her know what that meant to the townsfolk, and encourage her to have that party, now that the threat is dealt with. Someone nice, and thoughtful, and respected..."

She giggled. "I mean you, of course! I think it would be great of you to do that, and it might also be nice if you possibly forgave her for what she did wrong here; she was afraid for her child, I think. I mean, I never had any foals myself, but I got the impression from the time I spent out that parents are supposed to care about their children. I looked at it as 'she was worried... aaaand she panicked a bit'."

Ruby chuckled softly. "From what I've learned about her, she does tend to panic sometimes... though supposedly a LOT more, when she was younger."

Obsidian sighed dramatically. "Oh, I'll do it, of course... but regardless, it still, er, what was that term - rubs me the wrong way," she shrugged slightly and sipped at her tea again.

"I truly despise pointless waste. Luckily, my friends had already convinced me that friendship, joy and so on are not wasteful... though that was hardly my opinion to begin with. And yes... Princess Sparkle could stand to be a bit more stable, I concur," Obsidian muttered. After all, there was once a time when Twilight almost went full-on Dark mode, after Applejack's bitter demise. "And how about you, dearest sister? Do you have anything else to do beyond visiting my dreams from time to time? Do you perhaps keep contact with Onyx?"

Ruby gave an enigmatic grin. "Oh, I keep myself busy, I suppose... you don't have to worry so much about me, though - I get to have tea time with my all-time-favorite sister, so it's not bad at all!"

She looked up towards the blue sky above them and her smile grew wide and warm. "I think Cupcake's about to wake you up with a kiss; I can smell his breath, and it's always sweet like chocolate. That, or he's snoring in your face." She reached over and gave Siddy a tight embrace. "I love you, sister. Please be careful, and take care of yourself. Thanks for joining me for tea - it was as nice as I'd hoped it would be!"

If any of her other siblings would say that they 'keep themselves busy', Obsidian would immediately freak out and paranoia would set upon her like a pack of wolves on a helpless lamb. Luckily, this was Ruby who was speaking these words, so everything was probably just fine. She didn't answer the question about Onyx, though... Obsidian was interested in their fates - everypony would be, in her situation.

"I'm a bit surprised... after all, I'm in the Crystal Empire, and he stayed behind in Ponyville," Obsidian mused as she returned the hug. "Next time let's dream about a shopping trip, shall we?"

Then again, it was Cupcake - for a second, she almost forgot who they were talking about. He would most likely be willing to travel to another country, just to catch up with her.

Ruby smiled broadly. "Oh, yes please! I'd LOVE to do some shopping with you! Oh, Obsidian! I lo-"

~>O<~

"-ve you, my darling Siddy." There was the kiss; it was warm, soft and slightly sweet. There was only one stallion who would do such a thing to her. When Siddy opened her eyes, Cupcake was right there, a foreleg around her middle, and his muzzle right next to hers.

"G'morning, beautiful," he said gently with a smile, "I found you."

Hello? Staff? Yes, she had a stallion in her bed, and he wasn't there when she was going to sleep. Not that she was complaining about it, of course. Well, maybe a little bit, as she was rather used to being alone before Father sealed her in crystal... and since then, she very rarely had so much time for herself.

But it was her coltfriend; the sole, solitary reason she would purposely want her slumber interrupted.

"Good morning, Cup," she said lazily, snuggling into him. "I hope it wasn't too difficult to find me. When did you arrive in the Empire, love?"

"As soon as Clap started complaining about being bored and wanting to go get pastries," he smiled, "I knew you'd been successful! So I made sure she got home, then made my way here as soon as I could. Shining Armor, the captain of the guard, told me where you were at, so I kinda... well, I snuck in."

He pointed at the comfy chair nearby, where there was what looked like a black suit, along with a length of rope, a grappling hook, and some weird-looking cup-soled boots.

"Mom let me use her sneaky stuff," he giggled. "It was kinda fun, actually." He then sat up, looking her over. "And how do YOU feel, my little hero?"

O... kaaaaay, that was something surprising; even when she thought she was prepared for being 'Cupcaked', he kept proving her wrong. Really now, wasn't that some sort of crime? She was fairly sure he would have just talked his way in.

"You never cease to amaze me, Cup," she admitted, "and I actually feel wonderful. Sleeping in such luxurious conditions after stopping the end of the world is simply grand. I may have... indulged myself, to be fair."

She peeked over at the suit, lifted an eyebrow, then shifted her glance back to Cup. "Would you, eh... put it on, maybe? I'm... curious to see how you look in it."

Cup actually blushed a bit, yet he stood and picked it up, wriggling into it carefully. It was cute to see him put it on, especially as he had to wiggle his butt a good bit to get it past his waist. Eventually, he stood up - and he was almost completely covered in black fabric - except for his eyes, which looked out at her from the darkness of the suit.

He looked... actually rather attractive in it. It accented his form, hugging the wiry muscle he had while lending him an air of mystery and danger.

"I... look silly, don't I?" came his voice from behind the mask that covered his mouth.

Obsidian had held a crush on Cupcake for quite some time, and that included a physical attraction as well. She had no idea whether she would have liked him that much if he would more resemble, say, Eloquence. She was rather glad that she didn't have to even consider that possibly shallow side of herself.

She wondered if it were times such as these that helped coin phrases such as 'form-fitting', because the stealth suit was quite fitting, to her. It also meant that she was rather enjoying looking at him right now... and when he was putting it on. It was hard to mistake those eyes and that frame, so she would be able to recognize him easily.

Still, he was very lucky that she had been sleeping when he was sneaking in; otherwise, he could have gotten a little bit, er... blasted.

Obsidian tilted head to the side with a sultry smirk, eyeballing him from the bed. "Not even a little bit, Cuppy; quite the contrary, I daresay - you look... deliciously good. Doesn't seem as though such an outfit would be too comfortable for snuggling in bed, though..."

Cup chuckled deeply. He spoke in a deep, rich voice and struck a pose. "My dearest Obsidian... I say we give it a try, shall we?"

With that, he crept up to the bed, and without so much as a single shudder of the mattress, he slunk his way up to her until he was directly over her, looking down at her as she felt his warmth through the smooth, silky material. He looked deep into her eyes, leaned forward... and began to tickle her mercilessly.

"NINJA ATTAAAAAACK!" he giggled.

Cupcake never ceased to amaze her, really; in her old, organized world, she used to more or less know what to expect from her Father. Even now, in the Modern World, most of her friends were rather organized and straightforward - Clap, Stalwart, Gypsy... and yet Cup alone was always, literally always, able to completely take her by surprise. Even the few times he wasn't as surprising, he countered that by being so enthusiastic and active.

Of all things, she didn't expect to be tickled, and her sleepy brain didn't realize what was going on before it was too late.

"Oh... oh no no no no NOOO!" she hoarsely giggled, wiggling below him to avoid the ruthless tickles. Ripples of laughter escaped her mouth. "Mercyyyyyyy!!!"

She couldn't stop laughing, completely helpless. This was a rarity for her, as during her days with her Father, he... well, let's just say he really wasn't the laughing type. Even later on, she was able to smirk, smile and sometimes giggle... but laughing was a completely different thing. It really wasn't hard to make her cry tears from laughter - the poor mare just wasn't ready for that surprise interaction... though, even with her howls for him to stop, she secretly loved every moment.

After a bit of enjoying her laughter, he then flopped down next to her on the bed and hugged her, joining her in her merriment. "I love to hear laughter... but I think I love your laughter best, Siddy." He snuggled her warmly, then moved off the bed and started to remove the suit... which did strange things to Obsidian's heart, watching him strip out of it.

Cupcake was really close to overloading her brain for a moment... or at least making her entire outside one big red blush. Of course, it didn't help that it was pretty enjoyable to see him taking off that suit - which, coupled with the healthy laughter, was making Obsidian blush rather profoundly - also a rather rare occurance.

"Okay, so... can I ask what happened? I mean, after you left the house? I was SO worried about you, but I knew you'd be okay - you are amazing, after all! You beat it, whatever it was, so... tell me what went down while you get ready to go. I got us a couple of return tickets for Ponyville, so all you have to do is be there with me when it shows up later."

He grinned. "Of course, those tickets are for noon... and it's still early. We can go for breakfast, if you like?"

"I'd say... we get back to bed, and I can tell you everything. Breakfast won't escape... plus, I eat far better these days than I once used to - so we can even skip it." Maybe it would be nice to see some more of the Crystal Empire... but Obsidian didn't plan on sightseeing alone, as wanted to do so with a group of friends. And she was feeling a bit decadent right now.

He gave her a blank look for a second... then smiled with his own blush as he made his way over to her, leaned down... and booped her nose. "Boop."

He gave a giggle, then a nuzzle... then sighed and rolled his eyes playfully as he flopped down next to her, the mattress bouncing a bit as he landed. "Okay, you win - breakfast IS the most important meal of the day... but I think I might be the best fed stallion in all of Equestria, after the feast you give my eyes, love."

He nuzzled her again, and kissed her gently, softly running a hoof through her mane and over the back of her neck. "So... what happened?"

Okay, that was a clever use of an idiom, she had to admit. There were also others which involved things about love, eating and so on, right? Like, uh... wasn't there something about the stomach and heart? Like, the shortest way to a stallion's stomach is through his heart? Something like that - she always seemed to have a few small problems with these - obviously, her Father hadn't been in the habit of using too many of them around her.

Obsidian shivered slightly when Cup ran his hoof over her neck. It was quite a strange feeling, really... strange, but not at all unwelcome.

"I was a bit late getting there, and either Spike didn't have time to put the magic inhibitors on Midnight... or they were easily broken. Peridot took control of his body, but I managed to reach Princess Twilight. She teleported me all way here, where I found Flurry Heart and we flew directly to the Delvar Libratorium. I was lucky, as I had no idea where it was and my brother had managed to curse me as well. It wasn't a nice thing to experience."

She sighed softly. "Then, despite Peridot's attempts to discourage us, I found his notebook and destroyed it - he was magically tied to it, somehow. So... he is gone. And Midnight is fine." It was strange - for so many events that had happened, it felt weird to talk about it in such a compact way.

Though he looked alarmed about hearing her being cursed, Cup smiled and hugged her tightly. "I'm glad you beat him, Siddy; he sounds like he might've been pretty mean, and shame on him for hurting you like that. I'm mostly glad you're okay, though... because if you hadn't been, I would've..."

He shuddered a bit, then sighed. "Well, it wouldn't have been nice, whatever I would do." He then put on a smirk. "So you met Flurry Heart, did you? From what I've seen of her, she's kinda nice... but she needs her mouth washed out with soap, it's SO filthy. Still, she never hurt anyone - except Clap's pride, that is. Those two do NOT get along."

He then sighed as he nuzzled her again. "But I'm glad to hear Midnight's okay... and Auntie Twily will be, too. Sounds like everything worked out for the best. Good."

"That's the most surprising part, Cup - he really wasn't mean. He was just... troubled. And a bit too clever for his own good, I'd say. He needed some form of mental help, to be honest... but in an alicorn body, he was too powerful and dangerous to reach..."

Obsidian shook her head a bit. "And yes, er... Flurry uses a number of words that I don't really understand; sometimes they seem to be used together with terms that I know are vulgar, but I still don't understand their meaning beyond that."

So Clap and Flurry had quite a story together, eh? Obsidian was a bit curious about it - especially as Clap had mentioned something about Flurry during their first meeting. "And what's going on back home? Everything's fine, right? Please tell me everything's fine..."

Cup smiled broadly. "Everything's peachy keen! Clap woke up and complained, Wart woke up and started fussing over her armor, then they both wanted to look for you, but I sent them home, saying I would find you. Gypsy came back before I left, and told me Mica was okay, too... though he said Mica also had been busy doing some research, and wanted to meet with you to talk about it." He gave a light shrug. "Don't know what it's about, but I figure someone as smart as Mica will probably have something interesting to talk about."

Mica, doing research... she was curious as to what it could be about. He didn't mention anything during their previous meeting - maybe he was looking for information about Midnight's past? "I'll certainly meet him later."

Okay, she had asked about home, and everything was fine... this bed was still quite comfortable... did she have anything more to ask?

"Cup... what does 'score' mean?" She spoke aloud as she recalled the terminology. Asking about Flurry's strange words could wait, but that one had been puzzling her since she'd heard it.

Cup gave her a questioning look, but shrugged. "Uhhh... score? It usually means something about sports... I think. Like, when someone does a good thing, and it gives them a point? That's called 'scoring', and it kinda means you're winning. Mom used to play Buckball professionally, and might be able to tell you more about it. As far as me, though... I don't really care much for sports - except for competitive eating, which is totally my sport!"

Well, it confirmed her thoughts. Still, it didn't really make any sense in the context she'd heard it in.

"But we didn't play any sports..." she wondered aloud. "I've overheard once at school somepony talking that you'd 'scored a mare', so I was just curious. Sadly, said pony didn't seem to want to explain when I asked about it that time; I really hate when someone uses a word I don't understand and then doesn't want to tell me what it meant!"

To be fair, the entire line had been a bit longer than just 'scored a mare'... but she'd cut off the adjectives and so on. The heart of the matter was the important thing.

"Oh. Oooooohhhhhhh... oh." He blushed brightly. "Uhh, th-that refers to... um, finding a really good mare to have as a marefriend. Or finding a good stallion for a coltfriend. In that context, it means good things." He smiled. "Like, I'd say 'how did I ever score a mare like you, Siddy?'"

With that, he kissed her again. Maybe this 'scoring' wasn't so bad after all, if it got her kisses and compliments...

"Oh. Well, I... guess it makes sense," Obsidian said happily and nuzzled him in response. "I'm happy I scored you, then! Especially as everypony keeps telling me you've never shown a real interest in this kind of thing with other mares before I appeared."

Lucky Cup; he almost literally got a marefriend fresh out of the fridge. A big crystal fridge.

He gave a slight giggle. "I think we both scored. I mean, I knew that mares thought I was... 'cute'... but I never really, really noticed any of them back. It just... never crossed my mind."

"When I met you, I... well, it wasn't very romantic, no. But as I got to know you... well, I wanted to know you more. I wanted to know what your favorite thing to eat was, or what your favorite color was, or... well, everything! And I'd never felt like that about anymare before."

He kissed her... and this one was a deep, long kiss. "You made me notice you," he said when he finished, "and I don't regret it one little-bitty-bit."

Obsidian sometimes wasn't sure if living together with Cup was such a good idea... especially since Mica and Clap weren't doing the same, and she had literally gone straight from 'living in a small cell and being controlled by an evil father' to 'living in a big house with her coltfriend and siblings'. However, she never really regretted that she'd gotten interested in him - and vice versa. Besides, his kisses were deeply satisfying.

"Well, that 'meanie' part at the beginning sure made you notice me," she smirked at him slightly, poking at the romantic mood a bit, "but I'm glad you're with me, Cuppy. You are the incarnation of everything that was forbidden to me during my old life... and I absolutely love it."

His smile went a bit wobbly, and tears welled up in his eyes, but didn't fall. "Siddy. Oh, I love you so muchly-much. Thank you for loving me back."

He hugged her fiercely, then got up and shook himself a bit. "Whoo! That felt great! Okay, so - now I'm hungry! So, let's go get something to fill our bellies with..." A wicked smile crept across his muzzle. "Unless, of course, you think you can withstand another ninja attack, that is!"

Almost literally, he was the 'incarnation of everything forbidden'; If their super-friendship-attack hadn't defeated her Father, she could simply have told him that Cup was her coltfriend - that would surely have given him a heart attack on the spot.

"By Darkness, no, I'm up! I'm up!" Obsidian giggled as she got to her hooves very quickly - impressively so, in fact. A bit of tickllng was fine from time to time, but she didn't want to overdose.

"Okay, last question - what 'protection' can be acquired during 'scoring'?" That had been a really strange talk. She didn't mean to overhear - it was rude - but she did it only by accident, and asked for clarification because they were talking about her and Cup. Sadly, none was given... and those two ponies seemed to avoid her now. Sad.

Cup blinked a bit. "Uhm... shoulderpads? Helmets? There was one time when I heard about something called a 'cup' when it came to protection in sports... but I never figured out what that was." He shrugged. "Okay, then - let's go to one of the ritzy-type cafes they have here; I hear they serve ice cream in glass goblets. Fancy-schmancy, right?"

"No, no... this term was used during a discussion I'd overheard; something about protection to avoid a little Cupcake... with Dark Magic, I think? Is there any way you could change size? And Lemon once told me to never teach you Dark Magic..."

Ice cream sounded nice, though; hopefully, Cup brought enough cash with him... because Obsidian teleported with nothing but herself.

"Small Cupcake? I dunno - I'm all for BIGGER cupcakes, honestly! The bigger, the better!" He then blinked a bit more. "But I don't think cupcakes made with Dark Magic would taste very good... unless it makes dark chocolate. I looooooove dark chocolate!"

He went to the door and opened it, flourishing with a foreleg. "Shall we go, my sweet lady? There's a gallon of ice cream with our names on it, and I don't wanna make my tummy angry!"

She could always ask Clap about it, Obsidian decided. The things Cup was saying didn't make sense in the context of that overheard discussion... of course, it also wasn't that important; she was just curious.

"Sadly, I don't know about any Dark Magic that makes chocolate... though, world conquest would go far more smoothly with something like that, methinks. Cities and villages would surrender without a fight!"

Obsidian smirked a bit as she headed out of the room. "Okay, so - breakfast first. I've read that eating ice cream on an empty stomach is not healthy for you."

He smiled as he led her out. "ALL would fall before the mighty Obsidian, and her Dark Chocolate Army! Entire cities, washed away with nummy deliciousness! Canterlot itself would be renamed 'Choco-Lot'! And there would be a thousand years of darkness... in chocolate form!"

He laughed a bit, then looked at her. "Well, yeah - we'll have to get the ice cream last, for dessert; the GOOD stuff would have to be first, right? And I feel like having some hayburgers!"

On the street, there were a number of beings all around them... including the lovely crystal ponies that Obsidian once saw as slaves. However, they certainly looked a LOT happier than the crystal ponies she remembered. Cup continued to chatter away pleasantly, and made a few jokes to keep the smile on Siddy's muzzle.

Eventually, they reached an outdoor cafe, by the name of 'The Mint & Berry Eatery Salon'.

"Sounds yummy," Cup said as he looked it over. "Shall we try it out?"

Suddenly Obsidian felt an urge to eat some chocolate. Hard chocolate. Cut into little crystal shapes. And maybe with a dye to make it even more black... Obsidian chocolate... yessssssss... she could convince Cup to make something like that and get royalties from the sales. Or at least enjoy the fact that there was a dessert made in her honour.

But for now, hayburgers were okay. Actually, Obsidian had been through an exceedingly long day yesterday, and didn't eat very much - so it would be fine to fill her stomach with something proper. "Yes, we shall. If we don't like it, we can always look for another place. In the worst case scenario, we can call Flurry and ask for help with finding the best hayburgers in the City," she suggested.

The doors to the place were fancy. The windows were fancy. The interior was fancy.

The look on the serving host's face, however, was not so fancy.

"Ahem," he said, standing there in his fancy outfit, "sir and madam. May I help you?"

"I sure hope so," Cup smiled, "we're pretty starved!"

"Oh, sir," he said with a bit of a sneer, "I'm afraid I cannot permit it. This place is only for members of our 'Elite Diners' club, and I'm afraid you are not members. My sincerest apologies," he went on, "but I'm afraid you'll have to-"

"Port, it's okay - they're with me." The voice was one of distinctly high class quality, but the stallion who stood there wasn't anyone Obsidian recognized.

However, the host instantly stood upright, and his eyes widened as he heard it. "Oh! Mister Blue, I had no idea you were expecting company, sir!"

The stallion was indeed blue; his coat was a powder blue, while his mane and well-braided tail were a darker, more distinguished blue. He wore a fine blue suit, and even his eyes were almost a pale sky blue.

"Neither did I, Port. But they're welcome friends. You two," he waved a hoof towards the dining area, "won't you follow me?"

The host bowed to them both, then went back to looking over his lists. Blue smiled, and motioned for them to follow as he walked to a far table and sat down. Cup looked at Siddy, shrugged, and went to the table as well.

It was either a trap... or she was just famous and somepony wanted to help her out. It would be a welcome change - her life would be far better off if, instead of worrying about sudden sibling attacks, she would have to wonder how many dinners would be offered to her like this.

And, frankly, considering that Cup already went with this unknown pony, she had no other option but to follow them as well - she wasn't going to leave him in this place alone, after all.

"Sir, are you sure this isn't a mistake?" she asked. It was the most honest question she could think of.

'Mister Blue' gave a slight chuckle, then smiled broadly as they both sat down. "Oh, I don't believe so, Miss Obsidian... after all, if it hadn't been for your help, I would never have made such a good grade on my Biology exams."

Wait... why was that familiar?

"Besides, I would rather eat with friends than alone," he grinned.

Author's Notes:

A bit more about the three shards, a bit more about what may be happening, and a bit more Cupcake Sprinkles being Cupcake Sprinkles. All three things are stuff I'm hoping you folks are looking forward to. And tea parties, because Ruby mentioned them before.

Ninja Tickle Attacks claim the grumpiness of thousands of people, every single year. Make sure to stay up to date and informed about these attacks, because you never know when or where they may strike. Consider yourself warned.

Eighteen: Mare Stuff

Obsidian patted her chin; biology exams..?

"That would mean... Markannus, yes?" she eventually remembered. Well, it was a small Equestria after all, it seemed. "A lot has happened lately... I really feel like you'd showed up to borrow those books at least a month ago."

He gave a smile. "So, you DO remember me... excellent! Good to see you again, Miss - you as well, Cupcake."

"Markannus! Wow, I didn't-"

"Recognize me?" He chuckled again, a rich, deep baritone that sounded nothing like his regular voice. "Well, I'd say that's a relief in my particular fashion. I wouldn't want to be losing my touch, now would I?"

He sat back in his chair. "Now, do remember to refer to me as Mister Blue, because that's how I'm known here. Blue Note, the slightly-famous jazz musician and all-around rich stallion. It's a cover I came up with years ago, so that I could visit the Empire without any sort of trouble."

He sighed. "So many here still have a few... hang-ups... about non-ponies. But they have some of the BEST ice cream, so I couldn't resist."

Cup's eyes widened at that, and so did his smile.

"So, what brings the two of you to the Empire? Visiting home, miss?"

"More like saving the world," Obsidian admitted. How old was Markannus, to be able to make and maintain such a cover?
Of course, the nationwide issue with the changelings was probably more complicated with ponies than with the rest of races; for a long time, they were under the rule of their queen - who just so happened to be hostile towards Equestria. They probably would have some trouble with getting into Friendship School.

"It was a quick issue; find the bad pony, defeat the bad pony, celebrate defeating the bad pony. We are currently in the midst of the third stage, as you can plainly see."

"I do see," he said. "Would this, perhaps, have anything to do with the, ah... 'disturbance' at the Delvar Libratorium late last night? It was on the news; the radio claimed it was an 'attempted theft', and that 'thousands of bits worth of historic literature' was damaged 'beyond repair'."

He grinned. "And here you are, the very next day. I have to say, the timing is uncanny."

She sighed. "The literature I've damaged beyond repair wasn't worth that much... besides, at this point I was barely standing on my legs," Obsidian mused. "I hope it'll be open to tourists soon, as I'd like to visit it properly one day. What would you recommend here for breakfast?"

Blue rasied an eyebrow. "Oh? You're really just going to stop right there, after a comment like that? Well, I daresay you certainly leave one hanging, as it were. But okay, if you don't want me to pry, then I shall not pry. After all," he smiled, "it might get you asking me what I've been doing here."

He glanced at the menu, but didn't pick it up. "They make an excellent Hay-bacon-and-rye sandwich here, and they serve it with double lettuce by request. Oh, and make sure to mention the Morning Special; it means they bring a carafe of fresh-squeezed orange juice and a small plate of hashbrowns to go with your order."

Cup picked up the menu and looked it over. "Oh, wow... look at the prices of this stuff!" He glanced at Blue over the top of the menu. "How can you afford any of this?"

"Oh no, if Miss Obsidian gets to have her secrets, then so do I, my friend." His smile was infectious, and Cup quickly smiled back. "Though, I have to wonder... now that you've accomplished your goals here, are you planning to stay for the day? I do have an invitation to one of the more popular nightclubs here, and I wouldn't mind the company... if you're available."

In fact, Obsidian was a bit curious about that, but she simply assumed that he was doing the same thing as they were - celebrating - passing an exam, in his case. And damn, money. Maybe she should start asking princess Twilight for some allowance for each beaten villain.

"I'm afraid we have to return to Ponyville, via a train at noon. Our visit to the Empire was... rather unplanned, and there are still things we need to do home," she explained.

Nightclub? It sounded interesting. Now, if she wasn't so damned busy all the time...

"A shame," he said with a sigh, "but understandable, I suppose. Oh, and have no worries about the bill; I'd be happy to cover the both of you - a gracious 'thank you' to an equally gracious librarian, I'd say."

Cup's eyes, however, lit up like gas lamps. "So... I can have whatever I want?"

Blue nodded. "Please, by all means."

Cup's smile doubled. Obsidian knew that smile...

Obsidian quickly grabbed Cup's hoof, alarmed by his toothy grin. "Not too much sugar," she warned him.
Covering for them? But she was merely a librarian, and the help she offered personally to Markannus was practically meaningless to her, as it was just her duty.

However, she did save Equestria. Twice. She kind of deserved a little bit of pampering from time to time. "I'll take that sandwich you recommended, then... and what exactly are hashbrowns?"

"Oh, I can tell you that!" Cup's grin was broad and bright. "They're diced potatoes, fried in oil and browned juuuuuust right! They're delicious - especially with maple syrup!"

"Yes," Blue responded, "that's about ri-... maple syrup? Seriously, Cupcake?"

Cup licked his lips as a reply, and Blue just laughed merrily. "Well, I suppose I'll have to see this to believe it! Okay, then - breakfast it is."

He signaled Port, and the host sent a waiter over to their table. Blue ordered a light salad, with a glass of 'premium apple juice'. Cup ordered three plates of hay bacon, six waffles, ten pancakes, five helpings of broccoli, two servings of fried green tomatoes, four cheese blintzes, and a pitcher of orange juice.

Blue looked impressed. "If you can eat all of that, it'd be worth the price to see it happen." Apparently, the changeling wasn't familiar with Cup's appetite.

The waiter turned to Obsidian. "And you, madam?"

That was Cupcake all right; for all her fondness of him, he liked sweet things far more than she did. Like, the amount of sugar Obsidian would have for a single day, he could devour in a span of minutes.

"Hmmmm... hay-bacon-and-rye sandwich and... the morning special. Please." Did she ever drink orange juice at all? Ponyville was ruled by apples, and in the Empire she never had access to such delicacies. It was always nice to try new things, right?

The waiter bowed, nodded, and headed back toward the kitchen.

"Oh, I can hardly wait!" Cup was almost bouncing with anticipation at the oncoming feast. "I'm gonna enjoy this!"

Blue just chuckled. "This, I have to see."

"It's apparently a family thing. At least his mother can rival his appetite," Obsidian said with a somewhat resigned voice, "I have no idea how it's even possible, and will probably never know." At least not without a medical autopsy. "I do hope the table will hold up."

When the meals were served, Obsidian and Blue got theirs brought out by a single waiter, who served them as they would anyone here; regally, with quite a bit of class.

When it was time for Cupcake's meal... it was brought out by a flock of waiters and waitresses, all loaded down with the delectable goodies that had been prepared for this feast. As they sat them down in front of him, Cup's eyes seemed to get bigger and bigger with each plate; if his eyes had mouths, they would have been drooling.

When the entire meal was placed before him, Cup reached over and dantily took up his napkin and placed it on his lap. He then reached over and took a single sip from one of the glasses of OJ. He smiled, winked at Siddy...

... and the feeding frenzy began.

To his credit, he dropped not a single morsel, nor did he make even the smallest of messes - everything went into his mouth, and nothing returned from said journey. Blue simply watched in amazement as Cup polished off plate after plate after plate, and the rest of the waitstaff stayed put, most of them just as awed as the changeling was. Nothing was safe from Cup's hunger; at some point, even the single vase set in the center of the table for display was relieved of its' flower, though not a soul could say when it happened.

Eventually, every scrap of Cup's meal ended up sitting in his belly, and he sat back in the chair and gave a contented sigh, carefully folding his pristine napkin and patting his mouth lightly with it before placing it upon the table like a true gentlecolt.

"Ohhhhhhhh..." he said as he stretched and patted his not-even-bulging belly, "now THAT was a grand meal! Everything was exquisite, and I haven't had the chance to really fill myself up in a long, long time... mostly because Momma couldn't afford it."

The waitstaff all were staring at him. So was the host. So were the rest of the patrons.

Obsidian wasn't staring; she was simply nibbling on her own food, taking her time not to rush, displaying her sense of etiquette as well as being amused by the reactions to her fiancee's appetite.

"It does make me wonder, Cup... how is it possible that normal meals don't starve you?" she asked with curiosity. If he could handle that much food, then an average breakfast would be barely noticable to what must be a powerful hunger...

He smiled broadly. "That's why I cook and bake so much! Plus... snacks!"

One of the waitstaff nudged another one, and then handed over what looked like two bits to them.

"And this will keep me sated for... well, at least a few hours!"

At the back, a ritzy-looking mare almost fainted.

"Blue, thank you for the chance to try all this wonderful food! It's amazing, the quality of each dish! I only wish I could come here more often!"

From the back, there was a light gasp, and the waitstaff parted around him as a stallion in a chef's hat and apron came through. He had a big, long mustache, and his eyes were the size of saucers... and full of tears. He made his way over to Cupcake, and simply stared at him for a moment before he spoke.

"You... you ate-a da meal? All of it?"

Cup smiled and nodded.

The stallion began to weep openly, fell to one knee, and took Cup's hoof in both of his own. "My-a mother... she tell-a me, to eat is to live, but to serve-a is to do the world a favori... and-a you... you honor-a me wit-a you appetite! I have-a NEVER known such-a happiness as to feed-a da stallion wit-a stomach such as-a YOU! Thank-a you... thank-a you... for gracing-a ma table!" He sobbed happily into Cup's hoof, while the unicorn himself looked at Siddy and Blue, then gave an awkward, 'is this a good thing' smile of concern.

Obsidian reached her hoof and graciously patted her coltfriend. "Congratulations - you are a hero, now." If only she could find a journalist, they could try to divert public attention from the mess made in the Libratorium with Cup's enormous appetite. The average populace probably loved this kind of trifling news, so they wouldn't care that much about a mad alicorn ruining an ancient repository of learning... or perhaps she was being a touch too cynical about that.

Cup smiled again, this time kindly, and stood up, giving the tearfully happy chef a bow. "And it was my pleasure to eat such a wonderful cornucopia of food! Thank you for gracing my palette with such fine culinary delights!"

The chef sobbed loudly, and hugged Cup tightly. Cup hugged him back of course, then laughed as he swung the chef around in a circle before putting him down.

"This is quite interesting," said a mare's voice.
"And such a display of eating prowess," said another one.

Standing behind Siddy and Blue were two mares, both dressed alike. One was green with a white mane and tail, while the other was a bright red with freckles, sporting a dark green mane and tail. Both were impeccably dressed, and they had matching smiles on their muzzles.

"You've certainly made quite an impression on our guests," said the green one.
"Not to mention Chef Gnocchi," said the red one.

The chef and the waitstaff all stepped back, looking at the pair with awe and respect. The chef removed his hat, then looked at the two mares. "Miss-a Mint! Miss-a Berry! You-a come to see-"

"Yes, Gnocchi, we have,"
"And we are duly impressed, young stallion."

Cupcake looked confused, but Blue stood up and gave a bow. "My friends, this is Mint Candy, and Straw Berry - the owners of this establishment. Madams, may I introduce Cupcake Sprinkles, Pinkie Pie's prodigy. And his lovely companion is none other than Obsidian, of recent Ponyville fame."

They both bowed to them all. "Mister Sprinkles, we are pleased you enjoyed your meal here,"
"And would like to extend to you an invitation to return whenever you wish."

They both then spoke together, "Free of charge."

Obsidian, daughter of Sombra, had saved the world twice already. She literally had to stop her own father from returning and enslaving everypony... and she had to go through Tartarus to do it, both physically and mentally. She spent almost the entire day yesterday running around like a wild animal to find out what happened to Thunderclap and Midnight, and eventually had to fight against her mad brother that wanted to destroy almost the entire compliment of sentient life on the planet because it was bothering him - and she had to do that while cursed.

Meanwhile Cup just had to eat a lot of food to get attention and an invitation, free of charge... which, to be fair, was kind of strange, because he could absolutely ruin this place with his hunger. Obsidian was envious, and didn't like it - not at all. She wasn't used to that feeling, especially not towards her coltfriend. She bowed shortly in response to the two mares, but that made up the entire visible reaction from her.

"But, umm..." Cup spoke up, "... why? I mean, with my appetite, I could close this place down in a week!"

The mares smiled. "Oh, we're aware that you could... but you don't live here,"
"Which means you cannot visit us every day."
"But that display you just put on, just now?"
"THAT will be the talk of the town for quite some time,"
"And, of course, it will be mentioned you did this in OUR establishment,"
"Which will serve well as free advertisement."

Blue's smile grew as he saw what the two savvy mares were up to. He gave Obsidian a smirk, then turned to Cupcake. "And I'm sure he'll be happy to repeat this feat if you should need him to, eh Cup?"

Cup nodded. "Sure!"

"Very well, then,"
"It is settled."
"Your bill is taken care of,"
"And we hope you come to see us again soon..."

Both: "Just not too soon."

"And you," Mint turned to Obsidian.
"Yes, you," Berry followed suit.
"You are a hero in your own right, yes?"
"To have a hero sitting at this table is also good for business."
"Please, stop in any time you like,"
"As long as we can tell others you frequent our humble establishment,"
"We extend to you the same honor."

Both then bowed before her. "After all, Ponyville isn't just a town on the map,"
"It was also once our home."

Having a hero here probably was good for business - though having Sombra's daughter here... maybe not so much. They didn't seem to know that little fact, though. Also, with such an elite roster of guests, did they have to advertise at all?

"We will surely return, sooner or later," she admitted. Clap probably visited places like this a few times - particularly with the amount of cash she seemed used to spending - but Gypsy might enjoy this place a good bit.

Both bowed to the group as a whole, then clapped their hooves together in synch. Like a flash, all the waitstaff went back to work, and after another bow and hug, Chef Gnocchi returned to the kitchens. The three of them finished up, then made their way for the door.

When they were finally outside, Blue turned to them both. "I do believe you're going to gain some reputation from this - both of you. It'll be good to have that knowledge running around, doing nice things on your behalf. However, now I'm afraid we must part ways... unless you've possibly changed your mind about tonight?"

Obsidian shook her head. "I'm afraid not, sadly. I really do have quite a lot of things on my proverbial plate. I'd daresay that I'm getting a bit lazy in quiet little Ponyville, at least compared to the old days. I need to be more diligent, as at the moment my tasks are piling up far too quickly."

Blue nodded. "Well, then - I suppose I shall see you two at school, then. Farewell, my friends, and hey - keep it jazzy, you two."

With that, he sauntered off towards town. It was interesting that Markannus was so different in his other persona... but then, he was a changeling, after all.

Cup turned to her and put a small kiss on her snout. "Okay, what's next, then? I think I-BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRP!!!!!"

Shocked, he covered his mouth and smiled sheepishly. "...'scuse me," he said softly. Across the street, a stallion guffawed out loud until the mare walking with him elbowed him to stop.

Obsidian sighed slightly. "Darling, I think we don't have any room left for ice cream."

"Are you kidding?" Cup chuckled. "I just made room with that one!"

She shook her head slowly. "You never cease to amaze me, Cup... though sometimes, it is a bit scary."

He giggled. "Well, that's a good thing, right? I wouldn't want to be a boring coltfriend, would I?" Cup then gave Obsidian a concerned look. "You got enough to eat, right? I'd feel just awful if you didn't get a good amount of breakfast, even after all I ate. I wouldn't want you to think I was greedy or anything..?"

"Yes, yes - I normally don't have to eat so much to be full," she waved her hoof. In fact Cup's feast would probably outright kill her. "So, where are we going to have the ice-cream? Also, do you think we would be able to meet with Flurry Heart before leaving the Empire?"

Cup smiled. "Sure! And as far as the ice cream, I'm sure we could find some... follow me!"

He began to skip his way forward, with that weird yet endearing 'sproing' sound with each leap. Just like his mother...

The ice cream stand wasn't far, and after Cup sniffed it out, they both got a cup of delicious ice cream. Cupcake chose tapioca-mint-bubblegum, and was done with it in less than two minutes (he took his time).

Raspberry. Raspberry was good, especially with those small seeds; sweet, but with a subtle sour note. Obsidian obviously didn't eat hers as fast as he did, especially as she was still rather full from breakfast. In theory, he should be full too, but... Well, he was Cupcake.

"So... Flurry, and then the train. I can hardly wait to get back home, to be fair," Obsidian admitted.

The walk to the palace was... interesting.

So many of the Crystal Empire's structures had changed or been replaced since her days, but it wasn't such a bad thing. Her Father had never allowed for much decoration, calling it 'frivolous', but the city now looked more alive than she'd ever seen it before. There were mostly Crystal ponies on the streets, but there was a fair mix of other races as well. And they all looked so happy, too.

And the colors! They were pretty and bright, and even the air smelled sweeter somehow, more natural. Even with all the change, Obsidian could still, in her mind's eye, see the mine factories, the grimy hovels the slaves slept in (when they were allowed to sleep), the paved roads that had once been nothing but dirt, tracked with the hoofprints of a million passing slaves, walking their chained processions...

But it wasn't his city anymore.

It would be nice to see the entire city properly, in an organized fashion, with her friends - and Obsidian hoped that it would be possible soon.

But first things first.

Research about her siblings, teleportation, work, school, research about curses... there were plenty of things she had to do. Perhaps pay a visit to this kind old pair that had helped her out after the thief tried to take off with Clap's pastries. Oh, and then there was... well, let's just leave it at 'she really had a lot to do'.

Reaching the Crystal Palace, the guards out front nodded to them both and opened the doors for them. Inside, the Empire was busily going about its' royal business. There were servants going to and fro, dignitaries who were chatting each other up, guards at their posts and on patrol, a clump of children who were being led along by their teacher who was explaining the history of the place, and even a few others...

"Cupcake Sprinkles!" a sweet voice cried out, and much of the activity inside paused for a moment, then began their routines again.

Coming towards them, flanked by guards and three ponies dressed in servant finery, was an exquisitely beautiful alicorn. She was tall, and had a soft pink coat. Her mane had that weird wavy-thing that Luna and Twilight both evidenced, and she was smiling broadly as she walked towards them.

Cup smiled. "Auntie Cadey! Hiya!"

The lovely alicorn put Obsidian's beauty to shame. She and Cup embraced when she came close enough, and she gave a laugh that sounded like it could end wars. "I heard you'd come into town - I'm so glad you stopped by!"

"Oh, I wouldn't miss you for the world, Auntie Cadey! OH!" He turned and gestured to Obsidian with a flourish. "This is-"

"Obsidian. Yes, I know quite well of her, actually." The Crystal Princess bowed low before her. "I'd been wanting to meet you for a while now, but with my duties here, it's so hard to get away from it all. I'm glad to see my hunch was right, and that you're more than worth the chance I asked my husband to give you."

She smiled sweetly. "And I already know she's your marefriend, Cuppers - I can feel the love you two have for each other."

Good news - they'd found an alicorn princess! Bad news - it wasn't Flurry Heart.

Okay, maybe it wasn't that really bad, but Obsidian wasn't prepared to meet with the mare who was ruling her father's fiefdom and stood against him during his glorious (attempted) return. Or, rather, not so glorious... especially when one remembers that a certain child dragon took part in it. In fact, it would probably be pretty humiliating for him to learn about that little fact.

However, it seemed that it was impossible to not like Princess Cadance at first sight, at least a bit. She looked like total goodness incarnate - and sounded like it, as well. However, her ability to feel other's emotions was a bit disconcerting...

Obsidian bowed respectfully. "I think everypony deserves a chance, princess... and I'm glad I didn't waste the chance I was given," she replied, thinking about her three siblings trapped in crystals in the catacombs. Would this princess sentence them to an eternal imprisonment, as Flurry said?

"We'd wanted to meet with Princess Flurry before leaving the City. After yesterday's events, I'm anxious to see her," she added... though nopony really asked. Oh, well, perhaps Cadance would point them towards Flurry's direction.

When she smiled, it was radient and lovely. "Flurry's been talking about you, you know; she says you're 'ultra-cool', and that you acted every bit the heroine during your 'escapade' in Delvar. She's been a bit dour lately, so to see her so excited... well, that's a small miracle unto itself. Thank you for being so kind to her - she may not look it, but she needs some good friends to talk to." She chuckled lightly. "And about."

"And how's little Ray?" Cup asked.

"Oh, she's doing just fine, just fine. She's already made her way to the top of the class, and she has more friends than you could shake a stick at! She'll be sorry she missed you, but I can tell her you said hi, of course."

Cup smiled broadly. "Great! Maybe we'll get to stop by again soon, and she and I can catch up then. And, as always, you look fabulous, Auntie!"

She blushed prettily. "Thank you, Cup. Now, to answer your question," she turned to Obsidian again, "Flurry's in the banquet hall, reading those books of hers. She said you might be by, but she wasn't sure. At any rate, you'll find her there."

A servant spoke up. "Erm, Princess Cadence? The dignitaries are waiting for you." He looked at Obsidian. "My apologies, madam."

"Yes, Time Keeper, I know. You're right." She turned back to the pair. "If you two would please excuse me, I have dignitaries from Mount Arris to meet with - please, feel welcome in my home, and I hope to see you two again..." She began to walk off, entourage in tow.

"Perhaps at your wedding?" she coyly added over her magnificent flank.

Well, it certainly was a bit surprising to hear that Flurry held her in such high esteem - at least for a moment, she seemed to be rather dissapointed yesterday and even insulted her a few times when she was panicking over her siblings. Not that Obsidian cared about it too much at the moment - after all, the princess was rather vulgar... and if she was going to plan to beat the snot out of everypony that insulted her, then Rainbow Dash would be on the top of her list. After all, she was completely innocent of any of the things she was accussed of by her, and managed to save her child. It would be good to force her to at least apologize.

Obsidian opened mouth to bid the kind princess farewell, but her last sentence left her thunderstruck for a moment. Actually... no - she hoped that it would happen before their wedding. After all, they weren't even planning it yet.

Cup, to his credit, blushed deeply and led Siddy towards the banquet hall. "D-don't mind Auntie Cadey; she's all about LOVE, and she always talks about it when she can. She was teasing... I think." Cup's shy smile at her said that, even if no plans were in the making, he might not mind so much if they were.

She knew so little, and was so inexperienced about social norms - she didn't even know how she was supposed to feel about the teasing... not a clue. Maybe she could ask other ponies about it? Clap, Mica, Miss Pie, maybe even Princess Twilight... Gypsy wasn't a pony, so she really couldn't ask him about pony traditions (though with his knowledge of history, there was a small chance). Stalwart probably didn't know too much. Midnight? He was a prince, so he should be knowledgable, right?

At length, they came to the grand banquet hall; even though the decorations were bright and beautiful, the architecture Obsidian remembered was still there under all the fluff, just as it had been over a milennium ago. Seated at the table was Flurry Heart, her muzzle deep into the book she was reading. And what was the title of said book she was so engulfed in?

Crinos: The Dark Magic of Desire, no less.

When she glanced up from her reading, her eyes lit up like dual suns... but she just grinned, put the book into the pocket of her hoodie, and sat back all cool and collected. "Hey, Sids. Cupster. 'Sup?"

Obsidian, currently focused on the small problem she was thinking over, saw the title of Flurry's book; she couldn't help but giggle a bit. "Good morning, Princess Flurry. A good book, I take it?"

Flurry gave a flip of her hoof. "Eh, they're okay, I guess."

With the way her muzzle had been practically embedded in that book, Obsidian was fairly certain it was a bit more than okay. Well... soon enough, Obsidian would probably get Stalwart's opinion anyway. She still couldn't believe that the petite mare took the joke so seriously!

"Hiya, Flur!" Cup said as he stepped up. "I hear you made friends with Siddy; ain't she great!?"

Flurry grinned at the Grey Princess. "Yeah - pretty cool, actually. So what brings you two here?" The extra look she gave Obsidian was more of a question about unspoken things than Cup seemed to pick up.

"We didn't want to leave without stopping in and seeing you... and, if you don't mind, I'd also like to talk to you about yesterday's proceedings, but," she peeked over at Cup, "to be fair, I'd prefer to talk about it privately. Um... I'm sorry, Cup," she at least had enough decency to be embarassed about her request.

"You and I will also have a chat about this, as well; first, I have a need to clarify a few things with Flurry. Is it okay with you to have a talk between she and I, Cuppy?"

Cup put on a confused look. "Uhh... do you two have some sort of secret or something?"

Flur just chuckled. "Well, there were a few... um, 'interesting words' she had some questions about, and I told her I'd set her straight on those. Plus, stuff happened at Delvar that we're BOTH still trying to figure out."

She gave Cup a pat on the shoulder. "Like Sids said, she'll tell you later - honest."

Cup looked a bit disappointed, but he simply shrugged it off and was all smiles again. "Okie dokie lokie - I can go see if Uncle Shiny's around, I guess. It's okay... just make sure to let me in on it when YOU TWO figure it out, okay?"

Flurry saluted. "Sho'nuff. Off with you now; mare stuff."

Cup grinned and gave Obsidian a quick peck on the cheek. "Don't take TOO long, okay?" And with that, he left the banquet hall. Flurry followed him, closed the door, then put her ear to it as she lifted a hoof.

After a moment, she sighed, then turned back to face her. "Okay, he's not listening at the door; we're good."

Okay, perhaps it was a liiiiiiiitle bit of lie; Obsidian herself didn't lie - she simply didn't say everything they were going to discuss. That was the difference.

"Now that you've mentioned 'interesting words', I noted you really were using the word 'fuck' in many variants. And what's a 'threeway'?" Obsidian wondered - but quickly scolded herself - Cup probably didn't want her to take too long. "And I've already gone ahead with the first stage of my research."

Flur gave a slight chuckle. "The word 'fuck' is fun to use, and it helps to yell it when you're mad. Of course, I can't say it in front of my parents; they'd FREAK the FUCK out. But a threeway? That's where three individuals fuck each other at the same time."

She shrugged. "I've never had one, but I heard they can be kinda fun... and rough, too. I dunno... but I might try it sometime in the future. Maybe. Possibly. If I feel like it... I think."

Her smile got wide when Obsidian mentioned research. "Oooooh, about the crystals? Your two brothers and the sister? What'd you discover? C'mon, don't keep me waiting!"

Well, as much as she seemed to use the word, her explanation didn't seem to be too helpful - especially as Obsidian didn't know what the word 'fuck' itself meant. Three individuals fuck each other - didn't it mean something like 'cheating' or 'joking'? After all, Flurry herself asked if she was 'fucking with her', after she started to explain aloud that world conquest needed preparations.

Sombra's daughter rubbed her chin, trying not to look too oblivious. "Diamond should be safe to release, but I want to check this a bit more first. My sister was an expert in mind control, and was behaving in a way that made our father proud - and mind you, he wasn't easy to please. And the crystal in acid contains the brother that spent most of his life tortured and cursed - even the acid is here to pain him in his shard form as well."

Obsidian couldn't help but wince. Taking him from the corrosive waterfall wouldn't be easy... and yet it would be easier than handling him afterwards.

Flur listened intently, then nodded to show she was following. "So, one's safe, two aren't. Wow, that's fucked up. Sorry it wasn't more like 'all three of them are sweet and kind', or some shit like that. But hey, at least there's the one, right? Maybe we could see about getting some sort of acid-proof case or something for Jade? I could look into that, for sure!"

She then grew a curious look. "Does that mean you're thinking about letting Diamond out? I mean... how? How are you supposed to get him out?"

"Princess Twilight told me that she simply had to touch my crystal with her magic to release me; I'll look more deeply into that after I return home. There's no rush - Diamond should be fine where he is for now. At least I know that I wasn't conscious when I was turned. Frankly, I'm more concerned about Jade; he will need quite a lot of help. I'm planning to look into curses to perhaps locate how to release him from it - and even after his release, he will need doctors and therapists to take care of him... it's not something we could handle alone. Then, there is also Amber... who, as far as I'm concerned, should be released only with extreme caution."

Flur nodded. "Okay, gotcha - I haven't touched them in all the years I went down there, and I'll continue to do just that. No worries." She pondered for a moment. "My Mom could probably find the right kind of help for Jade, but we'll have to wait until we figure out more before we step any further down that road; I don't wanna give up those catacombs, so we may have to move them first. Still... it's a start."

The alicorn looked at Obsidian questioningly. "So... what now?"

"We wait and research... even though I really don't want to leave my brother in this state. If we would release Diamond, we'd need an explanation for why there's another son of King Sombra wandering around. In fact, that would be the hardest task when it comes to him, I'd think. However, considering that the other two siblings involved are dangerous, we could just release him and then inform your mother about the situation. I can only hope she will understand that locking them away would be pure cruelty in this situation..."

Flurry Heart shook her head. "FUCK no, we shouldn't tell her! Not until we figure out how to HELP them - 'cause I'm sure Dad would have those tunnels filled in within a Manehattan minute! Mom... miiiiiiight give it a chance, but that's iffy at best. Besides, Dad would argue it being 'for the good of Equestria', and STILL might do it - even without Mom's blessing."

She pondered for a moment, then looked at Siddy. "Well, uhm... we could just tell folks he... uhhhh... was something we found in the Delvar Libratorium? I mean, there was a LOT of stuff smashed in there," she blushed a bit at that, "so we could say he was one of the things that we came across while we were there, and we stashed him until we could figure out what to do? I mean, that's what I can come up with, at least."

Obsidian rubbed her chin. "I'm not sure I would believe that story... bah, I'm sure we'll figure it out soon, anyway. I don't want to leave them in this state - especially Diamond and Jade - but even Amber doesn't deserve this." Her mood had soured a bit when she thought again about how it was rather close to being her fate - locked forever in stasis.

"There was also one other thing I wanted to ask you about: communication - do you have any idea how we could handle it? Mailboxes and letters are rather slow. I never had this issue before, as all of my friends live in Ponyville... but if we want to scheme without so many problems, we need to figure something out."

Flurry smiled at that. "Oh, that's no fuckin' problem at all! As long as you have some sort of focus, I could cast a spell that we can use to talk to each other with - some sort of item or some shit like that. Doesn't have to be fancy; just has to exist. Though, having something small could help, as the bigger shit is harder to connect with. Something metal, 'cause that works better than stone or something else."

Her horn began to glow, and her eyes followed suit. "I can do it now, if you've got something we could use? OH! And we'll need TWO of them, so we can both talk to each other; one-sided convos are fucking stupid."

Obsidian shook her head. "I appeared in the Empire completely unprepared... though, I'm fairly sure we can either get something from your own things, buy something that would be sufficient... or ask Cupcake, too."

"Wait." Flurry Heart's magical aura glowed from her hoodie pocket, and out floated two metal bracelets; they looked sort of cheap, but colorful enough.

"Here - I only wear these when I go out to the nightclubs, so I won't miss one. These'll be okay." The glow from her horn brightened, and she whispered, "speak, and I shall hear; listen, and I shall vocalize". With that, the rings of metal both gained their own glow for a moment, then dulled and faded away. But for some reason, they no longer looked cheap; they were more commonplace, but had a sheen to them that belied their magic.

"Here," Flur floated her the one with the black gemstones on it, "this one's yours, and this is mine." The other, a pink stone embedded in it, floated onto her own hoof. "Okay, put it on and let's test it."

That hoodie seemed to be very practical. In fact, Obsidian started to think about getting one for herself. She could keep at least a few commodities in one, and it wouldn't stick out as much as saddlebags. She put the bracelet on. "Okay, so... I have to focus on you to activate this thing?"

Flurry Heart smiled, but said not a single word.

Kinda, but the best part is you have to THINK your words at me - that way, you and me can still talk without anyone being the wiser. It's fucking great, isn't it?

She wiggled her eyebrows.

Oh. Ohhhh. Practical... well, at least as long as Cupcake's not around; otherwise, I could accidentially think something completely different... and, er, personal.

Flur gave a naughty giggle, then leveled a kind look at her. Sids, this is SO cool... I haven't done this in years, and it's still just as cool as it was the day I learned the spell. And honestly? I kinda like the fact you and me have a secret together; make me feel like you're my honorary sister and stuff.

"I mean," she said aloud, "if you're okay with that kind of shit?"

Would it make Flurry an honorary daughter of King Sombra in return?

"Bring it on. You aren't related to my father, so you could easily become my favourite sibling... if only honorary." Though it's mainly because Ruby is already dead,, she mused, not knowing if Flurry would hear that or not.

She smiled and embraced Obsidian with a quick, tight hug. "Coolness," she said simply. "But if you wanna get better at it, don't mumble." I didn't quite catch that last bit.

This... might take some getting used to.

"Good; I'd wondered if you would hear that or not. I'm sure we'll get used to it soon enough... besides, we won't be wearing these things all the time, anyway," she shrugged slightly. Listening to Flurry's thoughts from a night club would be amusing, but only for so long, after all.

Taking off the bracelet and putting it on the table, Flurry smiled and gave a slight chuckle. "Probably a good thing if we can check up on each other, once in a while - there's not really a way to let each other KNOW to put them on, but I might be able to set up a messaging system of some sort; gimme time to figure that shit out, and we'll be golden."

That did seem to be a good idea; with that improvement, it should make communication far easier - at worst, they would have to wear it for a long time, waiting for the other side to respond.

She leaned on the table and smirked at Obsidian. "So, what's your plan now? Headed back to P-Ville already?"

"Yes. Check on my friends, continue research on my siblings, that kind of thing," she shrugged slightly. "And get back on track after all that craziness yesterday. I'll probably be back soon - I'd already promised Gypsy, my diamond dog friend, that we'll visit the Libratorium. It may take a while, but I'm going to carry out that promise - even if it meant breaking in," she joked. Probably.

Flurry smiled. "Hey, if you bring your doggie buddy, bring him by here - we don't get many in the Empire, and meeting him would be cool. And breaking in?" She chuckled. "Miiiiiight wanna wait 'til security calms the fuck down a bit. Like, say, a month or so? Best bet, anyhoo."

She sat back down, but looked at Obsidian with concern. "You be safe, okay? I got a feeling that this is just the beginning... of what, I dunno. But better safe than 'oh shit', right?"

"Oh, don't worry over that much - I'm sure that sooner or later I'll stop finding murderous siblings of mine. After all, even my father couldn't handle so many psychopatic children running around, right?" she chuckled. "Besides, he couldn't split his soul too many times; as long as he didn't make a pack of natural-born foals, Equestria should be fine."

Wait, he couldn't have natural-born foals... could he? Somepony would notice a pregnant mare hanging around him, right?

Flur shrugged. "You never know. Ah, well - it's all just one of those things, right? We can handle this, no sweat."

Flurry Heart, Princess-In-Training for the Crystal Empire, gave Obsidian a wicked grin. "And hey, maybe you and me could hit some of the nightclubs, next you're here. They're something to see, I promise ya."

"To be honest, I don't even know what nightclubs are. I can only assume that they are a place where alcoholic beverages are served?" she admitted, asking curiously.

She laughed. "Oh HELL yeah, there is! And more... but still, that'll be later. For now? You be careful, Sids - and hey, it was fucking awesome to meet you... even if it was in the most fucked up way!"

"There could certainly have been more, uh... fucked up ways, trust me. See you later, Flurry. And you be careful too; watch out for any mad unicorns trying to seize their father's throne and so on," she reached to her for a parting hoof-bump. "Sooooo... now I have to find either Cup or your father. Any ideas where my coltfriend could be - where I should start looking for him?"

She returned the hoof bump. "If I know Cupster, he's either talking to Dad... or hanging out near the kitchen. Try the kitchen first." She waved as Siddy left the room. "Be good, or be good at it!"

So, she had to find the kitchen now; it shouldn't be that hard, right? The kitchens back in her time were... uh... somewhere around the rooms for the slaves, right? Yeah, maybe it would be a bit harder than she thought. Luckily she could simply ask for one of the ponies around to show her the way - it's not like she had to find everything completely on her own.

Author's Notes:

Quite the hit in the Crystal Empire, meeting the Princess of Love, discussing some of the interesting things that had been discovered... eeyup, Obsidian has certainly been coming along, hasn't she? It's okay - there's going to be an answer to how she'll get hold of her siblings' crystals - and I hope you folks are gonna enjoy it.

And no worries - this isn't the last we get to see of Flurry Heart; she'll pop up again, I promise. };)

Nineteen: Party Time! Excellent!

In the hallway, there were a few ponies of various jobs milling about, tending to their work. It wouldn't have been too difficult to ask about where the kitchen was, but before she could even form a word of her question, Obsidian smelled something in the air... something good... something wonderful...

Something that most definitely smelled like Cupcake's baking.

The divine scent trail would lead right to the royal kitchen doors, where there were a number of cooks and a few servants all standing around, observing the unicorn stallion as he pulled a tray of his incredible cupcakes out of the oven. He was all smiles as he set them down on the counter gently and, with a quick swipe of his hoof, had the icing bag in his grip. He made short work of each one, giving them just the right amount of frosting, before presenting the entire finished tray with a flourish.

"Ta-da-daaaaa! Cupcakes a la Cupcake!" The gathered servants all gave a respectable amount of applause.

The kitchen was a strange place to look for Prince Shining Armor, wasn't it? Maybe Cupcake just got lost... or more likely, he got hungry. Then again, perhaps he simply couldn't waste an opportunity to further his fame as a purveyor of tastes great and grand?

Without a word, she waved at him to get his attention.... wait, just how long was she talking with Flurry for? Was it even possible to make cupcakes so quickly? Was he maybe using magic to affect the flow of time?

Cup's smile brightened as he saw her, and he excused himself to get through the crowd to where she was standing. When he reached her position, he gave her a light nuzzle then looked at her kindly. "So - top secret girly-stuff done with, right? I hope so, because the train'll be here in about half an hour; we'll get there on time if we go now."

"Yes indeed, Cup - we've plotted and schemed, so that Equestria will be a much safer place now," Obsidian chuckled a bit. She would eventually have to talk about the shards with Cupcake as well - but not now, and surely not here. Probably not at home either, as she didn't want Amy to overhear anything. Maybe she could take him for a romantic walk around the Everfree? It should give her just enough time to explain everything.

"... so, do we have to run?" she asked, concerned that she'd spent longer talking than she'd actually expected to.

He smiled. "Only if you want to; the train station's not far. We could race, but Clap's not here, so it wouldn't be as much fun without her, I think."

"Not really, no. And besides, Clap does have an annoying tendancy of trying to race to places I don't even know about." If anything, Clap's 'races' were only useful as a way to sideline her for a moment, so she could have a conversation with someone else. Even better was the fact that Obsidian didn't even have to feel guilty about it, as Clap was doing that completely on her own; the Grey Princess was truly innocent!

... but no, really, if she wanted to race, then she should explain where the finishing line was first.

"In fact, the only time when I was going to run with her on her morning jog, I was attacked by my own brother." Obsidian pondered a moment. "Hmmm... you know, I seem to recall that we were planning to jog together every morning. Oh, well - best intentions and such. Anyway, let's go - I do not want to miss the train."

The train station wasn't far at all, and after only a few moments in the station itself, the two of them were soon on their way home. Cup took the chance to snuggle Obsidian in their seats while they idly chatted, and was nestled against her and smiling sweetly by the time they got to Ponyville.

But when they arrived, there was a small contingent of Royal Guards waiting at the station, and when she got off the train, Obsidian was approached directly.

The one standing in front of the unit cleared her throat and spoke up. "Miss Obsidian! Princess Twilight requests your presence at her castle at once! We are here to make sure you get there promptly and safely!"

Cup, strangely enough, just gave a small smile. "Oooooh, they sound serious, Siddy; maybe you should do what they say, huh? Don't worry about me - I'll catch up, okay?" The smirk he wore said he knew something... but spoke nothing of what it was he knew.

'Requests your presence'... from a contingent of Royal Guards. If Cup hadn't been smiling, Obsidian would be worried that perhaps Midnight had actually died on his way home, Princess Twilight had pulled a full-on Nightmare mode, and she was captured and sentenced to be hanged at dawn... or, er, something like that.

Of course, she'd planned to visit the castle later anyway... but it was still a bit surprising to find herself 'escorted' there.

"Fine, fine... I'm coming, yes," she sighed. Good thing they didn't go with Markannus to the nightclub - otherwise, the poor guards would have neen waiting here for quite a bit more than they'd been expecting. The guards flanked her, and Cup waved as she went with them.

Strangely, Ponyville itself was uncharacteristically quiet. She didn't see any other ponies running around, and a number of shops were closed. It was still Ponyville, sure... but it felt strange and alien to see it so... quiet.

When they reached the castle, two guards opened the doors to allow her entry, and the same two followed her in. "This way, please," one of them said as he guided her towards Twilight's Throne Room.

Hopefully it wasn't a case of Amber freeing herself, mind controlling the entire populace of Ponyville and luring her into a trap. It would be a rather pitiful ending to Obsidian's story - getting murdered as soon as she thought she'd earned at least a few days to relax. And let's not forget to hope that it wasn't another Umbral invasion, either.

Whatever was waiting for her in the throne room, she braced herself for it. An empty Ponyville, guards escorting her directly to the castle, a dramatic fight with Peridot... she had a feeling she knew what was coming, so she simply trotted forward towards her destiny.

When she reached the throne room doors, the guards took up on either side, and opened them together...

And that's when the cheering started.

The entire room was filled with all manner of ponies! It looked like evryone in Ponyville was here, and each and every single soul in that throne room was looking at her and cheering their hearts out. At the throne itself was Princess Twilight Sparkle... as well as Spike, Wart, Clap, Gypsy and Mica. Each of them were dressed to their very best - even Gypsy was wearing some sort of suit.

The princess waited for the cheers to die down (which took a moment), then spoke clearly. "Obsidian. Please come forward to meet me."

She knew it - of course, with so much hard work lately, it could only possibly end this way. Well, there was also the option that Miss Pie would be preparing her a surprise party... but that could be a bit too much - Obsidian wasn't sure if she could handle it, even after so much time spent in Ponyville...

... with so many ponies...

... staaaaaring at her...

Okay, technically speaking, she could simply turn around and run; it would probably be very rude, but she could feel the absolute weight of those stares. Though, really... she DID deserve some appreciation, right?

Tense and on guard, Obsidian came forward, exactly as the princess had ordered.

The Princess of Friendship stood up, and walked down to meet her at the bottom of the dias. "Obsidian, you have only been among us for a short while, yet in that time, you have proven yourself to be a hero, and that is not something I take lightly. You have saved everyone here from the darkness of the Umbrals, and now you have saved my only child from harm as well. Though I know you have been pressured by the trials of adjusting to life in this moden time and place, you have proven that not all which comes from darkness is destined to stay there. The citizens of Ponyville have much to thank you for, as do I."

She turned to the crowd. "From this moment forward, I officially publicly recognize Obsidian as a citizen of Equestria, and grant her all the benefits therein as a member of my people. You are recognized as a hero, and it will be known that you are not only accpeted among us... but welcome, as well."

Clap was excitedly jumping in place, even hovering on occasion. Wart stood proudly smilling. Gypsy was wagging his tail as fast as he could. Mica was giving her a soft grin. Spike gave her a thumbs-up.

"Equestria welcomes you... and so does her people. Thank you for being the kind of pony that stands out as an individual, and brings hope to those who have none left. May your presence be among us for as long as you live."

"THREE CHEERS FOR SIDDY!" Thunderclap shouted, and the audience followed suit, roaring her name.

The doors opened again, and an enormous cake was wheeled in on a cart, right up to where the throne's dias was. Around it, the words 'WE LOVE OBSIDIAN' were written in pink icing, and the whole thing smelled of blueberries and chocolate.

Twilight smiled. "Thank you for all your hard work; we all accept you into our hearts, forever more."

Wait. Waaaaaaiiiit... she wasn't considered a citizen of Equestria before? What was her official status, then? A stateless pony? Apparently, Equestrian citizenship was quite difficult to acquire - after all, it was the second time she'd ended up saving the nation. So she got a citizenship and a cake... and plenty of love, apparently; if she were a changeling, it would probably be quite the feast.

She had no idea how to react, so she simply bowed in response. "I... appreciate that." Twilight rasied an eyebrow, yet smiled back warmly.

Clap almost bowled her over as she tacklehugged Siddy. "You're a bonafide hero, Siddy! I just knew this day would come! Well, I thought it might, anyway... but it DID!"

"I told Twilight about everything you'd been doing," Spike added, "and told her you deserved a bit of recognition for it all. I think she agreed, don't you?"

Gypsy bowed. "This one is p-pleased to see you getting wh-what you mosy certainly d-deserved. C-c-congratulations, Obsidian."

Wart stood at full attention, and gave Siddy an official royal salute, a gleam of pride in her eyes.

Mica simply lifted his hooves and gave a reserved clap, his small smile never wavering.

The cake, however, started to wobble... then, a pair of hooves appeared, and Cupcake Sprinkles leapt out deftly, landing on his hooves and giving a big flourish. "Ta-da-daaaa! I wasn't gonna miss this for anything, so I baked this entire cake for you! Of course, I'm pretty sure you'll share it, right?" He leaned in close and whispered, "Don't worry; the part I jumped out of is separate from the cake itself - no Cupcake fur, I promise!"

She had to act properly in public... however, she didn't really know how to handle this much attention. The presence of her friends was doing little to calm her down; if anything, she was afraid she was going to start to stutter like Gypsy. And of course Obsidian never expected to be tackled here - Clap was a bit rowdy, eh? At least Obsidian was sure that the curse was gone for good. Mica seemed to be fine as well.

"... Cupcake, you never cease to amaze me," she spoke softly. It was all a bit overwhelming, honestly.

"According to everyone here," he said as he hugged her, "neither do you!"

There was much merriment to be had, and there were a great number of others who came to congratulate and thank Obsidian directly; she was now the mare of the hour, and there was music, laughter, and a general atmosphere of bonhomie all around her.

Among them was a very particular elderly couple who were smiling brightly as they came to her. "An' here I thought we was gonna haveta dance in our livin' room... but you got a real shindig goin' on here, missy!" Short Round said with a grin as he and Whisper Winds came up to her and bowed politely. "I figger me an' the missus'll have ourselves a fine time here t'night!"

An enormous plethora of ponies - for a mare who, not so long ago, considered a group of five friends to be quite a large gathering, it was just a smidge overwhelming. She knew at least a few of these ponies; faces she used to see each morning and afternoon. Just how many ponies lived in this town? She wondered if the Bearers of the Elements were somewhere around as well... which also reminded her that Stalwart was worried about her status within the Royal Guard.

"Tonight? Is something planned?" She was a little confused by Short's words... not to mention his accent was as thick as Tartarus. "Good afternoon, Mister Round and Missus Winds. I still hope to visit you soon," It would have been quite rude not to welcome them properly, especially after what they'd done for her.

Short chuckled. "I'm fair ta say they're probably gonna party all day an' into the night fer this one, sweetheart! I mean, you won't haveta be here fer ALL of it, I'm sure... but it's all gonna be fer you, an' all you've done fer us." Whisper leaned over and spoke into her husband's ear, and he smiled. "Whisper here says you're always welcome ta visit, an' she'll make up a batch o' cookies fer ya when you show up. An' trust me, you don't wanna miss her cookies!"

Party? This was a party, was it? She'd wanted to ask the princess about that birthday party of hers... but she didn't expect that she was going to end up in one! She had plans for today, after all.

"Oh, I assure you that I won't," she promised. "I still don't know very much about living in Equestria, so visiting ponies who are far more experienced than I will surely help me learn how to blend in a bit more."

As an idle thought, was Tourmaline still in prison?

Short gave a laugh, then gave Siddy a gentle pat on the back. "We'll be lookin' forward to yer visit, then! An' don't get us started; I'm fairly sure we'll talk yer ears off, if'n ya give us a chance!" She felt that, for this kind couple, was able to risk her ears.

With a fond farewell, the two moved off to the dance floor, where they started dancing with the others that were already doing so. They looked happy, and Whisper even gave Short Round a kiss on his snout, which made him smile broadly as they danced close and slow, regardless of the music's tempo.

"Obsidian! Well met, young mare," said Lemon Custard as he came up to meet her, followed by Peppermint and Licorice, who all gave her a bow of respect. "I daresay you've gone through quite a bit since our first meeting, wouldn't you?"

The longer she was stuck in this party, the more she felt as if she might not be able to handle living around this many ponies after all. Even going full Dark Magic and setting up her own kingdom to rule wouldn't help much, as she had no idea how to run a fief in the first place!

Obsidian bowed in response to Lemon and his siblings. "I can't argue with that - my only hope is that I'll run out of hidden siblings as soon as possible."

Lemon got a grave look on his muzzle. "Yes... I agree. And I hope that if you learn anything more about them, you would let me know as soon as you can; being prepared for such a thing would help make certain fewer citizens get hurt. And, as always, it would be better to know than not to."

Licorice stepped up, and a clump of young mares sighed at the sight of him. He put on a smile that could melt icebergs, and bowed low before her. "Thanks, Obsidian - we're glad you came here. We, uh... we're happy to have you."

Peppermint walked up, bowed as well, then offered a hoof bump to her. And what could be better than a sign of appreciation from the quiet genius of the Pie family? She hoof-bumped Peppermint, smirking as she did. "And now that we are speaking about siblings... might I ask, where are my brother and sister? Did they join this... er, celebration?"

Lemon gave a stern look. "Amethyst was invited... yet she chose to remain at home, for some reason. Persoanlly, I'm glad she did; it would be difficult to keep tabs on her with all these others about. Still, the offer was extended, yes."

"As for Tourmaline... he's managed to charm a number of my guards, and has been swapping jokes with them for the past few hours. His restraint ring is being recast as we speak, and he shall be back in your home by tonight, at the latest."

"Tourmaline is not a danger anymore; if anything, I'm sure that my friends and I could be his liaisons, if he would like to join us..." For a pony that literally tried to shatter her bones and make her into a pony-shaped jelly blob, Tourmaline was rather trustworthy. Besides, if he would try to scheme anything, she could use Gunther against him.

"Lemon, uhhh..." Licorice looked over at the group of mares, "you mind if I..?"

Lemon rolled his eyes and sighed. "Go ahead."

Licky smiled, waved to Obsidian, then made his way over to the grouped mares, who had eyes for no one but him. Lemon shook his head, then gave Obsidian a small grin. "Enjoy today's festivities, Obsidian - you've earned them." Patty gave her a playful salute as the two wandered back into the crowd.

"Hey there, sugarcube." Was that..? No, it couldn't be... and it wasn't.

Butter Churn looked a LOT like her mother in that hat, but Churn was bigger and more muscular. Still, the sad little smile on her muzzle seemed to be quite an improvement from before. "I reckon you've done good, Siddy. Glad you got Midnight back to his ol' self again."

Well now. Between Ruby and Peridot, Obsidian was used to meeting dead ponies, and for a moment she'd thought that Miss Applejack decided to visit her. "Oh, h-hello, Butter... really, I just had plenty of luck," she admitted. Of course, this luck was reinforced by her hard work... but without at least a bit of luck, she would never have found Peri's notebook.

And she wouldn't have had to destroy it, along with all the wonderful secrets that might have been hidden inside.

"Luck might have a bit t'do with it, sure," Butter chuckled softly, "but it's probably more like ya got the right stuff, the gumption, ta get things done. Y'made a real impression on folks, girl - an' I can't think o' anyone here who deserves a hero's welcome more'n you do."

She gave Obsidian a respectful bow, then shuffled her way back into the crowd... but her smile never quite seemed to reach her eyes.

"Uhhhhh... Obsidian?" And now, standing there was Rainbow Dash herself, who looked rather embarrassed. "... hi. Ummm, can I say something?" Without waiting for the okay, she continued. "I was... well, you know how I... uh, I mean... I was a real..."

"Meanie?" Cup offered.

"Y-yeah... a meanie..."

"A pain?" Wart offered.

"Yeah, a real pain..."

"A butt?" Clap snarked.

"Okay, okay, yes! I was a real meanie, a pain AND a butt yesterday... a-and I wanted to, uh... to apolgize for all those things I said. I was just, y'know, worried about Thunderclap, but..." She sighed. "That didn't mean I was right to act like that. I'm really sorry I did all that," she glanced at Stalwart, "and you too. I just..."

"Lost your head?" Said Twilight as she stepped over to join them.

"Yeeeaaaahhh... that."

"Acted like a meanie-bo-beanie?" Pinkie Pie offered as she joined them.

"Uh, y-yeah..."

"Behaved like a crazed visigoth?" Rarity snarked as she sauntered over with Eloquence in tow.

"Rrrrrgh... yes, like a... what now?"

"Gave in to your temper?" Professor Fluttershy added as she strolled up.

"... yeah, yeah, yeah. I really do mean it, though - I'm very, very sorry. Can you please forgive me?"

Oh, look what cat dragged in (there were no cats around, but she remembered this idiom from a book... or maybe from school?).

Rainbow Dash. With friends. And while they were teasing the pegasus about yesterday events, Obsidian felt as if they were here to gang up on her. She'd hoped to deal with the mare privately, without being peer-pressured into 'forgiving her' - at least not without making her very, very sorry for her misgivings and mistakes.

They were in public. Even without that, Rainbow was surrounded by her friends and Obsidian's companions. It was simply not fair. The boisterous pegasus mare deserved punishment!

"Well, I've forgiven Tourmaline for shattering my ribs, and Amethyst for killing Ruby..." Obsidian hated lying... but half-truths were fine.

Dash started to look relieved... until Mica spoke up. "I would actually suggest you take this up with Obsidian privately, Miss Dash; it feels like you're forcing her hoof, here."

Dash's eyes went wide. "Whaaaaaat? What do you mean, I'm-"

"I mean," he continued, "that this isn't the same generation as your own." He gestured to the other Element Bearers. "Surrounded by your friends, gathered together here and somewhat teasing you on the subject - it's a recipe for forgiveness. One that Obsidian should decide, instead of one that lets you off the proverbial hook."

Pinkie looked confused, Rarity seemed slightly shocked, Fluttershy looked a bit guilty, and Twilight simply stared... but Rainbow Dash looked skeptical. "But... I'm apologizing. And I mean it."

"You might," Mica went on, "but that doesn't mean it all wraps up in a tidy little box with a bow, Miss Dash. This isn't a cartoon, you know."

Twilight's muzzle took on a look of thought as Dash simply... blinked.

"If you're truly sincere, then it would be important to take her feelings into account on the matter, and apologize directly, in private. Or at least not somewhere where she would be seen as 'stone-hearted' if she refused."

Dash's jaw dropped open... but Twilight gave a solemn nod. "Dash... he's right. This is something that shouldn't be a 'last minute effort' to make up for what I've heard about. If you really are sorry, then there's no harm in saying it again at a later time, is there?"

Dash turned to face the princess. "B-b-but Twi... I know what I did was stupid! I didn't-"

"The act of forgiveness is important in the practice of friendship, Rainbow Dash - and it should be freely given... not coerced." Twilight spoke like a teacher, making sure the lesson was properly addressed.

Dash's face fell. She looked at Obsidian, then at her friends... then at the floor. "Oh. Yeah, o-okay... you're..."

"Rainbow, darling," Rarity spoke up, "don't feel so down; think of it as more of a 'rescheduling' than anything."

Mica gave Obsidian a short nod. Ah, dear Mica - this way, Rainbow didn't have any chance to notice that Obsidian didn't say a single word about forgiving her assault on Siddy's house and the fight with her friends while they were taking care of her daughter. That was something that Obsidian, of course, could forgive - she wasn't used to holding a grudge - but not before explaining to the Rainbow pegasus how she was a terrible pony. That way, she would be certain to remember that lesson. As far as Obsidian was aware of, Rainbow was not exactly a very bright pony.

"Thanks, Mica, you're a real friend," Obsidian smiled, "and I'm glad to see you are in fine fetter."

He gave a small smirk. "Thank you. We should speak later."

Rainbow looked confused, as well as a bit downhearted, but she turned back to Obsidian. "Okay. R-right, so... I guess I'll... yeah..."

"Oh, it's alright, Dashie," Fluttershy said as she put a foreleg around her and guided her away. "Not everyone will accept an apology the way we hope they will; sometimes, it takes a bit more to make up for things."

The two pegasi moved away, but Twilight stepped closer. "Dash came to me and told me... well, quite a bit. But we've seen her mad before, and we know she doesn't think when she's upset. For what it's worth, I apologize for my friend's behavior - from what I know of her, it must have been a doozy."

"She and Wart got in a fight!" Clap exclaimed. "I'd never seen anything like that before!"

"Thunderclap, darling... I promise you, she's gotten much calmer since she had you," Rarity sighed, "She used to be far worse."

Pinkie shook her head. "Temper, temper... that's why I try NOT to lose my head."

"Except for candy," Cup added.

"Except for candy!" She agreed.

Calmer? Used to be worse? By Darkness, it was a miracle she survived so long! Perhaps she was famously fast because she had to escape angry ponies a lot? "I don't like when ponies whom I try to help make it harder for me... especially when it ends in an assault on my friends and implying that I'm responsible for the death of... a certain pony," Obsidian scoffed. As far as she was concerned, she was responsible for only a single death... and that happened yesterday. Besides, she was just defending herself - he was already dead anyway, so she simply finished what had been started a thousand years ago, right?

Twilight sadly shook her head. "Dash... didn't mean it, whatever she said. I'm sorry you had to deal with that from her. It wasn't right, and I'll have a talk with her before you two meet up."

"Just try to keep in mind," Rarity added, "that it was all because she was worried about Thunderclap - and she probably panicked a bit."

Wart gave a quiet humph, but said nothing.

"I shall keep it in mind, and I will forgive her... eventually. I just hope that this way, Miss Dash will remember the lesson here for a long time; attacking ponies that are trying to cure her daughter isn't the best way to help."

Oh, and Rainbow surely meant it - she really should trust the honesty of a nervous pony. The number of insults she'd been throwing at Obsidian meant that at least some of those might have been in her head already and prepared beforehoof.

"By the way, princess... are you sure it's absolutely necessary to keep my brother in a cell?"

Twilight nodded. "He may be showing signs of changing his ways, but until we know for certain, I'd rather not have him able to cast any magic - and, without a restraint ring, that can be best accomplished in an anti-magic cell."

Rarity shivered at that, then looked back at Eloquence. "Dearie, did you want to speak to Obsidian?"

Eloquence bowed low before her, and smiled broadly... even if he was still quite ugly, the act showed his inner charm. "My dearest Obsidian, I would like to thank you for all you've done for Equestria, and I offer you a token of my thanks; come by the Boutique, and I shall create an original dress worthy of such beauty as yours!"

It was a ceremony for her, and yet they were keeping her brother cell-bound only because he accidentially got free when he trying to help the Equestrians? It really wasn't fair - did they really think he could be that dangerous? That he would risk his newly-won freedom? They could at least ask him if he'd wanted to come...

An original-designed dress... she still wasn't exactly into things like that (at least not as much as Clap was), but it wouldn't be a bad idea to have at least one nice outfit. After all, Cup seemed to appreciate when she looked more dressy than normal - though to be fair, he appreciated her when she was just herself, too.

"I'll surely visit, Eloquence; thank you kindly." Cup liked to amaze and surprise her - why couldn't she could do the same for him? Damnation, there were still so many ponies around! Should she ask him something? Make some small-talk? Hopefully Flurry wasn't wearing the communication bracelet, otherwise she could possibly hear Obsidian's panicked and paranoid thoughts.

"Well, darling, do enjoy your party - if you will please excuse me, I have a few potential customers to speak with. Elo, darling?" Elo smiled, bowed again, and followed his mother away as she walked to where there was a gathering of distinguish ponies chatting amicably.

As they left, Pinkie turned to Obsidian. "So, you like the party? Cup's idea, but I helped out! Are there enough balloons?" There were quite a few across the ceiling, all shades of black and red, with a few grey ones in between. Pinkie leaned in close. "You would not believe how hard it was to find GREY balloons! But we did!"

Okay, Obsidian could believe that it wasn't simple to find balloons in that specific color. She did spend some time with Cup, after all... though she was a bit surprised that he would think it was a good idea to welcome her in this way, right after a rather difficult fight with her brother. "It's... grand, Miss Pie. And yes, I do believe there are enough balloons." Was anypony, well, doing anything with them? Except for a few colts and fillies, nopony seemed to care too much about the grey balloons. "May I have a few questions with you later?"

Pinkie smiled. "Of course you can! You can have all the questions you wa-"

"She probably means answers to her questions, Mom," Cup cut in, giving his mother a kindly look.

Pinkie's eyes went wide with realization. "OH... well, sure! I don't see why not!"

Cup rolled his eyes and chuckled, while the rest of her friends all grinned in some manner or fashion. Gypsy looked down and brushed some lint off his nice suit - it was a bit foppish for the diamond dog, but the color purple did look good on him.

"You stickin' around, Siddy? Or you wanna try to get out of here, before the autographs begin?" Clap joked.

Obsidian paled below the fur. "Autographs?" she squeaked.

Mica nodded. "I expected that answer; if you like, you can slip out through the servant's entrance; I doubt anyone will see you doing so, if you're sneaky about it."
Clap grinned widely. "Or, like... do you need a distraction?"
Gypsy looked around a bit. "This one c-c-could dig a way out, if the floor w-was not st-stone..."
"If you wish to leave, Lady Siddy, then I will be happy to create a path outside for you," Wart added.
Cup just smiled. "Or we can hide you in the cake, and wheel you towards the back hall?"

All her friends were offering their help... just like true friends would.

Each option seemed to be more ridiculous than the last... and without even knowing what it might be, she was SURE she didn't want Clap's distraction. If anything, it meant that her staying at the party would save ponies around from the shock of getting Thunderclapped.

"I, uh, th-think we can stay a bit longer. If I'd like to escape, I'll simply claim that I need some fresh air and quickly run away.
You don't need to worry about me..."

All of her friends were here. Which left Obsidian curious... "Strange - I thought you would be with Midnight, Wart."

Wart did blush a bit, but cleared her throat and stood straighter. "I... am here to celebrate you, Lady Siddy - Midnight shall be fine, at least after your victory over your erstwhile sibling. Today is YOUR day."

Cup smirked. "Oh? Does our Stalwart have-"

"DO NOT SAY IT." Wart warned.

Cup shrugged... but Clap's grin got even bigger. "A crush? Holy schnikes, is it true, Siddy!? Is our little Wart finally growing into a mare?" Wart groaned at the statement, and facehooved.

For all the time that she'd spent with her friends was worth, Obsidian was still pretty clueless from time to time. Especially when it included idioms. "But... she is already a mare, is she not?" she said hesistantly, trying to figure out what Clap meant.

Gypsy and Clap began to laugh merrily, while Mica simply shook his head and Cup giggled like a filly. Wart, however, blushed hotly, and gave Clap a stare that could curdle lava.

"It's a jest, Obsidian," Mica told her, "stating that she's reaching mature marehood by having her first crush - they're teasing her." Wart didn't look amused... but Clap and Gypsy sure did.

"Oh. Well. That makes sense, then." Idioms - it was sometimes hard to realize what was actually meant literally and what was not. "But Stalwart, you have to admit you two would be a cute pair!" It probably wasn't going to improve the situation, but she couldn't help herself.

Wart's evil look slid over to Siddy. "Oh, not you too?"

Pinkie and Cup both began to prance circles around Wart. "Kissy-kissy-loooooveeeey! Kissy-kissy-looooooveeeeeey!" they sang out (in harmony, no less) as they did so.

Mica stepped closer to Obsidian. "I regret that I wasn't present yesterday, but I've been doing some research into a few things... and, if we can speak about it later, I'd be happy to fill you in."

Clap now tried to join in, but she was waaaay off-key. It made Gypsy laugh harder, though.

Obsidian didn't expect that Miss Pie would join in as well; poor Stalwart didn't stand a chance. It should help her with improving her patience, though.

"I'd like to hear it as soon as possible, Mica - even right now, if you wish. The rest of the palace should be more-or-less empty, as well as surroundings... so it should be safe to talk there."

Mica looked at her solemnly. "Maybe not for public discussion, actually - better to do so at home, yours or mine."

"Perhaps you're right... but before we depart, first things first...""

She took out the scroll she had picked up from her room and headed towards her diamond dog friend to pass it on to him - he should love this opportunity to put his paws on something so ancient. "Pssst, Gypsy... I visited my old room and brought something back for you..."

Gypsy stopped laughing, and his eyes went wide as he gingerly took the scroll from her. "Oh... th-this one is... honored... to have such a g-good friend as you! Might he ask wh-what it cont-t-tains? It looks so... ancient... thank you s-s-so much!" His tail would have possibly bruised someone, were they standing too close to it, due to the amount of wagging it was doing.

"It's an old treatise, Gypsy... it's about the advantages of a despotic rule and the inherent flaws with the idea of self-rule.
Something you'd expect from my father." Sombra or not, it was still historical and ancient.

She then looked back at the earth pony. "Fine then, Mica," Obsidian looked around: party, plenty of ponies, balloons, cake, dancing... "Let's sneak out, then. You sound serious, and I'd prefer to hear any serious things as soon as possible."

Cup and Pinkie were honestly causing enough of a show to almost guarantee she'd be able to get out. As her other friends continued to tease Wart, Mica and Obsidian slipped outside through the throne room doors, which were open to allow entry. The few guards they encountered all nodded to them, not saying anything or leaving their posts.

When they reached the outside, Mica kept walking forward, yet spoke in his calm, even voice. "I've been digging into some deep research on the Umbrals and the Crystal Empire, and I've learned a few things. But that's peanuts, compared to what I learned afterwards. When we get someplace private, I'd be more than happy to share... as long as you'd answer a few questions I have for you as well?"

Learning about Umbrals was peanuts? By Darkness, just how much bad news she could receive in only two days? Why she couldn't learn something good was coming... like, 'King Sombra's imprisonment means that Equestria will be forever happy from now on', or 'there's a way to bring back AJ, Ruby and all the other dead ponies', or maybe perhaps 'you are the true queen of the Crystal Empire, now let me pledge my eternal loyalty, but don't worry, I'm sure Cadance will abdicate peacefully'?

"Of course, Mica - we are friends after all, right?" Obsidian replied with a somewhat resigned voice.

He nodded. "You see, I've been scouring the records as to what information, if any, that might have something about Umbrals within it's pages. And I did find something... and it leads to my questions."

When they reached Siddy's home (which was closer than Maud's Cave), he slipped inside, then sat down on the couch and looked at Siddy seriously. "Shall we talk yet... or would you prefer to check to make sure Amethyst isn't eavesdropping?"

Obsidian pretty much preferred to check first... which included using magic to silence her hoofsteps at least a little bit, just to make surprising Amy a touch easier.

Amy was in the kitchen, but she wasn't eavesdropping...

"Ohhh..." hic "It's yooouuuu..." hic

She was drinking what appeared to be a bottle of rather STRONG smelling liquid... and was getting drunk from it.

"The hero returns... how-" hic "how nice."

Obsidian had no idea that Amy was drinking stuff like that... or for that matter, that they had any of it in her house. However, it seemed that she was fine and they shouldn't be worried about her listening in.

"Er... good afternoon, Amy," Obsidian simply greeted her before returning to Mica. All was clear.

Mica looked at her and, with no problems apparent, began to speak. "Questions first. Exactly how much do you know about your siblings, and are you aware of how many of them there actually are? Because I may have found a list of them... but I want to be sure that I'm not incorrect."

"Thirteen shards of Sombra were created," Obsidian replied immediately, "and I know a list of our names, but beyond that... hmmmm..."

Obsidian herself, Onyx, Tourmy, Amy, Ruby, Peridot, Diamond, Amber, Jade, Aquamarine... oh, and there were also Quartz, Sapphire and Opal, but Obsidian hadn't had the time to read about any of those siblings. She only knew that Quartz was a stallion, and that Sapphire and Opal were mares - and that was it.

"I know a bit about ten of us... up to this very date, I know that six of us - myself included - managed to get free and do something in the nation of Equestria... and usually, this 'something' wasn't exactly nice."

Mica looked a bit surprised. "Thirteen? I've only learned about ten of them, myself... and here I thought I'd accomplished something..."

He shrugged and continued. "But I digress - I've been looking through a number of books and scrolls, and have managed to decypher a few things from them. I was hoping that we could possibly pool our information... though it shouldn't surprise me that you know more than I do about this subject, I guess."

"There have been some... mentions... about what some of your siblings are capable of, and through research, I've managed to find a few occurrences that have touched on three instances that seem... highly suspect, you could say. One is talk of a forest near Mount Arris that has recently been noting a strange occurance; tree stumps that don't look cut, but more like they burst at the same levels. All along the eastern side of said forest." He gave a slight nod. "Something that sounds suspiciously akin to one of your sibling's abilities."

"Second, there's talk of a professional clothing fashion designer in Manehattan. A fairly recent newcomer - one whose fashions are under the label of 'Quartz Master Designs'; a long shot, but still something to examine, at least."

"Third, I've been noticing a large quanitity of Dark Magic scrolls and mechanical parts have been ordered from a secure royal warehouse out near Appleoosa - purely scientific, says the order bill, and it's stamped by Princess Celestia herself, curiously. But as we've seen a bit of Dark Magic lately, I thought it was worth noting."

"Honestly, I hope that we don't find out about any natural-born siblings of mine; dealing with the thirteen of us is annoying enough. I'd rather prefer to avoid the discovery of any additional siblings." Obsidian really liked that short period in her life between the death of Onyx and Peridot's attempt to genocide all sentient beings off the face of the world. She already had to deal with three of them, and now Mica found something that could be connected to another three...

She was sure it wasn't going to be nice. Or safe.

"Suspiciously enough, one of my brothers hold the name Quartz. I also know that my brother, Aquamarine, was able to utilize powerful Explosion Spells... so it's possible that he's responsible for the Mount Arris issue - and if this is correct, then we'll have to handle it quickly. Even Onyx called him cruel, so it would make him a priority."

She then shrugged slightly. "Which leaves either Sapphire or Opal as the potential receiver of said scrolls... hopefully not both of them. However, didn't Princess Celestia retire?"

Mechanical parts? Technology and Dark Magic... it could be dangerous. And very impressive. Hopefully this time, Obsidian wouldn't have to kill anypony.

Mica actually fully smiled. "Clever Obsidian - she most certainly DID retire, but the order still went through. Which makes me believe that either Celestia's coming out of retirement to award random ponies rights to Dark Magic... or it's a forgery. My bits are on the latter. Still, it's worth metioning that there was a name for the location these things were sent to. And it's one that lines up QUITE well with your observation. The listed destination for the deliveries was in Cincineighti, at a place named POLA INDUSTRIAL. Which would be an anagram for..?"

"Opal," Obsidian facehoofed. "Seriously, if you are right, then it means that my siblings - except for Onyx of course - are absolute failures when it comes to hiding themselves! Would it hurt them so much to make up names that wouldn't immediately make them suspicious? And of course it's a forgery... it could be useful, though. If we could somehow reach Princess Celestia quickly and show her the evidence, we could possibly get her help. Plenty of help, I'd say - a forgery of the royal stamp is surely a heinous crime. I'm certain that Equestria has some kind of intelligence or special forces that could investigate it, allowing us to focus on the rest of these strange events."

Mica looked at her carefully. "Don't be so quick to discount them; after all, YOU are the only one who really knows anything about their existence, so I don't think they realize how easy it would be for YOU to find them; others who have no clue they exist? THAT would be deductive reasoning that would surpass most others... and they wouldn't even know to look, unless something happened to direct investigators towards them. For all intents and purposes, their covers are flawless... except to you, of course. So I wouldn't call them foolish so quickly. You just happen to have the advantage of knowing they exist, is all."

"Well, perhaps this is true," the Dark Princess pondered, "but as soon as somepony knows anything about them, it becomes all too easy. The masquerade that fails as soon as somepony knows your name is a bad masquerade, period."

Obsidian shook her head. "Besides, you said that this fashion designer is fairly new; if that's right, then he could possibly have heard about the recent events in Ponyville, and he still used his name as his brand's label! At least Opal has shown some restraint..." It was a simple mistake, really.

"... and besides, it would take a few proper interrogations to force Amy or Tourmy to spill the rest of the names; they're safe only because Equestria is not as... rough... as my father was."

Mica pondered for a moment. "Celestia lives with her sister Luna in Silver Shores; it's a small community next to a beach, and from what Mom says, it's lovely - my grandfather and grandmother live there as well, though in their own small rock farm nearby. The Silver Sands Community is a retirement village, and I'm sure visiting it would be no problem; they supposedly LOVE visitors."

Silver Shores - Obsidian had already heard that name, but it felt like it was quite a long time ago. She couldn't really remember where, so it was nice to hear about it again. However, the next name was far more familiar.

"Incidentially, I've met some ponies from Silver Sands Community today - and they invited me to visit. It would make a wonderful opportunity to speak to Princess Celestia, and to let her know that she apparently supports Dark Magic research lately," Obsidian smirked.

Mica nodded. "It might at that. I suspect the elderly couple who were dancing their shoes off at your party are the ones you mean?"

She nodded. "Precisely... and we can always ask Eloquence and Miss Rarity for some help with the investigation of this new fashion designer."

Obsidian lowered her voice a bit. "It's rather lucky that I have portraits of my siblings, isn't it?"

Mica lifted an eyebrow. "Really? Would I be able to see it, perhaps?"

Obsidian nodded. One copy made for Amy, the original version and one copy made just for this very situation. She turned to get the second copy from her saddlebags. When she presented it to Mica, he pointed at one of the pictures; a smarmy-looking stallion with a braided lock of mane rolling down the back of his head, wearing a monocle.

"This one... looks very much like a certain fashion designer I saw in the papers yesterday. How very interesting..." He looked over the rest, and pondered for a moment. "This artwork is very good - is it yours, maybe?"

Obsidian chuckled and waved her hoof. "No, it was done by Diamond, my brother. One I've heard plenty of good things about, so I hope to meet him soon. I'd found this picture lately in the library, and immediately made a copy - just in case."

"In the library? Are you telling me that, as your job as a libararian, you have some sort of secret notebook where you have tons of information that could save Equestria? Or am I just thinking you take after Onyx in that one way?" He grinned a bit; he was making a joke. Funny how it seemed like he'd be one of the last ones to joke about things.

"You know, Onyx was working there for a little while... so it's only expected for me to find her things from time to time. I only hope that I won't find anything that could possibly kill me." Obsidian shrugged. "I didn't have time yesterday to talk about the picture, especially as part of our gang didn't exactly feel too well. Anyway, we now have plans for two of my siblings. Do we have any contacts near this Mount Arris you've mentioned?" Incidentially, Onyx did have a notebook that could potentially hold plenty of information that could save Equestria... it belonged to her now, though.

"As a matter of fact," Mica nodded, "I have a cousin out there who might be willing to help. Humble Pie, my thrice-removed cousin has a home out there, and she'd be thrilled for the company. Though I warn you... she's feisty." A feisty Pie? Oh, sweet Darkness...

"Otherwise, there's a small village nearby that might have a few folks who might have seen more than I discovered; you'd be welcome to check there, if you need to. In fact, I'd be happy to accompany you on the journey there, if you like?"

"Of course, Mica; it would be good to have company, as I haven't really left Ponyville very much... at least not out of my own free will. I suspect I would get lost even before leaving. I'll require a giude, obviously." Obsidian didn't like to admit that there were things she couldn't do, but she was getting better in this respect since she was found by the Equestrians.

"Eloquence invited me to the boutique to make me a dress; I'll remember to mention my brother to him. I'd also say that a visit to Princess Celestia is more important than checking Mount Arris - as far as I'm concerned, Aquamarine is a brute. Dangerous, yes... but I'm a bit more concerned about how my sister plays with technology, Dark Magic and forgeries." She shuddered. "Who knows what unholy horrors she's trying to construct..."

The earth pony took on a grim look. "Yes, I agree. Perhaps we could possibly work on sending different members of the Siddy Six along with you for these outings? I figure that each of us could be useful, though having everyone go with you to all of them could get... difficult to plan."

He looked at her with interest. "If you were to choose someone to go with you to each, who do you think would fit best for each situation? Or do you want my advice?"

"I have my thoughts, but I'd like to hear your advice anyway - I'm curious to see if we have the same ideas." Thunderclap for Quartz, Gypsy for Princess Celestia... and of course, Mica for Aquamarine. Cupcake, possibly, in all three of them - it's always good to have a Pie with you. Especially a coltfriend Pie. Stalwart, however, could prove to be a bit busy with her duties...

Mica cleared his throat before he began. "I'd take Wart along to find out about the Dark Magic Mechanical issue, as she'd be one heckuva backup in case things went wrong. Clap, as a fashion-savvy pony, would be ideal for finding out about Quartz. And I believe that either myself or Gypsy would be a good choice to accompany you to see Celestia; we both have knowledge to cull from... though Gypsy is better at being cute than I am, and the seniors would just love such a good pup among them, I'm sure."

Obsidian nodded her head. "Well, we had rather similar plans, then. I assumed that Stalwart would be too busy to leave Ponyville for any extended length of time, though... and I'd include Cup in, well, every mission." She thought for a moment. "I'd also like to see if I can find out anything more about these siblings and then get to it as soon as possible. The sooner we deal with this danger, the better. Besides, even after handling these threats, there are still a few more siblings of mine... and sooner or later, we'll have to deal with them as well."

Mica nodded, then grew a thoughful look. "You know... I'm sure some of Cup's siblings might be a good choice too; Pepper has a way with mechanicals that I can't fathom, but she could be a good choice for the Opal situation."

"It's also occurred to me that it could be good to take Eloquence along to deal with Quartz - I just, you know, thought mainly about the friends who were with me when I bested my dear father." Obsidian smiled slightly. ... eh, there was no time like the present, eh?

"Oh, and by the way, I've found three more of my siblings in the Empire - still trapped in their crystal forms," Obsidian lowered her voice, whispering to Mica. Of all the things she wanted to avoid, anypony hearing about it was among the top three. "They are not dangerous right now... but I need to get at least two of them out as soon as possible."

His eyes widened. "Really? Shards like you were? Well, that certainly makes a difference, Siddy." He lowered his voice as well, matching her near-whisper. "I could look into some sort of containment spell, if you like? I can't cast it, but perhaps you could, or another unicorn you can trust... though I don't know if Cupcake would be a candidate; he does like to talk, and secrets can get the better of him."

"Flurry Heart helped me with it as well. I'd love to just tell one of the princesses about the situation, and let them prepare reformation, rehabilitation... and in one brother's case, medical care... but Flurry was afraid that her parents would just seal them up in the catacombs, and I don't want to risk my siblings... at least, not the good ones; the third one is more... complicated. And I think we could ask Stalwart to learn this containment spell - she is very, very loyal after all, and doesn't tattle. It should be a safe bet."

Mica chuckled. "The dreaded Flurry Heart, eh? I wouldn't mention her around Clap... unless you want to hear her complain about her for the next ten minutes or so. But she IS on the inside in the Crystal Empire, so she would be a good ally to have."

"You know, I think I'm actually curious enough to mention her around Clap, if only to hear what exactly happened between them." Mentioning to Clap that, apparently, Flurry was her honorary sister, would be even more interesting.

Mica then thought over what she'd said. "And... medical care? Is this particular brother wounded?"

"He is cursed; Peridot, my late brother, turned him into some kind of green monster. My dear sibling was rather, er... unlucky when it came to his interactions with our father. Tortures, curses, even his shard his partially submerged in acid and he feels that pain all the time. We need to find a way to free him from the curse, and then we'll have to find him plenty of medical and mental care, because he is not going to be in good shape. A rather complicated case, as you can no doubt see," Obsidian sighed.

Mica blanched a bit at that. "You... you mean Jade."

He shuddered visibly, then spoke quietly. "I found some information about him... and from what I gather, he's... well, a monster. From the scrolls I read, Jade literally oozes toxins from every part of him, and almost every instance I read about, he causes death just by being near someone. I don't know if you should even think about moving him, much less releasing him into the world. Obsidian, I'm serious - the things written about... I mean, what he could..."

He shuddered again. "I don't think it's a good idea to do ANYTHING with that one."

Author's Notes:

Ain't no party like a Pony Party, 'cause a Pony Party don't stop - heck, it even continues on in the next chapter! But it seems like Siddy's earned herself a hero's welcome back to Ponyville - and with all she's been doing, it came at a good time.

Granted, all those pones make her a bit nervous... but many of us know what that's like, don't we?

And Dash apparently doesn't get off the hook as simple as that; Obsidian wasn't having any of her apologizing, and apparently holds a bit of a grudge. But then, did Dash really expect it to go so smoothly? Should she have accepted it, or did Obsidian act the right way towards the situation? You decide for yourself.

Twenty: And We Danced...

She knew he was quite intelligent... but where did Mica find this information about her siblings?

"What kind of scrolls did you find? You apparently seem to know as much as I do about some things and it's a bit curious, as my siblings were supposed to be, well... rather hidden from the world. And, Mica... it isn't Jade's fault. Leaving him in this sorry state would be like participating in my father's crimes against him. His final, eternal victim... sentenced to an endless life of pain and misery, with not even a mouth to scream with. We can fail to help his mind - after all, we ARE only ponies - but even thinking about ignoring his physical torment makes me feel quite ill."

There was steel in Obsidian's voice - whether it was a good idea or not, she wasn't about to just let poor Jade suffer.

Mica blinked, then gave a sigh. "I... suppose you have a point, though I'm VERY trepidatious about such an idea. IF, and only IF, this is to be done, we have to make SURE he can be contained, at least until we find a way to help him."

He looked at her. "And I'm sorry; I didn't mean anything by it - I just... you haven't read what I have. Speaking of which, the scrolls I've been looking into are from the Crystal Empire's records - albeit older ones. The entire history of knowledge of the Empire has been put into magical storage readers; they take time to go through, but if one is diligent," he chuckled, "they can find out all sorts of information from them. I can show them to you, of course; they're public knowledge, just not stuff that many find interesting enough to peruse."

"Unlike me," he added.

"I know, Mica; I want to help him, and I don't think that releasing him without proper preparation would help him too much." If this curse would turn out to be too difficult for them to handle, then perhaps they could at least stop the acid from hurting him?

"I'm somewhat surprised that the knowledge of my siblings is among public knowledge; I thought it was a secret," It was actually a bit surprising - her own existence was more-or-less hidden - Peridot had to deduce it to figure it out - so she assumed that the rest of her siblings were kept out of the public eye as well.

"Well," Mica sighed, "it's not like it was easy to find; much of it was in Ancient Crystallian, and the translations are difficult and take some interpreting, plus they're buried under tons of other information - stuff nobody would ever really look at. And, like I said, only ten; apparently, there's three shards that nobody knew anything about. YOU are one I never found anything about, for the record."

He gave a bit of a blush. "And it was you whom I was originally researching about, to be honest. Because I thought that finding and sharing stuff about you might make you happy... but, if anything, you apparently seem to be one of the best kept secrets in all of the history of the Crystal Empire. Which, in and of itself, should tell you how unique you are."

"I'm lucky I was found and freed by an accident, then - at least I wasn't conscious as a crystal for that all time. I have a feeling that would have been terribly boring." So that left two shards that were either secret, as she was, or just buried under tons of meaningless information.

"Now that you mention it..." Obsidian inquired, "did you happen to find anything about a mare named 'Radiant Hope'?"

Mica nodded. "Indeed I did. Radiant Hope was a loyal friend to Sombra during his pre-ruler years, and she was known for being kind and generous. She used to feed the poor and shelter the homeless... though what led her to Sombra himself wasn't recorded, to the best of history's knowledge... though it may have been his youth as an orphan that influenced her to take him in. She cared for him and helped him to grow into a strong, powerful stallion."

His muzzle fell a bit. "Unfortunately, Sombra's rule brought shame and sadness to her, as she never believed in slavery. There are a lot of different accounts of her fate; there are some that say he murdered her in an angry fit, some that say she left him and the Empire behind, which caused him to turn in a dark direction, and others that claim she simply disappeared... there are quite a lot of conflicting stories about her fate, but they all agree she was the only real Light he ever knew."

"Orphan? So not only do I not have a mother, but my grandparents are unknown as well? My family tree is the absolute worst," Obsidian grumbled. "Well, so her ultimate fate is unknown; I wonder if I could find anything about her in the Empire's records... or maybe one of the older princesses once heard something. If she escaped, then it would be logical to assume she went to Equestria, yes?"

"That is a possibility," Mica pondered, "and I might be able to locate such information... though it would mean diving into the EVEN BIGGER pile of information about Equestria. Something that sounds enjoyable to me... but also a bit daunting, as I might search for years before I find what I'm looking for."

He sighed, then shook it off. "No matter; we have something to start from, and that's better than we had a month ago. I'll start looking into it when I get the chance, and let you know if I make any discoveries." He then looked to her. "In the meantime, what would be our next move? There's a lot to cover, and I'm curious as to what you feel should be the very next target on the agenda."

"No contest: Opal." It was a quick choice. "My sharded siblings can wait a bit longer... though I'd like to release Diamond as soon as possible, and help Jade. The fashion designer doesn't sound too scary... and usually it's a good idea to be concerned about the enemy that is already up to something devious; you could talk with Tourmaline about my siblings as well, and I'll take a peek into my notes later. I think that's all... though I'll need to ask Gypsy when he has time to travel to Silver Shores."

Mica looked at her for a moment. "What about Amethyst? Would she know anything that could help us? Would she help us?"

Obsidian shook her head rapidly - no no, nooooooo... no. Maybe she might know something... but Obsidian didn't trust her one whit. "I think... that's about it, then?"

"Very well - I can start looking into things on my end, and I expect you'll have your own end to deal with. If I make any breakthroughs, I'll tell you what I learn; I hope you feel you can trust me enough to do the same." With that, Mica began to veer off from the walking path the two of them had been taking, headed towards his own home... but he spoke back over his shoulder at her.

"And Siddy? Do be careful; if we have to come and rescue you, you should be aware that Thunderclap will never let you live it down."

"I'll tell her that she saved me as many times as Flurry did; perhaps it won't calm her down, but it will make it more interesting," Obsidian chuckled. "Do you think the party is still going?"

Mica didn't speak, but pointed a hoof at Twilight's castle, where lights could be seen flashing behind the stained-crystal windows, and the dull thump of music could be heard. He gave a knowing grin, then set off for home.

Of course it was still going - parties apparently tend to live for an incredibly long time when the Pie family was present. Perhaps returning there was a waste of her time... but damn it, she'd spent almost the entire day running, plotting, researching and hero-ing - she could afford to waste a few hours...

Even if she didn't particularly like parties.

The only alternative was researching the sudden appearance of not one... not two... but six siblings - and in order to look into what she saw as the most pressing matter - Opal's schemes - she had to meet with Gypsy. Who was, of course, at the party.

Hopefully at least the fashion designer wasn't plotting anything dangerous.

Obsidian was now walking along the stone road by herself, somewhere between Ponyville and the castle proper. It was relatively calm, and seemed to be a chance for her to breathe and gather her thoughts, before the oncoming storm that was bound to eventually arrive.

The party was hopping, and looked as though nobody planned to stop anytime soon. By now, a grey stallion with a bright blue mane and shades was working at a pair of turntables, and the music had become significantly more active. Clap was busting a move on the dance floor with Eloquence, while Wart was chatting with Lemon Custard. Cup was having a slice of the cake, his eyes glazed over with delight, as Gypsy sat towards the back, simply watching everyone have a good time. His tail was wagging to the beat of the music.

Hopefully that grey stallion wasn't ALSO related to her; after what she'd been through, she'd learned to be a little paranoid around grey or black ponies.

Hmmm... so there were SIX new siblings to ponder and encounter. If only she could find out how Onyx was using their powers! This kind of magic would be safe in her care, of course. Equestria would be grateful to her for robbing dangerous ponies of their Dark Spells, right?

Gypsy was going to be delighted at the news... and that delight would be quite soon. She trotted straight to him to inform him that he was about to become a travelling pup.

The diamond dog looked up at her as soon as he saw her, and his tail began to wag a bit faster. "Greetings! H-how are you enjoying your p-p-party, Obsidian? This one believes it was well p-past due."

"I... er, had to do speak with Mica for a moment, and I only recently got back. It's... interesting, I daresay. And I have something interesting for you too," she quickly changed the topic. "Would you care to visit Silver Sands with me, Gypsy?"

He looked at her curiously. "Silver S-Sands? The retirement home? Well, this one d-does know that Celestia and Lu-Luna live there, so it would b-be a chance to m-meet them... but this one w-wonders to what p-p-purpose?" His tail gave him away a bit, as the wagging sped up a notch; he was excited, he was just asking the important questions first.

"I was actually invited by a couple already living there... and with all we stand to gain from it, I need to meet with Princess Celestia. I just thought you might like to come with me, as company always seems to make a trip better."

He smiled his toothy grin, which might have bothered others... but to someone like Siddy, it was adorable. "Oh, th-this one would v-v-very much like t-to come along on such a j-journey! He would b-be most p-pleased to accompany you to such a n-nice place! It does have a rich and fascinating history to it, as w-well!"

"I had a feeling you'd like the idea," she patted him on the shoulder, "and maybe you could make some of your origami for the princesses? I'd bet they are utterly bored in this place, and a visit from one of the first diamond dogs in Friendship School and the daughter of one of their sworn enemies would surely entertain them." Hopefully.

Why would alicorn princesses retire, though? A strange thing to ponder over, now that she thought about it.

Gypsy hopped up from his chair and threw his paws into the air. "Oh, wonderf-f-ful, YES! Th-this one would LOVE s-s-s-such an opport-tunity!"

He then realized he was overreacting a bit, and blushed slightly as he retook his seat. "This one means, uhm... h-he would be honored, S-Siddy. Th-thank you."

To be fair, Obsidian didn't think he was overreacting; if anything, she had kind of expected something like that. "Great! When do you think you might have the time for it, then?"

He thought for a moment, then smiled sweetly. "This one c-c-could be ready to go as s-soon as tomorrow; he will need to write an excuse t-t-to his teachers, b-but that would not be a p-p-problem for him. Ab-b-bout noon, he would be ready, i-if you plan to leave s-soon." His smile was infectuous, and he seemed to be doing his utmost best to keep from jumping up and hugging her tightly.

Obsidian grinned - why keep him waiting, then? She stepped forward and hugged him warmly. "Wonderful; tomorrow, then! Though I should ask - just how shall we get there?"

Gypsy grinned. "There is a tr-train that would go so f-far, this one is cert-t-tain. It should not be t-too difficult to arrange a train ride... and this one v-very much likes tr-train rides! If you so wish, h-he could purchase the tickets t-tomorrow?" How kind he was, offering to hoof (paw?) the bill for the tickets.

"Okay. We'll deal with splitting the costs later, especially as I have no idea how much tickets cost," Obsidian agreed. Perhaps she should take a book to read during their travels, if it was to be a long journey.

"Yo, Sidster!" Clap's voice rang out from behind her. "You gotta get yer flank out on this dance floor, girl! Show me some of those Ancient Crystal dance moves I just know you got!"

Gypsy nodded, his tail going a mile a minute. "It will b-be done, Obsidian. I shall w-wait for you at your pl-place tomorrow, and we c-can go to the station t-together!"

"Siddylicious! The dance floor is caaaaaaallllling youuuuu..." the pegasus crooned at her.

"Cover me, my friend..." Obsidian dived into the crowd to escape as far as possible from Clap's invitation, her muscles reacting practically on their own to carry her away from the threat of... The Dance Floor!

Gypsy nodded, then darted from his seat to tacklehug Clap before joining her in her wild gyrations within the crowd, looking as though he was enjoying himself... at least a bit. As Clap turned to look for Siddy, the diamond dog gave Clap's cheek a long, wet lick that made her goggle at him, to which he only smiled and laughed, which she soon joined in.

Obsidian almost got away... until Cupcake sort of sprung up in front of her. "Nuh-uh. Coltfriends get a dance with their marefriends, and I want mine." He grinned. "But we can do it in the corner, if you don't want to mill about in that press of bodies over there."

"I..." Obsidian hesitated a bit; it was apparently a Pie family trait - she could swear she hadn't noticed him until it was too late. The fact that, as a unicorn, he was able to use magic apparently made him even more dangerous than his mother. "I, er... Cup, I've never danced. Literally never."

He grinned. "But you learned how to, I'll bet; you just don't know it yet! Among all the things that royals were taught in the Crystal Empire, there was always the lessons on how to be socially accpetable - and one of those things was learning how to do the Crystal Waltz. I've been practicing..." He blushed a bit. "For you, of course. And if you weren't taught, that's okay - I can teach you! Besides, it'd be fun to show a princess like yourself how to do it!"

Cupcake Sprinkles would have had to discover this fact first, then find how to do the Crystal Waltz, then learn and practice how, even amidst his usually busy days...

And he did it for her.

He was apparently overestimating the levels of 'social education' that her father had prepared for her; the same pony that had enslaved an entire country, tortured one of his sons into insanity, and spawned quite a few mad and sadistic ponies that were raised to be utterly fanatical about bringing him back. Dancing wasn't exactly too high on his priority list... even moreso, as it seemed that he wasn't actually interested in dying and letting any of his children take over the throne.

"I won't deny my coltfriend this pleasure, then," she smiled at him - a bit nervously.

He smiled back, then gently led her to a vacant corner. Slowly, he took her forehooves into his, and lifted her up onto her hindlegs. "Steady... lean on me for support; I think I've got this down, so you should be okay for this. Now, if you can tap your hooves to a beat, you can dance. Here, just follow my lead..."

He began slowly, making lazy circles with her and helping her to adjust her balance. With a few false starts, they began to slowly waltz together, his strength was surprising as he held her up with little effort. He was actually quite light on his hooves, and he was a careful and encouraging lead.

"That's it... take it slow, it's not a race... sliiiiiiide your hoof here... then turn... yeah, that's it... now bob... and now, we do it in the other direction..."

He was truly the embodiment of everything that wasn't her father - including dancing and, apparently, teaching methods. For starters, he obviously didn't plan to beat her for doing it wrong - not that she could even imagine him doing something like that.

Obsidian was still slightly nervous, but the fact that she wasn't carried directly onto the dance floor in the middle of the crowd eased her worries. In fact, it wasn't as bad as she initially thought it might be - her coltfriend was close to her, caring about her, leading her when she had no idea what to do...

By Darkness, she really loved him.

Cup's fur was warm and soft where she leaned on him, and the scent he usually had about him was just as sweet as he was. He gazed into her eyes as he danced with her, and soon it felt as though the two of them were simply gliding about the corner floor, her hooves seeming to follow his lead without any trouble at all.

He leaned in close, and pressed a kiss onto her cheek as they continued to waltz, in time to the music, but not as hectic; he seemed to make a step for every four beats, instead of each individual one. At one point, he actually dipped her, and planted a quick peck on her lips with a charming smile, then whirled her in a small circle and then... the two of them were waltzing, no mistake about it.

"Siddy," he murmured into her ear, "I love you more than candy, more than chocolate, more than even the most wonderful cupcake I've ever eaten... you're MY Princess, and I hope that I'll always be your Prince."

Now that was the boldest declaration of love she had ever heard in her life; she simply couldn't doubt his sincerity, as otherwise such a statement could be considered borderline blasphemous of him, to talk about loving ANYTHING more than candy, cupcakes or chocolate. Now, if only she could come up with something just as good...

"You always will be, Cuppy - you are the most important pony in my life," she said plainly, embarrassed that she simply couldn't think of anything better to say. There were just no words she could think of that could embellish her declaration better... of course, that's what he did to her sometimes; total brain flush.

His smile redoubled on itself. "That's the sweetest treat I've ever tasted... aside from your lips, that is."

With that, Cupcake kissed her.

Deeply.

Fiercely.

Lovingly.

It took her breath away, and he gently squeezed her as he did, the waltz slowing to a stop... as did the rest of the world, seemingly. The kiss lasted almost a full minute before he broke off, and he was blushing quite red, and smiling that loving smile at her.

That... was... unexpected... Obsidian was sure that during this dance she would - at best - be a bit less nervous at the end, or perhaps feel a bit of pleasant warmth in her heart (which, plainly speaking, shouldn't be possible - it was just an organ, pumping blood). She didn't expect a complete meltdown!

Just how long did the kiss go on for? An hour, minimum... perhaps two? Obsidian was sure it lasted quite a bit longer than a minute, and that Cupcake really outdid himself. It wasn't the kind of kiss which ends with blushes so red that they're visible even under black fur - no, it was kind of kiss where Obsidian, at the end, had to remind herself that she had this thing called a 'spine'...

"WooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooo!!!"

Dammit, Clap.

"Now THAT was HAWT!" the pegasus exclaimed. Slowly, Obsidian began to notice that the dancers and talkers had ceased their doings, and almost every eye in the place was on the two of them... except for the older grey mare in the corner, who had one eye on them and the other on the ceiling, apparently.

Their impromptu audience began to applaud them both. Cup, who looked a bit uncomfortable at all the attention they'd garnered, simply gave a sheepish grin, then bowed. He whispered softly, "Just smile and bow; they'll love it, and it keeps us from having to make any speeches."

Well, it may have shut out the rest of the world for the two of them, but it certainly got them plenty of attention, it seemed... for now, however, Obsidian didn't really care as much about it anymore. In fact, she decided to do something in front of everyone gathered here that would normally go against the very grain of her personality...

Instead of bowing, smiling, retreating... or frankly, doing anything that would lessen the amount of attention they'd gotten... she clutched Cup closer to her, and returned the kiss - just as fiercely as she'd received it.

Cupcake's eyes threatened to pop out of his skull as he gave a muffled squeak, which then became a low sigh as he closed his eyes and embraced her warmly, savoring the kiss he was receiving from his favorite mare.

Their audience now erupted with applause that was like thunder... but it was only a murmur compared to the thunder in both of their hearts as he held that kiss for as long as the world around them would allow.

[Hours Later]

The door to the cottage opened, and Cupcake almost stumbled across the threshhold as he made his way inside. He'd been a bit woozy since The Big Kiss, and was still wearing a smile that outshined the sun... even hours after it had happened.

He held the door open for his love, and stared at her with a dreamy look as she made her way in... paying a little extra staring attention to her flanks as she passed him. "I still think we could've kissed for another hour or so, regardless of what Wart thinks is 'an improper display of public affection'. She may be our friend, but she's waaaaaay too stuffy, sometimes!"

"Don't worry about it, Cup. I'm sure that we will tease Stalwart about improper displays of affection soon... assuming that Midnight goes forward with his plans..." Obsidian chuckled.

She had really ended up coming to enjoy the party - especially when Cupcake personally made it far, far more interesting for her. And she made it more interesting for him, in return - which was fun, too. Truly, she'd planned to catch Miss Pie for a bit of small-talk, but she kind of, er... forgot about it after The Big Kiss.

"We needed this too, you know," she nuzzled against his neck.

He nuzzled back. "YOU needed it, my lovely - I think you're even more beautiful when you smile, and your smile was chiseled in place after that kiss. And you danced divinely! I knew you had it in you... of course, you are a princess, after all!"

He kissed her softly, then made his way to the kitchen. "After all your wonderful lovin', I need me some food! You hungry too, or are you headed to bed?" He grinned. "If you want company, I can always just feast on your beauty, and slake my thirst on your kisses some more?"

"I am hungry, actually," Obsidian admitted. "And rest assured... I'm still quite interested in improper displays of affection. Perhaps more... private... displays, this time," she purred at him in response. She kind of doubted he was being genuine when he said that thing about her 'dancing divinely'; though it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be, it was still something she would rather prefer to avoid in the future, if she could.

Except perhaps with Cuppy.

At least once.

And another kiss. Or two.

...

Okay, no more than five.

... maybe.

They made their way into the kitchen... and there was Amethyst, who looked as though she was hoping she'd be alone for the night. A cup of steaming black coffee sat on the table in front of her as she eyed them suspiciously.

"You two look like you're positively glowing with happiness." She made a face. "Disgusting."

Cup sighed. "Hello, Amy. You didn't come to the party, did you?"

Obsidian didn't feel too sadistic, ironic or even sarcastic right now - Amy was actually quite right on the matter; she sort of was glowing with happiness.

The sullen mare humphed. "And why should I have? It's obvious that I might have been invited, but nobody really wanted me there. Besides, what was there for me to do? What, dance? Eat cake? Listen to Twilight Sparkle extoll Obsidian's..." She shuddered. "... virtues?"

Cup suddenly smiled brightly. "So you were there after all, weren't you? You wouldn't have known what went on if you weren't there!"

Amethyst made a sour face. "FEH... a waste of time, if you ask m-"

"We didn't," Cup cut her off, "and you can keep your sourpuss to yourself."

"Awww, you DID come after all!" Obsidian chirped, and rushed forward to hug her poor sister. "Thank you, Amy! I really appreciate it!"

"TOUCH ME AND DIE," Amethyst yelped as she scooted back as far in her chair as she could.

Cupcake gave a small chuckle. "Careful - she's rather lovey tonight! And I should know..." He turned a salacious grin on his sweetheart.

Amy's disgust was complete; she got up, snagged her coffee cup with a hoof and headed for the upstairs door. "I hope the both of you lose all your teeth from the sappy sugary sweetness you're both putting out."

She stopped at the stairs, however. "Oh, and Obsidian? You can act as nice as you like - but we both know you're just pretending; your darkness will show itself soon enough, and they'll ALL know you're just a shadow in disgui-"

"Amethyst," Cup's voice held a warning in it, "upstairs."

She huffed, then gave Siddy a small, wicked glare as she closed the door behind her and stomped her way upstairs.

Cupcake huffed a heavy sigh, then smiled at Siddy. "I think she's just mad she doesn't have any friends of her own... oooorrrr she's just psycho. Either way, she's totally jealous of you."

"Am not!" came from the other side of the door, and Cup gestured towards it like her words merely proved his point. He then turned and began to gather the things he'd need to make them both a feast fit for royalty.

"We need to find her some friends, then! Maybe Spike would be interested?" Obsidian wasn't bothered by Amy's behaviour or words - not at all. At the moment, she simply didn't care from being too drugged by the sheer happiness she was feeling, and normally she would be relieved that at least her sister thought that there still was some darkness in her.

"You know... now that I think about it, I don't even know how old Amy is," Obsidian pondered. "She doesn't look too much older than I am, does she?"

Cup chuckled. "If you ask me, she'll never hold a candle to how gee-gosh-darn cute you are; it doesn't matter how old she is, she's still an immature child to everyone else. She's nasty, rude, and conniving. She's a real meanie, and she's just mad that you won't be a meanie with her."

He waved a dismissive hoof in the direction of the attic door. "She might take a long time to ever get over herself, but I think she'll eventually see the light... or she'll do something dumb and become a statue. Either way, I don't worry about her too much - and you shouldn't either, at least not tonight."

He blew Obsidian a kiss from the kitchen counter as he whipped up a couple of tasty-looking salads for them both, and added tall glasses of carrot juice to the menu as well. He sat Siddy's down in front of her, then joined her at the recently-Amy-vacated table.

"Besides, Spike probably wouldn't have anything to do with her; she'd probably remind him of you-know-who too much," Cup reasoned.

"I'm not sure if you're praising or criticizing her at the moment, Cup," Obsidian chuckled. "Of course she's a meanie - that's her beauty! I bet there are plenty of stallions in the world that would really like a mare like that, all snark and Darkness! Aaaaaaand, if Spike is out of the question - though to be fair the last time he met you-know-who, he helped blow him up - then perhaps your brother? I'll bet that even Amy could appreciate his looks!"

She wondered about it for a moment. "Just think - Lemon and Amy..."

Terrible idea.

"... okay, perhaps not," she muttered as she pulled her salad closer and, taking her time, began to sate her hunger.

Well... her tummy's hunger; her heart was ready to feast on Cup's love some more, all cozy in bed and hugging tightly to each other. Fur blending, muzzles doing nuzzles, and him inhaling her mane, which she found endlessly adorable. Creepy, yes... yet endearingly so, to a mare raised by a dark tyrant.

Cup laughed. "If those two ever got together, I'd eat my cutie mark!"

The salads were delicious, of course - Cup had learned what Siddy liked by now, and her salad was nothing BUT her favorite things. As he ate, he kept looking over at her with those loving eyes, as if she were the only dessert he would ever need.

Once those were done, they headed up to their bedroom, where Cup held the blankets back for her, then covered her gently as she slipped in beside him. He nuzzled, then kissed, then nuzzled again as she snuggled up close to him, his muzzle - sure enough - ending up buried deeply in her red and black mane.

Damnation, the salad was too good; she'd forgotten that she'd originally wanted to propose taking a bath together, and remembered it only after they were already in bed. Well, perhaps another time - he wasn't going anywhere she wouldn't be.

"I love you," he whispered into her ear as he held her close.

"And I love you, Cupcake Sprinkles," she giggled as she kissed the tip of his snout.

The two snuggled down tightly (after a few more soft kisses), and sleep came easily, taking them both off to the realm of dreams together.

Author's Notes:

We won't go into Cupcake's dreams, for the sake of sanity. You all got a taste in ODoS; like the KND's Fourth Flavor, that's all you really need.

Mica's information search was studious; as Maud's son, he's very bright, and has the uncanny ability to go through tedious and boring things as a preference - to him, it was for fun. What info he found, he located on the Equestrian equivalent of microfiche; so outdated that it had to be dug up from the bottom of the basement for him. THAT'S why no one had seen it. It might as well have been in an unlit, broken bathroom stall in the basement, almost completely sealed away behind a wall of soggy cardboard boxes, with a sign hanging outside of it proclaiming 'Beware of the leopard'.

Dammit, Clap - two of my favorite words to put together in this tale. };)

Twenty One: Crystal Clear Classification

~>-<~

Obsidian found herself in the catacombs underneath the Crystal Palace again... but this time, there was a stillness and quiet that felt rather ominous. The tunnels weren't as she recalled them, but was instead a twisting, turning single tunnel leading towards an eerie green glow within a chamber at the end.

She couldn't see into the chamber... but she had a feeling of trepidation that she couldn't shake. The tunnel behind her was sealed; nowhere to go but forward.

Obsidian recalled that she didn't have so many 'interesting' dreams, back in the old days - at least until she had amassed a few dead siblings. Was it some kind of punishment? It would make her feel considerably more relieved if she could at least trust that Princess Luna would come and save her if something went wrong...

She moved forward. There was no other option, at least when discounting the option to stay put and wait.

She found herself once more inside Jade's chamber, but the green mist that was merely prevalent earlier was now everywhere along the floor; it felt cold and itchy when she crossed through it, and she got the impression that something decidedly slimy was touching her.

The crystal shard was still being held by chains, drenched in acid, and had a light green glow to it that seemed to fill the room entirely.

Y̨̞̗o̙͈u͖͇͘.̜̞͝

It was a single word, but it felt as though it dripped through her ears and oozed into her brain.

Wḥ̟͡a͏̥̬t͚͍͞ ͈̰͘d̸o̪̺̦ ͈̕y͖̮̭ou͎͚̱ w̙̩̭a̻̜̯n̜̕ͅt̡̖̳ ̪̝͙f̟̠͉r̭̝͘o̦̦͓m̲̞̙ ̤̟̺m̰̭̻e̸̼̺.̛̼̪.̕.͍͔̺

It felt as if the curse (and subsequent torture) tainted not only Jade's body and mind, but even his very spirit. Did he feel her presence in the catacombs? Or was it merely just another nightmare? Obsidian couldn't be sure about that - so many of her dreams lately had turned out to be annoyingly real.

"Nothing from you. I want something for you... I want to help you, brother," she said to him earnestly.

Y͈̤͡o̝̺ư.̗̬͟..̬ ͏̺̳w̸̺̖a̧̟͖n͍̼͘t̹͖̞ ͟t̞̳̮ò̜̟ ̣͍̀H̥̻̺E͈̗͟L̻͕P̴̥ ̪̺̠m̧̙̺e͍,̖̰̬ ̼̘̜y͜o̵̞̟u̖͉̹ sa҉͔̫̮y̡̭͉.̣.̪͍ͅ.

The voice was deep, resonant and echoed through her dreamform as if it were a hollow bell.

I̮̬̟ ͈̞̙d͔̲͙o̖̱ ̣͎͟n̻o̴͍ͅt̞̼ͅ ̵̰̻ḓ̮̀e̢̜̼s̥͕e̯̮̯r̞̣͉v͝e̙̣̯ ͚h̼̭͇e͙͔̺l̲̣ͅp̸.͇ ̵͚̮ ̮̝͞I͏̬͇ ̪̰̘a̶̬̺m̨̖ ̭̠̝a ҉MONSTER҉

The words felt as though they were eating away at her soul like the acid that was coating the shard.

N͓̤͕ọ̰͔̜̼̀ ͈̖̯h́e̦͓̫̮̱͔ͅl̮̘̘͖͍̠̜͘p͕̩̫.̻͎̮͇ ̮͎̬̮ͅ ̳̣̖̙̳̙Ṇ̗̱͞o͞ ̬͟ͅt̳̜͙͙̼̦͟ͅe̦̜͍͞ͅa̲͍͖̗r̠̘̻̤̟̩͠s̬̼̣̙̮̻.̱̙̰͡ ̤̖͈̤̞͘ ̳̺̻̰̳ͅI͘ ̡̩d̳o͉̲̳̲̗̙͠ͅ ̵ͅŃ͙͍̟ͅͅO̹͢T̼̭ ̯̹̜̜̞d̩e̥̯ͅs͓͇͉͔̮͈e̴rv̩̫͖͔̫̱͔͞e҉̪̖̠̩̗͉ ̗̤s҉̠u҉̳͈͇̱͖c̼̣̪̼̤h̞͘ ̦̳̺̥̩t̻͙̻͇̪̳͖ḩ̩̘̥͙̭̙͕i̜̪̜n͔g̳̯̗̗s̷.̪͟

He felt cold. Obviously, her Father had really outdone himself this time. She knew that the slaves were terribly afraid of him - but this time, he had done it to a shard of his own soul.

"You are not a monster, my brother - you are the victim of a monster! A monster that has already been defeated three times! And I refuse to let him have the last laugh..."

L̻̮͠e̶t͚̖͠ ̟͈̳m̺̖̪e͇̥̕ ̷͈RO̲͎͕T̘ͅ;̝̗͞ ̯̙F̟̰͎a̴͙̞t͏͇̰h̥͍̙er̠̪͔ ̷̰̼w̨a̗͍͇s͍̥̳ ̘̙͈r̴̼̼i̠g̣͉ͅh̳͉͎t̞͈͢,̳͢ͅ ̨̭͔and̵ ͓̙͖y̳o̷̰̣u̢ ̙̮̝a̯̞̕r̛͇͙e͍̫̞ ҉̯̞W̮̭͎R̤̦̲O̹̫̳N͎͔͢G̣̦̭.̪͢ͅ

The shard began to seep streams of crimson, and the bright green glow became a dark, sickly green one.

I͔̥̱̞ͅ ҉͚͚̯̳͇d̷͖̻e̪s̢̝̪̫̹e͎̜̳̯ṟ̠v͓͈̥̥̹̼͇e̦ ͍͈̜̻̻͈ͅth̫̜̩̙̹e̢͍̣̬̹ ̴̝͔̞͓̣͙̝fa̜͎̺̻̲ͅte̹̲͍̞͓̟ I͚͕͚ ̷̘̦̫͙͕ͅh̴̹̭͚̦̹a̞̬͢v̻̩̭̭̙̥ͅe̪̤̬̘ ̶̭̲͔̤͙͇̗b̘͕̮̘͕͍e̵̯͓̟e̖ń̖̞̞ ͎͚̥̺̬͙̣ḏe͔̟̩a̟͙̱l̘̹͖͖̹t̲.̝ ̜̙̩ ̗̬͇͚̖̦T̲̹̮̣͉̭̥͠ḫ̯̘̟̰̫e̲͈r͙̭̮͙̤̥e̳̳̼ͅ ̴͖̤̣̺͍̖̞i͍̩͕̗̼̗s̢̫ ̢̘Ṉ̠̪͓̣͔O̠̣ ̱̺̙͝ḤO̮͔̼̼͕P̀E̦̜͉̹ ҉̻ͅf̝̪o͉̤͍͠r͚̣͡ ̰̻͙͢m҉̤e͔.̻

The voice sounded as though it was on the verge of tears... but still had an unnerving quality to it.

"Our father was wrong in many, many ways, my brother... I am sometimes wrong, but in this case I can't be mistaken - YOU ARE NOT A MONSTER! And the only pony around that will be left to rot will be Him. I will avenge you, brother - and know that, once you are saved, each time you step on a blade of green grass, eat a cake or laugh with your friends or siblings... it will be a reminder. Proof that we are finally safe from this petty, cruel tyrant," she stepped forward.

N̢̨̒̏͗͆Ö́̈͋͐̉̿͘͡.͋ͣ̅̄̒̈̑

The word rang out as if screamed in a Royal Canterlot Voice.

Y̹̰͜o҉͈͕̱u̸͇̗ ̸a͎ͅr̩̲̩e̴ͅ ͕̯̝N͍̘͘Ó̗̫Ṱ̵͈ ̪͎̠a̻͔͈b̜̘͝l҉̺̜͕e̴̠̥ ̡̭̪t҉̜̣ò͔̟ ̺͔͖ș̥̀a̟͉̝v̛̮̼e͔͉ ̭͈̬m̫̲̮ȩ,̶̬͉ ̵̞̬O̜̼ͅb̹͎̰s̀i̶̹̲d̫̻͘i͍͠a҉͍̲͔n̡̺̱ ̟̥͈S̪h̞̫̥a̘͇͜r̝̮͈d̯̀.͎̺͡ ̝ ͓̳Y̲͉̘o̤͚ͅu̴ ̛̣̱a̙͇͚r̲̹̳e͚̖ͅ n̷̩o̹͘t͖͖̤͎̩ͅ ̹͙̮̩̥̻c̭̳̳̯̜̰͉͟ḁ̖p̧̞̰̬̟̥͔̱a̦͘b̫̮̖̘̜̙̕l̶̠̼̯e̛͎ ̶̣̬o̰̞̤̼̞͇f̺ ͎̟͢u̘̯̠̲͉̠͠n̰ḑ͕̼̳̖̣̦ͅę̤̺̦͖r͏̼̠̼s̳̫ͅt̨̖͓̜͖̙a̦̫̼̞͈̲͜n͙̤̰͙̳̰d̖͘i͙̻͈̗n̜̤͈͔̞g̷͔͖͇̙͈ ̷̜my p͎̩̰̥͕͈̝a͍͔͇̥͈͡i͕̝̻͖̲ṇ̲̺̠͚ͅ,͓̤ ̝̤̪̯͍̺̕m̥̥̹̞͎͈͉y̱̬̫̤ ̮͇̪̖f̩͈̘͈͟e̹͉̥a̺̟̙͚̱̰̼r̮̣͕̀,͇͉̝̲̮ ̗̜̗m̵̱̝̝̮͖̱̩y̻̻̫̪͓ ͓̣͈̞s̳͔̩͉͉͇͇o̯̲̹u̱͈͚̬͟ͅͅḻ̰̝̣̫.

He sounded as if he were trying to talk her out of it.

G͖̥̣͎̕ơ̮ ̱l̬̣̫̜̀ḭ̭̮͚̰v̴̳̰̺͕̟̺ͅe̺̠̦ ̥̘ͅa ̳͔̱̥̲̪͓L̶̦͍̫̮̘̠̳ị͉f̥͓e̙͎̻̺.̨ ̙̗͔̟̣̩ ̲̹̰̖͠Be̛̠̰̥̪͉̟̪ ̭̫̩̘͖͚ͅf̷r̗̳̫͎̪e̵͓̝e̴͚͔̺.̶̦̩ ̤ ̯̺̫͉ͅL̤͕̪͔͎͙͙͝o͍v̷̟͉̘͖͓ẹ̮ ́y͚o̲͇ú̬̥̞r͓̰ ̳͖̱͖͕͡ͅs̴͈͉͙̭͈̟̹t̼͓a͙̙̠̮l̴l̫̝̫̜͔i̗͔͙̖͉͓o̷̼n̗̫ͅ.̴͖̩̳

The shard gave a small hiss, then cracked.

T̹̤̝͝h̜e̦͓̱͙͕ ̧̬̮͖̯b̬̮̭̺͈̝̺e̳̖͈̭̗s̼̣̱t̬͇̩̫͢ͅ ͈͓I̵̥̞̝ ̲̣̺̤̞̩̠͠c̖͠an͙̮ ͈̜͞g̮̻͓̳̪̲i̸v͍̪̩̱e̙̭̪͇̯̟ t͇̺͓͚̫̺̬͘o͘ ̘̮͔̫͚̗̱y͉͕͇͉o͉̹̮ù̮̺͉̖̳͎ ̧͖͖͚͎i̤̝̞̤̤̥͚s͉̣͙̥ ̩͉͇̺̠̖p͔̰̫͠e̱̞̗a̟c̸̝e̴̼̲̥,̩ ͓̖̼̭͇͕̜f͔͉̰̮̭̹̫r̻̰͉͖͠ee ̢̫̻͖͉̜̩o͉̖̪͖̯̺f̵̟̬̗̬ ͓̘͖̠̫͞m͕͎͜y͖̭͉ ̸̻t͍̣̹͔a͔̖̹̪͓ḭ͍̖́n͔̩̞̝̬ͅt̳̳̖̦̫̥̻.͉̭̮̞̗̹

"I will save you, Jade... and you won't talk me out of it. I live a life, I love my stallion, and there is still plenty of room left for my siblings in this world. Even if I'm not able to understand what you've been through, I can at least try to ease your pain and end your fear." This was hardly an enjoyable discussion...

N̶͎ͅo̢̗ͅ.̵̫͙ ҉͎͉̹ ͈̣I̛̭ ̪̘͔m̜u̡̙̮s̱̭͎t͚̱͇ ̢͖̺S̬͍̝U̲̰͠F̟͡F͏̲̹E̩͖͕R̶̖͙.͉̙̻ ͚̥ͅ ̹̳͜Ị͖̺ ̷͔̱ḁ͓̮m̲͖ ͈̗̰ą̦̱ ̳̜̗MO̮͕͜N͔̩̠S̷͍̖T̺͖E̛̯͎R̨̩̳,̪̪̠ ͏̗̺y̬̙̣o̳ṷ ̫̬ḷ̼̪i̠̭̗t҉̠t̟l̟̜͡e̞͓ͅ ̖̦̦f̴̥̪o̕o̸̩̫l͕̤̖.̧̺ͅ

The cracks in the shard grew deeper, and there was a rigning in her ears that seemed to be getting louder.

F̡̼ͅr͓ẹ̷͓e ̴̝͉m̡e, a̜̝n̙̼d҉ ̭A̶͚̥̹̳̜̲ͅL̺̰L͉̮ ̛̞̤̘͉̗w̵̱͈̯̫͎̖i̵̫̺̥l̫͙l̞͓͉̖͓ ̞s͔̳͇̞͝ṷ̺͙̝̯f͔͙̥̬̱̺f̠̭e̝̪̝r̰̻̟̖̤ ̹̱̗̫͍͍w̺͎͇̠̱͢i̫̣̯͉t̬̮̰̻͞ḫ͟ ̸̰͕̪̘͉m̤̰e.

It sounded more like a warning than a threat.

E͎͇͖̳̼̻̺q̻̭̯̞̤̟u͏͙es̼̲͉t͇̣r̟͙̹̙i͍̙͓̗̝ͅa̼̮̭̳͎̖̼.̜͓͘.̝͈̪͘.̲͙ ̖̥̖͍́t̸̘̣̦̭͎͎̲h͞e͔͖̺̤ͅ ̖̼̱e̦̯̹̯̤͍̖ṉ͙̘͇͓͉̀t̻̭̤̪̤̀i̸̬͎͚r̮̻͖̹ͅe̗̱̮͠ ̯̩̬̲̩w̹̖̱̝̩̞͠ͅo͢r̢ḻ͖̰̖̫͡d͏̬̻͚̮.̯̹͎͟ͅ.̴͔̦̠͎̭͚.̣͞ͅ ̳̫̞̭̦̦͘e͎͕v҉̺̮̻͍̭̤̬ḙr̯̬̙̦y҉̰̥͍̜̦th̞in̗̩g͇͍̖̩̺̥ ҉͕̥̮i̩̠̟̗̝n̮͎̟͠ ̞i̗̖͇͞t͓͙͚͕ ̵͚̖w̨͔͙̻̺̝͔i̡l̳͖͉̬͠l̷͍͉̱̤̭̱ͅ w̢̠̻͔͎͕i̸͓̫̞͍ṭ̙̹̣̖̲͟ͅh͙̻̬ę̠͈̱r͠ ̼̩͞a̧̞n̯̣̻d͔͉͔̣̙ ̢̜̭͈di̘͎̟̝͟e͈̗̜͔ ̘̀a͈͈̼̼͠t̸ ̖͕͇̻̪͔m͎̩̜̳͠y̧͕ͅ ̸͍̤t̡̬̰͚̖̤̬ͅo̮͕͖̭̻̩̥u̩c̞͓̗̜̟͙͖h̻͔̘͠.̝̮̰

"... but nopony should suffer like this, my dear brother." The curse - if only Peridot were still alive... but no. She had to research this from scratch.

The green glow suddenly went out, and left Obsidian in darkness she was not comfortable within.

F͍̻̠o̰͚̫o͓͖͞l̦̯̞.̗ ͈̖ ͡L̘̖̠e͠t̬̩͝ ̮̜t̹͓͡h̭̟o̲͍͟ś̤̰ę̦͔ ̟̥̖w҉͇͇ho̶͙̻ ́d҉̝̻e̵̩͈s̷̪̝e͚̘͔r͏̤̪v̛̩̭e̖̦͕ ͉̼L̗͍̬i̷̖͓f̮̲͈e̩͕͡ ̦̯̬L̺̙͇I͉̫͕VE͏̮̣.̹̦͞.̹͚͇.̧̹ ̗̮̙a̫͔͜n̠͍̗d l̙e͏͎̖a͎̱ͅv̱̗͟e͏͔̪ m̮̯̫e̘͎̪ ͔͓̤b̳̮͢e̡.͉͈

It felt like the darkness was trying to flow into her very being... but just as it began to sink it's way into her, a soft blue glow began to take its' place, and she soon saw that she wasn't in Jade's chamber anymore. It was Diamond's shard she was now standing in front of, and the light she saw (and felt) was warm, soft and kind.

It wouldn't simply be a product of her unconscious mind - it was far too specific, far too scary to be her own imagination. Exactly how was this happening?

"Diamond, yes?" she aked cautiously, "I've heard a lot of good things about you..."

When the new voice spoke, it sounded and felt like the exact opposite of Jade's own.

{I... know you... I can feel your connection to me... but... who are you?}

Waves of pleasant feelings washed though her; victory over her Father, Cup's passionate kiss, Ruby's sweet smile... it was as if she were floating in an ocean of good tidings.

{Are you another of Father's creations?}

"Indeed, I am," Obsidian grinned, "your younger sister, Obsidian." It felt nice - too nice for what would be King Sombra's son. She had seen with her own eyes what the tyrant was capable of and how he treated those beneath him... so how in Tartarus could Diamond be such a bastion of good? It was a touch suspicious, but maybe it was simply a fluke? She'd have to tread carefully here, but she held out hope that this one would be more like Ruby than Amethyst.

{Ob... sid... ian?} The voice was unsure, as if it was a word he'd never pronounced before. {A sister? I have... another sister?} A pause, and then... {You are... the Lost Sister, then. Another sliver of who He once was... oh, how He has whittled himself down to the core, all to create us...}

His blue light began to dim a bit, as well as the sensations she was feeling. {Please, tell me, Obsidyan... what has become of him? Do you know?}

"You have a total of twelve siblings, Diamond. As for our father, he was defeated - three times in a row; the last time, he was thoroughly neutralized. He is no longer a threat to anyone anymore, brother."

Poor Father, eh? That was the last term she would ever use.

{Oh... oh...} Now the blue crystal visibly began to shed tears of bright blue energy in small rivulets that dripped down its' sides. {Poor, poor Father... first, Radiant Hope, then all his preparations, and now... now he is no more?}

There was a moment of heart-wrenching sorrow that she felt from the shard. {I forgave him long ago, no matter his treatment of us... and to hear of such? Oh, please, Obsidyan - is there any way to save him?}

He was good - too good. Did her Father create and brainwash him to end up with a creature that would love him more than fear him? Was it some sort of a trick, some half-baked emergency plan to create a servant with undying loyalty?

"I... don't think so, no." Even if he could be freed, Obsidian would hardly call it 'saving' him; he was far too power-hungry and cruel to be worth the attempt, and nopony would be able to save him from himself. "May I ask... what do you know of Radiant Hope?"

{She... she was the one who helped him to create us, Obsidyan. Her voice, her touch, her kindness... it was she who taught him to salvage his soul through us. And yet, when her own spell went wrong... oh...}

The light began to fade, but she could still hear him, as if from a distance.

{Will... will you and I meet someday...?}

The light began to shift from a soft blue color... to one that was a filthy yellowish-orange hue.

{OBSIDYAN! RUN! LEAVE NOW! QUICKLY!}

The light began to feel as if it were trying to rip open her skull, to feast on the mind within.

Come to me. Come to me NOW...

She helped Sombra? Interesting... and something went wrong? Even more interesting...

And then Obsidian heard Amber.

She frankly didn't need any encouragement - she just turned and ran as if the entirety of Tartarus was tailing her! But there was nowhere to run to, as Obsidian found herself in the chamber with the Amber Shard; it felt as though her brain were being gouged with a dagger, and she felt herself beginning to crack, just like Jade had.

... what is a Cupcake? TELL ME NOW. Wait... not a what... a who...

NOT good!

... and a Thunderclap... and... a Wart?

She HAD to wake up!

... and... a Gypsy...

Obsidian! Wake up! Wa-

~>O<~

"-ke up! Siddy!? Obsidian!" Cupcake was holding her, shaking her lightly, and looked like he was scared to death for her. "Stop screaming! Wake up, Obsidian!"

Y'know... sometimes, Obsidian really hated her family. Like, really, really. Waking up screaming was hardly a pleasant thing, and it seemed as if Cupcake didn't expect so either. So many murderous psychopaths with Dark powers, so little time. She was used to the concept and practice of mind control, just not exactly experienced with participating in it - especially not as the submissive party. Ugh - what a terrible feeling.

"G-good... good morning, Cup..."

Cupcake looked at her as if he was afraid she'd fade into nothingness right in front of him... then embraced her fiercely. She could feel him shaking a bit as he held her.

"What happened? What in the wide, wide world of Equestria were you dreaming about!? Good gravy, love - you were screaming! I woke up to it, and you were thrashing about, hooves to your head and screaming as if Tartarus itself was swallowing you whole!"

Shaking, he backed up from her and his eyes seemed to be looking over every inch for any sign of harm. "Siddy, love... are you okay?"

Cupcake's shaking was not the problem - her own shaking, she now noticed, was resonating quite nicely with his. Damned Amber - how was such a thing even possible!? It had to be one of the traits of the shards themselves; otherwise, it would be impossible for her to reach to Obsidian in her dreams like that.

"I'm... not sure, Cup; I've found three more siblings of mine in their shard forms two days ago, in the Crystal Empire... and apparently, Mica noticed signs of what might be three more of them, alive and awake in Equestria. Even better, I've had dreams about the shards - one of my brothers seemed a bit too nice, which is rather suspicious considering that we were raised by our thrice-damned father... another one is only dangerous because my father made him physically dangerous to everything around him by magically cursing him... and one of my sisters has apparently mastered mind control, and isn't very kind with it." Well, that should explain everything.

"That's all, I think," she sighed, "and I am officially sick of my siblings already."

Cup just stared for a moment, then he sat back and just looked at her. "You... you found three of them? A-and you say three more are loose in Equestria!? Great gumdrops! What are we going to do? What CAN we do?"

His muzzle shifted a bit, and his eyes grew hard and flinty. "Oh, I know what we'll do - we'll smash them into tiny pieces, that's what we'll do! NOBODY messes with my Princess and gets away with it! We'll grind them into fine powder! They'll be DUST by the time I'm done with... with..."

The fire left his eyes, but was replaced by tears. "... Sombra was hurting your brother? B-but WHY!? Why would he DO such a thing? Oh, Siddy - we have to HELP him, then! We should do what we can to... to..."

He stopped, closed his eyes, took a d-e-e-p breath, and looked at her with far more calm than he'd had mere moments ago. "Okay, sorry, no... I... I'm just... this is a LOT to take in. We need to think before we act, and you're better at that than I am. I just... I just feel so..."

He huffed a sigh, then looked her in the eyes. "Okay, whatever you want to do, that's what I'll do. Whatever you need me for, I'll be there. You've gotta have some sort of idea by now; you're the smart one here. So, I'm listening... what's the plan?"

Okay, if anything happened to her, then Cupcake would at least avenge her death. Not that it would help her too much; if anything, Obsidian would prefer not dying too young.

"My siblings in the Crystal Empire are under Flurry Heart's care at the moment. They shouldn't cause any problems, considering that they currently lack limbs, eyes and other things ponies are supposed to have... but I thought they would be safer there."

She stood up, leaving the bed - so many things to do, so little time... and first things first.

"My brother Jade apparently made Father extremely angry - it may have been a theft of some sort - and was severely punished for it. He was cursed into being some kind of toxic, acidic monster that kills simply by being in his presence... so I'll need to find a way to lift this curse as soon as possible, considering that his mental health is in shambles."

She turned to Cup. "Today, I'm going to investigate one of these loose siblings of mine. Apparently, Pola Industrial - whatever that is - has quite a number of orders for some Dark Magic spells. I'm leaving with Gypsy for Silver Sands to see if I can gather some more information." She really had the urge to check Onyx's notes.

"And Cup? Mica also knows about everything; we had a long talk yesterday, so if anything happens, he should know what to do next. At the moment, do you think you could possibly find a way to, er... well... smuggle and hide my brother, Diamond, into Ponyville? He's the nice one I mentioned, and I'd like to release him as soon as possible, as Flurry fears that the other princesses would seal the place where we've found them, out of fear for the worst outcome. After that is handled, we can worry about the two other shards..."

She sighed deeply. Diamond shouldn't make any problems, right? By Darkness, and let's hope that Quartz only wanted to make clothes - that it wasn't some kind of cover for some terrible magical trap to sacrifice ponies to the ancient gods of evil or something. Oh, please, please...

"Gypsy told me that we'd be leaving by noon, which means I need to put in for another day off, and visit my library to check on a few things. If he shows up, you send him to me, okay?"

She then thought for a moment. "Where exactly is it that Mica lives, actually? Is there any chance I'd be able to pass by there on my way to the castle?"

He listened intently through the entire rant, bless him; she meant everything to him, and he was determined to do the best he could by her. When she finished, he looked a bit overwhelmed... but he simply nodded and started thinking.

"Wow, that's... a lot. But let's see..." He stood up and began to pace as he thought and talked. "Okay, so first off, Flur's in this? I take it that's what you two were talking about at the palace? And here, I thought it was filly-stuff... but that's okay; I understand now."

He paced to the left. "So, Jade is under some sort of curse, and we need to find a way to break it? Well, maybe I could ask a few folks I know about that stuff - and if they can't find it, I'll bet Mica would know where to start looking. I'm not a fast reader, but I'm dedicated to helping with this, so if I have to dive into some tomes or stuff, I will."

He paced back to the right. "Pola Industrial? That sounds kind of dangerous - industrial stuff can hurt others, if they're not careful, and industrial stuff with Dark Magic possibly attached to it? THAT sounds nasty - I'm kinda worried about you with that one... but Gypsy'd help you out, so I d- WAIT!"

He paused in his pacing, "My sister could help you out! Peppermint Patty is whizbang with mechanical stuff! She could be a real help on that one! You might wanna stop by Sugarcube Corner and see if she's able to go with you two!"

He resumed pacing, to the left now. "Smuggle Diamond into Ponyville? Not that I don't trust your instincts, love... but are you sure? I mean, Ruby notwithstanding, your siblings don't exactly have a history of being... well... stable. I'll trust you on it, but are you completely sure? If you are, I'll find a way to do it - don't you worry."

Back to the right again. "When Gypsy shows up, I'll send him your way, no problem - and Mica? He lives with his Mom and Dad, in Maud's Cave. That might be a bit out of your way... but I could maybe go over there and speak directly to him about it, if you like?"

Cup was willing to do so much for her; she picked the RIGHT stallion for a coltfriend, that was for sure.

"At the moment, we are merely visiting Princess Celestia to notify her that apparently she personally approved the purchase of a large amount of Dark Magic scrolls for, ahem... 'research purposes'. I'd love to meet with Patty later, though - she could probably help quite a lot in this venture."

"As for going to speak with Mica... I'm not sure yet, Cup; I need to check some ideas out, but I'd like to have a few things prepared in advance - for a change, you know."

Obsidian rubbed her temple, thinking deeply. "... I think I'll pass on breakfast; I need to hurry and besides, it's not like a few skipped meals will hurt me. And I think I would like you to meet with Mica... and perhaps tell him that it'd be nice if Eloquence and Clap could possibly start researching a fashion designer who coincidentally looks just like one of my brothers, as well as sharing his name. It would be nice to find out that he just wants to live a peaceful life, but you know how it goes with my siblings; his fashion boutique can host an army of undead, or perhaps his clothes are cursed, such and so forth."

Damn it all - it just felt like so much to keep up with. She trotted to get the communication bracelet she'd gotten from Flurry and put it on her hoof. "I think that's all at the moment. I really hoped that after the Peridot Affair, we would have at least a few days of peace," Obsidian sighed sadly.

"Wait..." Cupcake trotted over to her and gave her a gentle kiss. "At least get in a quick shower; I'll make you a sack breakfast to take with you; I want you to be in top condition for all this, and brekky is the MOST important meal of the day, y'know? So, you clean, I'll cook - it'll be ready for you when you come down, okay?"

He held up a hoof. "No, no complaints; I won't let you leave this house without something for your tummy. Now go on - get clean, and I'll meet you afterwards." He went downstairs and began to clatter around in the kitchen.

It sounded like a better idea than going hungry, to be fair. And perhaps she could eat her breakfast and read in the library at the same time. It was a terrible way to read, as falling food could threaten the book... but the situation demanded sacrifices. With that thought, she went for a shower.

When that was done and she was clean, Cup was true to his word; he was waiting at the bottom of the stairs with a heavenly scent filling the little kitchen. He hoofed over a sack, then kissed her again. "Good luck, be careful, and trust your heart as much as I do, love. Stay safe." With that (and a quick nuzzle for her coltfriend), she left.

The trip to the library left Siddy with enough time to think about her situation... but with SO much to think about, it was difficult to focus. When she reached her destination, it was as quiet as usual, with only one or two ponies inside poring over books. Her office was a quiet refuge... even if it once was the office of her sister Onyx.

She'd earned this place. She was climbing up the societal ladder, using the bodies of her siblings as stepping stones, and By Darkness, she wasn't going to let anypony - brothers, sisters or someone else completely different - ruin it. If only she could continue her research in peace, or at least be so powerful as to be sure that nopony would threaten her or her friends during said research!

Diamond. Quartz. Jade. Amber. Opal. She went to her Secret Stash, brought out Onyx's diary and began to seek out information about them. Luckily, she already knew where to look...

First, Diamond: Father was a FOOL for letting such an inferior stallion hold the secrets to Healing Magic! The whimpering little thing can't be long for this world... except that he seems to just deal with Father's anger, and move on. It's infuriating! That such an important magical aspect would fall on the head of the most spineless, softest member of our little 'family' makes me retch! If I could just work some of my manipulation on his magics, they'd be all mine... and Father can decide what to do with this mewling little pest!

Quartz: Quartz's ego will get the better of him in the end, if he isn't careful; such a prissy boy, and so very convinced that his magics will bring about a new era for the Empire; more likely, he'll just continue to strut and preen like some sort of diva. Father might be all-intelligent, but to have crafted Quartz? Well, I suppose everypony makes mistakes. Still, the Armor Magics he possesses would be quite a boon to Father's plans - so I suppose I'll just have to settle for his prancing about... at least, for a while longer, if anything.

Jade: Stupid, stupid, STUPID! Sending him after Father's diary would have ended SO much better if he had shared the contents with me! Now, Father has Peridot working on a curse that'll, to quote him, 'ensure that Jade never has close confidants again'. I have not the first clue what that might mean... but honestly, any thief who gets caught at what he does DESERVES to be struck down! And I never even got to SEE the damnable diary! STUPID! He deserves whatever he gets!

Amber: I'm growing worried - Amber's been doing that thing where she just stares at me, then smiles again. It's HORRIBLY unnerving, and if I could just get my hooves on her Mind Control magics, I could easily arrange an end to it. I get this feeling that she's invading my dreams - the bond we all share would allow for such a thing, and it worries me just how much she knows...

Opal: Opal showed up today to show me one of her newest little 'trinkets'; a mechanical housefly, of all things! Granted, it's a work of some repute... but her need for reassurance and praise is annoying! If she could just get over her self-doubt, she'd be as effective as I am... well, mostly, anyway. But that red-eyed part of her psyche? THAT is dangerous - and Father knows it. Maybe he'll find a way to purge that part of her mind... but if he cannot, then I suppose I should start working on ways to seal her mind for good. After I get my hooves on her Mechanical Magics. THOSE are too good to let go of - if she ever applied herself, she would be exceedingly dangerous!

There they were, all laid bare for Obsidian's perusal... and the prospects looked a bit grim. Wonderful. So Obsidian had to deal with a brute that even Onyx (a rather sadistic pony herself) called 'cruel' and with a psycho that even Onyx (an incarnation of many bad traits within their family) called 'unnerving'.

Okay, let's think it over first - apparently Diamond was a nice pony. Healing magics. Whimpering, weakling, Ruby liked him... he should be fine, then. Quartz didn't seem to be too dangerous as well, at least assuming he was working alone - as long as he didn't join forces with the others, his defense magic couldn't threaten anypony too much. Jade... ah-ha, so it was Onyx's fault he was in such a sorry state? Of course it was. Stupid Onyx. However, there was also Amber and Opal.

Luna lived in the Silver Sands Community as well, right? Maybe Obsidian could ask her for help again... though she somewhat failed during the fight against Peridot, sadly. Annoyingly, Opal sounded quite nice except for this mention of the 'red-eyed part of her psyche'. Just great. She quickly checked if there are any mentions in the diary about the magic that allowed Onyx to use their sibling's powers. It could be useful... very useful indeed.

One of the first entries in the diary helped clarify things a bit:

Father says I'm his first AND his favorite! He says my abilities to manipulate magics is a KEY to what he has planned! Oh, I'm SO very thankful that my Father is so proud of me; he even has a lesson plan set up for me to practice... and I can hardly wait to try out some of the ways he spoke of for me to change a magic's source to make it my own! It doesn't sound as if it's really very difficult... but Father assures me it's the MOST important thing I can do to exercise that ability to the highest degree! Don't worry, my most powerful Father - I will do you proud!

That damned scoundrel of a mare didn't even have to learn other kinds of magic - it was her innate skill! Sometimes Obsidian really regretted that Onyx could only die once... assuming that her dreams of holding control over life and death would indeed turn out to be merely dreams.

Obsidian growled, clearly annoyed, and picked up the two books about Dark Magic she had found along with Onyx's diary. Maybe there would be... well, something useful. Dark magic. Curses. Mind control. Her father had known it all - she just had to emulate him and learn it for herself. The fact that she wasn't born with any innate knowledge about mind magic, cursing ponies or mimicking others' magic didn't mean she couldn't learn how to do it, right? It was just going to be a bit more difficult than she'd hoped it would be.

The books held... some very disconcerting spells. Spells that turned ponies into horrible abominations. Spells that made their blood boil. Spells that effectively turned them inside-out. Unfortunately, nothing in the parts she looked over seemed to offer much in the way of helping her in this manner; if she had more time, she might find at least something she could use... but that could take hours, and she seemed to only have minutes to spare.

Though, being able to make a pony collapse from pure magical exhaustion? That could be helpful; the ability to neutralize a magical foe would be quite useful, so she peeked into this specific spell. Her life would be much easier if her enemies would be simply end up fainting in front of her, right?

The spell effectively made a being's magic overpower itself and burn out quickly, but the boost it would provide might make an enemy more deadly... if only for a moment. Then the burnout would occur, and the magic would be unavailable to that being until they rested long enough. Which, if the spell was done correctly, might take days, weeks or even months...

Or possibly forever, should that magic-user push themselves too hard from the boost.

On second thought, it didn't sound as good as Obsidian initially believed. However... she was curious what it could do when coupled with Diamond's healing skills. Besides, it could be incredibly useful in many, many cases. Considering that Quartz apparently wasn't known for his offensive skills, it could turn out to be an easy way to take him down. If anything, only Amber and Aquamarine would run the risk of becoming too dangerous after being treated with this spell. So Obsidian checked it out a bit more carefully.

The spell basically amplified the magics of the subject, but far too quickly for them to properly adjust in time for a massive burnout. It was like sending a flood of water through a small hose; the water pressure would be incredible... right before the hose burst. The spell didn't say anything about ponies bursting, though; that was a different spell in the book. But it did mention that this spell had a drawback; if the spellcaster wasn't careful, or didn't properly focus, the spell's effects might also affect them as well... leading to the same conclusion.

Obsidian facehoofed; so this spell was going to be rather dangerous, either way. Only for desperate moments, then. Not to be used lightly. She had plenty of focus, but didn't want to risk it without the need to. Being turned into what amounted to an Earth pony with a weird bone on their head would be humiliating.

Gypsy still wasn't here yet - maybe there would be something more in these books... it would be a touch easier with a proper table of contents, though.

Instant Death Spells. Brain Exploding Spells. Blinding Spells. Limb Removing Spells. Skull Crushing Spells. Blood-To-Acid Spells. Lung Popping Spells. Balefire Spells. Bowel Fire Spells.

Spells for raising the dead- Wait, what was that? Oh... as zombies only. Never mind.

Eyeball Melting Spells. Soul Capturing Spells. Instant Pregnancy Spells... that bred monsters. Flesh Melting Spells. Fur Scorching Spells. Bone Shattering Spells. The search was a gruesome one, and yielded... mixed results.

Oh dear, oooooh dear... it was quite an exciting read. Plenty of these spells were rather gruesome and lethal... and Obsidian really hated unnecessary waste... but some of them were quite interesting. Instant pregnancy? That surely didn't sound too nice, though Obsidian had a rather foggy knowledge of what pregnancy really was (not surprising considering that she technically wasn't born at all).

Soul Capturing? Hmmmmm... could it potentially be used to prepare the souls of Ruby and Onyx for transfer into a new body? Obsidian decided to take a closer read of this one.

Soul Capturing Spells were meant for draining the souls from live bodies and sealing them away inside a focus; crystals were preferred, but anything could be used to do so. However, the more flimsy and commonplace the object, the more of a chance the soul would just fade away into nothing - sometimes within years, sometimes within minutes. It was all-important that the object have some sort of connection to the soul to be placed inside it.

It wasn't what she'd hoped for... but maybe it was a place to start? Yes, it was... though she doubted she could move beyond the theoretical phase of her research - not without an uncomfortable amount of questions like 'why have ponies started to dissapear' or 'how did you get this specific clock that random pegasus #5 got from his dying grandpa', and so forth.

However, she still didn't get anything much that could help her with Jade or Amber - at least until she could make a replacement body for her poor brother. Which, frankly speaking, would be very interesting.

She had access to two books about Dark Magic and Onyx's diary. She had to find something... but then, Obsidian got a brilliant idea: what if Onyx had written something about Radiant Hope in her diary? The Dark Princess didn't have to rescue Jade today or immediately start her fight against Amber; she could afford wasting some time to look for a bit of personal information about her father's life... and her own archetype, as well.

At that moment, there was a knock at her door; a timid one, but a knock all the same.

"Obsidian?" Gypsy's voice was questioning and soft. "Are y-you there? This one was t-t-told by Cupcake to come here t-to meet with you?"

By Darkness, it was only twenty minutes to noon! How long had she been studying these books!?

"Y-yes! Yes, Gypsy, just give me a moment..." Breakfast - she'd completely forgotten about it. She would have to eat on the train. Obsidian quickly hid the books back in her Secret Stash, then quickly made her way to the doors to meet her diamond dog friend.

Author's Notes:

And so, a quick revelation of what is contained within those shards, both in text AND the dreamscape. Personally, with as much as goes on in her dreams, I'd be a bit afraid to fall asleep, if it were me.

Brekky, because Lightning McQueen. Deal with it.

And a quick look into the head of Siddy's villainous sister. Though she doesn't seem to hold her siblings in very high regard, keep in mind who her own Father was, and how that would affect someone's outlook on others.

Twenty Two: Doggone Chatty

The diamond dog looked a bit worried, but breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Siddy finally come out of the library. "The t-t-tr-train will be leaving shortly; if we hurry, w-we should make it with a few minutes left t-to spare."

A few minutes; would it be enough to possibly gather Peppermint from Sugarcube Corner? Maybe not, but it was fine for now - she didn't need Peppermint yet. She was simply going to meet with some distinguished senior citizens; it wasn't that important that some of them happened to be princesses old enough to have bested her father during his original reign, and lived to tell the story.

The train station wasn't terribly far, but Gypsy's excitement about traveling was apparent as he practically skipped along with her. Once they reached the station, they found they were just in time before their train left; there was enough leeway to present their tickets and get aboard before the train began to chug its' way southwest, headed for Silver Shores.

Gypsy seemed to enjoy the train ride; he spent some of it with his head out of the window, letting his purple tonuge flap in the breeze as his smile grew wider than a mile. Siddy had more than enough time to eat; the ride would take at least three hours.

AND SHE HAD FORGOTTEN TO BRING A BOOK WITH HER! She'd even been right there... in the library! Just great... wonderful. She could chew on her food for a while, and then she just had to do her best not to die from boredom. Hopefully Gypsy would be helpful with that - she grabbed her breakfast sack and began to dig in.

"So, how goes your day, Gypsy?" Honestly, a nice spot of small-talk wasn't bad.

The diamond dog looked at her, then brought his head back into the train with a somewhat cute sheepish grin. "Th-this one ap-p-pologizes for his behavior - he just LOVES to g-go fast!"

He sat down in his seat properly, then crossed his legs and tthought for a moment, shortly nodding before speaking up. "This one has b-been excited about the train ride s-since yesterd-day... and he thanks you very m-m-much for inviting him along. An opportunity t-to meet Celestia and Luna? Such an honor th-th-that this one's guardians found to b-be so very kind of you; they told this one t-t-to thank you for it."

"Otherwise, this one awoke early, and gr-groomed himself for a few hours, j-just to be sure he would be p-pr-presentable for the journey. His t-tongue is a bit sore, but he f-feels it was worth the attention to d-d-detail he paid."

"Silver Shores itself? Oh, he is happy t-to say he knows of it! Discovered by miners around two hundred years ago, the beaches have sand that reflects moonlight, therefore owing to its' name. There were a few trading p-posts that sprang up around those beaches, but they never seemed to make enough sales - being as out of the way as they were - but it was such a soothing atmosphere that elder p-ponies began building their homes th-there."

"The Silver Sands C-Community has been active for close to fifty years now, and boasts the largest gathering of elder beings from differeing cultures in one place; even diamond dogs speak of ret-t-tiring there sometimes, due to the beautiful, sparkly sands. Celestia and Luna, when they turned over their kingdom to Twilight Sparkle, moved there as to stay out of the way of what they f-felt would be a good ruler for Equestria, and they believe they have left the nation in capable hooves. To date, there has been little to prove them wrong... well, until the Umb-b-bral Incident, that is. However, the situation was handled well enough, s-so they felt little need to step in."

To be fair, the Umbral Incident was only handled well-enough because Obsidian and her friends were overtaxing themselves to save the world, and Onyx turned out to be a bit too manipulative to consider bringing Obsidian into their flock without using and discarding her like a snotty Grey tissue; quite the contrary, as she had seemed to be content doing everything to ensure that her youngest sister would absolutely and completely loathe the mere idea of joining forces with her.

"But... they still have their strength, yes... their magic as alicorns? Perhaps they would be willing to help us out a bit, in case things get bad?" It would be good to have a few other princesses on their side, willing to help make life a little bit easier on Obsidian and her poor friends.

Gypsy nodded. "Oh, they are still alicorns, yes - but they tend to use their p-powers for the elders that live with them, more often than n-not. But this one is c-certain they would be willing t-to help us; they still believe in H-Harmony, and it would be for the b-b-benefit of all to have their assistance."

He looked out of the window and gave a soft sigh. "Th-they are the parents to this nation... p-protecting it and nurturing it f-for many, many years. This one is... a bit jealous, sometimes, b-but he tries not to show it." His ears drooped a bit. "This one h-h-has no natural parents to sp-speak of; he wishes he d-did, because he would be th-th-thrilled to meet them. However, his chosen Greatfather has t-told him they were not able t-to b-be attentive p-parents, and so... they gave him t-t-to the rest of the clan, and his Greatfather r-raised him among them all."

His eyes wandered to Siddy. "Your father might be a t-tyrant... but you at least kn-know who he is."

She could sympathize with Gypsy on some level; she was terribly let down when she learned that she didn't have any sort of normal mother, and that her father should technically be called her 'creator'... and then she practically orphaned herself by defeating him.

"Chosen Greatfather? How does that work?" She raised her eyebrows a bit. "And please, remember that my father basically made me to be nothing more than a servant - his tool, so to speak. In my case, heritage can be rather... annoying."

He nodded. "A diamond dog like th-this one is usually raised for a few years b-before they are chosen by a Greatfather, but he was given t-to his own at a very young age. Greatfather Skipper is this one's, a-and he was firm at t-times... but he showed great care and l-love during this one's younger y-years."

Gypsy smiled softly. "As this o-o-one grew, Greatfather Skipper tr-trained him well, and helped him learn the digging, the smelling, a-and the Origami; without h-him, this one would possibly be d-d-dead... or worse. And there are th-things worse than death, Obs-sidian."

He then gave a small smile. "The guardians were a b-bit hard on this one, b-but they mean well, and he is g-gr-grateful that they allowed him t-to go to the Friendship Academy. They even yelled at the others who m-mocked him for wanting to g-g-go in the first p-place. They love him... they just never knew the s-s-softness that ponies t-tend to... pr-pr-present company excluded, of course."

He looked at her, and cocked his head to one side. "This one is c-curious; do you recall your y-youth at all?"

Obsidian rubbed her temple with a hoof, gingerly. "Not really, no."

Now that she thought about it, did she have any kind of youth at all? Most of her memories were fairly similar to each other - father, training, magic, very rough conditions and so on. Were there times she could remember when her father looked taller to her? Or were shards crafted as older ponies already, in order to immediately begin their training?

"Training, learning, those kinds of things. I don't recall too much beyond that; either I don't remember being a small filly... or I wasn't ever a filly in the first place." Perhaps the most basic skills, like walking, talking or reading were imprinted into the part of father's soul that was forced into becoming her? It would make sense - that way, her father would get useful tools practically from 'birth'.

Gypsy seemed saddened to hear it, and he leaned forward and placed a caring paw on her shoulder. "If w-we could choose, not a one of us w-would ever have a parent that would harm or u-use us; but we can choose who w-we respect and love... and this one feels b-b-both towards you, Obsidian. If he had known you as a youth, h-he would have played w-with you, and we might have b-b-been friends then. But we are friends n-now, and that is wh-what matters today."

He smiled kindly at her. "A diamond dog's clan is b-bond; this one sees you as c-c-clan, and knows you see him as such, t-too."

Obsidian patted Gypsy's head in return. Maybe her search for information about Radiant Hope would bring her at least a feasible semblance of a mother in her life. Or, if she got desperate, she'd visit miss Pinkie Pie to talk about this whole 'mother-in-law' idea. Frankly speaking, it wouldn't be that bad. Probably.

"Well, we have our gang... that's what it's being called, right?" she asked.

Gypsy chuffed a laugh. "A gang is usually seen as th-thugs; we are seen as heroes. This one would suggest th-the word 'group' or 'club'... but he will always s-see it as a clan." Oh. So, uhh... should she stop using that term, then? Nopony had ever explained the difference before; she was fairly certain it had been a good word to use.

He took out a piece of white paper, and began to fold it in that curious way he had. "W-would you like something m-made for you? This one t-takes requests, yes... something in p-particular?"

Obsidian wondered briefly about his request - and smiled. "Make yourself," she said with a chuckle.

Gypsy looked at her curiously a her request, but grinned, nodded, and spoke as he began to fold. "Greatfather was always t-telling this one his p-p-paws were very gifted, and that he w-would be quite good at Origami. He w-was right, of course - and this one was s-s-so proud to prove it t-to him."

Slowly, the form began to take shape; the floppy ears, the hoodie, the tail, the big paws on the thin arms... each detail was carefully done. Once the folding was complete, he produced markers from his sleeves, and began to color it appropriately. "This one w-wonders... are Obsidian and Cupcake t-to be wedded? Will th-they marry? Maybe not n-now, but in the future, p-p-perhaps? He thinks th-they make a good pairing, and would have m-m-many nice pups."

Obsidian almost choked on the question - what was the deal with everyone? She would expect something like that from the literal Princess of Love... but why would Gypsy bring it up? "Gypsy, I don't know anything about weddings, marriages, or even about, uh... having pups - er, foals, I mean. My father didn't bother to teach me about that aspect of life, as it was obviously not important for a pony who was merely holding a fraction of his soul for his emergency plan."

Gypsy's eyes widened, and he almost dropped the origami sculpture. "You... you d-d-don't know?" He considered for a moment, then looked to her again. "Well, if you w-wish, this one can t-t-tell you what he knows of s-such things... he loves t-to share knowledge, a-a-and he would th-think it a good thing for y-you to know of these things. P-plus, it will take up t-travel time."

"As far as I'm aware of, marriages happen when two realms want to solidify their alliance, and the heirs somehow appear later. I know even less when we're talking about non-royal marriages. I would not be adverse to learning a bit during our trip; you may enlighten me, if you feel it to be so important, my friend," Obsidian said, somewhat resigned to the idea that she might as well learn now, from someone she knew she could trust.

Gypsy gave a small nod. "A-as you wish, Obsidian. Now, w-we shall begin with c-conception..."

The next two hours were very informative indeed. Gypsy knew about reproduction, and wasn't bashful at all to tell Siddy about it - in detail. He explained truths to her that she never even imagined could be possible... and he made certain she understood everything he told her.

The diamond dog wasn't about to let his friend remain ignorant. Whether she wanted to know or not, Obsidian was now knowledgeble in the ways of a typical marriage, courtship rituals... and, most of all, the act of copulation - better known as sex.

Sweet... Darkness.

By the end of her friend's lesson, Obsidian's ears were pressed tightly to her skull and a mix of different emotions - particularly confusion, terror and embarassment - were visible in her eyes. Considering that Cup was her coltfriend... did it mean they were supposed to do that? Obsidian wasn't sure if she got the cultural and societal significance of the act and the current local traditions about it... would they be important?

Gypsy seemed pleased that he was able to help his friend, but looked at her curiously as he finished speaking. "I-is there something you d-d-don't understand, p-perhaps?"

"I think," Obsidian said with wide eyes, "that's quite enough for now. I need to... think about all this. If I have other questions or something, perhaps I can ask Miss Pie for her perspective as well; she has a rather large family, so she could have more knowledge from her own experiences."

The diamond dog nodded, then looked toward the window. "We will be approaching S-S-Silver Sands soon... c-can this one feel the wind once m-more before we arrive?" His tail wagged hopefully; he didn't even seem bothered at all by what he'd just explained to her - he just wanted to put his head out of the window again.

"Of course, Gypsy," she smiled, honestly glad the talk was done, "just be careful... should I hold you steady with my magic, or...?"

He grinned, and his tail wagged happily. "Oh, that's n-not necessary - he already knows how to p-p-position himself, and w-w-would feel silly asking you for such. In f-fact, would you like to t-t-try it?"

She shook her head quickly. Frankly, she had no idea why he would find such an act so entertaining... it was just the wind, after all.

"S-suit yourself," he shrugged, then proceeded to lean out of the window and let his tongue flap next to his cheek.

Honestly? It did look like the diamond dog was having grand fun doing it; strange, but then, he wasn't a pony - no telling what else he might find fun. Still, he seemed happy to do so, and who was Obsidian to stand in the way of her friend's happiness?

It was always nice to see her friends having a good time, even if she herself had no idea why they were enjoying it. Did he like the feeling of the wind hitting his muzzle that much? Or was that simply a diamond dog cultural thing? Whatever it was, it seemed to be a good thing for a diamond dog to enjoy - it was free, it was simple in its' actions and didn't need any long or drawn out preparation. Pure, innocent happiness... with the added effect of making him just a bit more adorable in the process.

Arriving at the station, they were greeted by the salty smell of the ocean, a cool and light breeze, soft and gentle music from the overhead speakers, and...

"Well, lookee here? Ain't THAT just the thing?"

... familiar voices.

A single passenger car down, Short Round and Whisper Winds were exiting the exact same train that she was; they had been there with them the whole time, and neither party had been the wiser.

"I guess y'couldn't wait no more, couldja? Well butter my biscuits, that's just a real treat, then! An' hey, y'brought a friend!" Gypsy turned to Siddy and lifted an eyebrow at the coincidence. "We was headed here after th' party yesterday, an' whoooooo-eeeee! 23 Skiddoo, missy - it was a LIVE 'un!"

How fortuitous - so the problem with looking for her two elderly friends was no longer an issue to worry about. "Good afternoon! I'm glad you liked it - even I was surprised how enjoyable it was!" To think that she hadn't liked it in the beginning, and had mostly used it as a means to deal with a few issues all at once... then, oh, how it had ended...

"This is Gypsy, my friend from school; Gypsy, meet mister Short Round and miss Whisper Winds. They helped me a few days ago with an annoying problem," she informed him as she introduced them to each other.

Gypsy gave a low bow. "It is n-nice to meet you, mist-ter and madam."

Short smiled, but Whisper's eyes went wide... and she moved to come muzzle-to-muzzle with Gypsy, who looked a bit nervous as she stared into his eyes for a moment... and then she grabbed him up in a big hug, a smile breaking out across her features as Gypsy gave a little sheepish grin as well.

Short barked out a laugh, then turned to Siddy. "She loves puppies, y'know; though I don't think she's ever met a diamond doggy a'fore."

"That would mean it was a grand idea to bring Gypsy with me, then... as long as you're okay with all this attention, Gypsy?"
Ponies in the modern era were pretty darn huggable, and in most cases they didn't protest about hugs in the least (granted, Amy was a notable exception)... and yet on the other hoof, they were a bit too huggy-prone. Not every creature appreciated that.

Gypsy, however, simply blushed and grinned. "Y-yes... though th-this one... is having... tr-trouble breathing..."

Whisper gasped, then set him down gently. She was all smiles as she then patted him on his head, then began to scratch him behind his left ear with a hoof. Gypsy's eyes bulged for all of a second, then went half-lidded as he leaned into the scratching, letting his tongue loll from his mouth. Oddly, his right rear leg began to thump against the wooden planks below.

Yup, Whisper obviously really liked dogs... and apparently, diamond dogs weren't that different from typical, non-talking ones. Was it some kind of evolutionary trait, perhaps? Well, as long as Gypsy wasn't bothered by it, everything was fine. At least Obsidian didn't have to worry that she might have annoyed her hosts when she brought one of her friends along without clearing it with them first.

"Eeyep - she always knows right where ta git 'em; one o' her special talents with critters, I think. So," Short turned to her, "I s'pose yer gonna want ta find a place to settle fer a spell? Well, me an' the missus could take ya over ta ol' 'Motion's Bakery', if'n ya want a mite t'chew... or we could head straight home. Whaddya say?"

Regardless of how highly she thought of him, it was sometimes difficult to decipher what Short Round was saying. Accents... damned accents! "Umm... straight home, methinks. We had also hoped to meet with the princesses later, if it was possible. Is it difficult to gain an.... audience... with them?"

Short grinned. "Y'made yer way out here jus' ta see Celly, didja? Heh, an' here I thought 'twas m'charming personality that brought ya!" He gave a chuckle over that, then nodded. "T'ain't hard at all, missy - it ain't like she's got schedules t'keep or guards ta go through n'more - she's got her an' Luna a lil' cottage in the Community; twenty lil' cottages, all lined up t'gether, that's alla us. That, an' the Community Center in th' middle. Can't miss it!"

Whisper finished scratching Gypsy, and he looked at her like she was the most wonderful pony in the entire world. The two made their way over to join Short and Siddy.

"Welp," the elder stallion grinned, "guess we're headed home, then; I can show ya which one's Celly's cottage... but I got me an idea that you'll figger it out fer yerselves. C'mon!" He and Whisper began to walk down a flagstone path that led into what looked a bit like Ponyville, but with different buildings.

Gypsy smiled at Obsidian. "This one l-l-likes them. Especially Madam W-Winds; she knows of the Skritchies!"

Obsidian had enough decency to be embarrassed about being caught in a social faux-pas like this one; she'd come to see someone completely other than who she'd run into, and it felt awkward to her. "Well, er... the fact that the princesses live here and I have some business to attend with them only made us visit sooner; I would have visited even without the errand ahead of us. After all, you did invite me, Mister Short - this is just a... pleasant coincidence, let's say."

At least Whisper and Gypsy seemed to be practically made for each other; if Obsidian were in Short's position, she would perhaps be a touch jealous. "Skritchies?" she then asked Gyspy, "What are these? A form of diamond dog magic, mayhaps?" she tried to guess as they trotted into the community after the happy elderly couple.

Gypsy smiled dreamily. "Oh, that is n-not inaccurate..."

They walked along the smooth stone pathway, and Obsidian saw that a large number of the citizens here were elderly, though there seemed to be a few younger ponies as well, and even one or two children, though usually in the company of an elder.

The place had a very calming effect; it felt safe, happy, and not at all bustling like Ponyville could be. In fact, the general atmosphere was one of relaxed joy - the kind of smile one puts on at the end of a satisfying day. The buildings were subdued colors, but not washed out - just softer than the bright shades she was used to seeing at home. A number of passers-by waved to the elderly couple, who waved back with occasional greetings from Short Round.

When they crested a gently rolling hill, Obsidian saw what looked like a ring of cottages that were surrounding a taller, four-story structure in the center; a nearby sign proclaimed:

[Silver Sands Community Retirement Center]
{A great place for seniors to relax and enjoy life.}
{BINGO: Tue - Sat, 5 pm - 9 pm}
{Community Dinner: Sat. Nights 7pm}

Short and Whisper motioned to the cluster of buildings with a light flourish; they'd practised this, apparently. "Welcome to our humble lil' commun'ty! Don't worry - ain't nobody here bit nobody since Rag Doll lost 'er dentures five years afore!" He laughed merrily, and Whisper giggled silently behind her hoof.

She was certain Gypsy could provide more historical details - a veritable encyclopedia of them. And this place felt, well... grand... parent... y? Obsidian had never met her own grandparents; she wasn't even sure she HAD any to begin with (just who could spawn the foal that would turn into King Sombra?), but she could yearn for (and enjoy) that feeling.

"Er... what's bingo?" she asked shortly.

"Shhhh!" Short Round warned... but too late, it seemed. Whisper's eyes lit up, and a smile broke across her features as she sighed happily, then started lightly skipping towards the Community Center. Short Round just chuckled and shook his head. "It's a game we old folks like ta play... and Whispy's real good at it! That girl practically can feel when she's gonna win, and she loves it! Mebbe if'n you stay a spell, we can take ya to see fer yerself!"

Okay, so Whisper was good at this 'Bingo' event, and it seemed to be meant for the elderly to enjoy. Short Round's answer didn't exactly explain what it was - it mostly left more questions.

However, when they got close enough, Obsidian heard a strange, soft hissing sound that seemed to fade in and out as they walked. Then, when they were closer to the community, she saw it... for the first time in her entire life, Obsidian could see the waves washing ashore onto the beach, just peeking around the side of a sand dune.

Obsidian's mind quickly focused on this newest experience - a strange sound she could hear all around her. Just what was it? Some sort of machine, mayhaps? Or possibly one of her siblings had gotten there before she could, and was preparing something unholy and cruel....

And then, she saw it...

A lake. A BIG lake.

A... very BIG... lake?

Very, VERY BIG, even...

She stopped immediately, staring at the vast field of rolling blue water in front of her. "... woah..."

Short smiled. "I take it y'all ain't never seen the ocean afore? There she is... beautiful, ain't she? Soothin' sounds o' the waves, that salty scent inna air, an' sand fer miles! Mebbe we outghta go an' see it fer yer sake?"

He led her down past the community to the top of the soft hill... and it just didn't end! Waves. The beach. The rolling tides. It was just... there.

"Majestic," Obsidian eventually managed to squeeze out of her throat. She had seen maps, of course; she simply had never before even imagined how big that blue thing could be, right in front of her muzzle. "It's almost like the snow-covered borders of the Crystal Empire... just with water instead of... of snow and ice."

"Ooooh, th' Crystal Empire?" Short laughed merrily. "Now, there's a place me an' the missus ain't never been afore - sure would like ta see it, too. I heard it's prettier than a picture, an' Princess Cadence is s'posed ta be as sweet as sugar! Mind you, we can't afford a trip like that'un... but it's sure somethin' ta think about!"

The sea seemed to just connect to the horizon; it was almost as if Obsidian couldn't see where the two separated.

"Well, when yer done seagazin', I c'n take ya t'see Celly; she's prob'ly makin' up a mess o' chow right now, so if'n ya wanna taste her cookin' - an' b'lieve me, ya do - then I'd suggest ya folla me."

"The Empire... i-it is indeed pretty," she said, trying to pull herself from the hypnotic blue ocean, "a-and Princess Cadence is very sweet, indeed; I would daresay she is the lovliest pony I've ever seen." In fact, it was almost terrifying how gorgeous she had been; rulers of nations shouldn't be so beautiful! She had looked as if she could seduce an entire kingdom into obeying her, easily...

Obsidian could only hope that she had understood Mister Short correctly; Princess Celestia would be eating at the moment? Did she hear him correctly? "Umm... yes, okay... I suppose that the sooner we speak with them, the sooner we can come back to visit with yourself and Miss Whisper without a task waiting over our heads."

With a nod, Short Round led her back to the little hub of cottages. Among them, there was one that had a lovely rose garden out front, along with a number of little sun statues all along the sides of the place. Over the doorway, there was a beautiful metal sculpture of a sun and a half-moon, both joined together in a circle.

"In case ya ain't figgered it out yet," Short grinned, "this's Celly an' Luna's place."

"It's... surprisingly... normal. Well, aside from the sun statues," Obsidian noticed. She couldn't imagine her father living in such place... or even entertaining the idea of retiring at all. If anything, he would probably want to live forever, eternally ruling over his realm and his slaves for all time...

Celestia's and Luna's home. Where they actually existed. These princesses were ancient and legendary... Obsidian almost could feel the gravity of the ages. "Gypsy, are... are you ready?"

Her diamond dog companion, who was enjoying some extra petting and attention from Whisper, blinked back into the world and gave Siddy an embarrassed grin. "W-we are."

As soon as she reached the front of the small house, Obsidian could hear what sounded like humming from inside; it was melodious and rich, and sounded like a lullabye. The voice alone sent small shivers down the Dark Princess' spine... THAT had to be Celestia, there was little doubt.

"Celly!" Short Round knocked as he announced himself. "Y'all got a minnit? We got some guests who wanna meetcha!"

"One moment, Shorty!"

... Shorty? Not something to be expected from a Princess... er, an ex-Princess?

To say that Obsidian was a little bit nervous would be quite an understatement; everything else had seemed to work out just fine, up until this moment. The idea of meeting with the princesses about the current problems with her siblings was a great one (especially as she could adress thee concerns in a single visit), and she'd effectively had a 'casus belli', as Short Round had originally invited her...

Yet she still couldn't help but remain as tense as Tartarus. Speaking to Princess Twilight was one thing, as she was quite young (at least compared to the other alicorns), and Obsidian had met her in different circumstances. Meeting Cadance had been purely accidential, and she was much too beautiful and kind to be of any bad concerns. Princess Luna had already visited her within her dreams, and at the time Obsidian was depressed about her own problems, and hadn't cared about such an honor...

But... Celestia? She remembered reading stories about her exploits from her own time; she still remembered the rumors that she was coming to the Crystal Empire. Celestia was not just some enemy; she was THE Enemy for her conquering Father. Obsidian was going to meet an honest-to-Darkness living legend...

The fact that she was currently living in a small retirement community didn't help; it just added to the sense of improbability of it all.

When the front door of the cottage opened... it was a sight to behold, that was for certain.

Celestia had a number of splotches of what looked like cupcake batter all over her muzzle and barrel; she had her flowing, waving mane back in a ponytail, and wore an apron that said 'HCIC: Head Chef In Charge' on it, and was also covered in dough. Otherwise, and even in spite of this, she was radiant. Obsidian could feel the majesty of ages coming from this alicorn mare, even if she looked like a kitchen chef after a doughball fight.

"Sorry - Luna and I were... ah, 'settling our differences' as to what sort of cake we were making. My apologies, Shorty..." She then looked over Gypsy and Obsidian, and the younger mare could feel the weight of those kind eyes on her. "And guests, too? Well, please come in - we love to receive company!"

"Wipe your hooves!" came a voice from the kitchen.

Celestia laughed prettily, then nodded. "And yes, please wipe your hooves... though at this point, it's a bit moot - at least as far as the kitchen goes!"

She went back inside, and Whisper let herself in, daintily wiping her hooves on the floormat provided. Short Round did the same, then held the door for Obsidian. "Ma'am? Pup?"

Gypsy wiped his big feet on the mat, and went inside, looking back to wait for Siddy.

The only reason why Obsidian's jaw didn't hit the ground in a much-too-deep bow was that her actions were simply delayed a bit by the sight in front of her, and before she even got the opportunity to bow, Celestia had already moved into a different room.

So that was 'The Equestrian Terror', Sol Invicta in the horseflesh...

Obsidian wouldn't ever dream of disobeying a direct command to wipe her hooves - in fact, she would have done so anyway (as she hated messes), but this bellowed command made it OFFICIAL.

So, she wiped her hooves on the doormat and followed the others into the modest cottage home of two ancient beings of vast and unknowable power.

Author's Notes:

Gypsy's tale (tail?) isn't one of straight abandonment; his parents were very active in finding new homes for diamond dog clans, and knew they didn't have time to properly raise their child - so, they gave him to their clan. Heartless? Responsible? Only one can judge for themselves... and either way, Gypsy seems well-adjusted enough. Little doggo buddy. }:)

Celestia and Luna living together in a small retirement community out in Silver Shores; I lived in Florida for ten years myself, and we lived in a community suburb which was chock-slap FULL of retirees; I know my elders, thank you much.

Skipper, for the record, was the name of the first dog I ever met as a kid; the neighbor's beagle. When I was two, I apparently fed him soda crackers, and he loved me like he was my own. Though I haven't seen him in over 30 years, I still remember that dog fondly. Gypsy's Greatfather is my homage. *sniffle* Sorry... allergies, I swear.

Luna and Celestia portrayal incoming; let me know how I do. Encouragement is magic.

Twenty Three: Retired Alicorns Non-Pareil

The inside of the cottage was... surprisingly low-key.

There were a few simple couches, a soft-looking easy chair, a cute little coffee table, and a number of nic-nac shelves all around them. The trinkets were actually little sculptures of ponies; some were familiar (like Twilight Sparkle and her friends), while others were unknown (like a mare with a red and yellow mane in a black jacket). But each seemed to have a place there.

Celestia made her way toward the kitchen, but her progress was blocked as Luna herself showed up.

"Ugh, I still think licorice cupcakes would have been delicious!" She, too, was dotted with batter; her apron read 'Makin' Bakin'', and she also had her normally flowing mane back in a ponytail... though hers looked about to come loose.

Licorice? That actually sounded pretty good. Obsidian had no idea why Celestia would be against that idea; it looked good, it tasted good...

Frankly, Obsidian wouldn't even dare to guess that two alicorns were living in this place - it looked... normal. Probably more normal than her own house (only because - let's be honest - keeping Amy, Tourmy and a Pie in one building was a simple way to make any house... er, not normal).

They seemed to have plenty of souvenirs, keepsakes... then it occurred to her; Obsidian herself didn't have any kind of apron at all. Maybe she should get one? Her adventures in the kitchen usually ended badly, but Cupcake seemed to appreciate the enthusiasm, so maybe he'd appreiate her wearing an apron, too?

"We can try those next time, Lulu. We have guests!"

"We have guests, yes I-" Luna broke off mid-sentence. "Obsidian?"

"Oh?" Celestia turned to regard her more closely. "So this is Obsidian, is it?"

She sauntered up closer, her power feeling as if it was almost shining from her like a sun. "I've heard many things about you; you seem to be on the minds of many a pony, lately. I can see the family resemblance... but I mean that in the best of ways, my little pony."

She turned to head towards the rear of the cottage. "Let me get cleaned up a bit, then we can speak, if you wish. I'll properly introduce myself when I'm presentable enough to do so..."

Luna, however, was also more impressive up close; she was younger and sleeker than her sister, but her eyes... Sweet Darkness, they were bewitching as they looked at Obsidian. "I do hope there's not yet another sibling causing dream troubles again... is there?"

Obsidian bowed deeply in front of Luna - Celestia would have to wait until her return. "Well... eh, as a matter of fact, there... might be... an issue or two to discuss, yes," she had to admit coyly, "and good afternoon, princess; I am quite sorry for this unnanounced intrusion."

Luna gave a hefty sigh, then closed her eyes. "The last one placed me into the dreams of Pinkie Pie - and that is someplace that is... trying, at best."

Short Round looked back and forth between the two. "I... take it y'all know each other already?"

"Indeed, Short Round - this is Obsidian, one of Sombra's children, and-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know that part, Lulu," he interrupted, "but I'm startin' ta get the feelin' that me an' the missus best head back to our own home; sounds like it's gonna get deep in here, if'n ya follow m'thinkin'."

Luna looked to Obsidian. "It's up to you, Obsidian - is this a conversation better left to certain ears only?"

Obsidian looked at Short Round, at Whisper and then at Luna... she pressed her ears against her skull, embarrassed once again by another social blunder. "I... I think so, yes. I sincerely apologize, mister Short, miss Whisper... I didn't think this over very well, it seems. I didn't intend to make you feel that we didn't want to spend time with you as well... but we would be more than happy to join you at your place as soon as possible... i-if it's okay with you?"

Both Short and Whisper nodded. "S'okay - hero stuff, right? Heh, no fur off my flank; no harm done, ma'am. C'mon, hon," he looked at Whisper with a smile in his eyes, "I think we got a bit o' snugglin' t'catch up on, anyhoo."

Whisper smiled, nuzzled her stallion, then waved to them all as the two of them headed out the door. It seemed that they weren't bothered that Obsidian wanted to speak more privately with the princesses... which was good, as she'd hate to insult them accidentially. Once they were gone, Luna's gaze went straight to Siddy's eyes.

"You and I," she stated with some irritation, "must have an earnest conversation about your erstwhile siblings."

"I agree wholeheartedly," Celestia said as she rturned to the room. NOW, she looked like the princess Obsidian had been expecting; she'd left the apron and the doughspots behind, and had let her mane out. When she walked up to Obsidian, she was as regal and royal as every picture or artwork of her could ever accurately portray... and even moreso in the horseflesh.

She gave a low bow. "Lady Obsidian of the Crystal Empire, I am Celestia; a pleasure to finally meet someone whom I've heard so many grand things about."

Luna rolled her eyes. "Oh, once you hear her troubles, you'll get over that soon enough, sister."

Celestia had returned; it was bowing time. "The pleasure is all mine, princess... and please, Princess Luna, it's not my fault that my siblings are, in most cases, cruel psychopaths." She stood up. "I do apologize for bothering the two of you... however, I assure you that I had to discuss this with you personally... or at least two of the issues I'd like to bring up." She was apologizing a lot today, Obsidian noticed.

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Well then, I suppose we should get right to it while the cupcakes are baking. Lulu, you sound as if this could be something you have some experience with?"

Luna nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. She wasn't wrong when she spoke of psychotic siblings; the one I encountered was strong enough to force she and I apart within the Dreamscape, and another one was responsible for the Umbral Incident."

"Oh?" Celestia looked a bit taken aback by this, but she handled it like a Princess, and simply sat down in the easy chair; with her seated in it, it may as well have been a throne. Luna took a seat on one of the nearby comfy-looking couches.

"Please, why don't you sit," Celestia offered, "and tell us what's going on?"

If a princess commands you, then it's probably a good idea to obey... and so, Obsidian sat down on the opposing couch from them. Gypsy seemed to be rather silent, so she peeked over at him to see how he was holding up; the diamond dog was simply standing there, transfixed by the sight of BOTH Pincesses in the same place.

Luna looked at him, then cleared her throat. "Mister Diamond Dog? Are you well?"

He jumped a bit, then wrung his paws together. "I-i-i-it i-i-is a pl-p-pl-p-pl-pleasure t-t-to m-m-mee-m-mee..."

His blush was bright as he shut his mouth with a snap, then his ears drooped... but Celestia smiled. "A pleasure to meet you as well; please, join us."

Gypsy said nothing else for now, but gave a low bow before sitting next to Obsidian. She could feel his slight shaking from where she was, but he was determined not to make a fool of himself. Obsidian patted Gypsy lightly to calm him down a bit; she had completely forgotten to introduce him... so she figured that at least part of his nervousness was her fault.

Damnation... this really wasn't going the way she'd imagined it to have happened. She was supposed to be collected and cool-headed; this felt more like she was a simple filly among goddesses.

Obsidian sighed as she tried to decide where to begin. "Well, the first issue is... well... a-according to some documents from 'Pola Industrial', you personally approved an order that included a number of Dark Magic scrolls for scientific purposes, Princess Celestia. I rather assumed that it was a forgery..."

Celestia frowned... and it was as if dark stormclouds hid the sunny smile that was there mere moments ago. "Forgeries in my name? And for Dark Magic? That isn't good - and no, I would never approve of such a thing, especially in the name of science; they tend to go a bit too far, if they get even an inch with dangerous things."

Luna nodded. "Pola Industrial... you mean the company that builds the mining and lumberjacking equipment? I've seen their machinery before, and it's exemplary... a shame to find out they're not as they appear to be."

Celestia gave a wry smirk. "In Equestria, what is?" She then turned back to Obsidian. "Do you have any proof of this, or are we going by word of mouth alone?"

"I'm afraid I don't have any proof with me, no; it was found by a friend of mine from Ponyville - Mica - and if you like, I can meet with him - with his help, I should be able to bring proof as soon as possible."

She really didn't think this over, and of course it was all her fault; she should have partied less and prepared more yesterday! Obsidian felt like she was showing far too many signs of becoming lazy...

"I also have an issue with yet another sister... one who unfortunately possesses mind-controlling magic, and who apparently can intrude on the dreams of her siblings - myself included. From what I gather, apparently this is possible not through magic directly, but by familial connections between King Sombra's shards. I have come here in hopes that I might ask for some advice on these matters, your majesties."

Celestia looked thoughtful for a moment. "Mica... wait, do you possibly mean Mica Chip, Maud Pie's son? I know who he is - and he wouldn't make up stories about such a thing. And he's quite knowledgeble when it comes to research; I'd be hard-pressed to find a reason not to believe his word."

She gave a soft sigh. "I suppose I'll have to do a little research myself; Pola Industrial is a privately owned company, if I'm correct, so I'll have to look into whom owns it, then."

Luna pondered it over from the couch. "A dream connection, we can handle... but connections through your heritage might be decidely trickier. We can possibly focus on your dreams when next you sleep, but we cannot do this indefinitely; we will have to see what we can do, and perhaps witness such a phenomenon personally. We can-"

"Lulu," Celestia softly chided, "you're doing that 'we' thing again."

Luna blushed a bit, then nodded. "Er, I will have to take a look and see if there is even anything I can do in that instance."

"I am exceedingly grateful to both of you, wise princesses," Obsidian bowed once more, "and if it helps anything, 'Pola' is an anagram for 'Opal' - which happens to be the name of one of my other sisters, one with a talent for mechanical devices... and apparently a rather nasty temper, as well."

She tapped her chin in thought for a moment. "I'm a bit concerned about this 'heritage' connection, to be fair - I'd prefer to avoid being mind controlled, as much as equinely possible. Luckily, as far as I'm concerned, my dear sister Amber should be possible of only reading some of my past memories... which is rather unpleasant, but seemingly harmless. At least, harmless in comparision to direct and total mind control."

Luna frowned at her. "You would be wise not to put such an ability out of hoof so quickly; whatever she learns, Amber could most certainly use against you. - and as we know next to nothing else about your connections, I wouldn't go assuming that such a thing would be harmless."

"Lulu, wasn't there an 'Opal' back in our time in Canterlot?" Celestia asked.

"Who, Opalescence? Rarity's cat?"

Celestia chuckled. "Right - my mistake." She turned back to Obsidian. "Please continue."

"I still see it as being riskier that I might be mind-controlled into killing everypony around me," Obsidian said with a rather saddened voice, "though for the record, Mica also discovered two more places where my siblings could potentially be hiding - and we are already investigating them."

Celestia grew a troubled look. "Obsidian... exactly how many siblings do you have?"

The unicorn gave a forlorn sigh. "There are thirteen shard-children of King Sombra; I can only hope father didn't keep more of us hidden away."

At this, both Princesses groaned as one.

"Oh, that's a headache just waiting to happen," Luna exclaimed.

"Alright then," Celestia sat up in her easy chair, "are they all at large, or are there some we need not worry about? I believe... Onyx... was dealt with during the Umbral Incident; are there any others we can possibly take off the list?"

"Peridot perished two days ago... Tourmaline and Amethyst live with me... and Ruby was killed during the Umbral invasion. I know that there are three of us who are still trapped in our shard-form, and we are currently investigating three more, including Opal. That leaves one unknown... assuming, of course, that my siblings currently under investigation have been working alone."

Celestia counted silently, then nodded. "So, that would mean we have to find out what we can about... these three you're looking into. Do you have any insight, or are you flying blind as we are?"

"I'm certain she knows something," Luna offered, "as I have found Obsidian to be quite intelligent."

"There is a fashion designer in Manehattan going by the name 'Quartz' who apparently looks like one of my brothers; I found a detailed picture of most of my siblings - hang on, I should have it in my saddlebags..."

Obsidian opened her saddlebag and began to hunt for the drawing as she continued. "There were also stories going around about a few blasted trees near Mount Arris; one of my siblings was known for explosive magic, so we considered it to be at least somewhat suspect."

Celestia's eyes widened. "Just a moment... you don't possibly mean 'Smoky Quartz', the fashion designer? But he's been in Manehattan for almost a year now - are you certain it's him?"

When she looked at the picture, however, her muzzle fell. "Yes... yes, that's him, alright. I met him personally once, at a gala we were invited to a few months back. He was flashy, charismatic, maybe a touch arrogant... but I'd have hardly had him figured for a Dark Magic practicioner. Besides, he donates half of his earnings to charity - but I'd know that muzzle and that braid anywhere."

Luna looked to Gypsy. "Fair Diamond Dog, might you have any information that would aid us in any way?" Gypsy's eyes bulged, but he shook his head no; he was still rattled by the two alicorns in the room.

"Well, princess... as you know from the interactions between you and myself, not all of us are dangerous... Ruby was downright pleasant, Tourmalione has adapted quite well, and Diamond is very kind and practices Healing Magic. I hope there is a chance that brother Quartz is a completely innocent pony with only the albatross of a dark heritage," Obsidian spoke earnestly, then took on a look of worry. "But, ah... better safe than sorry, I believe the idiom goes?"

Both alicorns nodded solemnly. "If Quartz IS behind something sinister, it's better that we find out now than later, I agree," Celestia said, "but truthfully, I I hope he's innocent; ego notwithstanding, he was a very sociable and likable stallion. It would be a blow to Manehattan to find out he was up to nefarious things."

Luna pondered for a moment, then looked up at the unicorn. "Well, there is something I can do - but it would have to be your decision to put it into place, Obsidian. I can effectively cut off your connecton to the Dreamscape; you'll sleep, but it will be dreamless until we discover a way to cage Amber, and keep her from delving into your mind."

Dreamless... that would mean that Amber would be unable to do that horrible gouging thing Siddy experienced last night... but it would also cut her off from seeing Ruby, as well.

"That... I believe I would appreciate that, to be honest. Such a horrible experience," Obsidian shuddered. "It could be so much easier if she could be freed from her shard and captured... but with mind-control being fer speciality, it would be risky at best. However, I can't really seem to come up with an acceptable alternative. Even just keeping her as a shard could be potentially dangerous."

Celestia grew a thoughtful look on her muzzle. "And, might I ask where these shards are currently being kept?"

"Well... currently, that's a situation that needs a bit more investigation, princess." (Technically, it wasn't a lie.) "But I believe it shouldn't take too much more time; I'm only afraid that they could be sealed up before they even have a chance at freedom."

"Sealing them might be the answer," Luna said, "as we cannot possibly know what to expect from such an unknown threat. If only we could locate them... we would be able to handle such a situation directly."

"Mmmmm..." Celestia murmured. "Sealing them wouldn't solve the problem, only make it more difficult to deal with directly. Putting your problems in stone doesn't always end them, unfortunately."

"In stone..." Now it was Luna's turn to murmur.

"No, I don't think sealing them off would be a good-"

"Wait, what about Discord?" Luna spoke up. "I would bet that perhaps HE might be able to do something about this that we might not be able to, Cici - he's as unknowable as this situation is, and with his reformation, I'm fairly certain he would help."

Celestia eyed her sister. "You DO realize whom you're speaking of, right?"

Luna waved a dismissive hoof. "Oh, he's not the threat he once was, and you know it. Besides, if Obsidian were to go through Fluttershy to handle him, it should be no trouble at all."

Celestia frowned at her sister. "No trouble at all doesn't even sound anything LIKE Discord."

"You perhaps have a better idea?" Luna asked with a raised eyebrow. Celestia seemed to want to have a better idea... but she said nothing.

"So, um," Obsidian gingerly interrupted, "I assume this means you would support handling them in a manner that wouldn't outright imprison them forever without giving them a chance?" Obsidian dared to ask. "After all, I am rather concerned for the welfare of my siblings, and it would grieve me deeply to see them judged without even a single chance to better themselves."

Celesta smiled warmly; it was as if the sun itself was warming Obsidian. "Of course I do - everyone should be given a second chance. Especially those who are misguided or simply don't understand that there are other options. Mistakes can be made, and if one never gets the chance to learn from them, they can never grow to become better."

Luna even grinned at that. "Sunset Shimmer, sister dear?"

The white alicorn giggled. "Or Starlight Glimmer, whichever you like. But regardless, no - I do not like the idea of robbing them of the opportunity to reform. Don't worry, Obsidian. I wouldn't allow it to happen, at least as long as I have any say in such things."

That was an incredible relief - Obsidian sighed softly as she calmed herself. All of Sombra's 'children' were created and raised up as mere tools, and it would be a terrible thing to punish a victim for a crime they were subjected to. It was especially true for poor Jade, she felt.

Luna looked to Obsidian and Gypsy. "Obsidian? Diamond dog? Do either of you think that perhaps Discord might be an alternative?"

Gypsy gulped, opened his mouth, then shut it again. For an answer, he gave a small whimper.

Celestia gave a light sigh. "I'm with you."

"Thank you, princesses... and my friend's name is Gypsy Rover." She turned to face her friend. "I'm so very sorry that I didn't introduce you earlier, Gypsy..."

Yup, plenty of apologising today.

"Diamond dogs have... some history with Discord, I'm afraid; I think I could talk with Miss Fluttershy and ask him for help through her - maybe he would know what to do with Amber's mind control and..."

Obsidian sighed. "Well, there is another issue with the third shard, entirely. Another one of my brothers - Jade - was tortured by my father and cursed to be some sort of venomous monster that can kill others by merely being in their presence. He..."

She looked up with determination. "I'd like to free him as soon as possible, because his shard was put in a waterfall of acid to torture him even more, but I don't know how to handle this curse yet..." She gave a sheepish expression. "Because the fact is, er... I already found the shards; I was simply too nervous to admit so."

Luna looked a bit shocked, but Celestia's muzzle took on a grim and serious look. "Obsidian... if we're to work together to deal with the situation, you will have to be more open and honest with me; I can't make plans for circumstances and details I don't know about. Anything else you might be withholding, you'd best come clean now - because I will find it VERY difficult to trust someone who doesn't trust me in return."

Celestia settled back in her chair. "I know you might be afraid of what might happen if you reveal secrets... but I assure you, I will be as amendable as I can, and that I won't use these things against you. But you have to trust me. Otherwise, this coversation will end rather quickly."

"I'm not afraid that it would be used against me," Obsidian explained, "I was only worried that if others found out about it too soon, Prince Shining Armor or Princess Twilight would simply give the order to seal the catacombs below the Crystal Empire, leaving my poor brother tortured for all eternity. That is all I know at the moment, however. Below the Crystal Empire, three of my siblings are kept in their shard forms - Diamond, Amber and Jade. Diamond is harmless and kind, Amber is the mind-controlling one, and Jade is tormented by acid and was cursed into being a monster. I found them by accident two days ago, when I was looking for my old room after my altercation with Peridot."

Celestia and Luna both listened intently, then the white alicorn sat forward in her easy chair and nodded. "It would be just like Shining or Twilight to overreact like that; your fears aren't unfounded. So they're beneath the Crystal Palace? Hmmmm... well, I can start researching magical means to transport things safely, so that we can try to get them into a more secure location quickly."

"After which, mayhaps we could request help from them, but not before, I believe," Luna added, "and once we manage to gather them in this fashion, we could possibly see what we might be able to do to help your brother."

"... bathing in acid, for a thousand plus years..." Celestia shivered visibly at the very idea. "Yes, we need to help him - all of them - as soon as possible."

"Thank you for your understanding, princess," Obsidian replied, fully relieved that her siblings would be given a chance.
"Diamond could be freed outright, I think - his talent was Healing Magic, so I am certain he could help with Jade's dilemma. Ruby praised his skills and character greatly, and I have zero reason to distrust her. If anything, I could probably trust her more than myself."

They both stared at her for a moment. "Ruby told you this, I assume, before she died in the Umbral Incident? Or is there more to this story as well?" Luna broached.

"Oh, no - she sometimes visits my dreams! She also appeared when I put on the Light Amulet during the Umbral invasion, though it was destroyed by Onyx in her ritual, sadly..."

Obsidian thought for a moment. "... umm, considering your stares, princesses... I assume this doesn't happen too often?"

The two looked at each other. Celestia said a single word: "Violet."

Luna nodded gravely, then turned back to face Obsidian. "Violet Shye was a small filly who was very gifted with magics, but was also very ill. When she passed away, her mother began to see her in her dreams, as if she were truly there. The mother, Mild Milk, even watched her grow over time, which was seemingly just a figment..."

Celestia continued. "Until Lulu realized that it wasn't a dream. The entity known as Violet Shye had somehow transferred herself into her mother's psyche, and was still existing there. Even growing and learning, mostly from her mother."

"In time," Luna went on, "Mild Milk began to lose her sanity, because she was convinced that Violet needed to come out of her head, so that she could live again. It caused her no end of grief to be aware that her child was living within her..."

"... and eventually led to a heart attack that ended Milk's life... and Violet's, by proxy." Celestia sighed and Luna shuddered. The elder alicorn looked to her sister with sympathy. "Luna felt them both go, as Milk was dreaming at the time."

"Their screams..." Luna visibly shuddered again.

"So," Celestia went on, "it may be possible that Ruby may be alive inside you. But the important question is, is she causing you any grief? Is she hurting you in your dreams, in any fashion?"

Interesting... Obsidian was quite curious why Ruby had been visiting her dreams so often, but assumed that somehow the connection between shards was stronger in death, or perhaps that dead ponies were always able to visit their lost close ones in their dreams. "No, princess - we had a tea party, the last time she visited," Obsidian replied truthfully, "though it could explain why she could feel things happening to my body," she mused.

"That is a relief to hear... it seems as though her presence within you is beneficial, or at least symbiotic - I would NOT wish to experience that again," Luna admitted.

Celestia pondered for a moment. "You say you wish to free one of your siblings? This 'Diamond', I assume, would possibly be of help to us in dealing with whatever other, more disreputable siblings you may come across, yes?"

It was interesting news that Ruby was inside her... but more importantly, it meant Ruby wasn't dead! Obsidian's plan to bring her back had to change, apparently - she was already here! Obsidian just had to find a way to make her a new body; should be easy enough, right?

"Yes, princess - he apparently has some rather potent healing magic. I believe he could easily adapt to modern times, especially if he has as good of a liaison as I did."

Celestia nodded... but Luna looked skeptical. "After a thousand years? I believe you are underestimating how much the world has changed since then... and you had an easy time of such only because you had friends to assist you in such. It would be remiss of me to emphasize that great care would need to be taken in order to acclimate him properly; believe me, I believe both you AND I know what that can be like, Obsidian." Luna's exile to the moon had been explained to Siddy by Mica and Gypsy, as part of their attempts to 'fill her in' on Equestrian History.

"Still, it does stand that a healer would be extremely helpful... especially in light of the fact of more siblings being present. There may come a time where such a healer could save a life."

Celestia visibly seemed to ache over that for a moment; no doubt, she was thinking of a certain orange earth pony.

"Still," Luna went on, "if you feel that such is a good thing, then I would certainly say to take caution... but I approve."

"As do I," Celestia added, "and I would believe that getting the shard out of the Crystal Empire would be paramount. I have," she grinned, "something in mind to get by the border security... but first we would require a means to contain these shards."

"I asked my coltfriend to think about ways to smuggle Diamond into Ponyville; he's a Pie, so I hoped he could come up with an unorthodox, yet highly effective solution. Of course, with your help and approval, I believe we won't have to worry about that so much," Obsidian admitted. "And I only assumed he could easily adapt because I planned to introduce him to my friends. It won't be an effortless or painless adaptation, but he should hopefully be more receptive than I was when I first arrived."

Luna nodded, and Celestia stretched before she answered. "The easiest solution would be for me to teleport them out... but Twilight Sparkle activated your shard when she magically tried to lift it up; I would assume magical manipulation would be out, then. And either of our presences in the Empire would bring far too much publicity... but I DO know of a solution."

Luna looked at her sister with apprehension, but Celestia only smiled.

"I'll introduce you to them shortly, but first... I need to know if you can possibly trust someone else with this information? At least, as far as smuggling the shards out goes?"

"Princess, I was only hiding the information because I was worried that they could be sealed away forever... now, with your approval for our plans, I feel so relieved that I could even improvise a song about it and sing it in public!" Obsidian smiled... then, she realized what she'd said. "... er, metaphorically speaking, of course - I'm terrible when it comes to rhyming."

Celestia's smile widened. "Excellent. Then after I take the cupcakes from the oven - of which, you two may have some, of course - then we can take a short walk to-"

"A short walk..? Oh, Cici, NO..." Luna suddenly moaned, but Celestia's smile only widened.

"Now, Lulu... who else do YOU know who could smuggle a set of crystals out of the Empire without trouble?"

"But they ARE trouble!"

Celestia only shook her magnificent head as she went to the kitchen. "And that's what makes them perfect for this job!"

Luna got up and followed her. "Cici, I don't like them! You know what they're capable of!"

Celestia's voice came from the kitchen. "Which is why they'd not only be good at it, but they'll probably enjoy coming out of retirement for it..." Their voices became muffled as the kitchen door swung closed behind Luna.

Gypsy slowly turned to look at Obsidian. "Th-they are not as r-r-regal as this one thought they w-would be," was all he murmured.

Obsidian shrugged slightly. "That's... a good thing, I guess? The most regal pony I've ever met was my father... and you saw how that ended. You said yourself that they were parents to the nation - and it's fitting, methinks. In many ways."

Gypsy relaxed a bit, and his tail even gave a few weak thumps against Siddy's flank.

"... and that will be fine by me," Celestia said as she returned, holding a tray of fresh cupcakes in her magic.

Luna reappeared as well, her mouth full of cupcake. "Wew, I stiw don' wike id," she said before she swallowed, "but you DO have a point, I suppose."

Celestia brought the tray over to them, offering one of the baked goods. "Cupcake?"

Gypsy timidly reched out and took one, blew on it a moment, then took a bite... his eyes rolled back in his head, and he let out a sound of satisfaction that made Siddy believe he'd just had a soul-changing moment. He slowly chewed, then looked at the cupcake again... and devoured it quickly, in two snaps of his toothy maw.

He looked over at Obsidian. "C-c-cupcake must never know..."

Obsidian looked at Gypsy, at the offered cupcakes, then at Celestia. "They aren't enchanted, are they?" she asked as she took one anyway. She doubted that even an eternal princess of Equestria could make something better than her coltfriend's goodies.

Celestia wiggled her eyebrows. "I don't know..." she looked at Gypsy then, "are they?"

Gypsy licked his lips. "They ARE m-magic... though n-n-not magic magic."

The elder alicorn gave a sweet giggle. "A high compliment; thank you, Gypsy." The diamond dog smiled shyly, then nodded. Celestia again offered the tray. "Come now, don't let them get cold." Gypsy's eyes widened, and he took another, letting his long purple tongue wrap around it comically before it vanished into his mouth.

One bite couldn't hurt, right? Somewhere inside Obsidian's very core, a sigh of contented delight welled up inside her at the first taste; they were heavenly, and it was such a delicious mix of berry and chocolate that the Crystal Empire had never known, nor would ever match. It went down like a dream, and warmed her tummy as the flavor sent her off into a bliss she'd never felt from food before.

Gypsy was right; Cupcake should NEVER find out about these, or he'd spend the rest of his life trying to figure out how to make them himself.

Obsidian was purely dumbfounded for a moment. She liked being surprised with good food; after all, she had to make up for all these years where she was fed tasteless and gritty meals in the Crystal Empire.

"I live with Cupcake Sprinkles, and I had thought that no manner of food could surprise me ever again. I was wrong - very wrong. I'm even pleased that I was wrong..." It was so good that tears appeared at the corners of her eyes, out of sheer delight.

Celestia's smile was radiantly glowing. "Thank you; a thousand years of practice works wonders, hmmm?"

Luna grinned wryly. "Oh yes, dear sister... that's why I'm so very good at identifying moon rocks."

Celestia now was the blushing one. "Touche, Lulu."

Obsidian remained silent. She was savouring that taste - she really couldn't tell Cupcake about this, not in a million years - it almost felt like cheating! Besides, Celestia had a plan in mind; it was her turn to talk.

"Now," she said as she sat the tray down, "if you'll come with me, I'll take you to some... allies... who would probably love the opportunity to help the shard community."

Luna rolled her eyes and groaned, but gave a small grin anyway. Celestia headed for the door, taking her time; she was apparently in no big hurry.

Okay, Obsidian had a choice - abandon these incredible cupcakes... or abandon Celestia. A harsh and difficult decision... but eventually, with great regret, she stood up and joined Celestia in her trek outside.

She really needed only one Cupcake in her life, anyway.

"By the way, princess... do you happen to know of the name 'Radiant Hope'?" Now would be the best time to ask, she thought.

Celestia nodded. "The name is familiar to me; she was Sombra's consort and confidant... until she utterly vanished. No one ever discovered what happened to her... but I have a bad feeling what may have occurred, due to Sombra's tyrrany."

She shook her head sadly. "I met her once; she was very kind, and had a lot of hope for Sombra to 'get better'... unfortunately, it seems as though her hopes were... sadly not to be."

They walked only a short distance until they came to another cottage on the other side of the community. This one had multiple smokestacks, and numerous pipes and wires that were all over the place, and they seemed to chug along merrily as they approached a thick oak door.

Celestia knocked with a hoof. "Gentlecolts? Could I speak with you for a moment, please?"

It was silent for a moment, then:

"NO! We're busy!"
"And the last time you asked for help, we got bamboozled!"
"Hornswaggled!"
"Taken for a ride!"

Celestia lifted an eyebrow, but smiled. "Even if I offer to pay?"

It was quiet for a moment more, then the door opened wide. "Why didn't you start with that, then? Come right inside!" A voice called out. Celestia wiggled her eyebrows at Obsidian, then went in.

Gypsy whimpered a bit, and looked at his unicorn friend for some comforting words.

Author's Notes:

And so - retired alicorns at home, doing what they do, being themselves. It was my thought that, even as regal as they both can be, Celly and Lulu would have simply endeavored to become just another pair of doddering old mares, enjoying the relaxation and stress-free life of a retiree. I hope I portrayed them agreeably, and that there's evidence in there both of the 'royal' aspects of the two... and their 'granny' aspects, as well. I hope it's accurate enough for the fans.

The whole 'Violet Shye' incident was actually taken from a recurring nightmare I used to have as a kid - modified for pones, of course. I felt it would be a good aside here, and it adds a bit of worry towards Obsidian - though it seems she's taking it well enough.

And OH yes... the chapter title is a bit of foreshadowing as to the next canon guest stars coming up. I would wonder if anyone could guess... but I dropped enough hints; it should be highly obvious by now whom will make an appearance in the next chapter.

Twenty Four: Cici & Lulu

Damnation... Celestia's words meant that either Radiant Hope didn't escape to Equestria, or she did so unnoticed, without catching the attention of the kingdom's rulers. Either way, Obsidian was afraid she wouldn't learn anything new from the two ancient mares.

Well, this house appeared to be a bit of a danger to the environment. Apparently, it seemed as though the princesses had made some very interesting friends during their retirement; Obsidian hadn't slightest idea who could live in such a strange place. When Celestia offered them money and they instantly accepted, however... she became a little concerned about their apparent greed.

"Most likely, there is nothing to worry about, Gypsy. We're just planning a small heist, after all," she said as she patted the diamond dog and followed after Celestia into the abode.

Inside the house was a plethora of gadgets, gizmoes and other such machinery, pumping and grinding away all around them. In the midst of all this was a pair of what look liked twins, each with red manes and tails, both generously rife with grey streaks - and one had a mustache. However, they both wore matching grins... even though they seemed to be eyeballing Celestia with some degree of caution.

"Now, officially, we are retired, madam,"
"But we would always be willing to help out such as yourself!"
"Especially if it pays well!"
"It DOES pay well, correct?"

Celestia smiled, rolled her eyes, and nodded. "How does a thousand bits sound?"

The two's eyes lit up with money signs, and their smiles grew wider.

"Well then, my dear,"
"If THAT'S the case..."

And they spoke together: "Then you've just hired the incomparable Flim Flam Brothers!"

Celestia winked at Siddy, but Gypsy's eyes went wide, and he shuffled behind the Grey Princess.

Now why was Gypsy behaving that way? It was a typical (if somewhat unique) house... just inhabited by a pair of retired inventors. Obsidian was truly starting to regret not taking Peppermint Patty with them - she surely would have enjoyed this place, and Obsidian liked it when ponies enjoyed themselves.

Twins? Well, they did look like experts of some sort... and Princess Celestia surely knew what she was doing, didn't she? "Gypsy, whatever is wrong? Do you dislike the machines?" she tried to guess.

The diamond dog said nothing as the two inventors addressed Celestia.

"So, my matronly monarch,"
"What can the fabulous Flim Flam Brothers do for you?"

"Well," she began with a wry smirk, "we have need of two enterprising ponies such as yourselves. My friend here," she motioned to Obsidian, "needs some goods to leave the Crystal Empire without being... prematurely discovered, let's say. And of course, with such a task ahead of her, I thought of the cleverest pair of entrepeneurs I've ever known for the task."

"Oh? Such a task, yes."
"But nothing too difficult, I would hope?"

"It's fairly simple - I'll allow my associate to explain further." Celestia turned to Obsidian and motioned with a hoof.

"Ah! Well then, my dear,"
"Please illuminate us on what we'll have to accomplish,"
"As well as the dimensions of such an item,"
"So that we can assist you in making the impossible..."
"POSSIBLE!"

Did they always talk that way? Was that normal for pairs of twins? Obsidian didn't know too many twins herself, and she had a form of mental connection with her siblings... so perhaps twins were similar in this matter?

As long as I don't start doing this with Amy, everything should be fine, Obsidian thought.

"We need to transport three crystal shards from the catacombs beneath the Crystal Palace, and they cannot be touched by any actual horseflesh, nor can we invest in using magic on them. We might be able to afford for a specific one of the shards to become active, as one of the three has more potential for a good outcome than the rest - however, activating either of the other two by accident could be... rather unpleasant, let's say."

She briefly explained the sizes and dimensions of the crystal shards, as well as the additional problems in store - in this case, specifically the acid waterfall that was meant to torture Jade - as she went over what would be necessary for this to come through without any further problems.

"I am in contact with Princess Flurry Heart; she's the one who offered to help me in dealing with these crystals, so I hope she could help you, too. She's already checked which materials can survive contact with the acid, in a manner of speaking, so she has some working knowledge in this instance."

The two listened intently, then grew thoughtful looks as they pondered the problem.

"Hmmmmmm... a veritable pickle, I would say."
"Indeed, brother of mine, but one we've encountered the likes of before."
"True, my esteemed sibling, true. Perhaps the 'Aspiring Artisians'?"
"No, too much work involved. What about the 'Welfare Wiggle'?"
"Not enough time, I'm afraid... oh! Maybe the 'Travelling Traders?'"
"Hmmmm... yes, that does have quite a bit of merit!"
"Been a while, eh brother?"
"Far too long, brother dear!"

The two of them brohoofed each other, then smiled as one at the gathered visitors.

"We would be delighted to assist you, madam!"
"And the challenge makes it all the more interesting!"
"If you can put us in touch with the young princess,"
"We would be delighted to gather information on these materials,"
"And begin construction post-haste!"

Celestia smiled. "I knew I could count on you two for this!"

They laughed and grinned widely. "Nothing is impossible for the Flim Flam Brothers!" they said in unison.

Obsidian reached back into her saddlebags and began to dig for the bracelet Flurry had enchanted for her; hopefully, she was listening in.

As the brothers and Celestia began to discuss 'payment details', Gypsy leaned up and softly whispered into her ear. "Th-those two are infamous for b-b-being scam artists... this one is n-not sure how much you sh-sh-should t-trust them. They've b-been responsible for many different issues d-d-during the Mane Six's t-time, starting with the n-near takeover of Sw-Sweet Apple Acres. One would b-b-be wary of trusting them t-too far."

"Takeover? Wait, are you saying they can use Dark Magic?" Of course, the only takeover Obsidian knew of was the one which was done by her father...

"No - d-deception! Thye have a h-history with-" Yet he was cut off in mid-sentence by the brothers, both seeming to simply appear on either side of Obsidian.

"Madam! My brother and I have decided,"
"With the advice of our esteemed former princess,"
"That we will make the journey to the Empire tomorrow,"
"So that we will be prepared to deal with such a matter,"
"AND we'll have more than enough time to retool,"
"Refashion, restock and rework,"
"Our grandest invention, for use in your proposed delivery!"

Celestia looked at Obsidian. "Tomorrow, I assume, you would be able to reach the Crystal Empire to assist in their idea?"

Well, it would be nice to have masters of deception on her side. For once. "I can contact Princess Flurry Heart, personally... assuming she's able to receive my messages. Hopefully, we should have everything ready in time to help these two gentlecolts," Obsidian sighed.

Flurry will surely love that idea, Obsidian thought through the bracelet.

What idea? OH! Hey! I was wondering if you'd call! She sounded as though she were quite pleased to hear from Obsidian. So, you figure anything out on your end about the shards yet, 'cause I think I hit the motherfuckin' JACKPOT over here!

"E-excuse me for a moment, please - Flurry is available right now," Obsidian spoke up before turning her focus to her friend. It's good to hear from you, Flur; I'm currently with Princesses Celestia and Luna, and they both support the idea of giving my siblings a fair chance - and they also agreed that informing Twilight or your father wouldn't have been wise.

Well, DUUUUH, I fuckin' told you that! Still, y'wanna know what I found, huh? Do ya? DO YA!?

Of course I do, Obsidian smirked.

There was a squee of delight and excitement from the princess. Oke-dokes! So, back in the day, when your Dad tried to attack the Empire again, he left a bunch of Dark Crystals all over the place, and the magicians here had to come up with a way to dispose of 'em, before they did anything nasty... so, they developed a 'Magical Biohazard Containment Spell' that could seal 'em up without any harm - and I think it'd be fuckin' PERFECT for holding the shards with!

I just gotta get a copy of the spell - no big whoop - and cast it on each shard, right before we put 'em into sealed containers. That should not only keep 'em from getting loose prematurely, but it can also keep anyone magically-inclined from even fucking SENSING their presence! Am I a genius, or what?

Obsidian smiled - though, this time, the proper recipient of this smile was far, far away. Yes, ingenio solutus, indeed... just remember to try it out first on Diamond; even if it doesn't work, I doubt he would do anything worse than hugging someone without asking for permission first. Princess Celestia will send you some help to smuggle the shards away from the catacombs - so by working together, you shouldn't have much trouble.

Smuggling? Flurry's interest was piqued. Oh shit, this just got a LOT more cool! I've always read about smugglers and stuff, and it always seemed so intriguing and exciting! I can hardly wait to see how this shit goes down! And Aunt CELLY is in on this? WOW, Sids - you've got a LOT of fuckin' pull, girl!

The brothers and Celestia were haggling over prices and time constraints, but Gypsy still seemed quite apprehensive about it all. He tended to keep his eyes to the floor... but those ears of his kept swiveling to face whomever was speaking.

So, is she gonna come and 'port them out of the Empire and stuff? 'Cause it might be kinda hard to do if she shows up - ponies here won't give her a fuckin' minute to herself if she's here, even if it's just for a few seconds... shit, my Dad alone would probably talk her ears off!

Obsidian shook her head, even though Flurry probably couldn't see it. No, no, quite the contrary; she knows a couple of ponies that can do it for her. She doesn't want to risk using her magic, but these two gentlecolts she knows seem to be able to come up with a way to do it. As far as I understand, they can construct a machine to move the shards. Obviously they'll need help with Jade, because... well, you know, the acid and whatnot.

Wait, what two stallions? Who? Flurry's, er... voice?... sounded curious.

Er, they introduced themselves as the, ah... Flim Flam Brothers, I believe, Obsidian answered.

Wait. The Flim Flam Brothers. Are coming here. To smuggle the shards. Out of the Empire?

There was a pause, and then an actual squeal came across the magical line.

OH SHIT! FUCK YEAH! I remember some of Auntie Twilight's stories about them, and they always sounded so fucking clever and sneaky! They're practically LEGENDS when it comes to shifty shit! OHFUCKOHFUCKOHFUCK, this is gonna be SOOOOOO FUCKING COOOOOOL!

Well, if Flurry was okay with it, then everything was going to be fine. After all, she had far more experience than Obsidian herself did, and her knowledge of modern times was far more broad. I'm glad to hear you like the idea, Flurry. I can't wait to see my siblings safe... while remaining harmless. I'm sorry I can't go to the Empire myself to assist, but I hope to meet with you again as soon as possible, Flur. I just-

Whaaaat? Oh no, Sids, you've just GOTTA come! I wanna make sure things don't get all fucked up, and if you're there, then shit can't go as bad as it might if you're NOT here! Fuck, I don't have a clue as to what I'd do if one of your siblings got loose! You've gotta come, you've just GOTTA! Flur sounded almost desperate.

Er... well, perhaps if I ask Princess Celestia for advice on how to deal with Princess Twilight if she becomes suspicious, then... I guess I could come. Damnation, there was so much to do - Quartz, Opal, possibly Aquamarine as well; Obsidian should make a copy of herself... or two... perhaps even three. That way, she could be always in the right place, at the right time.

YESSSS! Good, great, awesome! I'll go ahead and get you a suite at the Crystal Inn again, in case you gotta stay overnight; with THOSE two at the helm, there's no fuckin' way to know WHAT'S gonna happen! Oh, this is gonna be so SWEEEEEET!

Celestia looked to Obsidian with a raised eyebrow. "Have you found out what we need to know yet? They can't construct anything for it without knowing what to use, after all."

"Um, I'm getting to that. Flurry seems to be quite ecstatic that the world-famous Flim Flam Brothers are going to visit. Also, she discovered a spell that was used to seal away my father's more, ah... non-sentient Dark Crystals; she thinks it could be useful, given our current situation." Flur, the brothers need to know what materials survived contact with the acid; do you happen to remember any specific stuff that didn't melt?

The twins smiled at each other as Obsidian spoke about Flurry's excitement.

"So, the princess heir to the Crystal Empire finds us exciting?"
"Interesting?"
"Incredible?"
"Astounding?"

They chuckled in synch. "Marvellous!"

Celestia only smiled, as if she were in on a joke that nobody else was getting.

SHIT! I'm a total fuckhead - tell them that Iridasteel and Calcified Corovastone doesn't take a bit of damage from the acidfall, and that of the two, the Iridasteel is the easier-to-find shit - cheaper, too. Flurry sounded confident in naming the substances, so that was a plus.

"Iridasteel and Calcified Corovastone," Obsidian said aloud to the others standing with her, "and she also says Iridasteel is easier to find and cheaper." Her thoughts returned to Flurry Heart... with a question.

Flur? Er... what exactly does 'fuckhead' mean?

Fuckhead? That means I was an idiot for not thinking about telling you... it's a word that works for telling someone they're a dumbass.

The twins grew thoughtful looks as they were told what to use.

"Hmmmm... complicated, that."
"Yes, indeed - Corovastone is QUITE expensive,"
"But Iridasteel isn't readily available around here."
"But we might be able to work around that,"
"After all, we're nothing if we aren't innovative!"

The brothers smiled at each other, and Celestia grinned. "Well, then - we'll leave you two geniuses to work things out, and I'll be in contact with you in the morning. Come on," she spoke to Obsidian and Gypsy, "let's go see if Lulu's eaten all the cupcakes yet."

Ah... so not only does 'fuckhead' mean someone is an idiot, but 'dumbass' also means the same? Thank you, Flur - I'm always glad to learn something new every day. Obsidian bowed respectfully to the brothers who had been so generous as to help her with her own sibling issues, and followed Celestia outside.

Well, she certainly didn't expect to actually have to go to the Empire straight from HERE; it seemed that this time, dealing with her brothers and sisters was going to take a considerable amount of travelling... more than anything she'd experienced thus far. "I do want to thank you for your help, princess - my debt to you and your sister grows with every passing moment."

Celestia nodded. "You're welcome. I know those two fairly well, and if bits are involved, you should be fine. And believe me, those two? They could write an entire book on how to get just about anything done for profit... in fact, they did." The alicorn chuckled. "Twice."

They headed back towards the little cottage, but Gypsy still looked apprehensive. The alicorn just shook her incredible mane. "I take it diamond dogs have no great love for those two?"

Gypsy jumped a bit, but gulped and shook his head. Celestia, however, spoke up.

"They're not too bad, what with their retirement; they pulled their last caper over a decade ago, and it was quite the fiasco for them both. They simply had to admit to themselves that they were getting too old to be travelling salesponies anymore. So, they came here, and they seem to keep to themselves mostly. We haven't had any trouble from them - in fact, there are a number of elders who find them particularly charming."

Gypsy just made a face like he'd tasted a lemon.

"Gypsy, did they perhaps try to scam the diamond dogs?" Obsidian asked, curious. She didn't know very much about the diamond dogs and their history; hopefully, it didn't make her a bad friend. After all, a good friend should at least know a little bit about the history of their friend's species, right? However, she did actually have a good excuse - with her siblings at large, she didn't have enough time to deal with everything that a good friend should do. Maybe when this was all finally dealt with...

Celestia looked back at Gypsy as well. "Yes, I'm trying to remember... what did they do?"

Gypsy cleared his throat. "D-D-Diamond D-Dogs were the ones th-they tried t-t-to sc-scam off of our l-l-la-l-la-l-land!" he said with a slight growl to his voice.

Celestia seemed to think a bit. "Oh, that's right... if I recall correctly, they almost succeeded, too - if it hadn't been for a loyal subject's keen eyes, the poor dogs would've lost their homes. I... forgot about that. I am sorry, Gypsy... I'm usually better at keeping tabs on those sorts of things."

"They have a thing for scamming others off their land, do they?" Obsidian asked, beginning to wonder if garnering their help was a good idea in the first place.

"They have a thing for scamming, period," Celestia replied. "Any way they could make a bunch of bits, they were there. Ponyville, Sweet Apple Acres, Los Pegasus... anyplace they could separate others from thier funds, you'd find that pair."

"But their final escapade landed them in water that was almost too hot for them, if you get my meaning. Then Flim's hip went out, and Flam got a bum knee... and they ended up here, after all was said and done. They were mischevous, but now they're closer to the twilight of their lives, and they mostly just enjoy being here, inventing and relaxing."

She grinned. "Though, for what it's worth, they seemed rather excited to help you."

"And that's... a good thing, right?" Obsidian asked. Hopefully they wouldn't try to scam the Crystal Ponies off of their own property; the poor things already had hard lives, thanks to her dear father and his unpleasant method of ruling.

"I'll do my best to repay you for all this, princess - a thousand bits is a lot of money, right?" Obsidian had lived in Ponyville for a bit now, but in her past life, she was more used to thinking about economics on a grander scale. She never thought she would ever have to deal with money on so personal a level.

Celestia waved an indfferent hoof. "No need to worry - I have plenty of bits; think of it as repayment for helping with the Umbral Incident. Just keep doing what you're doing, and I'll take it as paid in full."

To be fair, it sounded like that logic made sense, and Obsidian couldn't deny that she fully deserved at least a bit of recognition. After all, she did save the world. Twice.

Sure enough, when they arrived back at the cottage, Luna was munching on a cupcake with only two more left on the plate. She looked up and raised an eyebrow. "So, I take it they were amendable?" She asked her sister.

The alabaster-coated alicorn smirked knowingly. "For the right price, of course they were."

Luna rolled her eyes. "Of course they were."

Obsidian gave them a hopeful grin. "I can hardly wait to see what they come up with - they seem to be quite clever and shrewd."

Luna just sighed. "A bit TOO shrewd; make sure they don't wander off with your siblings, is all I'm advising."

"If they wander off with them, they will probably die rather quickly; I doubt they would know how to handle either Jade or Amber very effectively," Obsidian said as she echoed with a sigh of her own.

Celestia took up the tray and floated it over, offering the last two goodies to their guests. "Here - take them, before Lulu does."

Gypsy reached out and took one, staring at it with big eyes before popping it into his mouth and chewing slowly. Obsidian considered the other one carefully.

By Darkness, it should be physically impossible to make cupcakes that good; they were practically god-tier. For a moment, she could feel a severe craving... an utter lust for sweets, rising within the depths of her very soul, threatening to overpower her at any given moment, to become a writhing ball of desire for nothing more than the sweet, sweet sensation of these ambrosial confectionaries...

"I, er... thank you kindly, princess, but... I believe I'll pass. I'm not quite used to eating more than one serving of sweets at a time, I'm afraid," she said with true regret in her voice. They were so good that she would possibly commit a crime to get one - so, by her own logic, she should most likely avoid this forbidden pleasure.

Best not to be tempted onto the path of wickedry... even with chocolate.

Celestia nodded, then looked to Gypsy and motioned to him with the tray; he gladly ate the last one with puppy-like glee... though Luna looked a bit put out by missing it. When he looked up at her wearing crumbs all over his muzzle and hoodie though, she gave a small giggle behind a hoof.

At least the cupcake went to the creature that deserved it most, and everyone was happy (except for Obsidian's stomach - but come on... she really shouldn't eat sweets that made her feel as if her coltfriend was lacking in any way).

Celestia sat down gently, then looked over to Obsidian and her friend. "So, Gypsy... what do you think of the Friendship Academy?"

The diamond dog's eyes lit up. "Oh, i-it is w-w-wonderful! So m-many other b-beings, all in one p-pl-place, and so much to l-learn! This one is s-so glad he was accepted!"

The alicorn smiled, and even Luna gave a grin at that. "And you, Obsidian? How are you finding life in the modern century?"

"It's considerably more... pleasant than back in the old days, I'd say. Far more lively; my father looks better than ever. I only hope that I'll run out of villainous siblings soon, so I'll be able to enjoy the modern era without worrying about invasions, Dark Magic and similar pleasantries."

Celestia nodded. "Yes, I know a thing or two about errant siblings," she grinned at a chagrined Luna.

"Yes, well... I also know about forgiveness, as well," Luna added, making her sister blush a bit.

"I will gladly forgive their every transgression as soon as I'm sure that they don't want to destroy Equestria," Obsidian mused under her breath. "... this, er, quarrel of yours happened not too long after my father's first defeat, yes?"

The two alicorns looked at each other uneasily, but Gypsy spoke up. "Y-yes - there ws a... d-d-difficulty... between th-them, a-a-and-"

"Difficulty? Is that what we're calling it now?" Luna spoke up with a catty look, but Celestia sighed.

"Yes, my sister and I had an argument that grew worse as time passed, and she and I came to..."

"Blows, sister - we attacked each other, and YOU won, exiling me to the moon for a thousand years. It's in the past, Cici; it's okay."

Celestia nodded. "Our subjects tended to sleep at night, so Luna wasn't getting the attention she rightfully deserved."

Luna now gave a kind smile. "Yes, thank you... and sending me away was one of the hardest things she ever had to do."

"IS the hardest thing I ever had to do," Celestia kindly corrected, "and it still bothers me to this very day that I had to do it."

Luna shook her head. "I wasn't exactly in my right mind, either - you did what you thought you had to do."

So they managed to beat Discord, defeat her father - and then, somehow, their own relations came to such low levels that they started a fight. It sounded dreadful - if, after this kind of adventure, two sisters such as these could stand against each other... then maybe Obsidian should worry more about her own friendships?

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned that..." the unicorn began.

Both sisters held up hooves. "No, it's okay, really," Luna interjected, "it's in the past, and if we never really got past it, it wouldn't be a subject worth approaching... but we did, and now it's just another of Life's little lessons for us."

Celestia smiled. "Arguments aren't the end of relationships; they can prove just how strong a bond can be... even if it takes time to realize it."

Obsidian tapped her chin. Should she find something to argue about with Cupcake, then? "Gypsy, my dear friend, is there anything you'd like to ask? About history or... something?" She supressed an urge to ask another question - this time about the battle with her father. It was surely an interesting story and sadly, Obsidian didn't know very much about it.

Gypsy blinked, then nodded slowly. He stepped towards the princesses, his nervousness visible, but he still stood there, gulped, and spoke. "Th-th-this one w-w-wonders what it m-must be like t-t-to actually b-be a p-p-part o-of hist-t-tory?"

To be fair, Gypsy didn't have to ask that one - he was a part of history himself at the moment! Even when their bodies rot away and their bones turn to dust, they will be still remembered as the heroes who defeated wicked King Sombra... at least, as long as the historical facts don't get massively distorted, given time.

Celestia grinned. "Old. It's just being old, and not having any visible end in sight. That may sound depressing, but I see it as a wealth of opportunity - to learn, to change, to embrace things as understanding comes. It's a chance to really see what the world becomes as time passes... and honestly? It's amazing."

Luna shrugged. "Past Equestrian history is an interesting subject, but I'm afraid I'm not of much help there - I spent most of the time away from Equestria itself, and believe me when I state that Lunar history is exceedingly dull. But," she grinned lightly, "to have been a part of what I have been? Yes, I also find it simply amazing at how much can change, and how fast it often does."

Celestia looked at Obsidian. "Our turn."

She and Luna looked at each other, then Celestia motioned to her sister, and the pretty blue alicorn spoke up. "Tell me, Obsidian... I have heard much of your friends; please, indulge us about what you think of them now that you've become more acclimated to life within Equestria, and if you believe they are as worthy of your time as you are of theirs?"

"Ohhhhh... good one, Lulu!"

"Princess... I believe they are more worthy of my time than I am of theirs. Without them, I wouldn't have changed after I was captured. They are my friends, my teachers, my guardians... and I can only hope that I'm a good enough friend to make up for their toil. I still have some problems with understanding the complexity of abstract ideas such as friendship or love, but... I think I can safely say that I honestly love them." She thought for a moment. "... and then there is Cupcake, who is in an altogether different category, of course."

Gypsy blushed a bit at Obsidian's words, and Luna nodded. "I am glad to hear such; since our..." she glanced at the diamond dog, "... journey together when we first met, I have been curious to see if you paid heed to my advice. And it seems you have, at least somewhat - and that pleases me greatly."

Celestia, however, looked interested. "I hear you saying words such as 'captured', and I wonder... do you still believe the Crystal Empire to be your home, or are you more likely to ever accept Equestria?"

Obsidian couldn't help herself but shrug slightly. "Technically it's the correct term, and it doesn't have anything to do with my preferences for the Empire or Equestria. However, I do like living in Equestria; I feel good here and I certainly enjoy my house, but I feel a bit nostalgic from time to time. I'm curious about the place where I was crafted, and I sometimes miss how much more simple the old days were... even if I now know that it was hardly a good life."

Celestia nodded, but Luna was smiling. "Did I hear you correctly? About Cupcake Sprinkles? A different category, you say?"

"Now, Lulu," the older sister gently chided, "it's her turn, isn't it?"

Luna gave a slight chuckle. "Fair enough... count that as my next question when my turn comes again, then."

"Well, the two of us are a pair, princess - we live together and everything," Obsidian immediately sated her curiosity. "However... do you know, perchance, what turned my father into... well, into what he became? I hoped I could possibly, sooner or later, find something in his writings that pertained to it, but I never found time to ask Princess Twilight for permission to see them..."

The two princesses looked at each other with a grim glance, then together they sighed, and Celestia addressed her. "We have no evidence to prove the theory, but... I believe it was around the same time that Radiant Hope disappeared. It's my opinion that her departure pushed your father to become... well, villianous."

"He did truly care for her - as a friend, a confidant, and possibly even more," Luna continued, "but as to where she went and why she simply vanished off the face of Equus is beyond even alicorns like ourselves to know."

Celestia nodded. "There have been some investigations, but nothing has turned up about her that we know of... unless you've gotten more information on the subject than we do?"

Luna nodded. "Yes, have you? Radiant Hope was a good mare; I hold hopes that her ending was more of a pleasant one than... well, than the one that a stallion like your father might have had in stock for her."

"You said Twilight Sparkle has his writings?" Celestia asked.

He turned villainous around the same time she dissapeared? "She was saying something about that, yes. As far as I remember, Professor Fluttershy also read them... or at least overheard some details from Princess Twilight," which felt like it was ages ago, "and Radiant Hope is the closest thing to a mother that we have. According to my brother Diamond, she helped father create us - split his soul. And from what I gather, something went wrong... but he didn't get into details. Yet. I hope to discuss the subject with him after releasing him from his shard."

"Well, all the same, you might be better off if you made certain you had someone to protect you there when he is released... perhaps Stalwart Stance? Maybe even Thunderclap Dash?" Luna was a bit worried about such a thing, but her sister just smiled.

"Maybe he truly does know something; if you find out, might we hear about it as well? As for Twilight Sparkle, I'll have a chat with her, and see if your father's writings would be made available to you."

Luna gave a serious look. "I would advise you to take caution; remember, what is learned cannot easily be unlearned."

"I'm not afraid of knowledge, princess - at worst, I'm afraid of what I might do with it... but I'm hopeful that I've already become moral enough to refrain from trying to conquer world or such," Obsidian solemnly promised. "And... is it Gypsy's turn now? Your turn, possibly?"

Gypsy started to try to say something, but his tongue kept tripping up too hard at first. He sighed, shut his eyes, and tried again. "W-w-w-would you ever p-p-possib-b-bly wr-wr-write a b-book ab-bout your exp-p-periences? Or a s-s-sc-scr-scroll c-c-collection?"

Celestia pondered for a moment before speaking. "I'm not certain there would be enough scroll paper to capture everything... but maybe a book would tell enough."

Luna, however, laughed. "As for myself, I don't think 'A Millenium of Moon Rocks' would be a bestseller, for some reason."

"The idea of living on the Moon sounds interesting, though. Could the local soil be used for farming? Did you have any troubles with breathing? I wonder if there are any resources below the crust..." Obsidian mused.

Luna gave a small smile. "Well, this is rare; questions about the Moon itself? As best I recall, the soil is dead and dreary, and is more dust than actual soil - just a LOT of it. And I seemed to be able to breathe perfectly fine... though it has plagued me, on occasion, that I cannot understand why."

She then gave a shrug. "As for what is under all that dust and rock? I suppose I only knew about the craters I made, and those showed me nothing more than more dust and rocks. I did make a number of attempts to do something to alleviate my anger and boredom... however, it was fruitless."

Now Celestia looked a bit sad. "Luna, I'm-"

"Oh, stop it!" She grinned at her sister. "I told you - that's in the past!"

Oh well; no point in settling the Moon, it seemed... or perhaps the idea just needed more research. "I apologize; I ruined the order, and I asked one question too many. Your turn, princesses..."

Celestia and Luna both giggled. "No need to be so formal, Siddy," the white alicorn smiled, "we did retire from ruling status, so technically, we're all the same here."

"Even your adorable friend," Luna added. Gypsy's blush was evident, and he gave a sheepish grin at Luna's compliment. "But yes, my question earlier? You and Cupcake make an... interesting pair, no doubt. Tell me, what is it like living with him?"

"Ummm... I suppose the easiest answer would be 'completely different from living with my father'. It's as if I have almost no responsibilites, at least compared to my old life - but plenty of affection. He cares about me, I care about him, and I simply feel good in his presence. He's just... warm. Not just physically, but I mean it metaphorically as well; no hunger, no sadness, no grand scolding for minor mistakes... really, it's like... living in paradise. I'm glad I scored him," she added with a smile.

Now both princesses gave her shocked expressions, and Gypsy simply looked confused. "Ob-b-bsidian... do you kn-know what th-th-that terminology m-means?"

Huh - what a strange reaction. "Um... that we're a pair, right? D-did I say something wrong?"

Celestia looked stunned, and Gypsy was still a bit confused... but Luna let out a peal of laughter. "Oh, I believe I understand now!" she said, "and yes, I believe you truly scored in finding such a kind stallion who loves you as much as you apparently love him."

Celestia looked to the dark alicorn, but Luna just smiled at her. "I shall explain it later, dear sister - I have discovered modern slang to be fascinating, so I am able to understand what she is saying... unlike a certain stick-in-the-mud I know."

Celestia gave a humph. "I've always thought slang was uneccesary and somewhat silly... though I do like a few phrases. Lulu, is the term '23 Skiddoo' still common parlance? I liked the sound of that one..."

Luna stifled a laugh. "Oh, sister... older, yet not always wiser."

They both chuckled at that, while Gypsy sat down next to Obsidian again, giving her a look as if he was trying to figure her out. But now, Obsidian was getting a bit worried. She stepped carefully closer to Gypsy. "No, really - did I say something wrong? You know that I'm sometimes rather bad with slang and idioms," she whispered.

Gypsy leaned closer. "Th-this one b-believes your w-w-w-words were t-taken as... w-well, remember w-what this o-o-one taught y-you on the t-tr-t-tr-train? T-t-to say you h-have sc-sc-scored i-is to say y-you have d-d-d-done... th-that. The t-t-t-term is d-difficult to use s-s-s-somet-times."

"We can hear you, you know," Celesta fixed a humorous look on Obsidian and Gypsy. "and questions would be far better asked aloud than at a whisper."

"Oh. Oh. Oooooh..." The first one was for the realization of what 'scored' truly meant... the second was for the realization that she'd said it aloud... and the third was for Celestia saying that she heard them anyway. "... I believe I used the wrong term, then."

She was quite puzzled, though - perhaps Cupcake didn't know what it meant as well?

Celesta waved her concern away. "Don't worry about it - I believe we smply mistook your phrase for... well, something else."

Luna eyed her sister skeptically. "Yes... sex, Cici - you can say it, you know. Even if you have never experienced it."

Now the older alicorn was blushing brightly, and Luna looked as though she were amused by her sister's discomfort. The dark alicorn turned back to look at Obsidian. "Since the subject has been broached, may I inquire as to whether or not you and Cupcake have had sex yet?"

"LUNA!" Celestia gasped, "That is not a proper question!"

Luna simply shrugged in response. "Mere curiosity, mostly - and no, you have no need to answer that question, if you feel as strongly as Cici the Virgin does." Celestia grumped at Luna, and Luna smiled at Celestia.

"No- I mean, yes- I mean... yes, you can inquire, and no, we haven't." Obsidian, with her issues pertaining to social interactions (courtesy of her father and his rather extreme and strange methods of upbringing), wasn't as embarrassed about it as any other mare her age would be... though Celestia's reactions were somewhat strange. She still had a bit to learn about social norms.

Luna nodded. "As I suspected; your love is still young, and there is much time to experience such things. I will tell you that it is a... unique sensation, and quite pleasant if done with a gentle and devoted lover."

Celestia blushed hotly. "Luna... I truly do not want to hear about your... your... escapades!"

Luna laughed. "Oh? And I have to listen to you speak about the many, many things that Canterlot depended on you for, each day... so, with myself being subjected to your boring conversations, I believe I should have the right to speak about..."

She leaned forward with a mischevious smirk. "Sssssseeeeeeexxxxxx..."

Celestia stared back at Luna, blushing a bit. "Lulu - it's a subject that is taboo to speak of! Would you presume to tell her how foals are made, as well?"

Gypsy raised a paw. "Th-th-this one a-already d-d-did tha-"

Luna laughed grandly. "And how much authority DO you hold over me now?"

Celestia looked insulted, but Luna looked like she was going to burst into giggles at any moment. Gypsy just looked concerned, and slid a bit closer to Obsidian... who was starting to suspect she should rather talk about the subject with Cupcake. Or perhaps with his mom; after all she was, well... a mother. She surely knew what to do, when to do it, and so on, and so forth. "Gypsy... what have I done?"

Gypsy sighed, then slowly stood up. "Th-that is en-n-nough! This o-one thinks you t-t-two need t-to calm down, b-b-before anyth-thing b-b-b-bad happens."

The two alicorns looked at him in a bit of shock. "But, this is how we are with each other," Luna said.

"Yes, we're not going to fight over this... simply argue a bit that's all." Celestia added.

Gypsy was shaking with fear, yet stayed standing. "It is unp-p-p-p-pleasant t-t-t-to witness th-this, and we would b-b-both ask th-that you p-pl-p-pl-please s-s-stop."

Luna and Celestia looked at each other... and smiled softly. "Of all ponies, Obsidian, I'm certain you should understand at least a bit, don't you? You've been living with your own siblings, and have experienced at least a fraction of what that's like, yes?" Luna offered.

Obsidian stood up as well to try to calm Gypsy down... with a hug; she didn't have any better ideas. "To be fair, princess, I think that of all ponies, I'm the last one who should be asked about relationships between siblings," Obsidian admitted.

Luna shook her head and chuckled. "Perhaps we would be better to speak of such things privately in the future, yes?"

"Perhaps, princess - I'm not sure. Eh... probably? As far as I have come to understand with families, ponies ask their parents about things they don't understand, but... I do not believe that would be an option in this case." Though un-stoning King Sombra, just to ask him about 'sex', might have been entertaining.

Luna stood up, came to Gypsy, and embraced him as well. Obsidian felt the diamond dog go stiff, but Luna spoke softly into his ear. "My apologies to you, Gypsy - we did not mean to discomfort anyone, especially our guests."

The diamond dog now seemed to be transfixed on the dark alicorn, and he went from stock still and solid to a bit leaning and soft. Obsidian could see him blush even brighter at being embraced by an alicorn. Celestia then rose and joined the group hug. "Yes, loyal diamond dog; please forgive us. We've gotten used to each other... but we apparently have forgotten that not everypo-... I mean, everyone can appreciate or understand such. I am truly sorry."

"Sorry Gypsy - I had no idea this conversation would discomfort you."

Gypsy just nodded; his eyes were on the dark alicorn who was hugging him. Celestia stepped back and sat down again, and Luna soon followed suit.

Gypsy just stood there for a moment, then slowly took his seat next to Obsidian. "N-n-no, it's ok-k-kay. Th-this one j-j-just thought... h-he should s-s-say something t-to stop the f-f-f-fight."

Celestia sighed. "You're right, Lulu - he is adorable." Gypsy's blush threatened to claim his entire body, and he now began to fidget with his paws, looking down at them.

"And so, to be fair," Luna said, "maybe we should ask YOU questions, kind sir?"

Obsidian wondered briefly if Gypsy made any origami for princesses before. She'd suggested it yesterday, right? It wasn't manipulation; she just thought he would enjoy making something for them, and they would enjoy getting small, folded gifts.
It will be wonderful to interact with these friends without anything threatening the whole world, so Obsidian wouldn't have to worry about this kind of thing, and just enjoy learning more about friendship...

Oh dear... what if they were embarassing him a bit much? What if he'd become upset that Obsidian had brought him with her?

Gypsy looked back and forth between the two alicorns, and nodded his head lightly. "I-i-if you w-w-w-wish, y-y-your majesties..."

"Remember," Luna said with a kind grin, "we're not royalty anymore - you can simply call us by our names."

Gypsy slid his big paws into his hoodie pocket... then his muzzle lit up, and he pulled out his paws, balled up. "Th-this one h-h-has something f-f-for you as w-well. H-here," he held out the paws and opened them, "f-f-for you."

On each paw pad sat an alicorn; each one was colored to match the two, and their cutie marks were drawn on carefully. Both mares looked quite impressed.

"Gypsy, that is excellent origami! I have always been a touch jealous that I don't have such things as fingers as you do; this is only further proof that diamond dogs are capable of great things." Celestia praised him, and Gypsy actually gave a tiny smile.

"Adorable and artistic? I daresay that he keeps growing more interesting by the moment," Luna added.

Then again, considering the amount of praise he was currently getting, he might be somewhat satisfied with this visit, after all. Princess Luna particularly seemed to be interested in Obsidian's pup friend and his arts. "And he's a scholar, too. None of my friends knows history as well as he does," she added. "Gypsy is a pon-... er, a diamond dog of many merits."

He blushed at Obsidian's compliment, and smiled when she mentioned his favorite subject.

"History?" Celestia now raised an eyebrow, and gave Gypsy a bit of a grin. "Indeed? Well, then perhaps a test of sorts, just to see HOW well he knows his stuff?"

The diamond dog's tail began to wag softly. "O-only if y-y-you w-wish."

Celestia now sat forward in her chair. "Who was it that discovered Mount Arris for the ponies of Equestria?"

Gypsy answered promptly. "Tart Pickle, during a r-run to deliver a caravan of g-goods to the town of Foalanoke, which n-no longer exists."

The alicorn smiled. "Good! And where did the Battle of Bastion Bulwark take place?"

Gypsy's eyes were now focused on Celestia. "In the valley of Buffalo Ridge, on what i-is now the site of the town of Appleloosa."

She focused back on him. "The Great Cherry Shortage?"

"Manehattan, during the reign of the classic g-gangster Al Cap Pone."

"First crossing of Ghastly Gorge?"

"531 years ago - by YOU."

"Pick's Pride?"

"Guitar Pick, 872 years ago, caused the flooding of the Mason Basin, now known as Manehattan."

"The return of Discord?"

"Caused b-by the Cutie Mark Crusaders, 35 years ago - and reformed by Professor Fluttersh-shy."

Celestia sat back and clapped her hooves merrily. "Oh, he's brilliant! Very good, Gypsy!"

The diamond dog smiled broadly for the first time since entering the cottage, and he even gave a bow. "This one th-thanks you. That was f-f-fun!"

Luna, smiling while rolling her eyes, turned to Obsidian. "So, what are your plans from here, if I may ask?"

Obsidian smiled slightly; she herself could have answered roughly half of the questions - she still had a lot to learn about modern history. She was really doing her best - all the time - no matter how much it cost! Though, to be fair... it was rather exhausting sometimes.

"Go to the Crystal Empire... move my siblings somewhere safe... release Diamond as soon as I'm able to come up with an explanation as to why there's another brother of mine walking around freely... then check on Pola industries and the oddly damaged trees near Mount Arris... then I'll focus on releasing brother Jade without harming him or anypony around." There was something else... it felt like there was always something else...

"I hope that Quartz really just wants to live a normal life, and that for once, I'll have a family reunion that won't end in battle. Then I would only have to deal with Amber, because I sincerely don't want her mind controlling anypony. And then, a nice, long vacation."

Luna gave a smirk. "Sounds like you have your work cut out for you; honestly, should you need my assistance again, do not hesitate to call for me. As it is, I shall be blocking your dreams as you've requested, until you're certain that Amber will no longer invade them."

Celestia and Gypsy were now engaged in their own chat, so Luna turned her attention to Obsidian fully. "May I ask why you feel you would need an explanation of why Diamond would be present? Would the truth not be acceptable, that he was found?"

"Well, if word got out, Princess Twilight could find out about Jade and Amber, and I... I'm still a bit worried she could simply lock them away. In both cases, it could end badly with Amber trying to read the minds of our other siblings, and with Jade's constant torment..."

Obsidian thought for a moment. "I can only hope that Amber won't invade the dreams of Amethyst or Tourmaline. I really should focus on learning more about mind controlling magic as soon as possible," she muttered with a slightly frustrated tone. Come on, her father surely didn't need that many children! Now, poor Obsidian had to suffer again and again because he wouldn't stop crafting new fillies and colts...

Luna grew a thoughtful look for a moment, then nodded to herself. "If you wish, I can act as their guardian; my presence will relieve Twilight Sparkle of her fears, and you and I can discuss how to approach assisting your sibling Jade... after all, I believe I know a bit about redemption," she grinned.

Did she have the right to bother Princess Luna with this? "It could seriously interrupt your retirement, princess... but I would appreciate the help. The various problems with my siblings are sometimes a bit... overwhelming," she admitted hesistantly. It wasn't as if she didn't care for her siblings - she did - she would simply prefer to care for them from a safe distance, and without the constant threat of another apocalyptic event hanging over her head.

Luna waved a hoof. "Nonsense - it would help alleviate a bit of the boredom. Plus, I'm giving you permission to tell Twilight that I am involved; whether or not I actually am is another matter." She tossed a wink at Obsidian.

"Jade is fully convinced that he is a monster, completely undeserving of anything good in life. Even if I do manage to lift his curse, I would have to look for the help of somepony more experienced than I to help lift his spirits; I believe it would be far too difficult for me to do alone. I doubt I could significantly help his trauma with a few hugs."

Obsidian wasn't sure what Luna exactly wanted to say with this 'actual involvement' she'd spoken of... but she assumed the alicorn knew what she was talking about. By Darkness, Jade was really going to require a lot of help; perhaps Obsidian's past life may have terrified most of her friends, but compared to him... she was outright spoiled.

"Hmmmmm... and yet, you claim you've spoken to him within your dreams?" Luna pondered this a moment. "Mayhaps I can visit him through the DreamScape, and speak to him directly, so that I may be able to discover a way to help him... or at least to help you. Pain and misery are no strangers to me, and I may be able to reach him where you have been unable to. However, I make no promises - all I can do is try."

"I... I would appreciate your assistance, princess. Jade's fate..." she shook her head, "honestly, turning my father into a statue was too good for him," Obsidian finished angrily. Such a cruel and wasteful creature he was - brilliant, yes... but his daughter's respect for him was dwindling more and more with each atrocity she discovered.

Gypsy now brought out more paper, and Celestia began to speak to him about different kinds of animals while Gypsy's gifted paws went to work. "And you say this 'Diamond' will be harmless? Are you certain?" Luna inquired.

"About Diamond, to be honest... no, I'm not. Though Ruby speaks quite highly of him, but I can't help but worry about a kind pony who somehow managed to stay that way under my father's rule. If anything, I'm slightly worried he might decide to be 'kind' and try to heal our father from his stone state."

Luna nodded. "Then I would say that it would be important for you to get to know Diamond as quickly as possible, to ascertain if he would do such a thing without permission or not. Kindness is an Element of Harmony, but it does sometimes come with a price that may not be suitable - or feasible - to pay."

"As for Jade... I will take my time with him, and will use caution to make certain this is no trap. But you have my word that I shall try; I know all too well what it means to see thyself as a monster, and I would be a poor example indeed if I were to merely give up on such a case."

Gypsy presented Celestia with an origami sea serpent, and Celestia clapped her hooves.

"You have quite the work ahead of you, do you not?" Luna asked with a smirk.

Luna may have been taking it somewhat lightly, but Obsidian actually was considerably less pleased with the amount of work she had ahead of her. "Oh, yes... I will be a very busy mare for quite some time," Obsidian rubbed her temple with a hoof.

School would have to wait, work would have to wait, any sort of social life she might have would have to wait... and though she regretted it, there was a certain pony that had once taught her that the needs of a single pony should be sacrificed for the needs of the many.

Of course, said pony had since been turned into stone, and he'd hardly been living by the virtues he had tried to instill into his precious tools, made only to act as placeholders for a new body. But still...

"Did Princess Twilight ever feel that the tasks on her shoulders were too big for her to carry? Did you, perhaps?" She was worried - was she becoming lazy? Or perhaps she was simply too weak too handle it all? "I really hope we get to meet one day without me begging for help with yet another dangerous problem, princess."

Luna smiled knowingly. "Twilight Sparkle, for a while after her transformation, seemed to feel that EVERY task she had to undertake was too big for her to handle; she used to panic quite often, and had a very nervous thought process that would always seem to put her in the worst possible state of mind. Thankfully, she overcame that mentality, and grew to be quite the fair and confident princess you see today."

"As for myself, well... I had always been told I would rule, and so I got over most of my panic as a filly. Most of it. But there have been times I have been stuck in a proverbial rut, and had to get assistance to make my way through it." She smiled kindly. "It is okay to ask for help when you need it, Obsidian; it's learning to realize when its' needed that's the tricky part."

Obsidian sighed deeply - 'when it's needed,' eh?

"Then I feel completely justified in asking for help with Pola Industrial and Jade," she said as she actually managed to crack a slight smile. Small steps; three siblings here, three siblings there, and each one with their own diffculties and idiosyncrasies to deal with, for better or for worse.

And first things first.

"I will do my best to repay for your help, princess... and I really do hope to meet under better circumstances, someday; it would be a shame if the only time I ever end up walking around Ponyville is when one of my siblings runs amok." Besides, she didn't want the princesses to think that she was leeching off their goodwill.

Luna actually gave a slight chuckle. "You know, there are a number of similarities between yourself and Twilight... including your gratefulness. And you're always welcome to call for me in your dreams, as I cannot help but hear - which, believe me, is not quite as handy as it would appear to be."

Similarities? Truly? Hmmm... well to be fair, Obsidian couldn't help but notice a few: Saving the world. Unicorns using plenty of magic. A noticible library fetish. However, Twilight's parents appeared to have a bit more concern with quality over quantity - at least when it came to children.

"Hopefully, that means I should get wings too; I could most certainly appreciate that additional similarity," Obsidian said with a small chuckle at the idea.

The indigo alicorn thought for a moment. "Pola Industrial might be a situation you should slide into with careful caution, as I am unsure if this Opal will even be a threat; mayhaps you should not reveal your true nature to her until you know for certain she will be a problem?"

"Opal... well, considering she's participated in forgery of a royal signature AND gotten her hooves on some Dark Magic scrolls... I would say I'm a tad concerned about it, yes. Even if it didn't mean any grave danger to Equestria, somepony has commited a crime, regardless. But I believe I agree with you about not revealing my nature immediately..."

She thought for a moment, considering what she could possibly be instead of herself. "Oh, I know - I can pretend to be somepony completely normal; it would be the very LAST thing anyone would ever expect of me! But really, I'm sure I can come up with something..."

Maybe Eloquence could help her? With his (and possibly his mother's) help, she could pass as a lesser noble or something like that, stopping in for a visit and wanting to see the spectacle of proud progress, and perhaps check the place out, thinking about some rather generous noble investements into the industry...

Then again, maybe not; she wasn't sure she could act so insufferably stuffy for so long. Maybe she could just go and apply for a common job there? Perhaps her friends would have some better ideas...

Luna nodded. "I happen to know that there is a changeling who frequents the Friendship Academy who might be able to help you come up with a proper disguise. He tends to get around a good bit, and he has yet to be found out - unless he wishes to reveal himself, that is. His name is Markannus, and he has a different identity in every town he goes to; he's the Thursday Night Bingo Caller, here."

Obsidian facehoofed - a bit harder than she wanted to, practically slapping herself. "But of course! I didn't think about the most obvious solution! I had no idea that he had so many secret identities, though... but I suppose it makes sense. I'll have to remember to talk to him; maybe he could come along with Cup's sister Patty, and we could go en masse to meet Opal for ourselves... and hope that she currenly manufacturing weapons, armies of artificial murder-ponies or anything else that looks like it was taken straight out of the Science Fiction section of the library."

As Luna nodded in agreement, Celestia smiled and leaned in towards her sister. The white alicorn once again had a crown gracing her brow... but it was made of carefully folded origami. She went eye to eye with Luna.

"I am the Queeeeeeen..." Celestia said with a smirk, "of Paaaaaaaay-perrrrrrrr!"

Obsidian smiled slightly at the ancient, living-fossil of a princess. She was so different from her own father... and he'd spent thousands of years imprisoned, was apparently dead for a few years, and then eventually got ressurrected just to be turned into a statue... while Celestia, during her entire, broad lifetime had built, then co-ruled, then solo-ruled a prospering nation which still stood today. It spoke volumes about the preferred style of rule in this magical land.

"Cici, good grief, you sound ridiculous," Luna chided, yet giggled at her sister's antics. If only Amy would do some silly things like that; but noooooooo, she had to be all murder-facey. Sometimes, Life just wasn't fair.

Gypsy made his way back over to Obsidian's side... but now, he had a firm wag to his tail, and didn't seem nervous at all.

"This one m-m-made the crown," he told Siddy with a smile. It was obvious who had made it, but he was so pleased, it would have been a shame to rain on his proverbial parade, and especially after just getting over his nervousness around the alicorn sisters.

Markannus... Opal... Peppermint Patty... damnation, after all of this, Obsidian knew she would most certainly have earned - and needed - a proper vacation. Maybe more than one.

"It's a grand crown, Gypsy. Do you possibly have enough material for another one?" Obsidian was now interested to see if he did; after all, Luna deserved one too.

He smiled and pulled out some dark blue paper; Luna gasped with delight.

[Roughly An Hour Later]

Celestia and Luna, resplendent in their new crowns, waved as the two friends headed back down the path, toward the central building where Obsidian could hear what sounded like numbers being called out at random.

"... a-and she knows so m-much about history, because she p-pr-practically lived it!" Gypsy's talk was now quite animated, as he had been quite a hit with the two alicorn sisters; Obsidian herself seemed to have done well by them too, regardless of all the apologies she'd had to make. The talk with them had most definitely been eye-opening, that much was certain.

"Now that we h-have some idea of wh-wh-what can be done, this one w-wonders what the plan is from h-here?" Gypsy asked Obsidian, his tail still wagging from their visit with living, breathing history.

Author's Notes:

The part where Gypsy does his origami thing for the ex-princesses has to be one of the cutest & gushiest pictures in my mind from this whole storyline; he entered the scene with worry and doubt, but came out of it talking as if he'd had the time of his life. Situations like that DO happen in Real Life - and when they do, treasure those moments.

And yes... according to my headcanon with this story, Celestia is a virgin, while Luna... seems to know more than she lets on. Y'all can take that up amongst each other; those details won't be in THIS story, though - sorry if that disappoints.

And so, the other half of the conversation with Cici and Lulu presents itself; I hope it all felt character-appropriate, and I also hope Gypsy's turnaround was as cute to you as it was to me. (I'm assuming Wungi liked it; he doesn't gush about this stuff like I do, but he hasn't complained about it, so that's a good sign.)

Twenty Five: Senior Moments

The visit with the princesses had went well - better than she could have hoped for, even with all her social blunders. Obsidian hoped she'd be able to meet with them more often, in far more pleasant circumstances; perhaps next time, she wouldn't have to feel like she was leeching off their power shamelessly. They surely hadn't retired to waste their time on an old enemy's spawns.

"We... should probably go and meet with the ponies who invited us here in the first place," Obsidian suggested, "and find a place to stay for the night, as riding here from Ponyville takes quite a bit of time. And perhaps we should send a message back home to let them know things went well? There is a post office or something like that around here, I would assume?" Hopefully there would at least be messenger pigeons or something of the sort...

"A P-P-Pony Express, this one believes," Gypsy said as he pointed towards the building itself, where the familiar pegasus-in-flight logo was printed on a small sign in one of the front windows.

Obsidian tapped her chin. "Express? Well, hopefully it'll reach Ponyville before our return - otherwise there's little point in it... but let's check it out, to be sure."

The front hall of the central building was actually quite large; it looked more like an exhibit hall than a senior's center, with banners, framed photos and displays in glass cases all around the walls. There was quite a bit of history here, it seemed...

And Gypsy was lost to her as he stared, his eyes practically bulging from their sockets as he stared all around the hall, transfixed in place by the sheer amount of history that resided in this place. Slowly, he began with a single footstep, then another, and another as he seemed almost hypnotized by the displays.

"Yazzum?" came a voice from the direction of the front desk. All Obsidian could see was the pipe-like shape of a top hat, peeking just slightly enough to notice.

Now, what could this word mean? It didn't resemble any word Obsidian knew; was it just hideously changed by some kind of strange accent? Perhaps it was just a foreign word...

"We're looking for Mister Short Round and Miss Whisper Winds. I assume they are playing the bingo," she replied carefully, despite not quite understanding the question.

The top hat bobbed a bit, though Obsidian couldn't make out the polarity of the response, as the hat seemed to bobble at it's own accord.

"Datchadoo jezzrite dere," came from below the desktop, and then out stepped what had to be the oldest physical specimen of ponyhood she'd ever seen in her lifetime. He was almost a walking wrinkle, as there wasn't an inch of him that wasn't warped with age, liver-spotted, white-fuzz frosted... every possible sign of age was on display in this pony who looked as though a solid sneeze might kill him. His eyes seemed squeezed shut, but he looked up at her and tilted his head to the left as he spoke again, saying who knew what.

"Demmre in dayah, shor'bee shootun! Mightchoo bedat whaaan deze taggaboud whus deys dunmett in Poneveeule?"

... what?

"I'm, er... terribly sorry, I didn't quite understand you..." Not a single word, nope. At this point, she was going to need a translator. He said... something... about Ponyville, but her language skills ended at that point.

He gave a snort, then came around the desk and looked her up and down, scrutinizing every inch of her closely. After a bit of this, somewhat making a show of looking her over, he stepped back around, cleared his throat, and tried again.

"Choo don loooook domb, anneye KNO'D choo ayno thredda ME, bud choo sowf an lawng, anmee? Hi lyeksdat, uh-HONH! So, we seeziff wheekan finda weyda commun'caydt!"

"Wh-what?" came from back towards the displays, and Gypsy's ears perked up as he looked around the corner. "D-did he say he w-w-wanted to communicate?"

It was a bit more understandable, but she still was guessing at every one in two words.

"Perhaps writing?" she asked as she desperately tried to guess on a way to understand him. Okay, 'choo' meant 'you', right? Or perhaps it was a more ancient dialect of the imperial language? It would be somewhat ironic to use this language in the middle of Equestria, though.

He seemed to look at her for a moment (his eyes hadn't been visibly open even once this entire time), then he slowly sighed and grew a bit of an irritated look on his muzzle.

"Haicann ceedat wheegon' havvusah heccuva probbum ifweeze gahwnna havvus a cheet-chyat."

"No, sir... n-no problems, here," Gypsy spoke up, now walking over. "Th-this one can underst-stand you."

The elderly stallion looked at the diamond dog and lifted an eyebrow. "Fo'reew? Duhwuun widda studdah idda wuunwidda eerfur it?"

Gypsy jumped a bit. "H-h-hey..."

He held up a hoof. "Funnin'zawl, dawggay; donmeenno harum byyut. An'howe, choo gitzma langoh, dayen?"

He nodded, then shrugged. "This one a-a-asks that you not m-make fun of such a th-thing again, p-pl-p-please. But y-yes, this one g-gets your lingo, s-sir."

"Gypsy, please help me - I understand almost half of the words at the best..." By Darkness, how was Gypsy able to make out anything from this garbled and mangled manner of speech?

The diamond dog looked and at her, then nodded. "Of c-c-course, friend; he a-asked if I could underst-stand him, and that m-means he can understand us."

The elder pony nodded. "HeeYUP, dazzit rydare! So, howkeen ahz hewpyooz?"

"He s-says that was it, r-right there, and asks how he c-c-can help us."

"I'm, uh, looking for Mister Short Round and Miss Whisper Winds. We'd like to know if it's possible to rent a room or two around here. And, I'm sorry I couldn't, ah... understand you, sir," she added with an honest apology at the end.

He nodded, answered in his peculiar patois, which Gypsy translated to be confirmation that the ponies in question most certainly were in the bingo parlor, that there were visitor's quarters on the top floor, and that he accepted the apology.

"I thank you kindly, most venerable elder." It was perhaps a more archaic salutation, but Obsidian was fairly certain it was appropriate in these circumstances. She hadn't felt that way even around Celestia and Luna, though it might have perhaps been because they still looked rather young.

As they left to find the game room, the strange old stallion gave a chuckle and a wave. "Shoo gedd lawzt, y'cummon bakta me'hyear - I'ze ayn'gowan noowhar hanee-tyme soon, hah!" The gnarled little stallion nodded to himself, then disappeared behind the huge desk again, only the top of the hat he wore could be seen bobbling around as he apparently sat back down.

The bingo hall turned out to be the fourth door on the right, down the east hallway - it was where she could hear the numbers being randomly called out. She suspected they might still be playing bingo, so everything was fine; they weren't just waiting around for her to get there.

"So, Gypsy," she said to her friend, "let's deal with the Pony Express first, shall we?"

The Pony Express office (which was luckily only two doors down from them) was about the size of a walk-in closet, and the back half of it was taken up with a desk and multiple, multiple hanging folders, filled with papers of all sorts. There was a clutter of order sheets, reports, transfers, and even receipts... but Obsidian noticed two particular things:

First, was that not a single paper was on the floor; it was cluttered, but tidy.

Second, not a single paper here was an envelope; not a bit of mail to be seen - and in this small space, there was little place to hide.

Behind the desk, with the back of her chair against the rear wall, was an older pegasus mare, with a silver and a purple mane going to grey. She looked all-military as she glanced up at them, years of dedicated service drawn long, weary lines on her muzzle. The placard on the desk read a faded, 'Skyline Shear'.

"Ma'am?" she said simply.

Plenty of paper, but nothing available to the clients - at least not without paying for it, probably. It hardly surprised Obsidian - after all, there weren't too many things completely for free; the payment always seemed to come through one means or another.

Aaaaand another elderly pony... not surprising though; until that very day, Obsidian had never seen so many ancient beings within the course of a single afternoon! "Good day, madam. We'd like to send a message to Ponyville; may I purchase some paper here?" Now that she thought about it, this was technically the first postal office she had ever visited in her entire life!

It was... a bit less interesting than she thought it would be.

The mare nickered. "Yes, ma'am - messages are two bits per three pages, direct express messages are an extra five to ten bits, according to distance; Ponyville would be rougly six bits, rounded down. Regular mail is free, but is only delivered on Thursdays, every week, rain or shine, guaranteed." She was very direct and professional.

It shouldn't be that hard, it seemed. Obsidian had planned to get back to the village before Thursday, so she knew she would have to pay for a direct message. Three pages should be more than enough.

"Well, I'd like to purchase three pages, then. Gypsy, would you like to write something as well?" She turned a bit to look back at him as she took her purse from her saddlebag. She really had to learn to start taking better care of her money; she simply wasn't used to it, and had the sinking feeling she was spending more than she should be, as of late...

The mare nodded, opened a lower drawer with a precise kick, and took out three sheets of paper, along with a pen and an envelope. "Envelopes are free with any purchase of paper," the mailmare explained.

The diamond dog considered for a moment, then shook his head. "Th-this one knows that there are f-f-few in his clan who c-care to read; he will visit h-home soon enough."

He then gave her a toothy grin. "B-but thank you for asking... a-a-and this one will be happy t-to take any leftover p-paper; crowns take a l-lot of l-l-layers."

He smiled then, and his tail wagged as he was no doubt thinking of how the two alicorns had pet, hugged and treated him so very kindly after he'd made crowns for them both. Those had been what had finally broken the uneasy feelings that earlier conversations had brought to this visitation.

Gypsy was sometimes far too kind for his outer shell to ever truly show.

Obsidian smiled softly at his enthusiasm. Bringing him here was a marvellous idea - she just enjoyed the sight when her friends were in a good mood, and at the moment Gypsy was truly seeming to have enjoyed this entire trip.

The fact that he had also proven to be very useful was hardly important compared to that fact - after all, he was her friend, not some tool; judging poni-... er, creatures only by their utility was something her father did. She didn't want to repeat the same mistakes that put him in stone - especially as the alternative was far more pleasant.

"We'll see about leftovers, Gypsy..." She smiled as she took the pen and started to write.

Hmmmmm... what should she say? She started with a hearty reassurance to Cup that she already missed him - which was the complete, 100% truth; it was an interesting sensation, to crave somepony's presence this much... then few short sentences about Celestia's and Luna's favorable reactions to her request.

'I almost feel bad for using them so much, but I doubt I could accomplish very much without their help.'

She added a quick mention about her surprise visit to the Crystal Empire, and that she would spend night here, and hopefully return tomorrow or the day after tomorrow from the Empire, barring any unnecessary delays. After that, she quickly added everything she'd learned about Opal and Quartz; that the latter was hopefully not dangerous, and perhaps - PERHAPS - he just wanted to live a life of his own, without making any dark plans. There was also another mention that Luna would know how to deal with Jade and his, uh... low opinion of himself. Eventually, she thought a moment and quickly scribed that she, of course, missed the rest of the gang too.

There - that should be enough.

Once folded and tucked away in the envelope, the mailmare looked up at her and nodded. "Ponyville, directly; may I ask whom it's going to?"

"Cupcake Sprinkles," she said as she quickly added the address.

Gypsy smiled at that, and the mailmare nodded, then got right up and grabbed a knapsack that had the word 'Liner' stitched into it, and headed for the door. "Special deliveries on demand; please exit so I can lock up & head out."

Well, that was fast. Obsidian left the place feeling a bit better; this time, she didn't want to leave her coltfriend waiting, after all - and Mica could use this information, as well. "Wonderful. Let's check on this, uhhh... bingo... thing?... is that it? Then, after meeting up with our friends, we can check into the guest room situation," she said happily.

As soon as the two left the small office, they were followed out by the mailmare, who gave them a smart salute before she turned and took off like a shot, headed in the direction of Ponyville... wait. Did they have only a single, retired mailmare on staff here, and were they forcing her to deliver the post all by herself? Of course, she did seem to be pretty fast... but it was still a long way from here, and older ponies surely didn't have as much stamina as the younger ones did.

Gypsy and Siddy made their way towards the door specified by the elder pony with the strange speech, and opened it. Inside, Obsidian was treated to what looked like a seniors collection. There were so many aged ponies here, it was a small wonder they all fit into the same room! Every imaginable sign of aging was here in spades, and not a single solitary pony here was under the age of fifty summers.

"I... 19..." a very flat-muzzled and bored-looking stallion with a flat voice spoke into a microphone, and his voice echoed throughout the entire room. A very flat-muzzled and bored-sounding voice.

The seniors, as one, bowed their heads to look at the table in front of them, some making marks on what looked like cards in front of them. A strange ritual, to be certain... yet it was at the far end of the room that Obsidian spotted Whisper Winds and Short Round, both looking over their own cards... but Whisper seemed to have SIX of those cards in front of her, while her husband only had his single one.

"G... 42..." the droning voice went on, causing another round of 'stare at the cards'.

Were they going to interrupt some sort of religious ceremony? "Is this... it?" she whispered sidelong to Gypsy. He looked around a bit, then turned back to Obsidian and shrugged.

"B... 54..."

Whisper's muzzle lit up like a small sun, and she lifted a cowbell into the air and rang it loud and hard! The caller looked up slowly and blinked as the rest of the gathered audience groaned in despair.

"Another win for Whisper Winds, fillies and gentlecolts," the caller said with just as much fervor as he'd been announcing the strange letter and number sets. "Let's give her a hoof. She wins the fifty bit prize for the night. The next round is for the thirty bit prize. Five minutes until we begin the fun, folks." He sounded as though this job were anything BUT fun.

There was some scattered applause (and one or two scornful glances at the elderly couple) but Whisper looked like she was having the time of her life. She leaned over and planted a quick peck on Short's cheek, then got back to arranging new cards, while most of the old ones were dumped into the wastebasket at the end of the table by her kind husband.

What was the point of this strange game? Were there any tactics? Strategies? Was it merely a game of luck? At least it seemed that her new friends were succesful gamblers - and as such, they probably had a nice share of savings. Maybe that's why they were able to afford such things as visits to Ponyville and paying for Obsidian's pastries...

"Okay, we have five minutes; let's just quickly slip in, ask them if we can still visit with them, and during the next round we should have plenty of time to book the guest rooms for ourselves. Though it looks like Miss Whisper is quickly becoming rich..."

Okay, so there were plenty of ponies, and she didn't know most of them... well, she just had to try to ignore everypony except for Whisper and Short. Of course, it didn't mean she was going to ignore-ignore the rest; she was just psyching herself up to wade into the sea of geriatrics... and eventually, she did exactly that.

Only a few heads turned their way as they entered the room... at first. Then, a single call from a nearby table caused quite a few others to look up, right at them.

"Ohhhh, look at the cute doggo!"

Gypsy's ears perked up, and an elderly mare in a wheelchair-looking-thing made her way over to the diamond dog.

"Oh, aren't you just adorable? And such a handsome boy, too!"

"M-m-madam," Gypy started to say, "this one is n-not-"

Then she reached up and began to scratch somewhere behind his left ear... and Gypsy stopped talking, his eyes rolling upward and closing as she apparently found a weak spot of some power. His tongue lolled out of his mouth, and he leaned into the scratching as the mare cooed over him.

"Oh, such a good boy, too! He likes his scritchies, yes him does!"

The elderly mare's announcement had a number of other seniors looking at Gypsy, and even more were headed over to apparently do some petting as well. Gypsy's eyes didn't reopen; instead, his right rear paw began to softly pat on the floor as a smile, big and dopey, grew across his features.

Gypsy was now the center of attention... which left Obsidian plenty of room to get to the elderly couple she sought.

By Darkness! Should... should she help him? It wasn't a place for diamond dogs to simply appear in, it seemed. What a terrifying show of disrespect for another sentient creature! But still... at the moment, Gypsy looked rather happy... and Obsidian now had an opportunity to get to Short and Whisper. So, assuming her friend was more or less safe among his cooing admirers, she quickly trotted over to the elderly couple.

Whisper's eyes were glued to the cards, but Short Round looked up as soon as Obsidian approached. He smiled and waved, then nudged his mare. "Hon, it looks like we been found!"

Whisper glanced up quickly, then did a double take as she smiled and blushed shyly, giving Obsidian a small wave.

"Whisper's havin' another winnin' night, so she's kinda pumped 'bout all th' proceedin's - but if'n yer done with yer talk with Celly and Lulu, then I s'pose we could just back outta th' next game an' git you two back t'our place?" Whisper looked a bit crestfallen, but she smiled at Obsidian and nodded.

"Unless..." Short drawled, "y'all wanna learn how ta BINGO?"

Whisper's eyes shot wide open, and her smile seemed to redouble on itself.

Oh... umm... well, now. It hardly looked all that interesting to her, but Whisper seemed to be so happy at the thought of showing what was apparently her favorite game to someone. Obsidian felt that whatever she decided, she would regret it.

"How much time does one game take?" She asked for more data to make a more conscious decision.

"Meh, roughly ten minutes, give 'r' take," Short replied.

"Then there's no need to back out of the next game; Gypsy and I can book a guest room in the meantime, and we can meet afterwards in the front hall."

Whisper looked a bit saddened at that, but Short Round just chuckled and patted his love on the back. "S'okay, Whispy - not ev'ryone's gonna play th' same game, but we all get ta enjoy time t'gether, an' that's what matters, right?" She nodded, then smiled at Siddy before she went back to her cards.

Short just tossed Obsidian a wink, then got back to his own, single card. "Do what'cha gotta do, girl - though we'd be happy ta take y'all in fer a night, if'n that's what'cha need. We even got a spare bedroom an' ev'rything."

Ah, Equestrians; they were far too nice and generous to everycreature around them. "I, uh, well... we don't want to be a burden..."

Short Round, without looking up, held up a hoof. "Now, ain't no reason fer you ta deal with Shaky more'n ya gotta - pretty sure y'prolly needed the pup ta tell what he was sayin', anyhow - his speech's atrocious, if'n ya ask me. Still, ain't gonna be no harm in lettin' ya have th' other bedroom, you an' the pupster. Gotta couch innit that he'd prolly find ta be a slice o' paradise."

Right now, judging by the look on his muzzle, Gypsy was already enjoying a proverbial CAKE'S worth of paradise, as there were now no less than four mares petting him, all at different soft spots, and his tail was wagging fast enough to almost make a little Sonic Rainboom of its' own.

"Then... um, in this case I think... mayhaps, I could try to play this," she admitted. "I'll only tell Gypsy that there'll be a change of plans. I thank you sincerely for your hospitality."

Whisper looked up with stars in her eyes, and Short gave a laugh. "You done it now; yer in fer a learnin' experience, girl."

Whisper took Obsidian's hoof and sat her down next to her. She then took one of her six cards and slid it over to Obsidian, and placed what looked like a very fat marker in front of her. She then pointed to the bored stallion caller, and then her own ear. She the pointed down to the card; it had a row of letters that spelled out B-I-N-G-O across the top of the card, and each letter had a row of numbers underneath them.

She then nudged Short, who spoke as if he knew what to say by heart. "Caller calls a letter an' a number; if'n ya have that sp'cific number under the sp'cific letter, then mark it with yer marker. If'n ya get one under each letter, ya yell out 'BINGO!', an' they check yer card ta make sure ya won. If'n yer stuff's right, y'win. Simple's that."

Whisper nodded eagerly, excited to be showing Obsidian something new.

"So... it's a pure luck game?" Then how could Whisper could be winning so many times in a row? "It doesn't sound too complicated..."

==================[Two Hours Later]==================

Entering the door of the lovely little cottage, Short Round laughed again. "An' I STILL say y'done bit off more'n y'can chew with this mare, hon!"

Whisper followed her husband in, looking petulant as she turned her snout up at her husband, who only laughed in response.

As he came inside, Gypsy looked back at Obsidian with awe in his eyes. "But, this o-one still doesn't underst-st-stand how Siddy could've won s-so many times!"

It had been true; after the first game, it almsost seemed like Obsidian couldn't lose; it had been an easy game to pick up, yes... but once she'd gotten into it, Obsidian had won every time she'd played. So much so that Whisper had given her some stern looks, and eventually had given up - which had brought them to finally leaving.

While he'd been there, Gypsy had gotten some prime-time petting, and he was in fine fetter as they entered the cottage.

The place was cozy and homey; it felt like someplace that grandparents would live in. The door they entered opened into a small yet efficient and cheery kitchen. Short led them back toward the living room, where Short plopped himself into a very worn but comfy-looking cushioned chair. Whisper headed to a short hallway, where she presumably entered the bathroom. Gypsy sat quietly on the sofa nearby, and Short motioned for Siddy to follow suit.

"Most times," Short said, "we jus' sit here'n enjoy the telly a bit, then head ta bed... but seein' as we got us some comp'ny, it'd be fine ta sit an' yammer for a while. An' don't mind Whispy, none - she'll get over herself an' be right as rain in jus' a bit, I promise ya."

Truth be told, Obsidian also had no idea how she was able to win like that as well. Beginner's luck? Or perhaps she was just a lucky mare overall... but it seemed that her acceptance to play that first round hardly warmed Whisper to her, considering the stern looks she was receiving... but it was really not her fault she was winning!

What an interesting place to visit for two creatures without grandparents. Obsidian could feel that this place should feel familiar, but she didn't exactly know why. It just... looked like an older version of her own cozy little house.

"I, uh, hope so... I didn't expect that I would win even once," Obsidian shyly admitted. "So, is there anything I could do for you while we're in your home? Chores like dishes or such? Dusting?"

Short gave a chuckle. "Well, talk t'us. We ain't had much fer comp'ny since our lil' Heartfire left home, so we actu'lly love t'have us someone else ta talk to. B'sides, my Whisper ain't much on talkin' out loud, y'know... so, we jus' wouldn't mind chewing some words wit'cha fer a spell."

Oh, wasn't this wonderful? Obsidian had never really considered herself a talktative mare - of course, there were a few times where she was speaking quite a lot, but... most of the time, she was thinking more than talking. What's worse, making small-talk with her friends was something completely different than talking with the first elderly couple she'd really ever met in her entire life!

"Well... I'm still grateful for the money you gave me for those pastries. Our friend who'd ordered them was currently cursed by a powerful entity, and we were able to cheer her up a bit with them. Luckily, everything ended fairly well, and she's already hearty and healthy again." Her mind grabbed the first topic that came to her. "It was a pretty crazy day, overall. That pony who tried to make away with the first bag of pastries we'd bought? Thankfully, he later turned out to be completely unimportant, compared to everything else that had happened afterward."

"Hunh. Cursed, ya say? Sounds like yer still doin' the hero thing, missy - an' that's good, 'cause it suits ya!"

Whisper came into the living room and sat on the couch, gave Short a cold look... then, her smile peeked out, and she gave a silent giggle as Short merely gave her a wink. She then looked at Obsidian, lifted her hooves, and clapped softly.

Short grinned. "Y'see? She's even bein' a good sport 'bout it! Well, she is now," he gently chided as she stuck her tongue out at him, then giggled silently behind a hoof. "Well, we're glad ta hear that you helped yer friend; honestly, we just saw someone in need, and we could help. Plus, you bein' a bonafide hero got our attention too, so there's that. Still, we're mighty glad you're on Equestria's side, what with bein' big an' bad enough ta stop ol' Sombrero."

What an interesting pair these two were to watch. "Oh, I'm surely not big and bad enough for that recognition alone; we simply had an advantage in numbers, the Magic of Friendship and an exceedingly useful spell that cut off his magic. My father never expected this turn of events."

Not at all; she sometimes wondered how he would feel about it - knowing he'd been bested by his own creation... his tool?

"And of course, I'm still doing the hero-thing; somepony has to, and it seems that I and my friends are pretty well-suited for this sort of work."

"Darn tootin'!" Short exclaimed. "You an' yer pals remind me of the Mane Six themselves, an' how they used ta save Equestria from all kinds o' bad stuff! Heck, I remember th' time they stood up ta Tirek - blasted that ol' so an' so all the way back ta Tartarus!"

Whisper nodded and smiled.

"An' then, there's that time that all o' Ponyville hada big ol' shared dream, an' we all got ta all sorts o' mischief, like giant bunnies an' princess stallions!" He laughed heartily, and slapped the arm of his chair in amusement. "Whoo, them were some days, y'know?"

The Mane Six... well, apparently Obsidian herself was reminding some ponies (including a pair of alicorn princesses) of Twilight Sparkle. It was hardly a surprise, though... but why did each famous team in Equestrian history seem to consist of six creatures?

Mane Six. Those six students that stopped Cozy Glow. The Pillars of Equestria. And now... them.

Of course, sometimes there were additions - like Lemon Custard or Miss Starlight - but they were more like tag-alongs. Now that she thought about it, she really should be a little more friendly towards ponies outside of her own circle... including ponies such as Butter Churn. For a supposed 'sibling from another mother', her coltfriend didn't seem to be paying her too much attention. She also had to visit Eloquence... ohhhhhh, so many things to do, so little time to do them!

But... first things first.

"I don't think I've heard about this 'shared dream' before," Obsidian admitted, "and didn't the fight with Tirek consist mainly of a massive magical duel between him and Princess Twilight?"

Hey, HEY... Tirek knew how to absorb magic, didn't he? He even taught Cozy Glow how to do t, if she recalled correctly. So perhaps there was still a way to neutralize Amber and the other dangerous siblings of hers? Ah, but sadly, Tirek probably wasn't in much of a mood to talk. Being stone and all.

"Lulu herself was havin' guilty dreams, an' it took alla Ponyville ta send her bad vibes packin'! An' it were fun, at that! Nothin' like a dream ta letcha take control fer a spell, an' help ya feel like yer powerful an' stuff!"

Whisper nodded as she pet Gypsy idly; the diamond dog resumed his smiles and sighs of contentedness.

"Whelp, Tirek an' Princess Twilight did have themselves a heckuva scrap - cost Ponyville the Golden Oak, but stopped that bad'un in his tracks... least 'til they all teamed up 'n' tried to take Canterlot. Almost worked, too..."

Whisper gave a slow, solemn nod.

"But Equestria's always been lucky when it comes ta defenders - we just seem ta have th' right folks step into place when the manure hits the fan, so ta speak," Short chuckled softly, "an' maybe that's just part o' Harmony's Magic, y'know? Jus' havin' folks ready at the right time, inna right place, an' they always seem ta have the right stuff in 'em, too."

He smiled kindly. "Like you 'n' yer Siddy Six, fer instance."

"That's what I told my siblings; they can plot, fight, plan and struggle as much as they want... but as soon as they decide to strike, something will be ready for them. At least, it has worked out that way every time, so far." It was especially visible with Peridot - after all, it was a small miracle that Obsidian had gotten his notebook when she did. "Harmony is apparently just that powerful."

Short Round smiled. "It really is, darlin'. Harmony's gotta balance in mind, an' she's gonna have that balance - come heck 'r' high water. Sometimes, it means stuff's gotta change ta let 'er get done what she needs done... an' sometimes, it's justa sign that other things're comin' soon."

Whisper looked up and grew a sad frown as she saw he husband sigh. "Miss Applejack, rest her soul, might just be one o' them signs. Th' Mane Six ain't ever gonna be the same again, without 'er... an' maybe this's th' sign that makes it so. Maybe you 'n' yers are gonna be new Element Bearers, 'r' somethin'... but whatever plans fer th' future that Harmony's got, it's obvious it ain't gonna have much ta do with the Mane Six n'more."

Applejack... stupid Onyx.

"Well, considering that last time, one of the Element Bearers became an alicorn... I surely wouldn't complain if we ended up getting those stones, that's for sure," Obsidian mused. "And the rest of Mane Six deserves some form of... retirement. They've saved the world enough; let them enjoy what time they have now."

Short nodded. "It happens ev'ry so many years... seems ta be comin' quicker, this time - o'course, seein's how th' Mane Six were th' first in... oh, a thousand 'r' so years, I'd say somethin' HARD s'comin' 'round th' bend."

He looked at Obsidian with concern writ large on his muzzle. "You an' yers gonna be up fer it? I mean, it's a responsibility, y'know. An' a BIG one, too - means you folks are gonna be put through some tryin' times... can't be overlookin' that possibility."

"If not me, then who?" Obsidian shrugged slightly with resignation. "At the point where we survived an assassination attempt, a direct attack with the use of our brainwashed friends, a kidnapping, a 'yes-this-really-happened' zombie invasion, an entrapment in the bowels of our own nightmares, then another round with the zombies, the attack from my furious sister, meeting with an even more furious father, then some withering curses, a genocidal alicorn... and one case of sugar overdose, for my coltfriend."

She gave the elder stallion a serious look. "We are used to 'tryin' times', sir."

Short Round stared at her for a moment, then burst out into rich, slightly wheezy laughter. "Sounds like you already got this down pat, girl!" he laughed, "an' here I was, worryin' 'boutcha - an' you're already full o' spit an' vinegar, ready ta take on all comers!"

He glanced over at Whisper. "Remind you o' anybody, hon?"

Whisper flashed a smile, nodded, and sighed softly.

"Eeyep," Short continued, "yer a lot like 'er; she'd have loved ta pal around with you, I'll bet."

"Full of... what... and vinegar? I'm... afraid I'm not familiar with this idiom," Obsidian admitted. She still had some slight problems with the accents, but idioms? Idioms were something completely different. "And, if I may ask, whom do I remind you of?"

"Full o' vinegar jus' means you got yerself some fire in ya, an' it shows!" Short Round chuckled.

In response to Obsidian's question, Whisper sighed and looked to the fireplace, where there were some framed photographs. Short gave a little smile, then turned back to the conversation.

"Yer a lot like Hope Heartfire... our lil' filly. Ain't seen 'er in a dog's age - no 'fense, mister Gypsy - since she lit out fer adventure, 'bout, oh, fifteen years back. We usedta get letters ev'ry now an' again, but fer the past few years..."

Whisper sighed longlingly again, then looked down at Gypsy and focused on petting him again.

Short took off his glasses and gave a wipe at his eyes. "Eeyep. She were a good girl, never did nothin' we ever saw as bad, always wantin' ta help other folk. She set out lookin' fer adventure, since me an' Whispy was always tellin' her 'bout our own... an' she were determined ta have a few in her own right. Can't say we blame her, but..."

Now it was his turn to sigh. "We sure do miss 'er."

Now that was just sad. The mere idea of the doubt and fear this couple had to endure when their daughter stopped writing...

Maybe she was still alive? Perhaps there was still a chance? Obsidian didn't know too much about these kinds of things, but she was certain that it was possible for ponies to get stranded in places where they can't call out to anypony anymore. It was also yet another reason why she felt she really should continue her research about the magic of life and death.

If only she could bring back fallen ponies... make new bodies for their spirits to inhabit... ah, wouldn't it be ironic if her father's research would form the base for a form of magic that could change everypony's lives for the better?

"I'm terribly sorry to hear that," she said with sympathy in her voice.

Whisper gave a sad smile, and Short just gave a light chuckle. "Oh, yer a good'un fer sayin' it. but we figger she's jes' havin' the time o' her life, is all. She'd be..." he seemed to calculate a bit, "... 52 summers, by now. Bet she's jus' climbin' mountains, 'r' maybe explorin' a forest - she loved trees - 'r' somethin' of th' sort. She never was one ta keep stuff like us in mind fer long. Always thinkin', always laughin', always carryin' on like th' world was hers ta enjoy."

"Where was she when she sent her latest letter, if I may ask...?" Fifty-two years old? Wow - she almost forgot how terribly old this pair was! A shame she couldn't bring them any grandfoals to make their lives more pleasant...

"Last letter came 'bout four years ago... might've been from... Basalt Beach, I reckon? She were down south, an' even sent us a picture of her an' a crab she'd found!"

Whisper got up from the couch, gave Gypsy a final pat, then went to the fireplace and took down a framed picture from over the mantle. She brought it to Obsidian and held it out for her.

In the picture, there was a rather lovely older (but not yet elder) mare who wore a sunny smile, a bathing suit and a stripe of sunscreen on her muzzle. She was hloding up a hoof, and in it was a tiny little crab, pincers up and on display. The mare looked like someone Obsidian would have liked meeting - she seemed carefree and kind, as she was careful about how she held up the little crab.

Even at her pronounced age, she looked quite lovely and would possibly still be able to attract the attention of stallions far younger than her. Her mane was honey-colored and curly, her muzzle was dotted with freckles, and her eyes held merriment and wonder in them.

"Eeyep - that's our lil' Hopey, alright," Short Round said with a mix of pride and sadness in his voice.

Down south... now where was Mount Arris? Perhaps she could use some time to check that out - assuming she was right and Arris was south. Perhaps she was wrong - she really didn't exactly know where Basalt Beach was. "Lovely," she told Whisper.

Damnation - hopefully it wouldn't turn out to be yet another of her siblings' crimes; the chances for that may have been slim, but she was rather paranoid when it came to her thoughts about them.

Whisper gave a sad little smile, then kissed the picture lightly before returning it to the mantle.

"Eeyep. She were the apple o' many a stallion's eye, back when we was all younger; had ta chase a few off, m'self. Confounded fly-by-night suitors, all jus' tryin' ta get all up in her-"

Whisper stomped a hoof, and gave her husband a look that said such talk wasn't welcome. Short held up a hoof and chuckled. "Arright, arright... too much info, I getcha, hon. Anyhoo, far as it goes, we jus' hope that, wherever she's gotten to, she's happy. That's th' important part."

Whisper nodded, and went back to petting Gypsy, who was now curled up and seemed asleep at the foot of the couch; his muzzle crickled in a smile as she continued her petting.

"But what 'bout you, ma'am? Are YOU happy?"

Obsidian smiled; now that was a simple question to answer. "Of course - very happy, in fact."

Short's muzzle lit up with a smile. "Glad ta hear it, missy! After whatcha did fer Equestria, you deserve ta be happy, an' I'm glad ta see ya smile. I'll betcha when you first showed up in P-Ville, ya didn't expect ta have so many folks make friends witcha, eh?"

He chuckled, then glanced down at Gypsy, sleeping peacefully. "So, how'd you an' th' pup meet? How'd you two make friends?"

She would possibly have to carry him to the bed, or wake him up to let him prepare for sleep with a shower, fang-brushing and so on...

"Mister Short, when I showed up in Ponyville I didn't even know what 'friendship' was. And Gypsy..." She peeked at the sleeping pup. Strange - she never thought about the possibility of petting him. Of course, she had pat-patted him before, but it didn't mean anything; she had pat-patted plenty of creatures. "We simply met, and I thought he would be useful to me. When I was eventually forced to realize that a creature's worth doesn't depend on their utility, well... we were already friends."

Short chuckled. "Sounds like you already got a good head start on what friendship is, missy; maybe ya didn't know anything 'bout it when you showed up, but looks to me like it didn't take ya long ta figger it out. Just the same kinda thing Princess Twilight hadta deal with, too; she didn't have ANY friends when she came ta P-Ville, but it took her less than a day ta make some."

Whisper stroked Gypsy's head, and his ears seemed to reflexively part for her hoof to glide by.

"An' them other friends ya got... eh, Cupcake Sprinkles... Stalwart Stallion-... wait, no Stance... umm, Maud's colt? Mica, was it? An' Thunderclap Dash, too - that one's a hoot! An' there's this fella here," he said as he looked at Gypsy. "You made any other friends yet, or are you stickin' ta these alone? 'Cause, I dunno if you realize it yet, but you got friends right here, in me an' th' missus."

Whisper looked up and nodded her agreement.

It was strange to think that Princess Twilight hadn't been a princess all the time, and that she used to be just another normal unicorn - even worse, a socially awkward unicorn. Good thing she found out about friendship - otherwise, Equestria would already be permanently bathed in eternal night. Or ruled by chaos. Or by king Sombra. Or something else even worse.

"Yes, they are good friends... and though I have a few other friends, I'm not spending as much time with them as I do with the group you've mentioned. And thank you, Mister Short, Miss Whisper, for your friendship. Also, um..." Only now, Obsidian realized she was a bit rude by not offering it immediately. "you really can call me by my name - no need for 'missy' and so on," she said, a bit embarrassed.

Short gave a smile. "Aw, we're ol' fashioned, hon - we jus' call folks whatever comes ta mind. But I'll keep that in mind from now on... Obsidian." He gave a chuckle. "Well, that name's a right mouthful! Still, gotta admit a stand-out name's what's best fer a stand-out mare like yerself!"

Whisper suddenly gave a tiny gasp, then got up and headed toward the hallway, leading to the rest of the house. Short raised an eyebrow, then looked back over at Obsidian. "Shorty an' Whispy will do jus' fine fer us; we never were no big shakes on full an' proper titles an' such. That's more towards royalty an' stuff, an' me an' th' missus ain't really royal material. Well," he said with a longing smile towards where his wife went, "at least I ain't; that mare's all sortsa royal and beautiful, in my book anyhoo."

The longing in his eyes was quite similar to looks she'd seen Cup give to her; longing, lightheartedness and love. If this was what she had to look forward to, then it would be nice to grow older in Cup's company, it seemed.

"Could you tell me something more about you two, then? I'm fairly inexperienced when it comes to relationships... and yet, I've somehow managed to get one. I was planning to have a long discussion with Miss Pinkie Pie about my questions, though..." Her curiosity got best of her about these two adorable elder pones.

"Me an' Whispy? Awwww, I'd LOVE ta!" He settled back in his chair and sighed as he decided where to begin.

"Come around, oh, 'bout sixty summers back, I'd reckon. I was just a downright tempermental sort, an' had myself a nasty habit o' yellin' at folks, mostly 'cause I was a royal guardpone. I was real good at th' yellin' part."

"Well, Whispy was an aspirin' Wonderbolt, an' was present at th' annual Wonderbolts Air Show... but she waddn't IN th' show, really - she was still in trainin', an' had jus' come t'support her buddies. Still, she was showin' off, an' drawin' a crowd that was blockin' off others from gettin' t'their seats."

"So I was sent ta break it up. Mind ya, I was all sorts o' set to do me some prime yellin' at this so-an-so who thought they were the entire show themselves! I was all sorts o' ready ta commence the angry words..."

His smile grew a bit. "But she wasn't intimidated one whit, nuh-uh. When I yelled 'bout th' ruckus bein' caused, she just lit down like a feather, then did herself a lil' strut over t'me an' leaned up ta whisper in mah ear, like she does now."

"She whispered t'me that she liked m'voice, an' that she thought I was kinda cute. Wellsir, that shut me RIGHT up, as I'd never had a mare - or ANYONE, fer that matter - tell me they thought I was cute afore."

"From that day forw'rd, me an' her was inseperable; she an' I stuck together through all sortsa stuff, an' eventually we married each other. Mostly figgred she took me in 'cause waddn't nopone else gonna do it, an' I jus' couldn't bear ta be without her in mah life."

Whisper returned with a small box, which she held out to Obsidian. "Looks like she wants ta give ya somethin'," he chuckled.

Too bad Obsidian didn't think about taking notes. When the idea appeared in her mind, the stallion was already in the middle of the story. He'd been a guardspone, he'd been good at yelling (though it was hard to believe at the moment). Oooooh, and the Wonderbolts were already a thing back th- wait... the Wonderbolts were quite an old group, so it shouldn't surprise her. She really should spend more time with Thunderclap, that way Obsidian would learn more about them...

Obsidian chuckled at the idea of telling a yelling guard that he's cute. Poor Short - it had surely shocked him. "Aww, that was quite the romantic story. Makes me feel rather hopeful, as I almost immediately started to yell at Cupcake after meeting-... oh?"

A box? It made Obsidian stop with in a middle of sentencec. "Um... thank you?" she said as she carefully took it from Whisper's hooves, curious what she wanted to show her.

Inside the box was a lovely necklace. It had a light silver chain, and looked to be of high quality. The chain itself was braided, and it shone like it was just smelted yesterday. It gave a slight glint from the ambient light present, and looked as though it would fit perfectly around her own neck. The pendant, encased in the same silver, was an obsidian stone, cut and faceted, and darkly beautiful to behold.

"Well, now... ain't seen y'wearin' THAT beauty fer quite a while, hon. You givin' it ta our friend, here?" Whisper nodded eagerly, then motioned for Obsidian to put it on.

Woah - now that looked pretty good. And there was an obsidian stone in it! Ah, it reminded her of the Light Amulet she'd gotten from Ruby - perhaps it didn't look as familiar, but it looked like something of the sort of quality that could certainly be turned into a powerful artifact.

"I... well, thank you," she said with a cheerful voice - and with that, she put it on using her magic to carefully fasten it in place.

Whisper clapped her hooves together as Obsidian put on the necklace. It sat perfectly on her neck, displayed at just the right height. It almost seemed to twinkle in the light, and Short Round gave an appreciative low whistle.

"Missy, you make that thing look as though it were made fer ya! M'wife's got good taste, an' if'n she gave it to ya, then chances are she knows it'd look that good on ya!"

Whisper smiled and gave Obsidian a gentle hug. Short laughed a bit. "I gotta say - I never 'spected my home ta be graced by TWO lovely mares inna single day! But you got that look what other stallions like, an' I'm pretty sure that ol' Cuppie might haveta fight off a few suitors as well!"

Whisper gave a silent giggle, then smiled sweetly at Obsidian, and leaned in closely to her.

"As long as you love him," she whispered softly, "nothing will ever come between you."

Short quirked an eyebrow as Whisper leaned back, then grinned. "Heh, I'll bet she was tellin' ya how I always thought she was prettier than a star when she wore that necklace. An' now, you're next in line ta shine, lil' star!"

Short Round was right - it felt as if it was made for her. The size, the obsidian stone... this little thing practically had her name written all over it (or something like that - Obsidian was never too confident with idioms).

And GASP, Obsidian got to hear Whisper's soft, sweet voice! She gladly returned the hug; it felt good to be in their company. In fact, she was very, very glad she ran into them on this potentially scary day.

"Ah, I doubt he would have to - I don't think I could ever be interested in any other stallion," Obsidian chuckled light-heartedly. Midnight may have been an alicorn prince - and quite a handsome one - but he wasn't Cupcake Sprinkles, and that was all that mattered to Obsidian. She took off the beautiful necklace and gently returned it to its' box.

Short gave a wary chuckle. "All fine an' good... but you'd best keep yer eyes open; jus' 'cause you ain't lookin' ta get with nopone else, it don't mean other pones won't wanna get with YOU, hon. An' there's all sortsa ways folks can monkeywrench around with love and such... but, as Whispy likes ta say, long as ya love 'em, ain't nothin' gonna come between ya!"

Whisper smiled knowingly, then made her way towards the kitchen, stopping long enough to sweetly nuzzle her husband. He, in turn, turned in his seat to watch her exit the room.

"Celestia save me, I could watch that mare walk outta rooms all day long," he murmured, his eyes clearly glued to his wife's flank. Once she passed into the kitchen however, he turned back to Obsidian and actually had the sense of propriety to blush a bit.

"Shucks, ain't nothin' wrong with findin' m'wife ta be beautiful, y'know. 'Course, back in the day, I mighta had an eye on you too, missy," he laughed, "but I ain't no spring chicken n'more, an' ya couldn't pry me away from Whisper if ya tried. I love that mare somethin' fierce." He really seemed to, at that.

"Of course there's nothing wrong with it," Obsidian agreed. Anypony who would even think about getting between her and Cup would be very dissapointed. Idly, she recalled that, at one point, she thought Jynx could have had a crush on him - but that was a long time ago, when she had barely understood the idea. "You seem to have lived a life worth living; I hope I'll be so lucky as well."

"You'll do jus' fine, hon," Short patted her on the shoulder, "an' Cuppie, finally findin' hisself someone? THAT, missy, is a bit of a miracle. That colt had a number of interested fillies on him, but he was always about stuffin' his face or throwin' a party - so much like his momma, I tell ya, it's kinda scary."

Gypsy, from his place on the floor, sniffed at the air... and Obsidian could smell the scent of something buttery beginning to fill the living room. Short Round chuckled. "Well, it's official that Whispy likes you two - she's makin' biscuits, an' she'll only do that fer folks she likes! One taste, an' you'll learn why!"

Obsidian was sure she was going to gain some weight after today. First Celestia, now Whisper...

"I'm really glad I met you two, Short Round. I hope I'll be able to visit more often - that is, if you wouldn't mind?" she asked with a honest, pleasant smile on her muzzle. She could adopt them as her own grandparents; she didn't have a single one of her own - which was TOTALLY not fair!

Short Round gave a smile. "Hon, as far as me an' th' missus is concerned, yer welcome to pop on by any ol' time y'please. We don't get much comp'ny out here, an' it's nice ta chat with someone who don't smell like muscle cream an' mothballs!"

He gave a hearty laugh, then sat back in his chair and sighed contentedly. "Really, though - y'want a better idea of how me an' Whispy were? Take a gander at the pics on the walls; each an' every one, a moment it time fer us."

Ah, yes - photographs. It reminded her that she had to make copies of the photo from the Spa; she really didn't have time to think about it before, in the middle of all the craziness with Midnight.

Obsidian got up to take a closer look at the pictures. She was curious - after all, she rarely had an opportunity to see many of the details of a real, long-lasting relationship. Bah, she didn't even have time to talk about it with Miss Pinkie yet, or meet Cup's father properly - even though she hoped that the pink earth pony would one day be... Obsidian's mother? In law, of course... but it would still be quite nice to be able to call anypony 'mother'.

The pictures were obviously old, but lovingly framed and dusted. The first picture she looked at was one with a younger (and surprisingly cute) Short Round; he was standing next to a boat, in full Royal Guard regalia, and in the background she could see Celestia onboard, speaking to some other ponies while Short guarded the gangplank. He looked stoic and serious; Stalwart Stance couldn't have looked the part any better.

The next one had Whisper Winds in it, and she was quite beautiful. Even though she was pretty now, she'd been a stick of dynamite in comparison to how she looked back then. Her mane was braided back, and she wore a smile as she posed for the camera with three other mares, all in Wonderbolt uniforms. They were all posed as if they were super-spies, and it was a humorous picture.

Next came a lovely scene; both Short and Whisper in some sort of cart, coming out of a tunnel that had a sign proclaiming it to be the 'Tunnel Of Love'. Whisper looked as if she were caught mid-laughter, and Short had a clear lipstick kiss print on the end of his muzzle, and was staring at it cross-eyed, much to Whisper's apparent delight.

Another picture showed a nice, two-story house with the two of them standing outside of it, in each other's embrace. In this picture, Whisper looked a bit fat, as if her belly had grown, but not the rest of her. They had no eyes for anything but each other.

Next to that one was a picture of what looked like a sickly Short Round, holding a foal at foreleg's length - a foal with no diaper. Said diaper was just below the shot, and thankfully no view of the foal's dirty deed. But if the look on Short's muzzle were any indicator, it was most foul indeed.

Next was a picture of a pretty little filly, seated at a kitchen table with Whisper, and both were engaged in building what looked like a model volcano. Whisper looked so much like a motherly figure, and the little foal's eyes seemed to shine as she looked to her.

Obsidian was melting inside. It was just so... real, so natural, so damned NORMAL! Two normal ponies, without any dark secrets, murderous siblings, tyrannical parents and so on... just living a life! Making a family! Having a foal! By Darkness, it was wonderful!

When she finished looking through the photos, her eyes were practically sparkling from the rumble of emotions beneath the surface. "They're... so beautiful..."

And yet, she had been unlucky enough to be created by a pony who would hardly win any 'father of the year' awards. It was a bit sad. Luckily, she still had plenty of time to fix his mistakes for herself.

Short Round got up and went to her side, placing a kind hoof on her back as he did. "Yeah... was just as beautiful when we lived it, too. Seemed like them days'd last forever. Then, ya get old an' realize those days 'r' the best you'll ever know. Not that me an' th' missus are lackin' anywhere now, but... them days were really somethin'."

He looked at her. "Cherish what time ya got here, Obsidian - it'll be moments like this'un that you'll have to look back on an' smile 'bout. Keep 'em close to yer heart. Never forget them what loves ya, and never hold onto a grudge; even pains o' the past get dimmer as ya move forward, but old pains can become good aches in time."

He then gave her a very serious look. "I heard 'bout how you was Sombra's child an' all, but you seem ta be anything good about him, all rolled inta a cute lil' package. But I get th' feelin' you didn't get much of a foalhood, m'I right?"

Those were words of wisdom! She was doing her best to follow them, even when she wasn't sure if she was properly understood why she did so. "No, not too much of one, I'm afraid. Father was hardly a pleasant parent - and yet, compared to some of my siblings, I was very lucky," she shrugged slightly again.

Poor Jade...

Short shook his head. "Well, I ain't gonna pass no judgment on no pone I ain't ever met. But we met you... and hon, we're pleased as punch that we did. Yer a good'un, and I dunno if you'd see it as strange 'r' not, but yer always welcome in our home; yer polite, thoughtful an' appreciative. Ya listen when I yammer on, an' ya hear what I'm tellin' ya, as well. That means somethin' to folks - someone who listens an' pays 'tention to the words we're sayin'."

"If'n you ever need a place ta go where you kin just get away from th' hustle 'n' bustle fer a spell, y'can consider this place a home away from home. We'd always love ta have ya... Siddy."

He seemed as though his eyes were a bit moist. "You remind me so danged much of Hopey; take it as a compliment, hon."

Truly, Short Round brought Obsidian to the verge of tears. Tears of happiness, as she very quickly became enamored with this pair. Maybe even a bit too quickly, but hey - an abused teen may sometimes want some appreciation and family warmth, right?

"Thank you. This is the kindest thing I've heard today... and we spent half of the day with two alicorn princesses."

He gave a chuckle, then gave her a light and slightly shaky embrace. "Yer welcome, hon. An' thank you, fer showin' a couple o'golden oldies like us some respect."

Gypsy's head suddenly popped up. "Done," was all he said before there was a soft >ding!< from the kitchen, and he was up and padding his way there in a hoofbeat.

Short laughed as he stepped back. "Well, I reckon the buscuits are done. Might wanna get there afore th' pup gets too wide-eyed fer Whispy ta keep from feedin' him ALL of 'em!"

With a chuckle and a spry click of his rear hooves, Short Round made his way towards the kitchen, where Obsidian could already hear Whisper's feathery giggle as she could bet that Gypsy was trying to play cute for a biscuit. He picked up on that skill at Bingo.

These old ponies were probably a bad influence on Gypsy; what would happen if every diamond dog found out they could get sweets by playing cute? The diamond dog civilization would collapse, and ponies would suffer from shortages of sugar.

Obsidian followed the rest to the kitchen. Biscuits? That sounded good... very, very good. It was almost unreal how nice these ponies were. She should strive to be just like them, Obsidian mused; having a twilight life such as this wouldn't be bad at all.

================[Four Hours Later]==================

"Like I said, stop worryin' s'much," Short spoke over his flank as he and Whisper pulled the final blanket into place on the bed, then smoothed it out, "ain't n'body gonna mind if'n ya sleep in our lil' sunroom, and ain't n'body used that pull-out bed since Hope last visited. Yer fine, don't worry!"

Whisper nodded as she turned back the bedcovers, leaving room for Siddy to slip into them easily. The bed was big enough for Gypsy to take one side, and her to have the other; it was wide enough for three ponies, to be honest.

"Now, you an' him get some sleep, okay? Y'all got a lot ahead of ya, an' a good sleep'll do ya better than ya know. Night, Siddy - sleep well."

Whisper leaned near and words felt as though they floated from her lips to Obsidian's ear. "Sweet dreams."

They both headed for the door, a foreleg around each other's shoulders.

Okay, perhaps she'd spent most of this day without Cupcake - and she was missing him dearly - but it was still one of the best days of her life. Wholesome, satisfying, interesting... and she'd learned sooooo much! She'd met two legendary princesses, prepared some plans for the future, was going to save her brother Diamond, had won some cash at Bingo and got to spend time with two wonderful ponies! This world was well worth her protection of it.

With that simple thought, she got into bed. She was going to have a busy day tomorrow, after all...

~>-<~

Ruby smiled at her. "I've been wai-"

~>O<~

She felt warmth against her back when she awoke, but turned only to find that Gypsy had curled up in a little ball, and was nestled against her spine comfortably. The room was quiet and peaceful; she could hear the clock ticking in the living room, and there was the sound of a television playing.

Obsidian suddenly curled up, almost as if she was physically struck or stabbed. This 'dream' had metaphorically slapped her; the sheer idea of passing on an opportunity to talk with Ruby - her lovely, sweet sister - was almost impossible to bear...

Yet, she did it - she had to. It was for the greater good - the less Amber knew about Obsidian's friends, the better, right? Dreaming right now wasn't a risk she was willing to take.

Yet it didn't really improve her mood. It took her a moment to get over the shock, and she stood up with a sickened look on her muzzle. Bathroom. She really needed to refresh herself now... and then, to the Empire.

As Luna had assured her, she felt fully rested... but at what cost?

Author's Notes:

The Bingo-Calling Pony, in my head, sounds exactly like Steven Wright. If you don't know who that is, check the name on YouTube; utterly deadpan delivery of horrid puns and wry humor. But that drone is what I heard in my mind when I wrote that dialogue for him. Maybe he'd do the VA work..? *chuckle*

The moments here with Short Round and Whisper Winds were simply something that felt right. As she herself says, Obsidian didn't really have any grandparents; I know the feeling, as I lost my last actual living grandparent at the age of five. Going through this with Obsidian just felt like something she needed in her life, even if just for a moment.

And don't worry, y'all - we're getting back to the main story here shortly. Just wanted to have a nice aside for our harried heroine, as the coming future is going to have considerably fewer chances for such light-heartedness... no spoilers.

Twenty Six: Smugglers 'R' Us

The little bathroom was cool and quiet as she freshened up. If cutting off the dream had been what Luna was doing, then her dream powers were quite formidable. Though, in retrospect, if Peridot had been able to throw Luna off so he could speak to Siddy...

She freshened up, but when she came out of the bathroom, Gypsy was sitting up in the bed and looking at her funny. "Wh-what is wrong?"

"I missed a dream discussion with Ruby. It feels... a bit more 'off' than I thought it would when I asked Princess Luna for help." Obsidian had no other choice but to admit it; she knew she would have to deal with Amber quickly - perhaps even immediately. Maybe she should ask Princess Twilight for help- after all, once she freed Diamond and got Luna's protection and guidance with Jade, then the most vulnerable of her siblings would be safe. And Princess Twilight would surely come up with something clever for the most dangerous of this shard trio.

She just had to be quick about it - Obsidian already missed Ruby, just as she missed Cupcake; she'd grown to enjoy the company of others, and was not a fan of that being hampered in any manner.

Gypsy nodded solemnly. "Do you b-believe that what you are d-d-doing is going to h-help sister Ruby? If s-so, then maybe it is for the b-b-better. But this one can understa-stand missing someone close."

He got up and stretched, then made his way to the bathroom as well, grooming himself in the mirror for a moment. "If we can c-come up with a way to cont-t-tain your problem, then maybe there could b-be a way to fix this."

"I believe it will help everypony around... at least until we manage to tame sister Amber. The more safe we are, the more safe Ruby is. I'll just... have to dive into the books once again, as soon as possible," Obsidian sighed.

Dammit, Amber.

"Are you ready for a trip to the Empire? Or perhaps you'd prefer to go back home?" After all, he didn't really have to go with her everywhere she went, right? Didn't he have classes and such? It wasn't that she was tired of him - she was simply concerned that he was possibly spending all his free time with her, and she didn't want to monopolize his time.

Gypsy looked at Obsidian with a smirk. "This one g-goes where you go; with all you have t-to worry about, this one is certain you c-c-could use the company. He will not let you b-b-be alone. He looks f-forward to seeing the Emp-p-pire."

There was only one reply Obsidian could offer: she hugged him. Now that she thought about it, his fur really was nice and soft. Perhaps these elder ponies had the right idea with petting him...

He returned the hug with a smile, his tail wagging merrily. "Obs-sidian Clan is best clan, yes. Now, this one smells br-breakfast; come and let us see what is t-t-to eat." His smile brightened. "Mayhaps more b-b-biscuits!"

"I don't think it's healthy to eat sweets for breakfast," she objected. Even her living with Cupcake didn't cure her serious stance about healthy food and desserts. At least, not yet... though the fact that she was still able to resist the charm of Celestia's cupcakes meant that it was probably something that was already buried deeply into her brain.

It turned out that there was a breakfast waiting for them, and Whisper was just as good a cook as she was a baker. The four of them ate together, chatted amicably for a bit, and then it was time to go.

The elderly couple stood on their front porch, forelegs around each other's shoulders as they waved to Obsidian and Gypsy. They really were nice folks, and it hopefully wouldn't be long before Obsidian would be back to see the sweet old couple.

But now... onto the Crystal Empire, the Flim Flam Brothers, and whatever scheme might be cooked up to smuggle her erstwhile siblings out of the country.

Obsidian really should learn to bring a book with her... if only she had known she was going to travel so much. "Want to talk about anything in particular, Gypsy?" she offered, in order to stop the incoming wave of boredom from drowning her brain.

The diamond dog looked out of the window, his eyes wandering over fields in the distance, as if he were imagining himself romping through them all. He gave a contented sigh, then glanced over at Obsidian. "This one was a b-bit scared to meet the alicorns... but they were kind to him, and the Night P-P-Princess knows exactly where to skritchie to make it c-count most. Then he was w-w-worried about so many elders in one p-pl-p-place, but they all liked this o-one, and he got a LOT of pettings."

He smiled softly. "It showed this one that n-n-not all meetings should b-be fretted over; sometimes, m-m-meetings are happy things. So, this one says th-this to you, that m-meeting your siblings m-might not be all b-b-bad, after all."

Obsidian smiled. "They were nice, weren't they? I had no idea what to expect from two alicorns who were ancient enough to beat my father a thousand years ago, and I didn't know that I'd be so moved by Whisper and Short Round..."

Then, however, she sighed slightly. "But, contrary to my siblings actions, they weren't serving a Dark King, using evil magic and so on. I hope that at least brother Diamond will be as nice as I've heard about him, though - he sounds like a kind stallion."

Gypsy raised an ear. "This one has h-h-heard only a little b-bit about the siblings, other th-than Tourmaline and A-Amethyst; what do you know ab-bout them? Do you know enough ab-bout them?"

Oh, that's right - she forgot that she wasn't supposed to be talking so freely about them. However, after all he'd done just by being here for her, Gypsy deserved to hear something about it all - especially considering his patience during their visit to Luna and Celestia.

"Diamond is a healer, supposedly a very sweet and kind stallion. Which, with our family history, makes me somewhat suspicious, to be honest... Jade, sadly, was tortured into his own form of insanity, which is why I asked Princess Luna to take care of him... and Amber, uuuuhhhhh... well, she's able to mind control others. I don't like that one bit, to be honest."

She thought for a moment, flicking an ear in concentration. "There are also three more loose siblings wandering around, with at least one - Quartz - having a high likelihood of being harmless. Another one of them, however, was described by Onyx herself as a brute..."

Gypsy nodded as he listened. He smiled when she spoke about Diamond, looked sad when she mentioned Jade, and grew serious at the talk of Amber. "This one d-does not like the s-sound of it, either. M-mind control is a heartless th-th-thing to do to one who can think."

"I agree wi-... wait," she paused as she realized something very important. Who would possibly think history could be useful? Obsidian and Gypsy, of course! "Didn't Headmaster Starlight have some kind of cult... commune... village-thing? Do you think mayhaps she knows something more about mind control that we don't?"

Gypsy's eyes lit up with recognition as he realized it too. "Headmistress Starlight Glimmer once ran an entire village under the p-power of slavery, due to the use of a staff for a focus, yet it was proven in later years that s-she never needed a foci at all, due t-to her great power."

He looked to Obsidian. "Starlight m-may at the very least know of a w-way to perhaps bypass Amber's c-control, and could possibly help f-find a way to hold th-that power at bay. Which would m-m-mean you could talk to Ruby ag-gain!"

Obsidian's eyes widened with excitement. "I never thought I'd ever hear myself say it, but... it's a grand day to be taught something new by a former mad overlord!"

Gypsy gave a slight chuckle at that. "Obsidian, you are the m-most unique pony this one h-has ever met; no other h-h-has led the sort of life you d-did, and no other c-could have been capab-ble of doing what you have d-done. You make things b-better, just by being there - a-and you strive to improve yours-s-self every day."

"It may be g-great to have the knowledge you have... b-but this one thinks it's great j-just to have you here. W-with us. Because this one is c-certain it was your d-d-destiny. And if it IS so, th-then you will b-beat whatever comes at you, even th-this."

"Considering that I was crafted over a thousand years ago and yet somehow ended up in the modern era, in a foreign land, and one of the first ponies I'd ever met just happened to be Cupcake Sprinkles... yeah, I'm more than willing to believe it's some sort of destiny," Obsidian smiled.

After all, what were the odds? Minimal - almost zero. If everything would have gone according to the laws of logic, she should either be quite dead, exploded into a new Sombra, or standing by his side.

"You will s-see Sister Ruby again," he said with a toothy grin, "and sh-she will be happy t-t-to see you, as well."

"Thank you, Gypsy. I'm truly doing my best, and I'm glad I have so many wonderful friends that make up for my flaws and deficiencies," she thanked him humbly. "And by that logic, it would mean that every single one of us was sort of chosen by destiny, right? Especially you, considering that diamond dogs are not exactly a common sight in Ponyville, nor at the school."

He actually gave a light blush at that. "Th-this one was hoping that g-going to the Friendship Academy w-would bring him some friends... yet never in his w-w-wildest dreams did he fors-s-see the way things would t-turn out. Were you aware that th-this one had only started at the school only t-t-twenty-eight days before you arrived?"

He grinned. "M-Mica noticed him f-first; asked many questions, which th-this one was pleased to answer. Mica l-led to Thunderclap, a-and then to Cupc-cake, who led to W-Wart and then you. Otherwise, this one knew n-next to n-n-nobody."

"Th-this one is glad to h-have made as many friends as h-h-he has - it m-makes coming to the school c-completely worthwhile. He just hopes he is as welc-c-come to them as they are to h-him."

"See?" The unicorn grinned broadly. "And every single one of the ponies you mentioned eventually ended up in the same pack. If that isn't destiny, then I frankly don't know what else could it be."

Actually, the idea of being used like a pawn in Chess by some mystical 'destiny' was a bit frightening... but in this particular case, Obsidian could easily believe it was a benevolent entity, and she didn't mind it nudging them in the right direction.

"And trust me, Gypsy - every one of us welcomes your presence at least as much as those elderly ponies back in the Bingo Hall did. Perhaps without as much petting, because - I'll be honest - such an idea never actually crossed my mind."

Gypsy gave a light chuckle. "This one... does not m-mind so much. He knows it is a s-s-sign of affection, and accepts it as s-so. He does not get such k-k-kind touching in his clan, so he enj-joys it while he can. Though, perhaps, this one can see where others of his k-kind might be offended... but th-that is for them to decide. This Gypsy Rover, he has d-decided he likes it."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that," Obsidian nodded, "I just never thought about it because... well, I've only started to learn about signs of affection after I started living in Ponyville." Not exactly a history of too many kindly gestures from her father, sadly. "It, er... took me a while to discover the true power of 'petting'."

Gypsy smiled, then reached over and playfully gave Obsidian a quick but gentle sctritch behind her right ear. "It means much to this o-one that you understand the p-power of a kind t-touch." The Dark Princess giggled when Gypsy scratched her head; perhaps it wasn't as pleasant to her as it was to him, but she appreciated the gesture.

When the train arrived, sure enough, there was Flurry Heart at the station, dressed fashionably enough, and she had a huge smile when she saw Gypsy with her. She instantly held out her hoof to him when she approached.

"Holy shit! You brought him! You're Gypsy Rover, right? Obsidian told me about you - it's fuckin' awesome to meet you!" She then turned and gave Obsidian a quick, smiling, "hiya, Sids," befoe turning back to Gypsy.

The diamond dog was a bit surprised, but smiled and took the proferred hoof. "This one is g-g-glad to meet you, P-Princess." He bowed humbly.

Flur just squeaked and smiled as she clapped her hooves together. "Oh, he is adorable! And so well-spoken, too - most diamond dogs use more pidgin Equestrian than anything else, but YOU! You're so eloquent!"

Gypsy proudly grinned. "Th-this one thanks you, Your M-Majesty."

"Oh, stop that shit - call me 'Flur'! The royal stuff, I leave at home; I'm all mare out here! So, uh..." She leaned in close to Siddy. "Does he know about... y'know... 'the things'?"

Ooooooh, Flurry was already here and waiting for them! Wonderful, simply wonderful; they could get straight to the important business at hoof, then perhaps get to some more fun things without wasting any more of their precious time!

And first things first.

"Hey hey, Flur! And yeah, he knows; we visited the princesses together and talked a bit about our situation on the train," Obsidian admitted. "Did you perhaps notice the arrival of Flim and Flam, perchance?"

Her smile was even brighter now. "DID I? Shit, they're already at work getting the shards together! They've got two down, and if I'm right, they're working on getting the one in acid out as we speak! If we hurry down there, we might be able to see 'em do their thing! Oh, it so fuckin' ROCKS that I'm able to be a part of all this cool-ass shit!" She turned and headed off, motioning for them to follow.

For a moment, she'd tensed up - but then sighed with relief as she heard all was going well. "Good. I was a liiiiiiittle bit afraid that Amber might still have proven to be dangerous... and you're right, let's go!" She quickly trotted after Flurry, excited at the idea of getting her siblings out of these accursed catacombs.

Gypsy turned to Obsidian as he followed along with her. "She sw-swears a lot," he said simply.

"Yes... yes, she does. I, eh... kind of already got used to it, myself. Of course, I really didn't pay very much attention to it in the beginning, what with Peridot trying to kill us and such."

Gypsy nodded, right alongside her on all fours. "Makes sense. But it's st-still a bit j-jarring, all the same."

Upon reaching the same entrance Flurry had used the last time, the three of them made their way in and began the trek through the tunnels. Gypsy's head looked like it was on a swivel; he kept trying to look at everything at once, as he had never seen such tunnels before. Plus, being a diamond dog, he naturally seemed more at home walking here than anyplace she'd seen before; his feet, which were normally large and a bit clumsy, were stepping with great confidence and skill on the uneven ground.

As they got close to where the chambers were, Obsidian began to hear a rhythmic chugging, hissing sound coming from the tunnel with the eerie green glow. It also happened to be the tunnel that Flurry was headed towards.

Ah, home sweet home. Perhaps she should show Gypsy her old quarters? He seemed to have been interested in one of the scrolls she'd been studying over a thousand years ago - perhaps this way, he could check the others?

"I don't hear any screams - hopefully that means that they didn't have any problems with the acid," Obsidian said with a touch of excitement.

As they wheeled around the corner, Obsidian came unto the room that held poor Jade... and beheld something she couldn't have imagined.

It was big, that much was certain; there was no possible way it could have fit through the door on the way in! It looked like a cross between one of the locomotives that had driven the train, and some sort of one-armed behemoth. Everywhere she looked, there were wires, gears, springs, tubes... and everything had a peculiar symmetry to it.

Along the side of it was a sign; some words had been scratched through, and more bold letters underneath spelled out:

{Flim Flam Brothers Super Speedy Modey Cider Gemstone Squeezy Loady 69000}

There was a large mechanical arm that was tipped with a sort-of pincer claw, and it had a strange sheen to it as it began to slowly make its' way toward the waterfall of acid that covered her sharded brother. Atop the machine, in seats where they were pulling levers and twisting dials, were the two salesponies non-pareil themselves. They wore white and blue striped vests, and straw hats with matching bands; a far cry from the old sweatshirts and hoodies they'd worn upon their first meeting.

There was also something different about them now... something more alive, more animatedabout them, as if they'd aged in reverse overnight almost; like they'd returned to doing what they loved.

"Ah, there you are!"
"Yes, come in! Come in!"
"See what we've got cooking here,"
"and you might even get a taste!"
"Of the combined genius of..."

And they suddely sang out, in perfect harmony...

"The inconceivable, I-can't-believe-able, world famous Flim Flam Brotherrrrrrrs!"

Flur clapped her hooves with delight as the two old hucksters bowed to their appreciative audience.

Impressive. What great and powerful war machines these two could create... though it was merely a stray thought; Obsidian did NOT need any war machines, and Equestria was a wonderful, peaceful place with no need for the presence of any instruments of conflict.

And, frankly speaking, she could be more-or-less certain Amber didn't have a grip on the twins; mind-controlled ponies rather rarely have enough wits to behave in a similar coordinated manner as these two did, right?

The Dark Princess followed Flur's example and clapped as well, enjoying the showy routine. It looked very promising - and the sooner they could get Jade, the sooner all of them would be able to leave the Crystal Empire and return home. Perhaps she could even go ahead and free Diamond!

Now, now - there was no rush. He could wait for a moment - after all, he wasn't being tortured or anything...

The claw slowly made it's way into the acid, yet not a single burn or hole appeared on it. It carefully reached in and pinched the shard between the two ends of the gripping prongs. That done, the twins pulled a few more levers, and more, smaller arms extended from the sides; four of them, in fact. Each one had a small rotary saw on the end of it, and they all went right to work cutting the chains.

"As you can see, friends, we have quite a variety of tricks, gizmoes and gadgets, all for the use of you, our customers, to make your lives easier!"
"Indeed, my esteemed sibling! Why, just the very notion that one of them might have to hurt themselves for the sake of this lovely, expensive-looking gem... why, it grieves my poor, poor heart!"
"Fear not, my erstwhile companion! This is exactly what we represent - the opportunity to give back to community whatever we can!"
"For, er, the right price, of course!"
"But of course! Is not all this work and talent worth a paycheck, and a worthwhile one at that?"
"And so it is - and one already paid in full is the BEST KIND of paycheck!"

They laughed together as the saws kept cutting on the rather sturdy chains.

As far as Obsidian was concerned, everything seemed to be in perfect order; the brothers were behaving the same way she saw back in the retirement village, their machine didn't immediately melt or malfunction when it came in contact with the acid...

Apparently, despite the usual troubles she encountered when trying to accomplish something, her brother was going to be easily rescued. How unexpected.

"My family will be always grateful to you for this, gentlecolts!" Obsidian gushed, laying it on a little thick in light of the problem-free extractions.

The twins nodded, and gave each other a grin. They pulled a few more levers, twisted a large steel wheel, and there were four matching >clink!< sounds as the chains gave way, and the claw slowly pulled back from the endless waterfall of pain.

And there it was... there he was. A shard of black crystal, a band of steel still firmly around the center, but finally free of the acidic nightmare and of the chains that had kept him there for so long. Far too long for Obsidian's tastes.

The claw manuvered back until it reached one of the open chamber doors; the shard was deposited inside, there ws a whirring and a clicking, the twins moved more levers, and there was a >thump!< as a small door opened at the far end, and a thin conveyor belt brought out a small, breadbox-sized case.

The seams were all metal, but the sides were a sort of glasslike substance that wasn't quite glass, and there were runes etched onto all the edges of each pane. The shard sat within it, and for some reason, she felt as though she'd brought her poor brother at least some relief.

"Wooooohoooo! Bravo! YES!" Obsidian clapped and cheered when her brother was finally freed from his torment. Ah, if only her father could be here - she would gladly grab him by the scruff of his neck and force him to watch every single second of Jade's release... and then throw him into the acid waterfall, to let it claim another victim instead. This time, one far more deserving such a cruel fate.

Three siblings out. No escapes. Nothing damaged. Excellent!

"I'll keep in mind to ask you for help more often; I didn't think anypony could deal with this problem so easily!"

"But of course!"
"What else would you expect from the most precocious pair in all of Equestria?"
"You almost wound with such a thought, madam!"
"Ah, yet we jest, we jest! Just a bit of fun on the job, don't you know!"
"Indeed!"
"Verily!"

They both laughed in harmony; they seemed like the pair that might have been some weird, wily villains in a past-gone era... but now, they were simply two geniuses who wanted to do something nice...

For money.

Flur and Gypsy made their way over and looked at Jade's shard. "You poor, poor guy," Flurry said to the glass case directly, "no more pain baths for you, okay?"

"F-fascinating," Gypsy said as he looked it over too, "the casing is tempra-glass, s-so it will not break easily... b-but the runes? H-h-how did you manage to g-get those..."

"Traaaaade secret, I'm afraid!"
"Yes, yes, my good sir - we can't just give away our secrets, now can we?"
"No, indeed! Why, if we simp-"

"It's a refraction carving from what I guess would be a few copies of a page or three from the Windmill Press printing of 'Wards For Dummies'?" Flurry Heart lifted an eyebrow as she asked.

The twins went dead quiet, looking at each other. A mirrored bead of sweat rolled down the side of each of their muzzles, in almost perfect synch.

Flur just grinned. "Thought so. Well, shit - it's still fuckin' genius to think to do that! You two really are amazing!"

They nervously smiled, then went quickly back to their controls. As they pressed buttons and pulled levers, the thing began to seem to fold in on itself, packing away all the interesting tidbits and gadgets until it was the size of a common wagon... and about the appearance of one, as well. The twins both went to the front, hooked themselves to the harness, and began to pull their wondrous device along behind them.

"Now, part two will require another cart,"
"So, would you happen to have one handy, my dear?"

Amazing... simply amazing! These runic-laden boxes were an incredible thing; would it be possible to add other runes as well, to ward against Amber reaching the dreams of the others?

"Um, I do not, I'm afraid. Flurry, perhaps you would know best where to get one?" That machine was also more and more interesting with each movement it made - to think that it could change it's function and appearance so easily! It could be turned into the perfect war machine, able to hide its' true purpose until the very last second! Those two stallions were indeed geniuses!

Obsidian could only hope that their knowledge and talents wouldn't be used in the service of evil... well, at least, not again.

Flurry smiled. "Oh, I know where to get one, alright... can I borrow Mr. Rover for this?"

Gypsy lifted an eyebrow and an ear. Flurry gave him a questioning look, to which he replied with a nod. Flur nodded back, then turned to Obsidian.

"Okay, give us about half an hour, then meet us by the west gates, where there's less traffic."

"Oh, no no no no no - more traffic will be needed for this little number!"
"Yes indeed! The more, the better! Get us a packed gate!"

Flurry shrugged, "Okay then, east gates - you'll see the line before you get there."

Gypsy nodded, then turned to Obsidian. "Be safe," he said, and gave her a quick hug before bounding along with a flying Flurry Heart.

"Eh, so, Miss Obsidian,"
"since we've done such a fine job of this,"
"would there possibly be any chance,"
"of a bonus, mayhaps?"

They wanted to head to the more active gate? Well, at least it meant that she would be able to get back to Ponyville soon. It wasn't what she wanted to do, but she knew she would have to visit Miss Starlight as soon as possible - even before seeing her Cupcake. It was for the greater good, after all...

"Gentlecolts, I'm just a normal student - I'm not really able to add any sort of substantial bonuses... and a job of a hero hardly pays, sadly... at least, not with solid cash, to my great regret," she sighed. Considering how much Obsidian did for Equestria, she would have appreciated at least a small bag of coins, from time to time. It would work out well for everypony - heroes wouldn't have to worry about money, and could therefore spend more time saving the world!

"Right now, at best I can offer a humble 150 bits... which, fairly speaking, would be an insult for all of your hard work," she sighed once again, this time far more morosely.

They looked at each other skeptically... then one motioned to Obsidian, and gave his brother a fixed look. The other brother gave a glance at Obsidian, then back to his sibling, smiled and nodded. They both looked at her and, in unison, "done!" Taking the offerred bits, they began to talk excitedly.

"Now, the plan is simple, madam,"
"we will travel in groups of two;"
"you with your diamond dog companion,"
"and I with my dear brother."
"We will make our way to the gates, and once there, we will enact"
"our secret plan! You see, while the guards focus on the distraction you'll provide,"
"we'll scoot through the checkpoint, scot-free, with the shards!"
"Once on the other side, we can both concentrate enough"
"to teleport you and the pup out of harm's way!"
"IT'S FLAWLESS!"

"Er, w-wait... a distraction?" They wanted to use the daughter of the fallen king of this country as a distraction? A hero of Equestria? Just what were they planning to do? Damnation, she really should learn how to teleport - and as soon as possible. Obsidian made a mental note to ask Miss Starlight about it as well, because she would certainly sleep far, far better with the knowledge that she could move away from any danger in a blink of an eye!

"O... kaaaaaay," the unicorn said, doubt writ large across her features.

It wasn't long before another cart could be heard rattling its' way down into the cavern; they were in a sound-channeling tunnel, so it was plain to hear. Rolling down the rocky path came a taxicab, being pulled by a flying Flurry Heart and a wide-eyed Gypsy sitting on the buckboard bench.

When it came to a stop, Flur gave Obsidian and the twins a salute. "Cart acquired! Now, I hope there's more to this plan than just 'grab a cart', because I am ready to fuckin' GO!"

Gypsy just looked a bit horrified at the alicorn princess, then slunk off the cart and came back to Siddy, staying close and behind her. "S-sh-s-sh-s-sh-sh-s-she... s-s-s-s-st-s-st-st-s-st-s-st-"

"Yeah, c'mon," Flur said as she gave a furitive glance around them, "we don't exactly have all day to get this done, okay? I have classes in a couple of hours, and I can't be late... well, not any more than I already have, actually. But fuck it, this is more important, right?"

The twins looked at each other, then shrugged and simply started leading their cart out while explaining the plan to Flurry and Gypsy along the way. By the time they reached the exit (which turned out to be a different one that Flurry didn't know about; Obsidian was impressed the two elders had found this on their own), both the diamond dog and the alicorn wore similar skeptical looks on their faces, akin to Siddy's own.

Obsidian looked at Flurry, looked at Gypsy, then looked back at Flurry... what did she do? The diamond doggo was stuttering far too much for there to have been no issues or problems... and plainly speaking, Obsidian had no idea how far Flurry would go when it came to things like this.

Now, there had to have been some reason why Clap didn't like Flurry... though Thunderclap was a bit of a hothead, so it probably wasn't that hard to make her furious. Especially considering that Flurry was a rather, er... original pony. It did make her feel a little bit better when her friends also seemed rather puzzled by the twins' plan.

"Unfortunately, Gypsy," Obsidian lamented, "I don't think we'll have enough time to show you my old room; we're apparently headed out already. Well, the sooner, the better, right?"

He looked a little disappointed that he wasn't going to get to see her room for himself, but he followed along after them, all the same.

Once they arrived at the actual roadway they were to take, they saw what Flurry had meant; the carts were jammed back-to-muzzle. What's more, some of them were electric horseless carts, while others were steam-powered buggy-type things. They were all squeezed together, barely not-touching, and in line for the pitifully inadequate gate that would allow THREE at a time, no more.

"Now, listen up - here's where we act! Now,"
"you three stick to the far lane, while we'll be in the close one."
"Keep a lane between us, so we don't appear to be together."
"When they start checking the cart, one of you cause a distraction,"
"and we'll be able to get through on our side,"
"because they'll be dealing with your side..."
"And if you aren't right behind us,"
"we'll 'port you out as soon as we get clear."

Very low key and quiet, but just as enthusiastic: "It's flawless!"

Gypsy raised a paw, but the twins suddenly cut their cart over into traffic, and lined themselves up in the closest lane to the city wall. The diamond dog shrugged, but the alicorn was still quite excited. "Part of an actual Flim Flam plan! This day is fucking sweeeeet!"

Distraction - cause a distraction... right. Uhhhhhhhh...

To be completely fair, Obsidian simply had no idea how to make a proper distraction in this situation... at least one that wouldn't land her in the dungeon, or possibly ruin her reputation for years to come.

"Gypsy, Flurry," she turned to face them, trying not to look as though she were being conspiritorial, "do either of you two have any ideas for a distraction? In theory, I could use my Dark Magic or something to scare some ponies... but I don't want to get locked away in a cell or banished forever from the place that - technically - is still my homeland."

Flurry Heart's enthusiasm leaked out of her as she considered the question. "Oh... fuck... yeah, um... I... don't know?"

Gypsy just closed his eyes and sighed. "This one is g-glad to serve." He crept down from the buckboard and dug down into the dirt, vanishing beneath the surface and even replacing the dirt behind him.

Flur looked at Obsidian. "Does he know what he's doing?"

"I have no idea - honestly, I thought for sure you would offer to volunteer for it. My other 'Desperation Option' would be to quickly acquire some alcohol, drink it down rapidly and... well, behave naturally. I have never even had alcohol before, but I've heard about its' effects - I'm sure I would behave distractingly enough for a distraction."

Besides, she could always try to blame Flurry for bringing them drinks meant for adults - thus adding some notoriety to her reputation... which, for some reason, Siddy seemed to think Flur would approve of.

It took a while for the two groups to make their way through their respective lines; Flurry talked about things that had been happening at the palace (mostly inconsequential stuff) and things she saw the twins do (they used the same claw-thing on the other two shards as well), while Siddy observed for herself that the twins were keeping pace with them in the other line, watching nervously as they all approached the front.

Reaching the gates, a rather bored guard barely looked up at her. "Papers."

The twins reached their gate, and a similar bored-looking guard came forward. "Papers," he told them.

Obsidian peeked over at Flurry Heart, and cleared her throat - hopefully getting the guard's attention, even if only passively. "I thought slavery was illegal within the borders of the Crystal Empire... and yet," she gestured to the guard next to them, "I'd say it's cruel to keep them here like this, don't you agree?"

Of course, she knew they weren't slaves... but it was a chance to practice her sarcasm. She took the proper papers from her saddlebag, hoping that Gypsy would act quickly, as it was already too late to enact the (brilliant) drinking plan.

The guard didn't even seem to register that she'd said anything; his eyes floated up to glance at the paperwork... then he sighed and simply muttered, "Move on - next."

The guard looked at the twins' papers, then back up at them... and his face went stark white. "You... y-you're the Flim Flam Brothers!"

"Why, yes indeed, good sir! Always nice to know we're recognized!"
"Have you possibly heard of our fabulous reputation, perhaps?"

His eyes went wide, and he pointed an armored hoof at them both. "Y-you're wanted in Canterlot for scamming the royal bakers!"

The twins looked at each other.

"I... think we forgot about that one, brother dearest..."
"Oh, I believe we have... well, shit."

Four more guards came out of the guard house, surrounding the twins with their spears pointed menacingly at the two elderly stallions. The closest twin looked at Obsidian for only a moment, then gestured with his eyes toward the exit gates. Meanwhile, the other one was trying to sweet-talk the guards into hearing them out.

At that moment, the cart in the middle path between them tilted sideways and both left wheels sank into the ground. The mare onboard shrieked wildly as she was dumped from the buckboard, the stallion reaching forward, trying to catch her... and succeeding.

Gypsy slunk back onto the taxicab wagon, dirt falling in clumps from his hoodie, and murmured, "D-d-did it work?"

By Darkness, what a fiasco! For two lauded geniuses of technology, their plan to escape the City had just a few small, miniscule flaws in it... the biggest one, of course, was putting the task of making a distraction on a rather clueless mare named 'Obsidian', and not telling them that they would have to improvise one on their own!

Obsidian was trying to come up with something that could cause an even larger distraction - and as quickly as possible! Another zombie invasion? No - no Umbrals around. Perhaps she could fake hurting herself, and force the guards to take her to the hospital? No - that situation would hardly take care of more than two or three of them, at best.

Codename: Big No-No-NO? Sadly, not that one either; she didn't have her precious Cupcake here with her, nor did she have enough sugar to send him into overdrive.

"Damnation, it's not enough! Keep trying... but perhaps you could minimalize the damage of private property, okay? Flurry, please help me with this..."

The alicorn mare in the cloak looked as if she wanted to do exactly that... but it's difficult to mistake an alicorn. Especially a royal one. Especially-especially if they're royalty of the direct crown YOU work for. Flurry may have wanted to help with all her heart, but if the guards saw who it was accompanying the Dark Princess... well, it was a fair guess that this would turn from a comedy/tragedy of errors into a media circus, VERY quickly.

Flurry couldn't help - and from the look on her muzzle, it was physically hurting her to stay quiet and anonymous.

Obsidian's heart was racing, frankly speaking; she was NOT going to leave her siblings behind! With that thought screaming through her skull, she leapt down off of the cart and ran towards the guards that were harrassing Flim and Flam.

"Officers! This fallen cart... i-it could be work of one of Sombra's children! This gate may be under attack!" She gestured to the half-sunken cart in the middle lane, hoping that a a combination of half-truths, Gypsy's help, the blind panic that some ponies were succeptable to and just a liiiiiiittle bit of B.S. would possibly help the twins get away.

As she started to approach, the soldiers gestured to the guard house, and a HEAVY portcullis slammed down into place - leaving her, Gypsy and Flurry Heart on one side... and Flim and Flam on the other.

"Someone mentioned an attack," a guard yelled out, "stop all bridge traffic and investigate!"

Flurry motioned to Obsidian. "Come on! We can't get caught out here like this... fuck, I can't get caught out here like this! We'll think of something, just fucking come on!"

Gypsy looked at her, looked at the guards, the fallen gates... and from the look on his muzzle, he was probably trying to think of a way back in.

"Officers!" Obsidian heard the twins speak up.

"We'd like to offer ourselves up to you peacefully,"
"and pay for our crimes! Only the two of us, sirs!"
"Yes, and there's nobody else with us, so no worries!"
"Besides, anyone would think anyone with us would just keep going, after all,"
"Oh, for certain, brother of mine! It would possibly even have been part of the plan all along, I daresay!"
"You daresay!"

"Quiet down, you clowns!" A tough, deep voice said. There was no more talk from the twins as she watched them cuffed and escorted towards the building. The cart was hooked to two other guards, and led around back of the guard house.

Another cart suddenly had its' right wheels sink into the dirt, and the stallion onboard fell off... though the mare hooked to the cart didn't even try to catch him.

This was a DISASTER! And these gates looked like something from out of the ancient age of Equus! Come on, who would put something like that there? It wouldn't stop the likes of Sombra or Tirek, and Chrysalis or Cozy Glow could fly right over it. It was only good for trapping ponies inside!

At least Gypsy was doing a rather fine job of causing a distraction on his own; his method was simple, easy and obvious. Obsidian lit up her horn and worked to catch the falling stallion with her magic. Of course, if everything else fell through as well...

The twins told them earlier to cause a distraction to let them get by... but now, they were seemingly insisting that the other group continue onwards. What exactly was their plan, anyway? No time for that right now - she had to catch the stallion and hope that Flurry Heart would have a more successful idea than Obsidian currently had.

The stallion, caught right before he hit the cobblestone, offered Obsidian a grateful smile as she set him down gently, while the nearby mare gave the stallion a fuming glare.

When she got back to the cart, Flurry looked moments from panic, but was still holding together. "Oh shit oh shit oh FUCK, what do we do, Sids? I can't use my magic, 'cause the whole thing will be blown! What were they saying?"

Gypsy climbed back on the cart, panting slightly. "W-w-wait for it..."

One at a time, the next four carts all tilted at crazy angles, then slowly sank into the ground; now guards were ringing bells and calling out alarms as their own form of panic at this series of unfortunte events continued to unfold behind Obsidian and company.

"They said that 'we should be going', and something about all of this being 'part of the plan'..." Obsidian was slowly beginning to feel as if she was about to simply unravel from the core of her soul! This was EXACTLY why she hated acting without a plan in place - because there was always some sort of horrible consequence for moving forward without a well-prepared plan!

Why were the Imperial Guards making such a big deal out of something that had happened in Canterlot? Were the two countries that thoroughly connected? "They offered themselves to the guards to allow us time to get out of sight... damnation, I really should have gone with the alcohol plan - at least it would have been funny..."

"If they said to go," Flur reasoned, "maybe we should just fuckin' go?"

Gypsy looked at the ruckus being caused, and cowered a bit, his ears and tail drooping. "Th-this one is w-w-worried we will be c-c-cau-c-cau-c-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know - but we can't help it! C'mon... maybe they'll teleport themselves out?" She hooked herself back to the cart once again and trotted (not flew) the lot of them out of the main gate area, regrettably leaving the twins behind to their fates.

When they reached the outer forest, Flur unhooked herself and began to pace nervously. "Fuck fuckitty fuckfuck fuuuuuuuuck! What the fuck are we supposed to do now? I mean, I got clout and shit, yeah, but there is ZERO chance of me geting Mom or Dad to bail those two out of jail - especially after all the shit that just happened back there because of it!"

Gypsy climbed down... then paused in mid-step, sniffing at the air.

"What... hey, what is it, Gyps?" Flurry turned her focus to the diamond dog, pausing in her frantic pacing.

He sniifed a bit. "This one... he s-smells... the t-t-twins..?"

"Of course - they must have had a backup in place already, how very annoying," Obsidian muttered, shuddering slightly. It had been a stupid idea - an entire stupid plan - and yet it seemed as if these con-ponies somehow found a way to use another stupid idea to free themselves! Why couldn't anyone ever tell her what was going on!?

"Mister Flim? Mister Flam? Are you here? Is this possibly part of your plan, too?" she called out, wondering why they hadn't just told them earlier about contingency plans like this... yet there was no answer. Gypsy slowly sniffed his way around to the trunk of the taxi, and Flur - after a quick, curious glance at Obsidian - lit her horn up to open the latch.

Nestled inside was a simple milk crate, containing the three shards in their cases, safe and sound... along with a note.

[Our plans NEVER go correctly; we expected tomfoolery would somehow detain us, so my brother and I managed to smuggle these onto YOUR cart while we had the chance, in the crowd. Consider our services rendered, and we wish you the best of luck in your endeavors. Sincerely - The Incomparable Flim Flam Brothers]

They all just stood there for a moment, utterly dumbfounded after reading the note.

Then, Obsidian facehoofed. Hard. "By Darkness... the guards let us through the gates without any problems - we would have achieved JUST AS MUCH without any stupid plans to distract ponies and so on!"

Gypsy just slowly shook his head. "Th-they wanted one last ch-chance to be useful, this one thinks. Possibly unecessary, b-b-but still noble, i-in it's own way."

Noble or not, Obsidian was still pretty sure it had been completely unnecessary. Besides, they would have had far more opportunities to spend their cash while they were free! Besides, if they had known something would go wrong, they could have asked for their bonus AFTER they escaped - not BEFORE! Obsidian had practically wasted those bits she'd given them... but even with the utter fiasco it had been, the mission had still been successful.

Flur laughed. "Wow! I'd have never thought... I mean, I thought they had the... but we had the... and they..." She stood there, awestruck. "They really ARE geniuses! I'll have visit 'em in the guard house; I might not be able to spring them directly, but maybe I can sweet-talk my way to getting them a reduced sentence, huh?"

She unstrapped herself from the taxicab's harness and looked back. "I gotta split here, Sids... even though I wish I could be there to see you bring your brother out of his literal shell! Still, I'm glad I got to help. I... yo, I still don't wanna tell Dad about the tunnels - but at least it's fuckin' safe for your sibs if we have to, now."

She came up and hugged Gypsy. "You come see me again, okay cutie?" Gypsy went limp, the look on his muzzle one of bemused resignation. Turning to Obsidian, she offered her a hug as well. "You too, okay? Don't make me think you were just here for your family, a'aight?"

Obsidian hugged Flurry tightly. "Oh, of course! I'd surely like to visit again as soon as possible, Flur!" She gave the alicorn princess a much more watered-down version of a Thunderclap-style thump on her back. "I wish we could spend a bit more time together, though; this entire operation went by far more quickly than I anticipated."

"Well, it's about getting your family together, Sids - if it was me, I'd probably do the same fuckin' thing, honestly. I love Mom and Dad, I really do... it's just, y'know, you have your sibs, and you're eager to see how many of 'em will accept you, right? It's cool," she smiled, "and besides, you still have the bracelet - so there's that, right?"

"Of course! I don't leave home without it," Obsidian assured her. Granted, she hadn't had too many opportunities to leave without it - after all, she'd JUST gotten it a day or so ago - but hey, it was the truth!

"And perhaps next time, we can even do something that won't be connected to saving the world or hunting down the children of a dethroned tyrant, right?" Of course, Obsidian had a gut feeling that 'normal activities' with Flurry could possibly end in a small disaster as well... but hey, at least it would be interesting to experience.

"Fer sure! We'll hit the clubs, and when you club with me? You PARTY. You'll see! Ciao!" She turned and headed back towards the front gates, waving to them both as she went.

Gypsy sighed, shook his head, then looked at the taxicab. "As th-this one was t-t-trying to say bef-fore, Flurry st-st-stole this taxicab. W-we should hurry away f-from it..."

Obsidian stared at Gypsy as her eyes threatened to pop out of her head. "S... s-s-stole? But... but stealing is bad!!!"

And they were sitting in said stolen property.

"... yes, we should hurry, quickly hurry, yes, most rapidly..." She slipped down from the cart and they began to hustle away from it, double-time. Dammit, Flurry - what in Tartarus...?

The two of them made considerably fast tracks, leaving the stolen taxicab behind in a parking lot as they made their way to the train station just outside of town, the shards sitting comfortably within her saddlebags. When they arrived, they found themselves on a sparsely-filled train for the return trip, so there was no problem with Obsidian keeping her bags next to her in the seat.

Gypsy sat across from her, hanging his head out of the window again, his long purple tongue flapping next to his smiling mug as they chugged their way back towards Ponyville.

Author's Notes:

Leopards can't change their spots... but sometimes, they pretend they have stripes. Flim & Flam may have been money-hungry scam artists... but every once in a while, even those with villainous hearts turn out to be better folks than one would assume. Stereotypes, shmare-eotypes.

All that hustle and rigamarole for nothing, you think? Well, in all honesty, Obsidian was probably right - the guards wouldn't have given them a second look, and they'd have simply waltzed out of the Empire without a problem. However... would YOU risk your family on the idea that 'MAYBE they won't search us'? All I'm saying is that the brothers simply seemed to want to give Siddy and company 'plausible deniability', in case they were stopped and searched.

And now, we return you to your regularly scheduled adventure story - as much fun as this little aside was when we did it, progress waits for no horse; time to get back to the plotline at hoof. But it was fun while it lasted, eh?

Twenty Seven: Pressing Coal

She hadn't been awake for very long, but it already felt like much of the day was already gone - even though it was only early afternoon when they reached Ponyville Station. Ah, yes - home again, home again. And back to her beloved Cupcake, too.

Obsidian had told Flurry where they'd left the cab, along with an appropriate amount of grumbling at the princess' choice of transportation. Still, regardless of the shenanigans that had ensued towards the end, the trip had been a success - and their lives hadn't been threatened, not even once! Nice!

As she put the braclet away in her bags again, Gypsy's tail began to wag as he pointed up the street - and there he was: Cupcake, walking merrily along with a spring in his step and carrying a load of groceries on his back, all the while lightly bouncing a ball between his forehooves, but carefully - he didn't want to drop the food. He apparently didn't see her, or he might well have dropped the food, at that.

That's why the Dark Princess decided to play it safe - by sneaking closer to Cupcake, then quickly levitating the groceries with her magic as she slid up behind him. Only then would she call out to with her softest, sweetest voice.

"Did your shopping go well, Cupcake?" she purred. She'd actually prefer to tackle-hug him on the spot and welcome him with a long, pleasant snuggle, but... well, she still had to be mindful of the groceries. Something like that might be a bit too distracting...

Deliciously distracting, true, but distracting all the same.

When the blue unicorn stallion heard her voice, his ears perked right up. "Siddy?" He whipped around, then gave a high-pitched squeal. "SIDDEEEE!"

Sure enough, he tackled her and kissed her fiercely. "I was hoping you'd be home soon; I'm making pizza and cauliflower casserole!" Those were some of his best dishes! "Gypsy! Hi hi hi! You can come too, of course!"

Gypsy's wagging tail and excited smile encompassed all he needed to say.

Now, Obsidian just had to make sure that this rather pleasantly started day would continue to be pleasant. Now, let's see... she should probably contact Headmare Starlight. Sending notice to Celestia and Luna that they arrived home safely wouldn't be a bad idea either. Maybe even put aside some time to properly meet with Miss Pinkie... OH! And hide her siblings, of course.

The sad realization that her reunion with Cup would have to wait a bit didn't exactly stop her from returning his kiss. Mmmmm... cinnamon, mayhaps? It was quite possible she was mistaken - she felt that she needed a second sample to be sure... but, alas, she also felt that two kisses in public might be a bit too much.

"I still have some things to do around town, Cuppy... but I give you my word that I'll do my best to come back home as soon as possible!" she promised. "Gypsy, do you possibly know where we could send a message to the princesses that we've succedeed?"

The diamond dog nodded. "The P-P-Ponyville Post Office should d-do the trick, and they can d-deliver on the same d-day, when paid extra."

Cup gave her a tight, firm hug with a loving nuzzle. "Oh, I hope you'll be home soon - I've got a new blender, and I'm in the mood to make milkshakes toooo-niiiiiiiiiight..!" He called out to her happily, and waved as he gathered the groceries again and headed homeward, an extra spring in his perky, almost skipping step.

Gypsy pointed towards the post office, which actually looked more like a reconditioned cottage than a professional post office. But then, it just added to the little town's charm and look, and it may have been where the mailmare slept when she wasn't working. All this postulation and the presence of her siblings being so close had her both nervous and excited at the possible prospects and upcoming introductions.

Milkshakes tonight, eh? That sounded just fine - Obsidian was already very curious about tonight. Another interesting variable would just make it even more exciting! She looked as Cup went on his way, enjoying the sight - she simply loved how enthusiastic he always seemed to be. "Thank you, Gypsy. I'll send word to them after I have a bit of small talk with Miss Headmare... just in case. Well, I suppose I'll have to go to the school, then - would you care to join me, friend?"

Gypsy nodded. "This one would b-be happy to accompany y-y-you." The school wasn't far, and it was actually fairly nice out today - a walk in the sun would be a fine thing, indeed.

It would probably be a very good idea to speak with Princess Twilight later as well... but what's the worst thing that could happen? She wouldn't possibly be upset that she wasn't informed about these possible threats to Equestria, or that Obsidian arranged for them to be smuggled out of the Crystal Empire, or even that she was aided by Twilight's taxicab-stealing niece... would she?

"Let's go - I'd like to get everything done as quickly as possible, so I can enjoy the rest of the day on its' own merits," she said as she trotted towards the school, her diamond dog companion in tow.

The school was currently at a low key point; the clubs had all done their thing, and the staff were headed out as the doors were being locked up. Obsidian managed to catch Headmistress Starlight at the front doors, magically locking things up tight.

"You're a little late for classes," she smirked as Siddy and Gypsy rolled up, "but I can give you a random assignment if you're THAT desperate!"

"I, uh, already have an assignment, Miss Headmare - good afternoon, madam." Of course they were late for classes! Now that she thought about it, Obsidian was somewhat missing school herself. She'd already lost... what, three days? And she was poised to lose more, since her other rogue siblings probably wouldn't simply surrender quickly and quietly. "I actually have an issue I'd like to discuss with you which isn't about school..."

Starlight lifted an eyebrow, but there was a sharp, curt >WHONK< from behind them; out in the lot, there was what looked to be a large tan and white metal box on wheels, and Guidance Councilor Lulamoon had her head stuck out of a side window, glaring intently at Starlight as she gave the horn another beep.

"Well, I always have time for students!" she said with a sheepish grin, "so, what's on your mind?"

Obsidian sighed before she began. "I need to learn more about mind control and the standard means to defend against it, because one of my sisters is an expert at it and I'd pretty much prefer not to be mind-controlled... or to see my friends mind-controlled... or Harmony-forbid, see Midnight suffer any further indignities. It was bad enough for him the first time..."

Starlight's jaw dropped for a moment, which she lifted back into place with a hoof. "Geez, you don't ask the easy questions, do you?"

She began to ponder for another moment (which brought forth several impatient honks from the parking lot), then she looked back at them both. "Well, I do have a few papers written up on the subject; if you like, I can get those ready and have them available for pick-up tomorrow. I'd go and get them for you right now, but-"

The point of her excuse was brought home as Trixie laid on the horn, one long and loud blast permeating any hope of conversation until Starlight waved her hoof reassuringly at her friend. Trixie glared openly at the lot of them, then slowly sank her head back into the vehicle's window, her stern and unforgiving eyes staring accusingly.

"... but I can tell you that there are a few spells that can defend against mind control," Starlight continued as she turned back to her students, "and there should be a list of them available to anyone on the Royal Guard - meaning that I'll bet Stalwart could get those for you, easily enough."

"... then I shall ask her next, since, er... let's just say this sister is closer than I'd care to admit, so I'd need to be certain that 'tomorrow' won't become 'too late'. I should probably go directly to Princess Twilight too..." Obsidian rubbed her temple; exactly what was this big metal thing? And why it was making so much noise? "The next few days may prove to be a bit too interesting, I'm afraid."

So - Stalwart, eh? At this day, at this hour, she should be still at the palace, perhaps? It would be totally convenient if she could inform Twilight and get her hooves on some mental protection at the same time.

"Well, as long as you stay safe, you'll be okay. And don't worry about being absent; you'll have the chance to make up anything you missed later. After all, educa-"

>WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNK!!!!!<

"... a-anyway, just be careful, Obsidian. And we may have to talk later, about... w-whatever it is you're doing right now. But later. If you'll excuse me, I have a well-planned out road trip to go on, and if we're going to get back by tomorrow, we should probably get going now."

>WHONK! WHOOOOOOONK!<

"Especially if I want to save my sanity." Starlight waved and made her way out to the vehicle, climbing inside and apparently getting snarked at for taking so long, by the looks of Councilor Trixie's expression. There was a rumble, then the whole box, mares and all, simply rolled away.

To be fair, Obsidian had no idea which would be more damaging to Miss Starlight's sanity - her trip with Miss Trixie, Miss Trixie's obnoxious honking... or the full story about smuggling three of Sombra's spawns into Ponyville. "So... to the palace, then?" she sighed as she turned to Gypsy.

Gypsy shrugged. "This one is n-not certain that this trip to the sch-school was necessary... but he said he would f-f-follow, so he shall." At least she'd learned that her small mare friend might be able to help the situation a bit - so it wasn't a wasted trip, at least.

"Honestly, I had no idea Miss Starlight would be in a such a hurry... but at least we learned that Stalwart should know more about mind-control prevention." So perhaps they didn't have a nice, long discussion with Miss Headmare, but they still could make up for it with Stalwart's help and perhaps the princess, too.

Hopefully.

The two of them took to the road again, headed to the next stop in Obsidian's Welcome Home Tour.

Twilight's Palace was the usual place it was; busy if you knew where to look, near abandoned if you didn't. Twilight herself was actually in the atrium, talking to one of her assistants before sending them on their way. She then looked at a scroll she was holding in her magic before it rolled itself up and went up in a flash of green flame. Gypsy flinched a bit from the fire, but he didn't panic; it simply caught him by surprise.

"Er, Gypsy... just in case I end up in the dungeon or something, would you kindly tell Cup to send me one of his milkshakes? I'm rather curious about this 'blender' he spoke of," Obsidian said as she tried to lighten the mood a bit.

Gypsy nodded, then pointed at Twilight as she absent-mindedly began to walk right past the two of them, lost in deep thought.

"P-p-princess?" Gypsy asked, and the regal alicorn nearly tripped over her own hooves.

"Aggahbulafluhrrbahwhaaa..?" she stammered, then took a few claming breaths. "Sorry, I was a bit preoccupied - Obsidian? Is there something else going on?" Her expression flattened. "Like, already?"

To be fair, Obsidian had sort of hoped that Gypsy would calm the princess down, so there would be no way she'd end up in a cell or such. "Erm... I'm afraid so. I've already discussed some of the issues with princesses Celestia and Luna when I was visiting some friends in Silver Shores, but obviously you're the next one to inform." A beat "You see, one of my brothers upest our father and was terribly punished for it. He was hurt, tortured and cursed, with his shard placed into an alcove which practically drowned him in acid, which he's been suffering in for over a thousand years."

Twilight listened intently, soaking in the details as Obsidian relayed them and when she spoke of Jade, the unicorn could almost see Twilight cringing in reflexive sympathy as she described the waterfall of acid. "Celestia and Luna are in on this? Well, at least there's that - a bit of a load off my mind, actually. Thank you - I appreciate the information, but... may I ask what I might be able to help with, then?"

Obsidian took a deep breath. "In cooperation with the princesses and the Flim Flam brothers, I recovered his shard, along with two others. I'm... I-I'm really sorry that I didn't-say-anything-wewereimprovisingandIwasafraidtheycouldbelock-..."

She took another deep breath, stopping herself from choking on her own rushing river of words. "... er, locked away, as too dangerous to be free. I'm truly sorry - please, please don't lock me in the dungeons for more than a week, as there are still other siblings that I need to take care of!"

"You've recovered another SHARD?" Twilight's eyes lit up. "But this is amazing! According to his notes, Sombra had-..."

She stopped herself with a conscious glance towards Obsidian. "A-at any rate, the reason you came forth was because of interactions with an alicorn activated your shard - my fault, actually - and now that we have one of them in their crystalline form, we could study and analyze them! If we could get enough of an idea of how the magics work, we might be able to figure out what the spells are that went into them... this is incredible!"

She looked to Obsidian. "I can have my royal magical advisors together within the hour - and they'd be the best ones to ask about where we would start the studies!"

Okay. She wasn't angry. Good.

Gypsy nudged Obsidian and leaned in closely to whisper into her ear. "You r-realize, Siddy, that if they g-go to st-st-study the shards, it m-means she'll be t-taking them from you f-for that purpose, y-yes? It m-may be some time b-b-before you get them b-back."

Oooooh... if Twilight took the shards to study them, they'd be stuck in the depths of a magical laboratory for... well, quite some time. Like when her father used to gather unusual crystals, and how he'd study them for weeks... and sometimes, he even cracked them open to complete his studies. Cracking open ANY of her siblings sounded horrible.

"Of course I realize that, Gypsy - I was going to get to that point right after asking about those notes she mentioned." Silly Gypsy; of course, Obsidian wasn't going to just surrender her three innocent siblings to Twilight.

Okay, maybe more like two innocent siblings... Amber was a rather nasty piece of work.

"Because I am concerned both about my father's notes and about these supposed live experiments on my brothers and sister, I'd like to ask further... yet, for discretion's sake," Obsidian asked as she looked around carefully, "could we perhaps move this discussion into one of the smaller, more secure rooms? The atrium is a bit too public, methinks..."

Twilight nodded, and led them to a room in the now-familiar hallway of suites. It was a bedroom with what looked like live plants growing in every corner. There was a small waterfall on one of the walls, and there were little vines growing across the ceiling that surrounded the bed like a canopy. The dresser and other acoutrements wre all similarly themed, with not a single piece of furniture here untouched by plantlife.

"The Fluttershy Suite will work," Twilight said as she closed the door behind them, "so I suppose I should ask you what you feel would be the best way to do this, as you're the only authority I know on the subject of Shard Ponies?"

Taking care of this particular suite probably drove the maids mad. All of these plants around, covering every single place that had to be cleaned, dusted off and so on... really, it was almost cruel to think about their hard toil to maintain such a visage of 'natural'.

"I think I have a mind to immediately release one of my brothers," Obsidian started with a hard statement, " as Diamond was described by my other siblings to be a very kind stallion, and he was skilled with Healing magics. Considering that my other sharded brother, Jade, is cursed... well, we would need to be very, very cautious during his release - yet at the same time, we need to hurry - because honestly, he really needs a break. The poor fellow..."

Obsidian rubbed her temple; she could use a break from all of this, too. Okay... now, for the bad news.

"My sister Amber - the third shard - is apparently quite proficient with mind control magics, which is something I'm very, very concerned about. Even stuck as a shard, she managed to force her way into my dreams. I'm not sure what else she's capable of, but we already know that this kind of magic is of the 'very problematic' kind. We need a way to contain it... and defend against it. I'd prefer not to fight with an Amber-style mind-controlled Gypsy or Cupcake... or, Darkness-forbid, Midnight again." Obsidian was fairly certain that Amber would be a bit more of a hoofful than Peridot had been... plus, no magic notebook to shred, either.

Twilight listened intently, then nodded as Siddy finished. "Well, I have to say that I'm not sure I agree with your ideas - not all of them - but I do think that at least the threat of your sister needs to be approached first. There are a number of mind-control resistance spells in the royal armoury, and a few of them are even quick and easy to learn - I'll have Stalwart bring them to you, since she knows you."

"I'm not so sure about releasing any of your other siblings, Obsidian - especially with the track record they have. I would honestly feel much, much better if they were turned over to me for safekeeping, and kept from being released at all... at least, until we know for 100% certain that we have everything under control."

Now, Obsidian was starting to see what Flur was talking about; it was almost as if Twilight were simply trying to get the shards away from her, like she didn't feel as though Siddy could reasonably keep hold of her sibling shards... or like she didn't trust her with them. Frankly, it was Obsidian's family; it should be her decision, shouldn't it? Yet here was an alicorn, requesting her to give her siblings over, for 'safekeeping'... and likely, for study as well.

Easy to learn mind-controlling spells were good; they should come in handy. Hopefully, they'd be strong enough to keep Amber at bay - and, even more hopefully, Obsidian's fears were just her own paranoia.

"Princess, at the moment, our track record is really not that bad. Counting as a single group, my friends and I have saved Equestria twice already... and besides, I have to protest putting Diamond or Jade in the same category as Onyx or Amy - especially as Jade is just an innocent victim of my damned father's machinations. Besides, Princess Luna has already offered to help rehabilitate and take care of him - she stated she was 'familiar' with his current mindset."

"And Diamond should be far, far less dangerous than even I was during my reawakening. He is a kind healer, after all... and then, there's that, uh, study you were talking about. Is it... ethical, I hope?"

Twilight balked, but gently. "Obsidian, I wouldn't ever allow any direct harm to come to your siblings; I'd make sure they were handled with the utmost care, and nothing but information is all we will take from them. I promise you, what we could learn from observation alone might well bring about other spells that could be capable of... well, anything! Can you imagine the help to law enforcement alone, if we could discover a way to trap criminals harmlessly into similar shards?"

She sighed. "But... I really don't think that releasing ANY of them is a good idea right now, Obsidian. Each time one shows up, it's always a big event... and frankly, I think we're about 'event-ed' out, to be perfectly honest. But..."

She nodded her head, then looked directly at Obsidian. "I... I have to trust my subjects, that they have Equestria's best interests at heart. Especially when it comes to heroes; I've witnessed firsthoof the kinds of things that can be accomplished with teamwork and trust, and I'll not be the one to ruin that for you."

"If you truly wish to awaken... did you say his name was Diamond?... then all I ask is that you allow it to happen at one of our study facilities, so we can record the event. I activated you completely by accident; this time, we'll have all the proper instruments ready for the occasion. Plus, we'll have back-up, in case things DO go wrong; I have a number of magical failsafes in place, just in case of a containment emergency."

Obsidian tapped her chin in thought. It did sound like a good idea... however, she still wasn't sure if the ideas Twilight would consider 'good' were completely 'safe'.

"I'm just worried that something would happen to possibly awaken Jade, princess... or that Amber could somehow mind-control somepony during their research," she admitted with a rather grim voice. "But... there's nothing I can do with them at the moment, anyway; I suppose properly documenting the release isn't a bad idea. It could be useful, yes..." Well, Diamond - it looked as though you were getting your chance after all.

"And, um..." Obsidian meekly asked, "could we perhaps move my father's statue into a safer location? Even with those three safely under supervision, there are still four more siblings of mine running around."

Twilight nodded sagely. "We can - he'll be placed within the vaults, at least until this either blows over or we find a way to convince him to behave himself. At this rate, one's just as likely as the other," she rolled her eyes, but her kind smile stayed in place.

"I can see to it that my head researcher and her assistant are the only ones with access to them, if that would ease your mind. I can even increase the guard presence there, just to be on the safe side, so you won't have to worry about one of them just walking right out as soon as they wake up."

Gypsy tugged at Obsidian, and leaned over to her, speaking low and soft. "I-in the v-vaults? Is that not what Onyx d-did as well, so that she c-c-could her her hooves on something? Maybe we suggest that S-S-Sombra not have such an op-opportunity, as w-well?"

"Gypsy, Onyx got into the vaults because it was a part of her well-crafted plan; my father will be there as a statue, and he also had his magic blocked before he was turned stone, if you recall. It's not exactly the same circumstances," Obsidian tried to calm her diamond dog friend, "especially as the only other alternatives I can think of are either dropping him into a lake, or grinding him into gravel."

Gypsy conceded, yet the look on his muzzle said he was going to keep worrying about it, thank you very much. "And whom d-did she learn her p-p-planning from?" he asked under his breath.

Twilight, however, saw the diamond dog's muzzle and gave a thoughtful look. "Maybe we could put him into one of the holding vaults in Ponyville; no one would ever think to look for him in a town's bank." Gypsy smiled a bit, glad that he was noticed, and his suggestion taken into consideration.

Twilight Sparkle then looked at Siddy. "Give me about ten minutes, and we'll have a Study Chamber ready for you - that is, IF you're wanting to do this right now, of course. If you'd rather wait, we can do that too... but honestly? I can hardly wait to see what discoveries we learn from this!" She giggled excitedly as she momentarily pranced-in-place on her dainty royal hooves.

Even though she was an adult alicorn, the idea of learning something new apparently made her react like she was a filly again, flowing mane notwithstanding.

Okay, granted - a secure bank vault was a good idea; it wasn't Obsidian's fault for not knowing that Sombra could be put there! She wasn't familiar with this place! And honestly, considering that Onyx's plans had worked with eerie accuracy, and Sombra's plans merely led him to THREE defeats... well, Obsidian really had no idea from whom Onyx had learned to plan so deeply. Certainly not from their loser of a father!

Stupid Sombra.

"I believe that's what I DO want, to be honest - Diamond deserves a chance. However, we, ummm... we've sort-of run out of beds at my own house, and he would need a place to sleep..." she admitted, embarrassed. Seeing to his welfare was an important part of his release, after all - she couldn't just free him, then go on her way and let him fend for himself; shame on her for not thinking of that ahead of time.

Twilight nodded. "I'm sure, if this works, that the science ponies will want him to stay with them for a while, to monitor him and make sure he's okay. Plus, it gives time to find a place for him, wherever it may be. Maybe your brother would share his space with Diamond?"

Obsidian thought about Tourmaline sharing his personal space... then, she thought about Gunther. "I... think Tourmy would prefer to keep his privacy, princess. But I'm fine with the science ponies wanting to observe him for a bit."

Princess Twilight turned and, with a flash of light, a scroll and pen appeared in her magical grip. "I'll get the word out to the science lab; you go to the West Hall and let Stalwart know to gather some of the armoury's quick-cast spells against mind control. Tell her to accompany you as well, as her skills might come in handy... in case of big disasters, things exploding, or Diamond turns out to be evil and stuff. Just the usual things to worry about."

Obsidian sighed - hopefully, Diamond wouldn't explode; it would be terribly depressing, after all she'd been through to reach him. "Well then... let's go, Gypsy. The sooner we find out about these mental-warding spells, the better." Also, meeting with Stalwart was always a nice bonus.

Excusing themselves as Twilight started writing, Gypsy followed Obsidian as they made their way to the West Hall. It was just as grand as the rest of the palace, but far less travelled. The thought that this place was an absolute bore was written no larger in this room than the look on Wart's muzzle; she looked so very bored, she seemed as though she would be on the verge of doing the unthinkable... and relaxing.

However, as soon as she saw Siddy and Gypsy heade her way, her eyes lit up with the smile her face couldn't wear on duty.

"Stalwart! I'm so glad to see you!" Obsidian couldn't manage to contain her excited mood as she practically pranced to her little friend and almost picked Wart up as she hugged her. "We have so much to talk about.... but first things first, of course! We need some of the spells the Royal Guard has to combat mind control from the armory... and after that, you can accompany us to Twilight's study chambers." She smiled proudly. "We are going to release another one of my siblings."

Wart's muzzle didn't change expression, but her eyes were full of surprise at the news. "I gather the chambers are where you plan to release your brother, Diamond? Well, I will say that it will hopefully be a sight more interesting than watching the dust settle here! So, as per your request, I shall go and fetch-... wait.. your request won't conflict with my orders, will they?"

"It's not exactly my request. It's Princess Twilight's request," Obsidian added with a smirk, knowing what the little mare wanted to hear.

Wart nodded smartly. "Well then, I shall not keep Her Majesty waiting!"

With that, Wart led them to the armoury - a long room filled with shelves, half of which were filled with weapons and armor pieces... and the other half, filled with nothing but BOOKS. Obsidian approved; knowledge could be just as useful a weapon as any blade.

After a quick look through what looked to be a tome full of nothing but tables of contents, she located where the spells were, and fetched four scrolls. Each was a ward against mind control, but they looked fairly easy to learn. That accomplished, they left to head to their next destination - Twilight's science research facilities. Hopefully, at least one of her two friends knew where those were - the Dark Princess had no clue.

Outside of the armoury, Wart looked at Siddy. "And so, spells prepared, yes? Then where shall we witness your brother's arrival?"

"Study chambers, I was told," Obsidian replied with her eyes set on the scrolls. She wasted no time, and immediately started to look them over, holding them open with her magic and reading each word, fully focused on the task - she wanted to meet with Ruby tonight, dammit! Amber, oh, Amber... why did you have to be a master of THAT specific part of father's magic?

Wart looked at her for a moment. "Study chambers? Well, those are in the science building, but... did she happen to say which one?"

Gypsy shrugged, and Wart sighed. "I will suppose that it will be the most active one, then. Shall we go?"

Wart led the way, heading through hall after hall until she came across stairs, where she led them up and into another hallway, but this one had framed schematics on the walls and more of a professional feel to it. She made her way down rows of cubicles until she reached a hallway with a sign that read:

[Study Chambers #1 - #20]

Wart looked back at her friends. "Shall we simply start at 'one', and work our way up?"

Obsidian looked around in awe; she felt that she should have a study chamber of her own, someday... maybe two. It was apparently one of the many advantages of being a princess - a portion of your palace, turned into study labs at your command. Yet another reason to try to become an alicorn one day...

Gypsy smiled, and raised a paw at a passing stallion. "Exc-cuse me, good sir - would you happen to know wh-what Chamber Princess T-T-Twilight is currently using?"

The stallion looked over the three of them, then motioned with a hoof to the fourth door on the right.

"Thank you k-kindly," he said with a grin. The scientist simply gave them all another look, then went on his way.

"A commendable idea, Gypsy," Wart praised him, and the diamond dog's tail gave a few light wags.

Well, it seemed as though the classic move of 'asking' was still working! Yay! As they went along, Obsidian kept carefully looking around, trying to decide whether or not it was a good place to keep her other two siblings.

From what she observed, the place looked quiet and secure - two things she simply couldn't guarantee at home. It may be that the ONLY sensible place to keep them was here, as this was in the same palace as the princess. It would mean she'd be close by if something went wrong... right?

At any rate, the door that had been indicated was indeed the one that held Twilight Sparkle; she was inside, talking to a few other unicorns dressed in lab coats. One of them, a tall mare, gave Siddy a slight wave as she came in - the rest were utterly professional.

Inside what appeared to be a secure-looking chamber, there was an area on a raised stage. It had carpeting on the floor, a couch to lie on, and a chair in case the couch was not to his liking. Otherwise, it was almost like a sound stage, but the walls were lined with dark mirrors. It looked strange, but not dangerously so.

By Darkness... at this rate, Obsidian was becoming aware she might have to deal with her paranoia on a personal level; she shouldn't want to waste her time and willpower on worrying about the lab's safety - if it wasn't safe to be under the supervision of a scientifically-minded alicorn, then what place would be?

Slowly, she stepped into the chamber, looking in her saddlebags for Diamond's shard. The case that held it was on top, and the shard inside looked small and helpless in the bright, revealing lights of the laboratory. The case's runes had a soft white glow to them, and it almost looked as if they were pulsing under the drone of the overhead bulbs.

Twilight came over to her and held up a device with her magic; it buzzed and its' antenna changed colors as she ran it up and down the shard's casing. She then looked at the device, frowned, thumped it lightly on one side with a hoof, then sighed and gave it to another scientist there, who promptly took it away.

"Okay, everybody... moment of truth time." The alicorn spoke with a sense of hushed reverence for whatever she was about to witness. "So, Obsidian... care to open the case?"

Obsidian started to feel her nerves twitch when her sight fell on the rune-covered casing surrounding her brother's shard, but it wasn't a bad twitch; she was actually going to meet him, muzzle-to-muzzle, to save him from this sorry state... and in the process, she'd get an idea of how it looked when she was freed from this strange prison as well. This time, however, everything was going to be recorded, described and checked over in every possible way. It would be a fine day for magical science, that much was fairly certain.

She peeked one last time, just to be sure she didn't grab the wrong sibling's case, then held her breath as she aimed her horn at it. "Here... we... go..." she whispered as she carefully took hold of it, feeling her hooves shaking slightly.

The case. Yeah. The sealed case. With the runes on it. Yup. And no visible hinges. Or a latch. Mmm-hmmm. Right.

Okay, the fact that it was more securely sealed than Obsidian had first thought was a good sign - that way, nopony would accidentially free Jade or Amber. However...

"... er... ah... umm, this may take a moment."

Reaching into her bags again, she took out her Flurry-Connection Bracelet and put it on. It shouldn't hurt to ask, right?

Flurry, did you see how they made the cases? Or at least how they sealed them? We're trying to open one, but... it's doing its' job a bit TOO well.

Meanwhile, while she was trying to connect with the Crystallian princess, Obsidian started to inspect the case a bit closer herself.

The solid wooden and steel casing was sturdy-looking, that much was evident... but strangely enough, it almost looked as though it were built around the shard itself. Useful for containing things... unless you wanted those things back out, apparently.

Hunh? Flurry's voice pinged in her mind. How they made the-OH! Fuck me sideways with a kirin's horn, that's right! They said it would take a codeword to deactivate it... and the codeword was saying your name, then their name twice. It sounded easy, but I don't have a fucking clue if it actually is or not.

O... kaaaaay. "Gypsy, could you possibly take the other two cases into another room for a moment? I don't want to accidentally open all three cases." She then thought towards Flurry, Okay, thank you - hopefully all will go well, and Diamond will be free in no time.

She lowered her head to the case, touching it lightly to her forehead as she spoke. "Obsidian... Flim and Flam... Flim and Flam..." she whispered quietly.

...

...

... well, that was anti-climactic.

Nothing at all happened. Nothing still continued to happen. Then suddenly, nothing else happened at all.

Did she get it wrong?

"Is everything okay in there?" a tinny Twilight Sparkle voice spoke up from a speaker in the ceiling. That was when Obsidian first noticed that, aside from herself, Wart and Gypsy... the lab was completely empty of all the ponies that were in it, mere moments ago.

"I'm, er... I'm trying to correctly cast the opening phrase... where did everyone else go?" She focused herself as she lowered her head again. "Um... Obsidian... Flim Flam Brothers... Flim Flam Brothers?"

"Oh," the speaker chimed, "we're all in the observation room... watching you. Just in case, well... you know." Twilight sounded assured... but then again, she wasn't the one releasing her brother, was she? IF she could get the damned case open, that was!

The second attempt yielded nothing as well; maybe she should ask Flurry for verification? "Obsidian... Flam and Flim... Flam and Flim?" Her irritation was starting to grow. "Damnation! Maybe... Obsidian... Diamond... Diamond?"

The case gave a single, audible >click!<, then she watched as the glass panes began to glow. Slowly, the glass seemed to melt away into the edges, leaving the shard simply floating there in the middle of the strange enchanted frame, as if waiting for someone to gather it up.

Wart blinked, taking a defensive stance yet not drawing a weapon. Gypsy, at Obsidian's other side, sniffed cautiously at it. "It s-smells like fresh cl-cl-clay," he said, "mined from deep in the g-ground."

Okay, now it made sense - more sense than assuming that, in this case, 'their' was meant in a strictly plural sense. She took a deep breath herself - clay? Fresh clay... perhaps it was important to keep that in mind.

"Okay, I got it open... now where should I put it?" she said aloud, towards the speaker on the ceiling.

"Take it to the couch; maybe he'll appear there?" came from the speaker. The couch and chair did look more inviting than the cold, sterile lab table.

"Th-this one thinks you sh-should place the sh-shard in the chair," the diamond dog shared his opinion.

"I would suggest somewhere where there is something familiar to see, as he may be disoriented," Wart offered. "Do you recall how you awoke, Lady Siddy?"

"I awoke to a shocked alicorn and a few spears aimed at me, Gypsy - it was hardly the best awakening in the world," Obsidian chuckled slightly. Couch, chair... of the two, the couch seemed to be more natural for a pony and if he fell over or something, it should be big enough for him to stay ff the floor. However, Gypsy was proposing a chair, and lately he seemed to have far better ideas than Obsidian herself did - so, she placed the shard gently in the chair with her hooves.

Gypsy nodded, then stepped back respectfully to allow Obsidian room, should she need it. Wart, ever so careful, took a stance that would allow her to pull her sword swiftly, ending any possible mistakes made. The shard sat on the couch cushion, beautiful yet inert.

From the speaker above: "I actually picked the shard up with my magic, which activated it. Try that - use your magic on it."

Here goes... er, something. Hopefully, there would be no shenanigans or dirty tricks; it would be nice to have, at least for once, a non-violent family reunion.

Obsidian focused her mind, and enveloped the shard with her magic...

Author's Notes:

Of course, Twilight Sparkle would be the kind of princess to dedicate a portion of her castle to scientific study; I dare any true fan of Twily's to deny it. }:p

The part with Trixie honking the horn was fun for me; I giggled almost the entire time I was writing it, because I could so TOTALLY see her being the impatient kind when it comes to starting road trips with her BFF - and, well, Trixie's just that way in general. Not that I don't like Trix; on the contrary, she's one of my favorites. She's just got the type of personality I could see doing such a thing, is all.

And so, the time has come to meet yet another Shard of Sombra; next chapter, Obsidian's (supposedly) kind sibling finally makes his appearance, and we get to see how it happens. Will Diamond end up being everything Obsidian expects him to be... or is there more to this brother than she knows? Will this be a peaceful reunion?

No spoilers...

Twenty Eight: Introducing Diamond

It felt a bit like unwrapping a piece of candy; the edges of the shard felt almost like delicate tin foil in her magical grip as she felt them seem to peel away as if nothing were between them.

And then, she felt warmth. Not physically... but in her heart, in her mind, and in her magic. Something felt as though it were spreading out from inside her, and the shard began to glow a bright white color until the glow seemed to fill the entire area.

When the glow disappeared, there was a new stallion in the room.

He had a coat that was only the lightest shade of grey, and a mane that was almost a lavendar color, which was fixed into braids with small beads on them. One braid had a single small silver bell hanging from it that tinkled softly. There was an ugly scar that ran down his left side, from his neck to his flank, but otherwise, he seemed healthy. His tail was also braided, but seemingly in a particular pattern that looked as though it were braided too tightly. His cutie mark was a crystal heart that had white light shining from behind it, even though the heart itself was the same dark heart on her own flank.

He was handsome, though to Obsidian, it was in a cute little brother manner. And little wasn't far off the mark; he was just a few inches taller that Wart herself was, even though his dimensions were those of an adult.

He gave a tiny groan, and began to twitch and move on the couch.

It was much cleaner than their father's return; Obsidian could only watch in amazement (and a little touch of irritation) at the process; the realization that she was once a shard hit her hard, a while back - and the fact that she was able to see it with her own two eyes reminded her of these unpleasant feelings. And then, the void was filled with a stallion.

Well, he looked like a perfect match for Stalwart with his height - and he was fairly easy on the eyes too. The only thing ruining his appearance was that wicked scar, whose origin was most likely connected to their single parent. Just what did he do? It looked as if Sombra ripped his body open, hid something inside and then zipped him back up.

Or perhaps it was just Obsidian's paranoia.

"Brother? How do you feel?" she asked carefully, moving closer to attempt to stand within his sight range.

There was a murmur, a cough, and two beautiful burgundy eyes opened up. At first, they were straining in different directions, but they slowly came together to look at Obsidian's muzzle. It was obvious from the way his pupils were moving that he couldn't quite focus on her yet, but he did make an attempt to speak:

"{G... greetings, my... most honourable... f-father...}"

Deja vu; they were almost the same words Obsidian herself had spoken when she first awoke to what she learned were royal guards. His voice was a pleasant, soft tenor, and he seemed to be trying to slowly shake his head back into order. Ah, memories... older memories, from an older life. She had been just as confused as he was - but at least he wasn't surrounded by armed ponies at the moment.

Wart blinked, and Gypsy's smile tripled in size. The little guardmare looked at Obsidian with a question. "Lady Siddy... what did he just say?"

It took her a moment to realize that he hadn't spoken in Equestrian - she was so relieved that everything seemed to be in good order that she barely noticed the language. After all, she understood it anyway, right? Luckily, Stalwart helped identify the problem.

"He mistakenly gave a greeting to our father... in Ancient Crystallian. It's not surprising; I did the same thing when I woke up..." She knelt down on her front legs to get her muzzle on the same level as Diamond's. "{It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard a number of good things about you.}"

His eyes blinked, then his pupils slowly focused on her. "{I... I know you... was it from a... a dream?}"

Gypsy clapped his paws together quietly, and stepped a little closer.

Diamond placed a hoof against his forehead. "{It feels... so very strange... as if I have been... awake, yet dreaming... how could this be possible?}"

He then started to sit up, and caught a direct look at Gypsy. He gave a yelp, then tumbled backwards off the couch to get away from him. "{YAAAAAH! A beast!}"

He then backpedaled into Wart, who he somewhat bounced off of. When he turned to see what he collided with, though... he froze, staring with those burgundy eyes of his. "{... and... a beauty... by the light that casts the Darkness' shadow, the Empire has created... perfection...}" He simply sat there, staring wide-eyed at Stalwart as Gypsy made his way behind Obsidian, a bit ashamed to have scared Diamond so harshly.

"Lady Siddy..." Wart asked as she kept a wary eye on the newcomer, "what is he saying?"

Did their father forget to teach Diamond the Equestrian language? Oh dear... ohhhh dear. This development could make things far, far more difficult.

"{You are awakened now, brother. It's a reality - we've brought you back.}" Obsidian, concerned, once again trotted closer to Diamond and sat down right next to him. "{You have no reason to be scared of Gypsy - trust me, he is no beast. And Stalwart is my friend, and she's helped me quite a bit. You don't seem to speak Equestrian, do you?}"

She then cleared her throat and spoke in Equestrian again. "He is still confused and he... likes your appearance, Stalwart. Does Princess Twilight possibly understand and speak Ancient Imperial?"

Wart's eyes widened. "He likes... what?"

Gypsy, slowly peeking out from behind Obsidian, looked at Diamond and spoke softly. "{This one means you no harm, good pony - he only wanted to meet you.}" Gypsy Rover spoke almost perfect Imperial... and without a stutter, either! "{He wishes to apologize, if he caused you any distress.}"

Diamond looked at Gypsy for a moment, then at Obsidian, then at Wart... where his eyes lingered for a moment... and another moment... until he tore them away from the small mare, and looked at his sister once again. "{You... you are... Obsidyan! Yes, I DO know you! You are my sister!}" Diamond then reached out and gave Siddy a fierce, warm hug.

Woah! Not only was Gypsy apparently stuttering only in Equestrian, but Diamond was most certainly NOT scared of touching others! Obsidian was certain that he would react to this kind of contact more or less the same way that she used to - with fear and confusion. However, to her great surprise, not only he was fine with it, but even initiated it on his own! To be fair, with some of her other siblings, Obsidian would be already looking for the knife in her back.

"{Obsidyan! You saved me! Oh, I cannot thank you enough! I-...}" He then sat back, and looked at her seriously. "{Then that means... what you t-told me about poor, poor father is...}" His ears fell a bit, but he closed his eyes and shook his head, the little bell tinkling merrily. He tried to stand up, but stumbled against the couch instead, where he sat down.

"{Equestrian..? I... can understand most of it, but... n-no, father forbade it. He assured me that the languages of the conquered have no place in a kingdom's history... though that always felt wrong to me.}" His head still seemed to be a bit fuzzy, but Diamond was coming around well enough.

"{How very ironic, especially as father completely failed to conquer Equestria, despite multiple attempts. In fact, the Equestrian dialect is commonplace within the Empire right now. The city looks much better than it used to, in my humble opinion.}" Midnight might not like Diamond's apparent focus on Stalwart; hopefully it wouldn't turn into a sappy, love-triangle-y romance story.

"{I am free... but... do I hear you correctly, that Equestria yet stands? But this was not father's plan - what has become of it? Though he was... not known for being kind, he was well known for strategy; it makes little sense.}" He rubbed his head a bit, making his bell jingle again, before he tried to stand again... he didn't get far, but he sat down before he lost his balance this time.

"{The plan was for father to conquer Equestria, then for us to... to...}" He blinked, then made an annoyed face. "{... I cannot recall. Why can I not remember? Onyx would know, I am certain, yet...}" His eyes then shot wide open, and he looked at Obsidian with visible anxiety. "{Is SHE awake!?}"

"{I'm... not exactly sure about father's much-lauded strategic sensibilities... after all, he lost three times in a row. Two of them, quite close together.}"

An ironic note started to seep into Obsidian's words. "{Let's see... first, he was defeated by the Equestrians when they invaded the Empire. Later, he was defeated when he tried to make a comeback during the Crystal Empire's return. Eventually, he was defeated for the third time when Onyx managed to resurrect him... at the cost of her own life.}"

She sighed. That sight had been... difficult to forget, though she most certainly wished she could. Poor Onyx - even despite the fact that Obsidian hated her considerably and spent her first days in Equestria fighting against her... she had little other choice but to pity the mare that had met so gory an end.

"{It's a new world you've woken up in, and it'll take some time to get used to it...}" Obsidian grinned at her sibling, "{but trust me - it's worth it, dear brother.}"

He looked at her for a moment... then nodded softly. "{Obsidyan... I am humbled that you care so much for me. Father was not known for teaching us about such things, yet I have always had it in my heart anyway. I am grateful that you are kind to me, my most honourable sister.}" He gave Obsidian a bow. "{Equestria... i-is it... kind? Will they disike me?}"

"Lady Siddy," Wart purposely spoke up, to ensure Obsidian heard her, "I am pleased that you have been successful, yet now I ask of you... what shall we do with him?"

The moment she spoke, Diamond's eyes were back on her, looking over every feature on her muzzle, gazing into her eyes, and sighing longingly. "{This... creature of perfection... who is she? Never have mine eyes been so lightly dipped into the wellspring of beauty than to behold such eloquence in my presence, in living form, that my heart wouldst leap from my barrel to embrace her...}"

Wart blinked. "And why is he babbling at me like that?"

"From what I've seen, I believe I'd call it a 'crush', Stalwart," Obsidian said bluntly. "Is Princess Twilight still observing us? She said something about tests..."

Then to her brother, "{No, Diamond, they won't dislike you; it's the land of friendship, and even I was able to find a few friends. Tourmaline also enjoys it. Amethyst... maybe not so much. And this is Stalwart Stance, a trainee Royal Guard for Princess Twilight, who is the current alicorn ruler of Equestria. She's one of my friends, just like Gypsy Rover,}" she nodded in diamond dog's direction. "{Sooner or later, you'll likely meet my other friends: Mica, Thunderclap.... and my coltfriend, Cupcake.}"

Though it probably wouldn't hurt to learn a bit more Equestrian first.

Stalwart's eyes bugged out a bit. "A CRUSH!? For what? Why? What did I do, Lady Siddy?"

Diamond looked relieved at Siddy's words, and smiled when he heard that Equestria was a nice place. Upon hearing the little mare's name, Diamond turned to Wart and spoke to her... in Equestrian.

"Shtahlwaat... Stanze."

... almost.

Diamond smiled sweetly, but Wart simply blinked. "I... am not certain if I am comfortable with this situation," she said, looking sidelong at Diamond as he gazed lovingly at her, his eyes half-lidded and dreamy.

After a moment, he shook himself out of his haze and turned to look at the diamond dog. "Jip-zeeeee... Row-vaah."

Gypsy smiled. "{Yes, good pony, yes! That is correct, though it should not sound so... elongated, next time!}"

Diamond returned the smile. "{Oh, I am so very pleased that you can understand me, beas-... er, Gypsee! I was beginning to think that Obsidyan would be my only means of talking to the world! I would not wish to burden her so...}"

Gypsy waved a dismissive paw. "{For you? Obsidian would level mountains; to translate for you would be no issue to her.}" The look Gypsy gave her said that he was aware that, realistically speaking, it would be an issue for her, yet he was making her look good to her brother. Clever pup.

"You just look good to him, Stalwart - surely this can't be the first time somepony has been smitten by your beauty." Well, of course having to engage in constant translation would be an issue for her... but it didn't change the fact that she'd like to help Diamond with his integration as much as possible. He was her brother, after all - and seemed like a really nice stallion.

Wart just stared at Obsidian. "I... I cannot recall if that was ever... something I considered..."

"{I believe Princess Twilight also knows some Ancient Imperial, which is a great thing as far as I'm concerned, as you'll likely spend some time here in the palace,}" Obsidian informed Diamond.

"{Palace? We are within the Empire? Wait - is it still the Crystal Empire or has Equestria changed it to 'Heart Lovey Pink Fluff Country'?}" He gave a chuckle at that; apparently, Equestria had quite a long history of being 'cutesy'.

"{Princess Twilight? Is she of the Sombra Dynasty? Am I... Obsidyan, am I expected to marry her, perhaps?}"

Gypsy slapped his paws over his mouth and guffawed into them, while Diamond, slowly and with great concentration, rose to his hooves while he held onto the couch. Then, as his first official act while standing up, he gave Obsidian a low, honorable bow.

"{I am pleased to meet you, Obsidyan - I am Diamond, Prince of the Crystal Empire an-...}"

He paused, looking at her with a quizzical expression. "{... do I technically still count as a prince? Father would be most displeased if I were not able to maintain his dynasty.}"

Obsidian thought about the idea of Diamond marrying Twilight; it would certainly be an interesting sight, though she was certain he had zero chance. Especially as somewhere out there was Midnight's father.

She returned the bow. "{Our status is, er... complicated, let us say. As far as I'm concerned, we aren't even officially considered to be royalty anymore. Our father is not exactly recalled fondly within the Empre... and no, we are not home - we are in the nation of Equestria, in a small village named 'Ponyville'. No one from Sombra's dynasty rules anywhere, and the Empire is under rule of Princess Cadance, while Equestria is ruled over by Princess Twilight. Princesses Celestia and Luna are still very much alive - though they really don't look their thousand year ages; they look to be thirty summers, at most! And no, I don't think you are supposed to marry Princess Twilight, brother.}"

Diamond listened as she spoke, nodding where appropriate until she was finished. He then tried letting go of the couch, wobbled a bit, and took hold of it again. "{That is all well enough; I did not like the idea of having to lead an entire nation. I would much rather be helping in the midst of things, rather than sit on the sidelines safely. I am small, but my will is tall.}" He thumped his barrel with a hoof proudly, then coughed and rubbed where he'd struck as he sat back down again. He was also seemingly a bit physically stouter back in the day... either that, or he wouldn't have struck his chest so hard.

"{By the blood of a million mares, I feel sickly. Is this what it is like to... to awaken from the shard state? What was it like for the others? Are there others? W-wait,}" he held up a hoof, "{... y-you said... Tourmaline, yes? He yet lives? That... is unexpected; he was not typically seen as very capable on his own, though he did have quite a gift for 'moving magics'. I am wondering if he heeded any of the advice he was given, back then?}"

Then, he looked down, pondering. "{You mentioned another... whom was it, please, Obsidyan?}"

Obsidian didn't recall feeling so sickly back then... but perhaps it was just a side-effect of longer shard-ification, or perhaps he was turned into a shard while he was ill? "{Amethyst. I live in the same house with Tourmaline and Amethyst. I'll call the doctors, alright? They'll check-}"

She saw his pupils contract into pinpricks instantly the moment the word 'Amethyst' dropped from her lips. His calm demeanor shattered like so much glass, and he began to visibly shiver as his eyes darted all around himself, as if he was expecting her to come out of the very cracks in the floor.

Wart, even if she couldn't understand him, still took a defensive stance and wrapped the handle of her sword in magic, ready to pull it out at a moment's notice. "Lady Siddy, what is wrong? He seems to be rather harried..."

Diamond's eyes wandered slightly to the long scar on his side; he absently placed a hoof on it as he then turned and looked back at Obsidian. "{You... you harbor a monster, Obsidyan! One that will tear your heart to pieces, as well as your body! If we are free, then... th-then make her go! Tell her to leave, and please to never return! If she will listen, then we will no longer have to be toys for her to break!}"

Gypsy turned to Obsidian, concern writ large on his features.

"He's afraid of Amy... and he has good reason to be so, from what I gather." By Darkness, Amethyst - you can be a real bitch, can't you? "{Calm down, sweet brother. She can't use her magic, we've lived together for a while now, and she beha-... well, she hasn't murdered anyone, as far as I know of. Yet. There's also the issue that I have personally defeated her twice. Did she...}" she gestured at the long, ugly scar, "{... do this to you?}"

Diamond looked down at the scar again and, while staring past it, he gave the slightest of nods. Though his gaze was locked on his side, his sight was elsewhere. "{I doubt that, my sister. Ameth-...}" He shuddered. "{... she is no stranger to restraints; father made certain to train her on how to escape imprisonment before he taught her how to imprison others. It was easier to know what points were the weakest and most exploitable, you see - she is far craftier than she allows others to realize.}"

Gypsy thought for a moment over this, but kept quiet for the time being.

Diamond glanced over at Wart again, then turned his eyes to Siddy. "{I am of fear, Obsidyan... since Equestrians are so kind, would you be enough of one to embrace me for comfort, perhaps?}" His eyes looked at her pleadingly... then shifted to glance at Stalwart again before looking back at Obsidian. "{And might Stalwaat join you?}"

Obsidian was at her weakest and most exploitable a few weeks ago, yet Amethyst screwed up any chance of her joining their side in every possible way. Of course, Obsidian was completely in agreement that she didn't want to keep Amy in her house; she still had no idea what crime she (or possibly Cupcake) had done that they had deserved to be stuck with her. At least Tourmaline was content simply sitting in his basement.

"Guys, group hug with Diamond, please," she announced as she stepped forward to hug him. "... would you kindly join us, Stalwart?"

Gypsy smiled and gladly strode forward, with Diamond giving only the slightest look of hesitancy at first... then he smiled, realizng that the dog meant no harm. Wart, flashing a look of shock at first, settled into more of a resigned one as she made her way over and, at eye level with Diamond, she gave him a hug.

When she hugged him, Diamond's eyes closed and he leaned into her, embracing her tightly... and giving her mane a long, deep sniff as he did. The guardmare looked unsure of how to react, but she patted him on the back anyway.

"{Your scent is one of beauty in battle; the clash of jasmine with the boldness of weapon oils - it speaks not only of wars fought and won, but the bravery of the heart, and how bold it must be to beat within the breast of such a beautiful creature.}"

"Errr... Lady Siddy?" Wart looked rather awkward, standing there as Diamond sniffed her mane and shoulders. "He's babbling again... and smelling me. I do not know if I should consider this a compliment, or slap him to the floor..."

"Be patient with him at the moment, Stalwart. Remember, he just woke up from a world of tyranny and terror; I'm sure he'll acclimate and get better soon." But still, it was a bit concerning that he was being a bit creepy - she had to do something.

"{Brother, sniffing someone like that is... well... a bit much. Mares don't exactly like being sniffed like that - at least not by ponies they don't know. If you want her to warm to you, you will have be a bit more, well... subtle.}"

Diamond looked at Obsidian, then leaned back from Wart, giving her a good amount of room. "{I apologize if I offend thee... you would be the last being I would ever wish that of! I shall be... The Subtle with you, from now on. Yes, that will be fine!}"

Wart looked back at him. "Ehh... welcome to Equestria?"

He smiled. "{Yes! Thank you! I am pleased to have awoken to such kindness, and your beauty is one of the most amazing things to first see upon waking! This day is most certainly shaping up to be a good one! Oh, but do not take my compliments so seriously, beautiful Stalwaat...}"

The small stallion winked at Obsidian. Noticably. "{I am being The Subtle, yes?"}

Gypsy facepawed, giggling into it as he hid his smile from Diamond.

"{She also doesn't speak Ancient Imperial, brother; you'll have to learn some Equestrian soon to be able to communicate more effectively. And, er, no... that wasn't very subtle. Perhaps you should talk with my coltfriend later, compare notes, learn a few little nuances...}"

He grinned and nodded. "{I shall delight to speak with this one you have claimed as your 'coltfriend'! I can hardly wait! And I shall try to learn the language here... if only so I may speak to such an incredible creature as Stalwaat Stanze.}"

He took one of her hooves and bowed over it, giving it a light kiss as he did. When he stood up again, Wart had a blush that went across her entire muzzle. "Err... um... yes. W-well. It is... nice... to meet you, as well. Sir. Diamond. Yes."

Gypsy just chuckled and walked over to Obsidian's side. "He will learn, in t-t-time. But this one believes you were r-right to allow him f-freedom."

Diamond was turning out to be quite interesting. "Princess Twilight? Now would be a good time to introduce yourself - after which, with all he's been through, Diamond could probably use some rest."

The speaker overhead gave a slight squawk of feedback, then the alicorn's voice came through. "We- uh- It- YES! Now would be the proper time! Of course it would! Just a minute!"

The speaker cut out, and after a moment, the door opened and Princess Twilight Sparkle stepped inside, looking quite regal, yet still undeniably nerdy in a lab coat and goggles.

"Diamond." She strolled up, smiling softly. "Welcome to the nation of Equestria; your reputation proceeds you, and so long as you have no aims to cause any problems, then we welcome you to stay with us. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, leader of my people - Obsidian, your sister, has proven herself to be a hero in the eyes of the gathered citizens of this monarchy, and we are proud to have her among us."

Diamond stared wide-eyed for a moment, then humbly bowed. "{Do forgive my rudeness; I did not expect another alicorn, and yet, here you are. I am honoured to meet you, Your Majesty.}"

Twilight looked at him, almost frozen in her kind and welcoming grin, until she gave a wobbly, awkward smile of her own, a single bead of nervous sweat beginning to make its' way down her cheek. "... yyyyyyyeeeeeaaaaahhhhh, I'm, uh... glad?"

Gypsy looked at Obsidian, shrugged, then looked to see how Diamond would react.

Instead, Twilight cleared her throat, and began to speak back in Ancient Crystallian, slowly and haltingly. "{Yes. Thing is frosty, and they stand underneath. There is no banana here to make fear for, and flayed forelegs is held out before you. Welcome noodle drip waffle!}"

Diamond just stared at her as she finished her Imperial demonstration, and she gave a hopeful and nervous grin in return. Wart looked even more lost than Twilight did. Gypsy turned and made his way out of the room; moments later, Siddy heard much high-pitched giggling coming from the front foyer area.

"{She reminds me of sister Ruby,}" Diamond said with a soft grin.

"I'm... surprised at your mastery of the language, princess... though, for the record, you really didn't have to speak about flayed forelegs, - it's kind of creepy. And, er... he's not a waffle."

While Twilight's attempt to speak in a foreign language was hilarious, it was also rather disconcerning - how was she going to be able to communicate with Diamond? How would he be able to communicate his own needs?

Obsidian turned to Diamond again. "{In a way, yes... though sadly, sister Ruby has passed away. Luckily, her soul is still with me, though.}"

Diamond jumped like he'd been bitten. "{Sister Ruby is... is... no, this is too much.}" He sat back down on the couch, and looked rather stunned. Twilight was a bit embarrassed, but a look of concern crossed her features, and she came over to him.

"{Tourmaline lives. Ame-... SHE lives. Yet, father is a statue, and poor, sweet sister Ruby... it is not FAIR! She was so good as she was! I cannot even begin to fathom why cruelty such as this has befallen us... not her, me before her...}"

And then, Diamond began to cry. It was a quiet, sobless cry; tears just seemed to roll down his muzzle, and it was heartbreaking to see the pain in his eyes... yet nowhere else. Sombra had apparently trained him well - he poured out his heart, all while barely showing any emotion on his entire form.

Except those tears. And there were a lot of them.

Twilight might not have understood his words, but she understood the sight of tears well enough. She leaned forward and hugged him, which he gladly returned.

Obsidian hadn't expected such a strong reaction from him, and she certainly didn't expect him to hold their father in such high esteem. She trotted closer to join the calming hug. "{She is still with us, Diamond - should I tell her 'hello' from you, the next time I see her?}" she offered.

The stallion embraced both of them in return. "{Yes, p-please.}" He seemed to accept what she said, without question; so trusting. "{Sister Ruby was one of the few who did not wish to see me cry. I am thankful that I have you, Obsidyan, and to awaken so kindly is a grand gift from you. I appreciate what must have gone into this meeting, and I am happy to meet a sibling who does NOT wish to box my ears in.}"

Twilight sighed. "I'll apparently have to brush up on my Ancient Imperial, but it sounded like he was thanking you for being nice to him."

"{It will take some time, getting used to this place... in fact, what manner of house am I currently in, Obsidyan?}" He looked around the lab curiously.

"He was, princess," she replied to Twilight, "as he, er... fears our sister Amethyst. And it seems he had good reason to - I think she's the author of that scar on his side. Not to mention, there's also the fact she's a bit of a psychopath and a murderer..."

It really wasn't that good of an idea to live with her; Tourmy had turned out fine, but Amy seemed more and more resistant to any sort of friendship lessons.

"{It's a laboratory, brother - we brought you here to release you from your shard in a safe place, where everything could be recorded for later study,}" Obsidian explained, "{and the lab itself is inside a palace. A palace within the borders of a small village named Ponyville. And Ponyville is in Equestria.}"

The small stallion slowly shook his head. "{Equestria... to imagine that father would NOT succeed? I have never considered that he would not best his enemies; what does that leave for us, dear Obsidyan?}"

Wart came close. "He sounds concerned."

Twilight nodded. "If I heard him correctly, he's wondering what his future holds, since apparently he was never taught what to do if Sombra lost. That," she said with a sheepish grin, "or he's hungry for a bowl of kitten chocolate wheels."

"Honestly, princess," Obsidian smirked momentarily, "I think Diamond would react quite positively to kittens. Or chocolate, for that matter. Too bad Miss Pinkie or Miss Fluttershy probably don't speak Ancient Crystallian, as I'm sure he would greatly enjoy their presence."

"{It leaves us to live our own lives,}" Obsidian answered Diamond, "{and truth be told, it's actually pretty nice.}"

Twilight then turned to look at the unicorn. "What you say about Amethyst bothers me deeply - I have to ask: do you believe we should put her back into a cell, Obsidian? She was sort of foisted off onto you along with Tourmaline, but he has proven himself to be a good citizen... Amethyst is not."

"I need to know," she looked into Obsidian's eyes, "do you think Amethyst might be too much for you to handle?"

It was a fair question; was Amethyst too much? She was rather irritating, yes. She was outright threatening, rude and probably still tremendously dangerous.

But she was also, for better or for worse, Obsidian's sister... and besides, she'd already kicked her flank twice.

"I, uhh... w-well, I'm not sure about a cell, so much, but I do think perhaps she's a bit too..." She stopped for a moment, looking for better words to describe the feeling. "... well, quite bluntly, I simply feel that I'm not really able to help her 'rejoin society', as you put it. She would need a far better teacher than I."

And of course, it would be nice to live with Diamond instead of Amy.

"But I'd need to talk with Tourmy and Cup about it first... and admittedly, perhaps think about it a bit more deeply. She is useful, to be sure... when it comes to the Dark half of my Gray Magic." Of course, it would also be nice to live without reflexively tensing up in presence of knives, too.

Twilight nodded. "So, what I'm hearing is, 'she's-evil-but-she's-my-sister', right? In other words, no, you don't want her gone just yet, but yes, you're going to discuss it with the rest of your family. That makes sense, and it also makes sure she's included - even with as sour as she can be, it's good of you to include her."

She smiled at Obsidian. "You know, I had you figured for a good mare when I first spoke with you. You were polite and maybe a little bit afraid... but you were also quite intelligent, and I had a feeling that you would do well. Maybe not on the scale you have achieved, but I still knew you had something special in you."

Diamond raised his eyebrows. "{An alicorn speaks so highly of you? Your feats must be impressive, indeed.}"

Princess Twilight seemed to understand. Damnation, Obsidian had really hoped that she would be able to talk with Ruby tonight - her advice was usually quite useful. "Thank you, princess. I'm really struggling to do my best," the young mare sighed slightly. Perhaps this discussion with her family could be done tomorrow; she really wanted to spend the rest of her evening just snuggling with Cupcake. ALL the snuggles. Was it selfish?

"{I have managed to save Equestria twice - the last time was two days ago. By any chance, my brother... do you remember Peridot?}"

Diamond looked up. "{Indeed, I do - always studying, happiest when alone, glasses, coldly logical? That would be Peridot.}"

Gypsy returned to the room, looking as though he'd been crying, but with a smile on his muzzle. He walked up to Diamond and gently sniffed him a bit. The stallion (he was so small, she wanted to call him a colt) turned, looked at Gypsy, then leaned forward and sniffed the diamond dog. Gypsy froze, then blinked.

Diamond smiled.

Gypsy smiled.

Gypsy came over and sat next to Diamond on the couch, and her brother didn't even flinch.

Looks like they were gong to become besties in no time. It would be rather logical, considering that not too many ponies were able to speak Diamond's language.

"{He... snapped... and decided that he would only be happy after killing every sentient creature in the world - well, almost everyone - and I had to... t-to stop him,}" Obsidian sighed. Poor Peridot. That particular victory had left a very bitter taste in her mouth.

Diamond looked pained at hearing about Peridot, but seemed resigned to it. "{He never truly was comfortable around others... it was a shame; so brilliant, yet so callous at times. Still, I hope you do not think too harshly of him, even now.}"

Diamond was so emotional over the other siblings; where did all that come from? More than that, he didn't seem to have a mean bone in his entire body. How could someone so kind have come fom Sombra? Then again, there'd been Ruby, as well; maybe there was more going on with her father than she even realized?

"{I do not. I'm... greatly pained it ended as it did. Sadly, it was either his end or mine - and most likely, the rest of the world along with me.}" Obsidian chose to change the subject, rather than rake her emotions over hot coals by reliving the experience. "{Pray tell, brother Diamond... do you remember much about the Crystal Empire? Gypsy here is a scholar, and he loves history; I thought that perhaps you two would enjoy discussing the subject.}"

Mentioning the Crystal Empire and history seemed to perk Gypsy right up, and Diamond nodded at her question. "{I remember much, though my mind is still a touch foggy... will this be a case of remembering more as time passes?}"

Princess Twilight, having been simply caught up in watching Diamond, seemed to shake herself out of her thoughts and looked at Obsidian. "At this point, we're ready to give him an examination; the doctors will look him over and see if there's anything they can learn or possibly help with, and he'll be done in about an hour or so."

"{Obsidyan, am I sick?}" Diamond sounded a bit worried.

Examination... good. He could clearly use a medical checkup, as well as some relaxation. "{No, brother - you are only temporarily weakened; I didn't feel too well after my release from my shard form, either. It'll take some time to regain your full strength.}" It also seemed as if, regardless of speaking ability, Diamond understood quite a bit of Equestrian. It was another good thing - this way, he could at least comprehend when others spoke... even if his pronunciation wasn't exactly up to par.

Diamond looked hesitant, but nodded at Obsidian. "{Then I shall put my trust in Princess Twilight, and I shall let the doctors examine me. I trust you, Obsidyan.}"

His eyes then wandered back to Wart again. {"Sister Obsidyan... may I have Stalwaat with me, when I go to be examined? It would be wonderful to have someone there so beautiful as to take my mind from the situation. Please, would you ask Perfection if she will accompany me?"}

Wart looked at him. "He's staring at me again... what is he saying now?"

Oh dear. Who would ever guess that Stalwart Stance could so easily seduce not one, but two princes? Without even trying?

"{She's a guardian, and she has her duties, brother..."} Obsidian warned before answering Wart's question. "He, er, asks for you to be with him during his examination. I told him that you still have your guardian duties, so you may not have time for that. What do you think?"

Wart looked at Diamond for a moment; the look he wore was one of a begging puppy, and even Gypsy smiled a bit at the sight. The diminuitive mare simply sighed, then turned to Twilight. "Princess, my presence has been requested by our new guest; may I accompany him to his examination?"

Twilight smiled. "Of course, Stalwart; it's very good of you to go with him, as he could use the support in this big, new place. Thank you."

Wart saluted smartly, then turned to Diamond. "I am available to accompany you, and I shall help to ensure you are safe."

Diamond practically swooned. "{My beautiful vision is assuring my safety... oh, my soul is ablaze with love for this incredible mare! To know that I shall be secured by the wonderful hooves of such an exquisite creature... oh, Obsidyan, thank you for reviving me in a world which contains such beauty!}"

Wart looked at Obsidian. "I... will take that as a thank you, yes? Princess, where am I to lead Diamond?"

Twilight pointed with a hoof. "Room 17 - there's already a bed there, and the doctors are patiently waiting."

Wart looked to Diamond. "Come - we go forth to your examination."

"{I would follow you anywhere, my passion...}" Diamond sighed happily.

The guardmare left, with the little stallion almost floating after her. Gypsy shook his head and gave a slight giggle. "This one believes that W-W-Wart has made a f-friend. Your brother is very int-t-teresting... and, f-for the record, quite s-small. Was he wh-what you expected?"

"Eh... sort of, Gypsy? I didn't think he would be that petite, but I did expect him to be exceedingly friendly. I'm surprised he doesn't speak Equestrian though, and of course I didn't expect him to immediately fall in love with poor Stalwart."

Obsidian rubbed her temple and sighed, then looked up at her companion. "Do you think you will become his friend as well? I mean, we have a pronounced shortage of Ancient Imperial-speaking creatures around..."

Gypsy grinned. "This one is already l-looking forward to sp-speaking with Diamond at g-g-great length; he thinks they w-will be good friends, y-yes."

Twilight sighed. "I'm glad that went so well - when I found you, there was a bit of panic involved... but when coming at this while being prepared, it really wasn't as big of a deal as I thought it might be. All the better, as anything having to deal with siblings of yours is always... ah, challenging."

She turned to look back towards the room she'd been in. "I may have to speak with the others, to see what they've learned so far. Obsidian, before I go, is there anything I can answer for you?"

For a moment, Obsidian felt the sudden urge to somewhat troll the Princess of Friendship. Just a teeny-tiny bit. She overcame it, though; the definition of 'scoring' somepony would probably just end up an exercise in awkwardness.

"I don't believe so, princess. I'll visit tomorrow to see how Diamond feels after resting. That scar on his side looked nasty; I hope that sister Amy didn't have the idea to hide something in there..." Obsidian mused with a slight cringe at the very idea.

Twilight also looked a bit disgusted at the thought, but she shook the mental image away quickly enough. "Well, I'm sure the doctors will treat him with care and respect... though they might not be able to ask many questions, with his vocabulary being what it is."

Gypsy smiled and bowed. "This one will acc-accompany him, then - he can translate for the d-doctors." He looked at Siddy. "We will c-c-catch up later, this one is cert-tain. And he thanks you for the t-trip; it was most wonderful!"

Twilight went to speak to her science folks, and Gypsy went after Wart and Diamond... which left Obsidian all by herself in the observation room.

Alone, at last... well, for now, anyway.

Obsidian decided to take a quick peek at the mental protection spells, to be sure that she could learn them quickly. With another shard of Sombra in the village, her original idea to protect her mind from Amber's intrusions was kind of futile - she could just visit the dreams of the other siblings, after all. This being the case, the only thing Obsidian felt she could do, aside from waking her up and immediately blocking her magic, was learning some manner of spell to counter this damnable magic.

She had really wanted to talk with Ruby tonight... but she was still kind of afraid to do so without any kind of mind shielding.

The protection spells were simple. Very simple. As in, 'a-b-c, shield on me' simple.

There were four of them in all, and each one had instructions with them that sounded more like a description to a foal than to a fully grown equine. There'd be no mistaking these spells, not one bit... but then, were they strong enough to withstand the might of someone like Amber? They seemed foalish and desperate, the kind of spells one would cast at the last minute.

What was worse, they didn't even seem to take all that much concentration or energy to activate. Granted, that could be a good thing in the future... but for now, these spells just seemed lackluster, compared to the might of her siblings.

Well, perhaps there would be something a touch more complicated in the royal armoury? Obsidian trotted after Twilight, hoping that she hadn't lost her to the science group already.

Flurry? Are you still there? Diamond is finally free... Obsidian thought at her bracelet. No reply; maybe Flur was busy?

Twilight's entourage of scientists was just rounding the bend when Obsidian found them; she was surrounded by other ponies in lab coats, all seemingly trying to get her attention at once. Strangely enough, she seemed at home in such a situation; she answered questions, acknowledged others and kept her cool the entire time. It was fascinating to see her handle such a panic around her - Obsidian was certain she'd never lost her cool in her entire life. Couldn't have; she was so amazingly together.

Obsidian really wanted to go back home... but she also wanted to survive another day without Amber's mind control ruining everything. She just had to endure a bit more, for a bit longer. She trotted close to the princess once again, and made a bid to get her attention.

Between a scientist who was waving a paper in the air and an electrical engineer who was relaying the amount of power put out by Diamond's revival, Twilight saw Obsidian and motioned for her to come closer. After wading through the crowd around her to get close, Twilight looked to her as she approached.

"I take it there was something else after all, then?" she asked casually, still dividing her attention as necessary.

"Yes princess, my sincerest apologies. We shards have some sort of spiritual connection, and sister Amber is able to use this. I learned of this when she invaded my own head, within my dreams. I just thought it could be a good idea to cast some kind of anti-mind control spell onto Diamond before he goes to sleep. Just to be sure."

At least Tourmy and Amy would be (more or less) safe, with their lack of magic. It was unlikely Amber would use someone whose magic was stifled like that.

"The sooner Amber is dealt with, the better. I'll also check for more complicated anti-mind control spells, just to be sure. I'm not certain if those four I've got are strong enough to stop Amber's shenanigans."

Twilight raised a hoof. "It's okay - I'll make sure the scientists cast some wards over him while he's being examined, so you shouldn't have to worry about that. Unless Amber is more powerful than Starswirl the Bearded, I'm pretty sure those wards will hold."

She kept making statements and comments to her entourage, of which Obsidian was currently a part of. "Is there anything else? For now, if you don't have any room for him at your house, we can let him stay in one of the suites, like you once did. Then, when we figure more out, we can go from there."

"I doubt she is more powerful than Starswirl... but he isn't exactly around to provide support," Obsidian mused. To be fair, she'd forgotten that it wasn't impossible; according to the history books, The Pillars of Equestria eventually returned from their long nap with the Pony of Shadows - but, on another hoof, Starswirl was the oldest of them. Obsidian reasoned that, due to aging, Stygian would possibly still be alive. After all, he visited Ponyville not too long ago, apparently.

"I think that's all... at least, for now. If I realize I forgot to ask about something, I'll surely get here as quickly as possible," Obsidian sid as she shook her head slowly.

It couldn't possibly be any harder than two days ago, when she was running from her house to the castle and the other way around like a madpony. "Then I shall see you later, princess. Thank you kindly for everything, and do have a nice day."

The armoury it was, then. She needed better spells against mind control, and it seemed like the most logical place to look.

Twilight nodded. "With all I'm having to do right now, I'd actually ask that you take up your findings with Spike - unless it's an emergency, of course. That way, he might be able to help you in case I'm unavailable."

From the look of the crowd around her, she'd be unavailable for a good minute or two.

"I'll do my best, thanks!" Twilight called back as she and her swarm of science made their way into one of the other laboratories. It was strange, seeing the mighty alicorn all done up in a lab coat and goggles, but it served to remind Obsidian that many ponies in Equestria were more than they appeared to be.

Pony/princess/scientist...

Back in the good old days, the idea of philospher-kings was quite popular. Perhaps it was just a logical evolution of ancient ideals? Ideals that her father didn't lmuch care for, of course, but that's a completely different topic.

Obsidian trotted to the armoury, thinking deeply. Was it the right thing to get rid of Amy? Perhaps this could be put in a different way: if Tourmaline would move in with Gunther, Obsidian could claim that she wants her siblings to be truly 'independent'. That way, the decree to move out won't be aimed at Amy alone.

Stupid Amy. Why was she so evil? It was a land of friendship, where being evil didn't pay!

At the armoury, Obsidian managed to find someone who worked in the warehouse, and (after a few bits exchanged hooves) managed to bring her a spell that was, to quote, "so powerful, only an alicorn or a draconequus could break through it", which she thanked them for as she stowed it away in her saddlebags as she politely bid them farewell and left the armoury.

Scroll... check. Diamond freed... check. She still had plenty of important things to deal with (and by that, she meant things either connected to her siblings and/or the saving of Equestria), and even more personal matters than that.

But it was still progress, nonetheless. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to add 'solve the love triangle between Midnight, Diamond and Stalwart' to the list. Or 'keep Stalwart from murdering Diamond'.

So, for now, she had to quickly trot to the post office - she wanted to contact the princesses, tell them about the success of the mission, and ask Luna to stop blocking her dreams, as it should be practically unnecessary now.

Hopefully.

Author's Notes:

R.I.P. 'Fetch' - the pony I had to cut from the scene to make it flow more smoothly. She was going to be at the armoury, but her bit was sort of 'last minute', and made this chapter cross the 10k word mark. Combined with the fact she didn't show up for the rest of the story, and well... requiescat in pace.

Translation of Twilight Sparkle's words in Ancient Crystallian:

Yes. Everything is cool, and they understand. There is no reason here to make fear for, and open arms is held out before you. Welcome to the land of Equestria!

... methinks yon princess doth require a refresher.

Next chapter. Siddy. Jynx. Be there. (If you please.)

Twenty Nine: Hi, Jynx / Adding Some Pepper

The walk to the post office was a bit lengthy, but the best route would be through the middle of Ponyville itself (or, as Short Round called it, P-Ville), and perhaps actually get a chance to relax on her own for a moment. It was good weather out today, and there were a number of others about, all doing their own little things in their own little lives. It was a nice day for a casual stroll...

And Obsidian did stroll casually along... well, perhaps with a bit more hurry than normal. After all, she still had a few other things to do and really, really wanted to get back home early enough to spend some time with her wonderful coltfriend. Perhaps any other mares would be satisfied with a small trip to the Crystal Empire, or an (in)famous dance during her own party... but after living with Sombra for so long, Obsidian had to play 'catch-up' to quite a few loveless years.

She was passing the center fountain in the middle of town when the voice first spoke up.

"... Obsidian, right?" It was a familiar voice, but not one that she could place right off the bat. Plus, from the lack of any other reactions to it around her, the voice was apparently also only heard by her. It was also decidedly female, and it almost sounded as if it were purring in her ear. "Good to see you about in town; makes me feel as though you're on your own time for once, and not someone else's."

She'd heard it before - who was that voice? By Darkness, no... "Amber?"

She really hated when something surprising happened while she was already quite the paranoic about her siblings! Exactly how many females did she know well enough to be familiar with their voices, but not well enough to recognize them without any problems? She never heard Opal speak, so she couldn't be on the list... Onyx was dead...

"Jynx?"

"OH! Right in two!"

She felt a tickle at her shoulder, and standing there was a miniature Jynx, who was smiling and gave a gracious bow.

"I'm pleased you remembered me! I mean, you and I haven't really ever... y'know... talked before, have we?" She was a perfect copy of her full-size self - only small enough to stand on Siddy's shoulder.

"It's hard to not remember you, Jynx... and it is nice to see you again," Obsidian said as she breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "It's been a while, hasn't it? How are you? How is your father?"

Good, no crazy umbral shards this time; just a young draconequus - nothing really dangerous. As long as Gypsy wasn't around, there was probably no risk in chatting with her for a bit. Now that Obsidian thought about it, did Cup get to go to this whole 'Ogres and something-something' thing they'd been planning?

Jynx smiled. "Oh, just peachy, babe - I've been doing what I do, and looking good doing it, too. Granted, I've heard how you've been so busy lately, so I didn't think one of my flashier entrances would be appreciated. Plus, Tiny Me is just as dynamite as I am at full height, just cuter!"

"You know, you've got a point," the unicorn considered, "it's quite possible that with all this mess going on with my siblings, one of your flashier entrances would possibly... well, let's say I'd defend first and ask questions second." Damnation, it really HAD been ages since they last met. And Obsidian, who was busy being rather suspicious and emotionally distant at the time, hadn't really even forged much of a relationship with Jynx at all.

Jynx laughed, but it slowed down and petered out as she ran a paw through her mane. "Daddy-O is... well, he's getting by. The whole thing with the Umbrals recently left him a bit drained, and he's still feeling under, demanding glasses of water, blue skin color, yada yada yada..." She spoke flippantly, but Obsidian could tell from the look on her muzzle that the young draconequus was quite possibly worried about it.

"Blue skin color? That's, er... not an idiom I don't know, is it?" Anything and everything was possible with draconequui. "Is it an illness? Is there a remedy available? I admit, I'm not very familiar with beings of Chaos and so on."

Jynx waved a dismissive paw. "Oh, no, please, we creatures of Chaos have all sorts of ways of expressing fear and worry; Pop's done this before, and it was when he felt he wanted attention. Okay, so he's been wanting a lot of attention lately, so Mumsy's been coming back to see him each day."

A lot of attention? Funny thing was, Jynx seemed to be the only creature who actually had a father among Obsidian's friends - Jynx was actively talking about him, and Obsidian was well aware of who he was. It almost seemed as if the rest of her friends only had mothers... or perhaps they were ashamed of their paternals, like Obsidian was?

To be fair, she most certainly had her reasons - and she doubted that anyone else (except for her siblings, of course) would ever have any sort of similar situation to hers.

Jynx gave a shy chuckle. "But, uh, yeah... good on ya for offering, Obzy; I 'preciate it." She skittered up Obsidian's mane and sat carefully on her head. "So, how about you? How's Cupperino?"

"Cup? Oh, he's perfect - always surprising, very hard-working... and he dances quite well. I'm really glad we ended up together; without him, I would still be... what was that idiom... sticking out like a sore hoof." Hopefully it was correct; she was really trying. "I still need to learn a lot about normal life, but it has become a rather pleasant subject to study."

Jynx gave a trilling little giggle, then crept over to Obsidian's other shoulder. "For what it's worth, everyone sticks out like a sore body part, at least a little bit - it's what makes us all individuals, after all!"

She then nodded. "Isn't he just a catch, though? I admit, there was a time where I had my eye on him... but he's much better as a friend! And besides, I thoroughly enjoy sweets, and if I had him for a coltfriend, I'd never get to have any!"

"I'd actually say that I probably have more sweets than I could ever want! I'm simply not used to eating this kind of food because, well... my father, as you probably already know, was a selfish bastard." Obsidian scowled a bit; to think that she would be eating better food as a 'civilian' in Equestria than as a 'princess' in the Crystal Empire!

The little draconequus then smiled and spoke sweetly. "So... have you possibly reconsidered my offer to play some O&O with your beloved and the others? Not pushing, mind you - merely questioning if you've given the offer any further thought?"

"To be fair, I haven't thought about it too much," Siddy considered, "but truly? I think I would like to give it a try, yes."

Hopefully, it would be more exciting than 'Bingo'.

Jynx leapt up off her shoulder, snapped, and then her full-sized form was walking right next to Obsidian. A few folks around them jumped at such a sudden appearance, but Jynx seemed to take no notice; the look on her strange muzzle said she was too busy contemplating what this new addition would bring, in terms of fun.

"Oh, you'll just love it! I can have character sheets, dice, pencils and such ready with a snap of my-... say, you weren't meaning right this minute, were you?"

She sighed dramatically... then abruptly grinned eagerly, and began walking rather close to Siddy as she began to explain. "Okay, so - the premise is another world, filled with monsters and mayhem, magic and marvels, dungeons and dra-... well, you get the point, I'm certain. But yes, YOU play an adventurer, a grand game of pretend where the stakes are imaginary, the risk is non-existent in reality, and you can pretend to be someone else for a while!"

Jynx seemed rather excited about the whole affair, as her tail kept curling snakeishly behind her while they walked along and her voice and expressions were animated and alive, as if she was talking about the one thing she knew best.

"This game," she said proudly, "is the one thing I know best, and because of it, I am an absolute MASTER of any given dungeon! Oh, this is gonna be so INTENSE! We haven't added a new player in years!" Jynx gave almost a whinny of a giggle, punctuated at the end by a snort.

Oh yes, Obsidian simply loved to pretend; for quite a few years, she'd pretended to be an important pony - a princess of the whole damnable Crystal Empire - and that her father was worthy of any sort of positive feelings towards him. Hopefully this time, 'pretending' would be more fun.

"Who are the other players?" Obsidian asked with interest. She wasn't sure if she understood all this stuff about adventurers and pretending - though she could always ask Cupcake for a better explanation. But not today; today, she had different plans...

Jynx lifted her paw, and ticked off 'fingers' as she counted. "I run the game, then there's Cuppie, Markannus, Hollow Echo and Flinteye - and you'll make six! I've run games with as many as eighteen before, so this should be a walk in the proverbial park!"

Jynx hopped in place and clapped her mismatched appendages together in excitement. "I'll have to bring extra snacks, of course, and I'll let Hollow know to bring more punch - she makes it herself, you know - and Cup'll just have to make more tarts!"

"I don't believe I know this 'Hollow Echo', or 'Flinteye'. Are they students too, perhaps?" Meeting new ponies was usually nice... and with Cupcake by her side, there should be no problems with getting socially accepted into said group. Six ponies... and even eighteen could play it... wait, it wasn't a board game, was it?

Jynx smiled. "Hollow Echo is a batpony; she's the group's Cleric, and she heals up the damage the characters take during the adventure. Flinteye is a Kirin, and he's the group's Paladin - or Holy Warrior, so to speak. They're both local; Flinteye is one of Ponyville's best-known psychiatrists, and Echo is one of the mares on Luna's night shift - a palace guard, like Stalwart."

She snapped her claw, and a sheet of paper appeared in the air in front of Obsidian. "Here's the address, and the time and day - you'll notice it's roughly two weeks from now, which should give us plenty of time to figure out what you'd like to try playing! OH! This is so exciting!!!" The draconequus almost seemed obsessed over this game; was it that good?

Obsidian blinked a few times in confusion. "Kirin?" It felt like the first time she'd heard about this species (or, to be more precise, the second, as the first time was by Flurry in one of her vulgar sayings), so obviously she got even more interested. Diamond dogs were fascinating - but then, so were all the other creatures in this modern, strange Equestria. She took the paper, to check the address; it wasn't far from where she lived - good.

"So, this is supposed to be the part where I tell you all about the history and setting of the game," Jynx smirked, "buuuuuuut, unlike Daddykins, I also understand that others have stuff going on, too. If you're currently busy, we can always approach this conversation another time - but I warn you, it'll be on my mind until we accomplish something about it!"

Daddy-whats? "Well, I am a bit busy, unfortunately - I have a few things to do, and I can only hope that none of my siblings will do anything strange or violent during the next few days," Obsidian sighed. "Give my regards to your parents, please. I'm truly sorry I couldn't attend Miss Fluttershy's classes lately, but my brother was trying to end the world and so on."

Stupid Peridot. It was an absolute shame he had to die.

Jynx laughed merrily. "Ah, yes - ending the world scenarios... with my father, you get used to those on an irregular basis. At least, he likes others to think he wants to end the world. Honestly? He LOVES this place, and anything that anyone claims he says about ending it is a pure, bald-faced lie."

She nodded to herself, then whirled a finger in the air as multihedral dice popped into existence began to hover aound her in an orbit, as if they were moons and she was the sun. She withdrew a sheet of paper from her left ear, and a pencil popped out of her mouth. Then took up both and began jotting down notes.

"You know, it would be considerably easier, were my siblings to have a similar attitude." Obsidian felt as though she was complaining about her siblings a bit much lately. Of course, she had her reasons; she'd discovered seven of them in a relatively short span of time. Plenty to complain about... especially when almost each one seemed to sport a penchant for being at least somewhat devious.

"To be fair, I've mostly read about your father's presence in older tomes, back in the Crystal Empire. The things I hear about him in Modern Equestria don't quite match up to my old knowledge, though... perhaps my father was simply feeding me propaganda?" Obsidian shrugged slightly with resignation.

"That all depends, my dear Obsidlienne," Jynx said with a flourish, "on what all you've heard? I mean, Daddy's given me 'The Talk' about it, sure... but that doesn't mean he covered all the bases, now does it? You may even know something I do not; unlikely, but there's still a chance."

Jynx, lost in making her notes, almost walked into a lamppost... yet, at the last minute, the lamppost itself moved aside to let her pass unmolested, then bent back into the shape it was before.

"A long and turbulent reign of terror, utter chaos everywhere one could see, anarchy in the air, panic in the streets, and so on, and so on. Though to be fair, I'm really not sure how my father would define any 'reign of terror', considering his own time on the throne." At least Discord seemed to be good enough to not outright die upon first contact with the much-lauded Mane Six... or perhaps he was simply too powerful to die; he still lived after two blasts from the Elements of Harmony, after all.

"At least your father's rule can be defined at all," Jynx bemoaned, "as my own Dadski's time on the throne is always described as 'a thousand years of chocolate rain', or other such colorful yet utterly uninformative allusions. Your father is feared; mine is usually laughed at. Of course, it's all his own fault, so karma having its' way with him now seems appropriate. I mean, yah - sucks - but it's not like I'm screaming whyyyyy at the stars or some such nonsense."

"Perhaps, but your father lives and enjoys life, while mine serves as a toilet for pigeons. It seems that being laughed at is the preferable option." Besides, as far as Obsidian was concerned, Discord's antics were supposed to be entertaining... well, at least entertaining for any creatures that weren't diamond dogs. Frankly, she was considering inviting Jynx to her house today... but chances were, Gypsy probably wouldn't appreciate that.

The draconequus chuckled merrily. "Oh, father's spent his time under birds, to be certain - he's far more familiar with the sensation than your persnickety paternus is, I promise you that."

She gave a languid stretch... including limbs completely separating from her torso, each hovering a few inches above where it was supposed to connect. After a mighty yawn, she fell back together and continued walking with Obsidian.

"It also depends on the personality, too; your father possibly might have thought the exact opposite of you, and would rather have died than be laughed at. And don't think Poppa takes it all in stride, either; been many a night, where I've watched him weeping to himself as he gouges his own mind with each sling bullet of mockery and each arrow of jilt that he'd taken that day..."

Jynx forcibly shook her head. "Still, the idea that your own Daddoo was feeding you a line might not be so far from the truth - have you considered that anything else he impressed upon you as fact might, in fact, be fiction?"

Obsidian gave Jynx a look... or, rather, The Look. "Oh no, not really... I obviously still think that every single other creature in the world should be my slave, and that they should be quite happy with their lot in life. I'm also sure that Princess Celestia wants to raze the entire Crystal Empire to the ground and salt the land..."

She tapped a hoof to her temple in thought. "Or perhaps it was Princess Luna? Wait, no - Princess Luna is the one who sneaks into minds of her subjects during their sleep to torture them, yes?"

Jynx giggled, a high-pitched tittering that sounded more like a madness-filled sound of glee than a simple laugh. "You... I think I like you. Nice little sense of dark humor, there; I definitely dig that. Still, I get it - you're aware of that stuff. Good. I mean, I truly care for Cuppie, don't get me wrong... but the colt's utterly clueless, sometimes. It's nice to meet someone who isn't just breathing air, you know what I mean?"

A gathered group of children smiled and waved at them both in passing, but the teacher accompanying them took one look at Jynx and hurried them all along. The draconequus waved back to the kids, stuck her impossibly long tongue out at the teacher, then simply seemed to shrug off the rest as she kept walking alongside Obsidian.

"Feh. 'Dults," she said, non-committedly.

Ah, finally someone who was able to appreciate a bit of a darker shade of humor! Most of the ponies she knew seemed to be terrified every time she tried to crack a somewhat-less-than-cheerful joke. Sometimes they were even terrified of her normal, completely honest statements - like Flurry did when Obsidian was simply explaining that conquering the world was, at the moment, too difficult for her alone.

"I think I know what you mean... though I'm still trying to appreciate even ponies who are,er... just breathing air. Otherwise, I'm afraid I would turn out to be a bit too Sombra-like," she sighed a bit. "Or worse, Amethyst."

"Well... wanting to follow in a father's dubious steps isn't a crime; the idea is to follow their success, not the road they used to get to it." Jynx gestured emphatically as she explained, "I mean, look at my own Papa, for example; do I want to rule with a chaotic clawgrip, endlessly amusing myself for the forseeable future?"

She laughed. "Oh, no! I would want to forge an armada, capable of utilizing Chaos Magic in many ways, that would be able to devastate any other obstacles in their path of domination, as I cover the entire planet like a blanket of power, and seize control of any and all who would say even the slightest mar towards my character..."

Jynx, who had grown louder and more animated as she'd gone on, now stopped and slowly settled herself down again, speaking at a normal volume once more. "... but that's just me; honestly, I do enjoy the presence of others, and I learned that others will enjoy one's presence more when one isn't an absolute ass. Took Dadski centuries to learn that one, and he's still not very good at it."

Jynx then gave Obsidian a sidelong glance. "Amethyst? Is she the grumpy unicorn who keeps buying 'jerky' from the marketplace, when she has no clue it's actually made of soy and seaweed?"

Well... er... okay, that sounded a bit ominous. Just what sort of armada did she want to make? Was it even necessary to create an armada, as a being made to throw Chaos around like confetti? Obsidian was fairly certain it'd be a bit of overkill.

Obsidian shrugged. "Alas, my father lacks any real successes... at least, none that wouldn't eventually turn against him..."

Wait. Waaaaait. Soy and seaweed? Obsidian turned her head to look straight at Jynx. "That... you know, it actually explains why she enjoys it with jelly; I doubt any kind of meat would taste well with sweet jelly, but soy and seaweed... I believe it could work."

"Oh-ho-ho! She eats it with jelly, you say? Well, she certainly does like strange tastes, eh? Interesting..." Jynx pulled a well-worn, little red notebook out from behind her left ear, made a quick note in it, then placed it into her right armpit, where it promptly vanished.

"Now, if you don't mind my being nosy," she snapped her claw, and little noses with legs began to swarm out of Obsidian's saddlebags, running little circles around them both, "may I ask what you're up to right now?"

"Oh, but of course - we are - semi-unofficially - friends after all, right?" Was Jynx planning to do something pertaining to Amy? To be fair, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea - Amy needed more contact with others... if only to get rid of her murderous tendencies.

"I need to send a message to Princess Luna, then I just want to visit Miss Pie and return home. I think I did everything I could do today," or at least, Obsidian considered, everything she should do outside the home. Granted, she still had some magic to cast - just to be sure that Amber wouldn't try anything during the night.

A smile curled around the young draconequus' lips like a snake slithering into it's favorite striking position. "Oh, now? A message to the most illustrious Luna? Then spending some time with the soon-to-be-in-laws? Well, sounds as though you have your work cut out for you, Obsi-Dobsi; all this, and with what I hear has been happening lately? Well, you're just one mental breakdown away from being the next Twilight Sparkle!"

She giggled that weird giggle again. "Next thing you know, they'll be fitting you for wings and a crown!"

"Damnation... now I have to wonder whether one breakdown is a too high of a price for being a pretty alicorn princess or not. I'm already freaking out over my numerous siblings, but... wings, ahhhhh..." she sighed aloud. "But! Could you imagine the reaction in the Crystal Empire at the news that Sombra's daughter became an alicorn? I bet the ensuing panic would be legendary!"

Jynx laughed - loudly; this was no giggle, but a full-on guffaw as she slapped a knee with her paw. "Holy Shit! They'd have a friggin' meltdown, that's what they'd do! Or at least Prince Shining Armor would - he's well known for his dislike of anything related to Ol' Sombrero - saaaaayyyyy... does he know about you, yet?"

"To be honest, I... can't recall. I befriended Flurry Heart, and had a short talk with Princess Cadance when Cup and I visited the Crystal Palace, but... I'm not sure I've met Shining Armor..." She thought about it for a moment. "Wait - maybe I did? I think he was one of the stallions pointing weapons at me after I was found by Princess Twilight. Hardly a good first impression. And I... think... he spoke to me after the incident with my brother? Hunh," she blinked, "mayhaps I do know him, after all?"

Jynx cocked an eyebrow. "Well, then I guess it would be safe to assume he knows of you, then - ah, well; there go my practical joke plans for giving you one heckuva introduction!"

She reached into an unseen (?) pocket and pulled out a hankerchief, then waved it at the surrounding noses, all still jogging circles around them. As soon as they saw the hanky, the noses all gasped and ran away into some nearby bushes. Jynx waved the hanky at Obsidian. "What better way to deal with runny noses, eh?"

Ah, puns. Draconequui puns, no less. Potentially dangerous things. "They, er," Obsidian said as she eyeballed the bushes where the noses disappeared into, "... they won't try to build their own civilization in the bushes, right?"

Jynx laughed, then grew thoughtful. "Hmmmm... you say you made friends with Flur, have you? Best not to let Thunderclap know; she'll be totally jealous, and would posibly do something foolish to prove she's a better friend to you than 'Hurry Fart' possibly could be."

She then grinned. "In fact..." Again, out came the little worn red notebook (from behind her back, this time), more notes were made, and it was returned (to the back of her right knee).

"Aaaaaaaaaanyway, Shiny's all business to most folks, except his wife, his kids and his sister. Otherwise, he's got a pride for Equestria that borders on zealotry. Be careful around him; if he decides you're the enemy, you'll never rest well again."

Okay, it was starting to worry her - these notes Jynx was making couldn't possibly be good. Or funny. Well, perhaps not funny for Obsidian and her friends, anyhow.

"I know that, for some reason, Clap doesn't like Flurry... but it can't be THAT bad, can it?" she asked with a naive, foolish hope. "And as for Prince Shining..." Obsidian tapped her cheek, doing a quick math in her head. "... haven't I already saved Equestria more times than he has?"

Jynx chuckled. "Oh, I assure you - just because there's no public knowledge about it, Shiny's saved the Empire, Equestria and all of Equus before; he's a veteran hero, and you'll have to do better than exorcizing an alicorn and beating up some zombies."

"It's not my fault he didn't invest in proper public relations." Saved Equus, did he? Did something happen that Obsidian wasn't aware of? Hopefully he wouldn't find out that somepony smuggled three potentially dangerous crystal-bound beings out of the country, then.

Jynx then raised an eyebrow. "Still, I'm a bit surprised that you haven't heard about what went down between those two... has nobody told you yet?"

"No - no one, not a single creature. I didn't exactly have much time to ask about it at the time I met her, because 'curse' and 'Peridot'... and really, whenever we meet, it doesn't cross my mind to ask," Obsidian sighed.

Jynx grinned. "Oh, well, it's a good thing we have this conveniently long walk to tell the story in, eh?"

She cleared her throat. "Back in what they refer to as 'The Day', Clap wasn't exactly the bravest of pegasi, and she took an enormous amount of teasing for it. Yet, among the very few who would stand up for her was the ineffable Flurry Heart; even at a young age, Flur didn't tolerate bullies, and ended up saving Clap from more beatings than she'll ever realize."

"But when Clap had finally had enough of the beatings, she began to dole out cruelty of her own... and Flurry Heart still wouldn't abide bullies. And now, her best friend was one. She tried to talk to her, but Young Thundercap listened even less than our Clap does, and she ended up actually getting into a fight with Flur."

"Clap had the physical advantage, and the fight brought a lot of other students over to watch the proceedings. Clap almost won the fight, but that was when Flur took off the proverbial kid gloves, and blasted Clap with a bolt of her magic. Fight was over, right there. Clap was out cold, and would have to spend a week in the hospital because of what Flur had done."

"It embarrassed Thunderclap that her tough new persona had been bested by a princess, and it hurt Flurry to have to do such a thing to someone she thought was her friend. That fight drove a wedge between them. Ever since that day, the two of them have never liked each other, and they can barely stand to be in the same room together."

Ah, the past. The place it truly belonged best was in the past; it made no sense that they still didn't like each other because of things that happened when they were young and foolish. At least this time, no crazy Umbral shards were trying to possess anypony.

"Oh, come on - is there a single young alicorn that Thunderclap did NOT antagonize when she was young? Midnight, Flurry... maybe more?" Obsidian complained.

Jynx shrugged as she continued. "To be fair, all three main pony races had representatives among those who teased Little Clap; her pent-up rage got taken out on everyone, regardless of what their heritage was. She was an equal-opportunity opportunist."

Jynx sighed. "Little Thunderclap was a victim; Tween Thunderclap was a bully... guess Teen Thunderclap will have to figure out what she is now, right? And maybe, just maaaaaaybe, she could use some advice from her crystal-loving, time-travelling, grey-magic-wielding friend?"

Obsidian sighed. "Yes, she probably could. I know that I'm supposed to do things like that, Jynx - there's no need to outright remind me. Especially as I don't think I like the situation where two of my friends dislike each other that much."

In fact... "Which reminds me - if we are talking about 'old times', then perhaps you could explain with more detail why Gypsy Rover is so terribly scared of you? I believe I heard that there was something to do with with diamond dogs and your father..."

"Oh, that," she said with a bit of hesitance. "Y-yes, well... there was a point in time where Dad... um, went... a bit... n-nuts."

Jynx settled herself into a slow walk, and spoke low and softly as to avoid eavesdroppers. "You see, he started claiming he felt as though he was feeling the onset of 'old age'; of course, many of those here simply saw this as another ploy to garner attention... and dutifully ignored him."

She glanced nervously around. "Poppa only had Mom to help him... and believe me, she's a helper... but, it wasn't enough. I mean, she also had classes to teach, the Sanctuary to run, and raising ME was no picnic. And she does care greatly for him..."

She then sighed. "But, she's not a draconequus like us; she can't split into multiples or answer her problems with a snap or a pun. She can only do so much. So, when Big Bad Voodoo Daddy discovered there was a delivery she had to make to the diamond dogs, he decided to play mail deliverer."

"The diamond dogs, er... weren't expecting him. Many of them had never even seen a draconequus before, and they... panicked... a bit. They didn't attack him, no - but those who weren't warriors began to howl and run about, while Dadoo tried to tell them he was no threat."

A passing mare looked at them both curiously; Jynx's head turned, locked eyes with her, and stayed right in place. She kept staring even as her body continued to walk along. When the mare finally noticed, she balked and hurried away, and Jynx's head snapped back into place as if her neck was made of rubber.

"He... doesn't really remember much after that, but what we were told was that he just started snapping, again and again, causing all sorts of random chaos that the poor pups couldn't handle. Terrified the poor things, but not a single death... I think."

She shrugged. "By the time Mom got to him, Ol' Pop-Pop was just sitting in the town circle, staring into the dirt, surrounded by chaos. And not noticing it."

That was it? The Lord of Chaos got irritated and started to terrorize the poor diamond dogs? And only because he wanted to deliver mail?

"When I heard that something terrifying had happened after something dealing with Miss Fluttershy, I expected something a bit more... how would Flurry say it... Sombra-like fucked up." She'd said it correctly, right? The varied and creative usage of the word 'fuck' was something completely new to her, after all.. and honestly, she was rather easy to influence.

"For something such as that, Gypsy is afraid to stay in a single room with you? I... I don't understand why it would be hard to fix that..." Obsidian questioned.

Now that she considered it, a situation where she wouldn't be able to have all of her friends in the same place for fear of a fight wasn't exactly normal - especially not in an Equestria ruled by the Princess of Friendship! Obsidian still considered herself to be rather fresh with this whole business, but damnation, she won't be stopped by it! Sooner or later, she'd have to at least think about a way to get Flurry and Clap to talk again... as well as help Gypsy with his past trauma.

"I'll have to think about a plan... something not involving brainwashing or mind control, that is." Dark magic would easily fix some of these issues, but it was hardly something that would be found acceptable. She probably wouldn't be allowed to pass it off as 'Gray Magic studies on Friendship Coercion'.

Jynx shrugged. "Hey, they're easy solutions; don't knock 'em off the list 'til we try it!" But then, her expression fell. "And no, he wasn't irritated; that's the thing. He wasn't even registering he understood what was going on, much less what he did. Mom got him to a doctor, and - after dealing with Papi's shenanigans - they discovered he had something they called 'OldTimer's Disease'."

When she spoke the name, Obsidian could see small details of Jynx's physical recations; her ruffle of fur seemed to deflate a bit, her scales seemed to grow a touch dull, a bit of the light in her eyes went dim.

"They say it's just something that happens to elderly creatures, sometimes. They get old, and their brains... well, they don't work quite as well as they used to. They fog out, forget things, and even may end up doing actions that may harm others or themselves - wihout even realizing what they're doing."

She looked off to the side a bit. "And it was quite fucked-up, thank you very much! It took the diamond dogs eight months to fix their town properly, and they're still finding the occasional leftover prank. The entire populace was in sheer terror, and the pups have never seen draconequui the same again."

She sighed. "A shame, really; Gypsy Rover and Skrunge look adorably pettable, but neither of them will come anywhere NEAR me. And the other three are triplets, so they're excessively clique-ish. But, in light of the fact that Dadicus seems to be losing his mind the BAD way, I'd say that a bunch of frightened puppies aren't exactly on my 'list of immediate concerns'."

"Not that I wouldn't try to change things... I just haven't had enough time to do EVERYTHING I do and that too, so I make sacrifices. I'll get around to it eventually; until then, I just watch them watch me as I pass by, and long for the touch of their warm fur someday." She sighed wistfully... then shook herself out of it, grinning at Siddy.

Considering that Celestia and Luna were already more than a thousand years old themselves, it was very disconcerting to hear that Discord, a creature at least as old as they were, was apparently showing the signs of such a terrible disease. Even moreso, as it seemed he was losing only control over his mind, and not his powers...

At this rate, he would sooner or later turn into a being of Pure Chaos, with no mind or conscience behind any of his actions.

"Are the two of you the only known draconequui? I have to admit that I haven't researched such a thing yet..." Perhaps other creatures of the same species could help his plight... or at least understand it a bit better?

Jynx shook her head. "Oh, not by far - there's an entire colony of them. On the moon."

She smiled as if she were enjoying knowing something Obsidian didn't, but there was no mockery; instead, she began to explain. "About two decades ago, Fatherlicious managed to convince some of the brighter minds in Equestria to explore the outer space between Equus and the moon; it kickstarted the ESEP: the Equestrian Space Exploration Project, where lots of ponies - along with some diamond dogs, a few kirin, some dragons and one exceptionally intelligent yak - made history by managing to find a way to not only explore space, but made it all the way out to the moon."

"Imagine the confusion when they arrived in the middle of a Fair Day in the Dracolony? Fireworks, balloons, music... all this, they came upon. It was awkward; the draconequui there hadn't expected company, or they would have snapped their colony into invisibility. But they greeted the pony explorers well enough, and they liked finding out about Daddy even more."

"That was when... well, that was when they and Mom... had a few... a-arguements." She sighed. "There were a number of available, single females there, and they wanted the Ol' Drac to, uh, 'add his genetics to the pool', as they said. But Mom wouldn't have it, saying that he wasn't just a resource to be used. The colony didn't like hearing that, but they chose to honor Mom's wishes. But, as a result, they told the explorers to get out, and leave the Dracolony alone."

"Princess Twilight officially recognizes them as their own independent colony, but has placed them on an official list that makes it a crime for anyone to visit or otherwise disturb them. A shame, 'cause I wouldn't mind actually getting to meet draconequui other than Pops or myself; do you have any idea what it's like to be so alone in the world, Obsidian?"

"I was kind of isolated from others by my father, but that's all - I can only imagine how it feels, being actually alone in the world in such a manner," Obsidian spoke softly.

A colony. On the Moon. Well, they apparently either didn't run across Princess Luna, or she simply didn't mention it when Obsidian inquired about her life there - and both cases were equally plausible. The colony surely would have noticed an ancient, mad goddess on the Moon, right? And Princess Twilight kind of went with a little bit of overkill; considering they were the same species as Jynx and Discord, those two should be allowed to visit this colony without issue.

"'Genetics to the pool?' What do you mean by 'genetics'?" Obsidian asked, just as clueless as she was about anything related to foal-making, sexual idioms and other things like that. Granted, Gypsy explained quite a bit to her... but she would most likely need more than a single discussion to fix all the voids in her knowledge. "And what exactly IS the punishment for breaking that one specific law?" Maybe if it wasn't too severe, it would be worth the risk?

"The punishment for breaking the 'leave Dracolony alone' rule? Oh, it's so clever, nobody wants to dare try it; Princess Twilight allows the draconequui to punish the rulebreaker. As she made the announcement of such, not a single soul has even tried to break it. Of course," she smirked, "it helps that it's on the moon; hard to break a rule you can't reach, am I right?"

Oh. Ohhh... oooooooh... Obsidian changed her mind instantly; any plans for making a secret run to the moon died instantly the moment she learned that draconequui themselves could punish the criminal. Just the thought of what might happen sent shivers down her spine - and NOT the good kind.

Jynx fixed Obsidian with a surprised look. "Genetics? To the pool? You mean, you don't... uhhhhh, okay. So, essentially, they wanted his... seed..." she shivered with momentary disgust, "so that he could help them make more draconequui. You know... babies?"

She gave an exasperated sigh, and looked at Obsidian flatly. "They wanted him to fuck a bunch of single females to make babies that, for once, didn't come from JUST them."

Well, now that was interesting. Seed, she understood that. Babies, she understood that. But...

"So, if I'm hearing you correctly, that is what the word 'fuck' means? But, wait... I thought it meant 'joking around' or something like that," By Darkness, didn't Flurry ask Obsidian if she was 'fucking with' her? Was it a bad attempt at seduction?

"Fuck," Jynx began, in a grandiose and almost teacher-like fashion, "is an extremely versatile word; it can allude to a number of meanings, possibly even at one time. Fuck is universal, as every language on Equus has a version of this word in their vocabulary, and can be made to fit a number of situations."

"In the context of 'fucking with me', then yes - it means 'joking'. But used in a sexually descriptive manner, like 'I'm going to fuck his brains out', refers to sex. Or it can be used as flavoring or emphasis, as in 'I hate this fucking rain', or 'the rock you threw hit me in the fucking head'."

She grinned with a naughty smirk. "It can also be utilized for a direct stand-in, vocabulary-wise, as in, 'look at this stupid fuck', or 'are you one of those angry fuckers'. It can also describe situations both good AND bad, as in 'that wall of fire means we are so fucked', or 'he and I fucked around for hours'."

Jynx shrugged. "It all depends on context and timing; no one likes to talk to folks who use that word too often - as it tends to have some stigmata, or bad connotations, attached to it. But believe me, it can be a very useful word."

Obsidian had a notebook from her saddlebags, and was dutifully taking notes. This could be useful later! "Emphasis, stand-in, good, bad, context... hmmm... okay! I think I've got it," she closed her notebook. "I've learned a lot lately - thanks kindly for the explanation."

"Not a problemo, hopefully-soon-to-be-good-friend; I appreciate your not being afraid of me, nor disliking me for being what I am. You're good folk, Siddy - may I call you Siddy? - and that speaks well of the others you keep around you, for them to already see it in you."

"But of course you can call me that - everypony does!" Obsidian smirked slightly.

Jynx shrugged again, her claw/paws spreading wide. "Me? Well, I run a good game of O&O... but I don't think it really amounts to much, in the real world. So, I have a long way to go. But at least I'm still eager to see what lies ahead; haven't gotten jaded yet, and I have few plans to in the future."

Good folk? She could get used to that. Perhaps she wouldn't have to worry so often about abusing her Dark side. Not that she actually abused it, really, not even once... but she most certainly could! Really. More or less.

"Plans? Oooh, plans! It's always nice to have plans, even though they tend to get derailed at the first opportunity..." She could recall all the plans she'd made... which then, Onyx trashed without any effort. She'd been good - evil, but good. "What are your plans, then?"

The draconequus teen gave a slight chuckle. "Now, now... I'd be doing my Pater a disservice, were I to just blurt out all my plans at once, you know! Wouldn't do for us draconequui to give away all our secrets, now would it?"

Jynx then gave Obsidian a smile that spoke of mischief. "Though, truly? I do have aspirations on trying to liven up some of the more traditional events around here; I think Hearts and Hooves Day would be much more fun if a few drinks around town just happened to have a few drops of Love Potion Number Nine in them, and Hearthswarming would certainly be more intense as there should be a few gag gifts thrown in with the rest: a random number of loose mice, foul-smelling gas, a manticore - you know, that sort of excitement! Make each holiday a memorable one!"

She then looked at Siddy. "And yours? After... whatever thing you're doing here... do you have any tactics for tackling the forseeable future?"

Hearts and Hooves Day, Hearthswarming... were those holidays? Events for pairs? For ponies looking for pairs? Well, chances were that she probably should find out about these days as soon as possible, considering her current relationship with Cup.

"Well, I certainly need to continue researching... Grey Magic," Siddy growled the last words a bit. "Considering that I should apparently be able to use it easily, it would probably be a good idea to put more research into it... but it's proving difficult to focus on any given thing for very long. There are some other interesting fields of research that I really, really want to learn about..."

"Grey Magic? I wasn't even aware there was such a thing as Grey Magic... how curious." Jynx spread her claw/paws as she spoke. "You're meaning to say that there are spells out there which use both Light AND Dark Magic?"

"Apparently so. You see, during the issues with my brilliant, yet stupid sister, I was first drained of the entirety of my Dark Magic... then drained again, this time of Light Magic. Yet, at the climax of the battle, I was somehow able to use them both simultaneously. I've considered it, but... honestly? Trying to figure out the theory behind it all gives me a rather nasty headache," Obsidian shrugged slightly. "Even Onyx herself was surprised."

The draconequus mare gave her a very long, careful look. "Weeeeeeeeeelllllllllll... I may not be any sort of expert on magic, but I AM a heckuva muse when it comes to ideas; what would you say to perhaps, some day in the future, you and I spending time trying to possibly work out what sort of magic that you're capable of. With my Chaos Magic, I'm fairly sure can most certainly help you surpass any boundaries you may have, or at least test what skills you may not know you possess yet."

Jynx then smiled and looked at you. "Well, admittedly, I didn't think my aside in this story would amount to much, but it's become rather interesting! I suppose, however, I should get back to it before my breaking of the Fourth Wall is noticed, eh?"

She pointed straight up with both claw/paws and the tip of her tail. "The sky's the limit, Siddy, if you practice and experiment. And with the posibilities that Chaos can accomplish, there's even the chance you might witness results NO ONE has ever known before. So... interested?"

Obsidian's eyes were alight with sparkles... Chaos Magic? "Yes. Very yes. ALL my yes."

... wait, what did she say? "Er... what wall?"

Jynx waved away the question. "Anyhow, that's for another day - today, you already seem to have a full schedule, so I'd be a poor friend if I taxed you any further. Besides, I have a few things to see to, myself - and one of them is at the Pony Express office. That particular Pony Express office, in fact," she said as she pointed ahead of them.

It was a short, squat building with little decoration, save for the rather lovely flowers planted along the sides that were lush and well-cared for. "Well, tell you what, Siddilicious - go do what you have to do, and after your first O&O game, you and I can work out the details on when we can get together and make da magics happen. By then, you should be through with all this, right? Here's hoping, anyway."

She reached the doors to enter the building, but stopped short and turned to fully face her. "Sincerely? Thank you so very kindly, Obsidian, for doing more than merely tolerating my company; I hope I made a distinct impression upon you this time, and I hope it was a decent one, at that."

"Well, if Equestrian ponies can tolerate the company of the daughter of one of the most fucked-up (Obsidian was starting to like versality of this word) villains known to history, it'd be pretty hypocritical of me not to tolerate others, yes? Without a terrified Gypsy around you, Jynx... you do make a much better impression, yes. Friendly hug?" After all, what better way to confirm that somepony was a friend than to hug them?

Jynx gave a wicked smile, and her tail slithered around Obsidian, encasing her in coils that firmly (yet thankfully carefully) squeezed her as she brought her eye-to-eye with herself, where the draconequus gave her a silly little nuzzle on the cheek, then planted a tiny nip of a kiss on the end of Obsidian's snout.

"Friendly enough?" She said in a most sinister way... then, the entire imposing expression fell away to one of innocence as she asked earnestly, "No, really - IS that friendly enough? I mean, Cup thought it was hilarious, but Thunderclap didn't appreciate it much at all. Having experienced a 'hug' from me now, who would you say was right?" She honestly looked as though she were asking, waiting for the Dark Princess to respond... and, thankfully, not squeezing her so hard that she couldn't breathe.

Hmmm. A review, then? "Well, the squeeze wasn't too hard, so I'd say that part is optimal, and the nuzzle was a nice touch. I'm not too sure about the kiss, as I've never had something like that during a hug - with the exception of Cupcake, of course. I'd say it most certainly qualifies as friendly, but I'll have to inquire as to why Clap didn't care for it." Obsidian felt she'd been honest, yet fair. She managed to wiggle her forehooves free enough to squeeze Jynx a little bit. Wrapped up in coils, it would have to do.

Jynx looked somewhat surprised for a moment... then smiled broadly as she gently unwound herself from Siddy, bringing her to rest unharmed on the ground, right in front of the doors. "Well... how refreshing! To actually get a critique when asked for one! I have to say, you just shot a number of points up on my personal 'Me Likey' List! I'm honestly really looking forward to your first O&O game!"

The door opened, and an older stallion in a business suit stopped there; Jynx, with her large form and all the space she took up, was blocking the exit, and the earth pony looked annoyed as he stood there, trying to find a way around the draconequus.

"I always do my best to be honest," Obsidian looked at the draconequus, "and um, we should probably move to one side."

Jynx looked back behind her, then shrugged and stepped aside. The stallion stepped hurriedly out, sending an ice-meltingly angry glare at the draconequus as he passed them with his briefcase in tow. Jynx looked at Siddy with a raised eyebrow, and as soon as the stallion reached the end of the block, she snapped her 'fingers'...

Suddenly, the briefcase opened and started barking at the businesspony; he stared for a moment, until it 'bit' his foreleg, then he ran from it yelling in panic as it chased him down the street, barking madly at him as they vanished around a bend.

Jynx shrugged. "Call me a tool of Karma, I suppose. Shall we?"

"It seems like a rather harsh punishment for merely, well... looking at someone angrily," Obsidian pointed out, not really certain if it counted as karma if the stallion was annoyed because of somecreature blocking his way, was enough to justify this jest. Still, it reminded her that Chaos Magic was full of potential... perhaps she really could follow in her father's hoofsteps - not all of them, obviously - and re-create a pony body with an Umbral shard?

"Yes, we shall. I do need to send this message off, and the sooner, the better." Obsidian trotted inside.

Quick message. Send. Go to visit with Miss Pinkie. Return home. Should be easy enough...

The post office was small, but bright and cheery thanks to a number of posters and potted flowers. At the counter was a very somber-looking mare wearing a postal outfit. Her visible cutie mark was a pretty flower in a pot, with a dark raincloud over it, pouring drops of water into the pot.

"Welcome to the Ponyville Pony Express office, my name is Tulip Downpour; how may I be of service on this fine, fine day?" The words were kind, but she sounded and looked as though she were bored almost to the point of falling alseep on the job; her attitude reminded Obsidian a bit of Mica's, excpet he looked casually neutral. This pony looked as though the entirety of existence bored her to her very soul.

For a place that looked more positive than the post office in the Silver Shores Community had, the mare working here seemed to be the living incarnation of boredom. At the mere sight of her, Obsidian had to fight off a yawn.

"I would like to send a message to the Silver Shores Community, addressed to Pri-... er, to Luna, and I'd like it to get there as quickly as possible, please. How much does paper cost here?"

"Two bits for four pages - and no, we don't sell two sheets for a bit, because if you wanted to send a letter, you should have brought your own paper." Still in that same listless monotone - was she possibly a distant relative of Mica's or Maud's?

"I didn't ask if you sold two sheets for a bit," Obsidian grumbled to herself, irritated.

Jynx grew a look of ire, reached into her own ruffle of chest fur and pulled out an entire pad of lined notebook paper. "That's okay, Siddy," she said a touch loudly, as if to make a point of it to the postal worker, "this one's on me."

The mare behind the counter didn't even flinch.

"Thank you kindly, Jynx. Okay, let's see now..." Honestly, if she'd ended up with sheets she didn't use, then she would simply give them to Gypsy - no big deal. Why did this mare answer the question Obsidian didn't ask, especially in such a snide manner? Some ponies, apparently, were simply unreasonable.

The message was fairly short; she simply informed the princesses that her siblings were in Ponyville and Diamond was already free, that they were under Princess Twilight's protection, and she'd found a number of spells for protecting against mind control. In other words, she informed Luna that there was no more need to stop her from dreaming, especially as she sorely missed her dear sister Ruby.

"Hopefully, that should be good enough," she reassured herself as she took her coinpurse from her saddlebag to send the message along to two specific ancient princesses.

The mailmare looked at the simple letter, then at its' twin that appeared when Jynx snapped. Unfazed by the suddenly-appearing letter, she looked up at Obsidian. "Six bits for normal post; fourteen for same-day delivery. Overnight is ten bits, but we only do overnights on the weekends."

"Why?" Jynx asked bluntly.

"So our mail carriers don't have to worry about nighttime airspace traffic being thick as the week's usual. Yes, even at night, ponies travel through the air."

Jynx looked a bit chagrined at Tulip's manner, but the mare hadn't really done anything mean or bad, so the draconequus was restraining her want to snap at the mare. And by 'snap', she might not have meant her temper...

Well, it was a little costly, but most likely worth it. Obsidian really needed to get it to Luna before her next sleep. She took fourteen bits out of her purse. "The same day, if possible. It's rather urgent."

The mare looked at her flatly, nodded, took the payment and the letters and placed them into a bin marked 'Urgent: Same Day'. From there, she looked up at them again. "Anything else?"

"Yes, in fact," Jynx said as she pulled out a giftwrapped box that was bulging at the seams; whatever was inside was barely contained, and looked as though it would simply burst at any given second, "I'd like to address this to Canterlot Palace, please, care of the Royal Guard, addressed to Prince Shining Armor."

Most mailponies might give such a package a skeptical look; Tulip simply looked at it, unflinching, then said, "Eighteen bits for regular mail, which includes shipping insurance."

Jynx grumbled to herself as her tail came forward and deposited the proper amount on the counter, each bit stacked on top of each other neatly. Once finished, Tulip took the bits and pressed a stamp to the package that said [HANDLE WITH CARE], leaving the words stamped across the bulging top.

"There," Jynx grinned, "errand done, right?"

Okay... just what was Jynx sending? It didn't look safe...ly packaged.

"Yes, that's all here," Siddy nodded, "now - straight to go see Miss Pie. Would you want to walk a bit more with me... or do you possibly have something more important to do?"

Jynx grinned. "Alas, though I would adore accompanying you to see the Pies, I'm afraid that duty does call - I'm headed to the Cloudsdale Rainbow Factory, to provide them with some interesting colors for their next creation. It's a side-job, but work is work, so I'm bound to it. But, I will say, it has been enormously entertaining to chat with you... and you have such a dark and witty sense of humor!"

Jynx gave a bow, then turned and looked into the sky for just a moment. "I appreciate your company, Siddy... and, for what it's worth, I would love to get to know you more. I do hope the feeling is at least somewhat mutual?"

Obsidian grinned in response. "Oh, but of course! I'll hopefully get to spend more time with you in the close future. I always like to spend time with my friends - especially if there are no zombies, Umbrals or any of my siblings. And of course, there's also this game you've invited me to. I'll keep in mind to ask Cupcake for details, as I'm sure he'll gladly explain to me... well, everything."

Jynx smiled... almost ferally. "Oh... I hope he doesn't explain everything about it... you'll see." With an enigmatic smile, Jynx gave Obsidian a light wave. "Ta, Siddy - 'til next we dance!"

With that, she reached down and tugged on her tail; she then rolled up like a windowshade, and the rolled draconequus vanished in a puff of smoke that smelled vaguely of honey and burnt toast.

So if Cup was participating in this game, then it surely wasn't dangerous, right? Even if it would be, then he would certainly alert Obsidian about anything worrisome, so she should be safe... but mayhaps draconequui just were a bit too powerful not to worry when they started smiling in a specific way.

Obsidian was glad they were friends now - neutrality was OK perhaps, but the mere thought about a potentially hostile Jynx was not a pleasant one. Luckily, it didn't seem as though she had anything to worry about... except for her siblings, of course. Maybe her schoolwork - though with saving the world and all, maybe she deserved a bit of a break?

Enough - onto visit with Miss Pinkie Pie, then. And where does one look for a pink party pony? Why, at Sugarcube Corner, naturally! Where else would she be?

During her walk to SCC, it gave Siddy a bit more time to herself. With everything she'd experienced lately, precious time on her own to just think could be something she needed more than she realized. And through all of that, the realization of Diamond began to come home; she really had another brother, and he was kind and good - unlike many of her other siblings. How he maintained that kind nature in the face of what her father had done to them was a mystery, but it was certainly a most refreshing change from attempts at murder or false faces.

Perhaps the answer could be found in the order of their creation - after all, their father had been using parts of his own soul. From what she could tell, Radiant Hope helped him with the first of his creations - for reasons unknown.

What if Diamond was actually made from the portion of her father's soul that held his kindness? What if Sombra turned into the monster that everypony knew because he used up all his positive aspects to create new life? It was merely a theory, of course - but worth researching. Hopefully, Ruby would know something more... or perhaps Tourmy would.

It was a true shame that Peridot had been silenced for all eternity; with his brains he could easily have solved many of Obsidian's problems.

Didn't her father supposedly have some notes about all of this? Princess Twilight had mentioned something about notes, or a diary, yet had never produced them for Obsidian's perusal. Maybe it was time to make an official inquiry into their status? Still, it did bring up another question; if Diamond held Sombra's kindness, what about Tourmaline? Amethyst? Ruby? What about herself?

Of course, it was quite possible that Diamond didn't hold ALL of Sombra's kindness - he could have saved something for Ruby. And there had to be something which qualified as not too malicious in Tourmaline (he may have tried to kill her at first, but he adapted quickly to Equestrian life). In Amy's case, however... well, she probably had something rather nasty inside her.

As for Obsidian herself... she simply had no idea.

Sugarcube Corner looked only a bit busy; a mare leaving with a box of cookies, another stallion going in with a look of anticipation on his muzzle. From a glance in the front door, Peppermint was working the counter today; she was cheerily smiling as she fetched a box from a nearby shelf for the hungry-looking stallion, pointing at the price on the register. The stallion paid up, then took his goods and skipped merrily out of the bakery, grinning happily. Pepper seemed to watch him go, then turned and buried her muzzle in what looked to be some sort of science magazine, with what looked like a mechanical bird on the cover.

Ah, perfect! Perhaps it would be possible to discuss plans with Peppermint as well. Obsidian trotted happily towards her.

"Hello, Peppermint! How's it going?" She checked around to make sure she wasn't interrupting any other customers. It was a shop, after all - she didn't want to disturb any actual business going on.

The rest of the shop smelled delightfully warm and tasty, but there were no other customers there; they were alone, more or less. Pepper smiled and waved when she recognized Siddy, then gave the Dark Princess a smiling wink to indicate how things were going. Apparently, she was working the counter alone today. She wore a bowler hat, and a pair of round-lensed glasses with green lenses - though neither one seemed to be able to rein in the massive thatch of curly red mane that spilled out from practically everywhere it could on her scalp!

"I only hoped to meet your mom, but now that you're here... I'd like to ask: do you perhaps know anything about 'Pola Industrial'?" Obsidian really planned to just do her own private things today, but she really couldn't overlook an opportunity to deal with some of the more important stuff - like her siblings planning an apocalypse, for example.

Pepper nodded eagerly, then grabbed up the magazine she'd been reading, and turned to a specific page. On it, there was a picture of what appeared to be a very modern-looking mine, with a number of mechanical devices in view, all being tended to by workers. The artcle read:

{Pola Industrial: Work Smarter, Not Harder}

The Milkcan Mines, site of some of the biggest finds in recent Equestrian history, are benefitting from some of the most top-notch industrial equipment to assist them in their mission. For the past few years, Pola Industrial has proven time and again to be an innovator in the realm of mining equipment, and has produced a number of machines that take much of the danger out of traditional mining. These devices have safety measures that make them safe enough for foals to operate, yet effective enough to be employed by mines across the nation. Mechanical technology like this has been more and more prevalent since the inception of Pola Industrial, proving its' validity in the modern marketplace-

The article went on, but on another page apparently. Pepper grinned as she displayed it, happy to share what was so fascinating to her. She pointed a hoof at the article, then at Obsidian, then lifted an eyebrow in interest.

Well, Obsidian certainly approved of that - smart work was better than hard work... which meant that smart AND hard work would be completely and totally awesome!

"l suspect that my sister could work there - I was hoping to investigate it soon. Perhaps you would be interested in joining us? I haven't planned anything specific yet... but I will, sooner or later."

Peppermint's eyes practically bugged out of her head. She slowly, deiberately pointed at the article, then at herself, then back at the article with a look on her muzzle that was practically begging Obsidian to please, please not be messing around with her on this.

"I'm dead serious, Peppermint - you have no doubt heard that my siblings have a tendency to behave in rather non-friendly ways, so I wanted to investigate it. I'd need somepony who knows something about modern technology, because most of my own knowledge is rather... let's say, 'obsolete'."

Peppermint wore a stunned look on her muzzle, but she carefully set the magazine down, then came around the counter and slowly embraced Obsidian, nodding happily as she did. Once done, she stepped back and made a motion like she wanted Obsidian to speak further, spinning her hoof in a circle between them.

Oh. Uhhh... that was pretty much everything she'd wanted to say at the moment. How to expand on that..?

"We have proof that Pola Industrial illegally works wth Dark Magic. Considering that my sister, Opal... Opal, Pola, yes THAT is what she calls it... is very skilled with technology, I'm somewhat afraid she could be working on some sort of machines fueled by Dark Magic." Would it be enough to tempt the earth pony's sense of curiosity?

Pepper jumped as if she'd been bitten, then grew a troubled look as she picked up the magazine and began flipping through it manically, until she reached a particular page, where she opened it and pointed at a picture there.

The picture was of the outside of a large warehouse, and there were a number of ponies who were busy moving what looked to be a heavy crate into it. In the foreground, there was an exceedingly thin and lanky-looking unicorn mare who was wearing a hard hat and looked as though she were speaking out loud to those moving the crate. She looked intelligent, especially with her spectacles on, and her expression was one of someone who didn't seem to care much for waiting around for things to happen; she looked like a go-getter.

The caption read: {Industrial genius Shaded Pearl directs the latest piece of her project into the Pola Industrial Warehouse; though she keeps her projects hush-hush, she assures us that what she has planned for the future will be 'amazing to behold'.}

Pepper pointed at Shaded Pearl again... and with a bit of looking, it was obvious to Obsidian that the mare shared a few traits with the rest of her siblings. Namely, the slight red in her curved horn - proof positive of her being a direct relation to Sombra's shards.

Obsidian still had the picture of her siblings she took with her to the Silver Shores Community - and it was time to bring it out. She reached to her saddlebag for said piece of paper.

So dear sister Opal apparently had become somewhat famous. A mare of great success, really - luckily Onyx didn't cooperate with her during the Umbral Invasion; with an army of mechanical monstrosities, they wouldn't even need undead Umbrals, who had turned out to be rather squishy, though exceedingly numerous.

Sure enough, glasses and all, there was Opal. In Diamond's drawing, she looked a bit sheepish, though her smile was sweet enough. She looked like the sort of mare you might completely overlook, unless you knew who she was. Peppermint looked at the drawing closely as Obsidian brought it out. At one point, she placed a hoof on one of the pictures - a stallion - and looked at her with a question in her eyes.

"Those are my siblings, Pepper - ten of them. I'm obviously not here because I was isolated from the rest of the world... for some mysterious reason..." Obsidian rubbed a hoof against her temple. "I'm trying to identify all of them... let me think... That's not Tourmaline, Diamond or Peridot. It's also not Quartz... so this brother of mine must either be Aquamarine or Jade," she deduced.

Whomever it was, they were quite solid and severe-looking. The muzzle was one that looked stoic and firm, one that a loner hero might wear. Pepper looked at Obsidian, then at the picture, then back at her again... then blew a sigh of exhaustion, holding her hoof to her belly as she looked over how many siblings she had. She probably thought they were born traditionally, and was feeling sympathy pains for their mother.

Well, even if they were born traditionally, there was simply no reason why they would come from one single mare. A bastard like King Sombra would be able to use slaves for his wicked deeds, after all. She would need to ask Tourmy about that mysterious brother in the picture. "All of us were crafted, not born. Dark magic and crystals, you see," Obsidian said to try to calm her a bit.

She cocked her head to one side, looking at Obsidian curiously... then, she removed a pencil and pad from the counter, and made a quick sketch. Finishing, she showed it to Obsidian. It was what looked to be a small, black crystal - strangely enough, it looked almost exactly like one of the crystal shards she'd just liberated from the Crystal Empire, not long ago.

Obsidian looked at the sketch, then at Peppermint. "Er... yes. Have you ever noticed something like that before?"

Patty nodded, then went over to the register, where she retrieved a saddlebag with a stylized gear for a buckle. She opened it and rummaged around a bit, then pulled out a small, flat and shiny disk. She held it up for Obsidian's perusal, then pointed at Siddy's horn... then at the disk. Did she want her to pick it up with her magic?

Obsidian had only come here to talk with Miss Pie. She was a mother of her beloved coltfriend and, as such, Obsidian felt a need to maintain a good relationship with her. What was more, she wanted to be a good marefriend; asking Cup's mom what to do should be the best way to become better, yes? "... is there... a shard inside it?" she asked very carefully.

She shook her head no, then pointed at Obsidian's horn and back at the disk again. Then, she made wavy motions from her own forehead, as if trying to pantomime magical energy coming from it. Then back to the disk again.

Obsidian activated her horn and held the shiny thing with her magic; if there was no shard inside, then it should be safe... right?

The disk began to spin very rapidly, and Obsidian experienced a weird 'doubling' of the area around her; it was as if she was seeing another world, yet the one she was in could still be somewhat seen through the illusion.

"Okay, Your Majesty - he signals that we have visual."

"Good; I want this captured for posterity, as I'm hoping whatever we find in here could be put on display in a museum somewhere - and having the actual recording of its' discovery would be special!"

The first voice, she didn't recognize... but the second one was, without a doubt, Princess Twilight Sparkle. But the thing that made Obsidian's spine shiver was the location she saw...

She was in the crystal tunnels, right around where her own room was.

Well, that certainly wasn't something she expected to discover when she went to meet her (hopefully) soon-to-be-mother-in-law. Just how was Pepper able to come across this? Why did she have it? Maybe the princess gave copies to the other Element Bearers? But it was apparently important. And the technology - ah, the technology was marvelous! Far more advanced than mere cameras.

The view seemed as though it were directly from whomever was recording this; it looked around, then seemed to focus on Twilight for a bit as she walked and gave a lecture about the Crystal Empire's history. During that speech, the camerapone's view went to the princess' posterior about six times, lingering there for as long as it could until he thought he'd be caught staring, when he looked away.

When they rounded the corner, Twilight's horn lit up with a ring of energy, and a pulse rolled outward... and revealed the hidden door to Obsidian's room. The alicorn stopped short. "Wait... the tunnels weren't supposed to be this developed down here... I thought these were supposed to be unused tunnels?"

She lit up her horn and apparently used some sort of opening magic on the door, examining the threshhold carefully before turning to look back at the camerapone. "Ooooooh, we might have found something new! Oh, this is so excitng!"

She carefully pushed the door open... and the lot of them stared into the room. It was basically as she had last seen it... except for a single detail. In the middle of her desk, there was a small, black crystal shard on a wire stand.

Twilight saw the shard and walked over to investigate. "Oh, aren't YOU pretty? You look like someone wanted to take good care of you, little crystal. I wonder if you're magical..?"

Twilight non-chalantly picked up the shard with her magic... and it began to glow. "Uh-oh... ummm, that's not good..."

The camerapone's view shuddered a bit, then grew bright white as the glow from the shard overwhelmed everything else. When it faded out, there on the floor was Obsidian herself, fast asleep.

"... what in the wide, wide world of Equestria..?"

The camerapone caught a quick glance at Twilight's flank, then focused on Obsidian's sleeping form. She looked peaceful and serene, even if she also looked like she was one meal shy of starving to death. The camerapone then focused on Obsidian's flank for a moment.

Whoever was recording it, apparently really liked flanks.

Obsidian was somewhat terrified by the sight of... well, her own shard form. It was just so small, so fragile, so... artificial. She could have been turned into something like that and not even remember it - come to think of it, she couldn't remember how her father had turned her into a crystal in the first place, or the moment when she was released.

And let's be honest, it wasn't too bright of Twilight to just grab the mysterious crystal she'd found in Sombra's dungeons. If she would have picked up Jade's shard by accident... well, it would have ended with a lot more casualties. Luckily, it seemed Harmony was protecting her.

"... damnation, I looked terrible," Obsidian muttered to herself.

Twilight stared for a moment, then she called out in a shaky voice over her flank. "Shiny? I think we have a problem here!"

Into the room came Captain Shining Armor; he looked proud and regal, and seemed to be ready to deal with any situation at a moment's notice. He came forward, his grey mane and beard shot through with blue, and eyeballed Obsidian carefully.

"Princess, you might wanna be elsewhere, in case she wakes up in a cross mood. What do you want done with her?"

Twilight pondered a moment. "Find out who she is and why she's here - maybe she's some sort of missing link? But be careful; there's no telling how long she's been like that, so she may be disoriented when she finally wakes up."

"I can do that, Twily. You just be ready to-... HEY! Are you staring at my sister's flank!?"

The sight cut off immediately, and Siddy could now see a curious Peppermint standing there... along with Pinkie Pie, who was doing an uncannily perfect impression of Peppermint, sitting right next to her.

"So... was it a good movie?" Pinkie asked.

Author's Notes:

UGH, this chapter was so long... but I couldn't find what I felt to be a proper place to cut it in half, so I simply left it together like this. My apologies that it took a bit to come together, but I finally managed to get through it.

'OldTimer's' disease? yeah, I'm sure you can guess the parallel in our world - and to know that Discord is going though it? Well, it possibly explains why Jynx isn't around very much, if she's tending to her father - which, by the way, I thoroughly enjoyed coming up with all of Jynx's different nicknames for him.

What fourth wall break?

The idea of the Dracolony actually came from a few different sources, but it was an *INSTANT* decision to make it a crime to visit, and to let the locals punish the wrongdoer - honestly, what better way to scare the Tartarus out of would-be explorers? But it's at least nice to know Discy and Jynxy aren't alone.. right?

Thirty: Think Pink

Well, Miss Pie's impression of her daughter was pretty good... except for the speaking part.

"Fairly interesting," Obsidian began, "but I wouldn't exactly refer to it as 'good', though; only a little bit of action and hardly any story - though there was certainly a lot of plot. The camerapony wasn't very, eh... focused, let's say. Honestly, I still can't get over the fact of how small these shards are."

Obsidian had to admit it at least to herself, as she raised her hoof to rub her temple a bit; she felt warm, bothered and just a little jittery.

"Oh, and good afternoon," she added; obviously, Siddy couldn't allow hersef to forget about maintaining good manners. "So, my question is, how did it end up here?"

Pinkie looked at Peppermint with light dispproval. "Is that one of Licorice's video disks, Pep? You know I told you to stay out of his stuff... but if the stuff's this juicy, I may have to snoop a bit as well!"

Wait... Licorice was the camerapone? Well, for starters, that explained the plot-staring... and secondly, it would mean he was there when she was first revived. Why didn't he mention that when she met him? Obsidian shook her head slightly to clear her brain from the vision of the sheer fragility of her shard... though it didn't exactly work very well.

"Licorice... he was with Princess Twilight when I was found?" she asked, just to clarify. She didn't get the feeling that he knew her when they met for the first time. Of course, she wasn't exactly very kind nor gentle with other ponies at that time, so she could understand him putting her out of his mind... then, there was always the possibility that he was too busy staring improperly to have remembered her.

Well, her FACE, anyhow.

Pinkie nodded vigorously. "Oh, Licky does a LOT of cinematography - especially in Ponyville! Oh, I just think it's sooooooo cute how he takes all these little films; he loves to video others too! Like Twi, Fluttershy, Rarity, Luna, Celestia, Cadence... though, come to think of it, he seems to get more footage of them walking away than anything else. Hmmp. Well, maybe he just needs to work on his timing, right?"

Obsidian got the feeling he didn't think his timing was off at all.

"But occasionally, he does do some camera work for Twi when she has something she wants to film. Always such a sweetie for being an eager helper!"

She could always talk about it with him later. And really, who would have thought that he enjoyed plots that much? Though... now that she considered it...

Among Amethyst's few positive traits, there was the fact that she honestly didn't look half bad. Perhaps Licorice could, somehow, soften her edge and win her heart? "... and yet, he somehow survived his confrontation with Prince Armor at the end of this... video?" That was what it was called, right?

Pinkie looked at Obsidian with some confusion. "Of course he did... why wouldn't he?"

Peppermint simply rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Oh, but I'm glad you showed up!" Pinkie trotted over to her and leaned in close. "We should taaaaaallllllllk... priiiiiivatelyyyyyyy..." she said. Even though it was assumedly supposed to be a quiet passing of information, Pinkie said it loud enough for Peppermint to have overheard. In fact, it was likely that a few passing pones on the street heard her too.

"That's precisely why I showed up!" Obsidian admitted cheerfully, happy that she would finally be able to do something she'd planned - without any other interruptions!

Pinkie smiled, and Peppermint gave Obsidian a small wave as the unicorn was led towards the counter. Pinkie moved her to that spot, and pulled on the cookie jar...

>WHOOSH!< She found herself sliding down the crazy slide again, and back into the ball pit. Honestly, even if it was a bit hectic, it was kind of fun. Pinkie followed shortly thereafter, and almost collided with Siddy as she hit the ball pit in a fit of giggles. "I don't care HOW many times I've done that - it's STILL fun!"

At least Obsidian didn't scream when floor dissapeared below her hooves. Not a bit, nope. Well... okay, maybe a bit. Just a short exercise for her vocal cords. It wasn't as if she'd forgotten about this tunnel being here from the Umbral Invasion, she'd just... overlooked it in her thoughts. Yes.

"... sure, we'll go with 'fun'," Obsidian said with a groan as she tried to save some diginity and climb out of the ball pit as quickly as possible.

"Okie dokie lokie! So, I take it you wanted to have a chat with me, right? My Pinkie Sense told me you were headed here to speak with me - itchy rear right hoof - and I figured I could meet you upstairs. And there you were, except you were looking at one of Licky's movie disks, so I waited until you were done."

She began to walk about in the warehouse section, looking over all the shelves full of presents, gifts, packages and other party memorabilia. Each shelf, she touched lightly as if they were passing friends at a soiree.

"Okay, you go first - that way, in case you wanted to talk about what I wanted to talk about, we can just get it all out at once!"

Oooooh, she was dizzy - that slide was rougher than she remembered it being. Okay, now what was that thing she wanted to talk about...? Ah, right! The most important thing in all of Equestria...

"I've learned a few things lately - more on the technical side of the subject, really - so I thought I'd come by for... a-an advice... or two. I just, er," she blushed slightly, a rare occurrance for Obsidian, "... I just want to be as good a marefriend for Cupcake as I possibly can, and I thought that perhaps his own Momma would be the best pony to ask about advice for that subject."

Besides, as far as she was aware, parents were supposed to help their children from time to time, because they were obviously far more experienced and world-wise. Obsidian's only parent was... well, turned into stone. Though with all she'd learned, he probably wouldn't have been very useful anyway. So, the closest equivalents were the parents of her coltfriend - hough she'd neevr say that out loud.

"Oh, WOW!" Pinkie clapped, then giggled. "I was wanting to talk with you about Cuppie, too! Oh, this is just perfect!" She smiled broadly. "It almost feels like we're having a sleepover! Okay, so... I'm all ears, Obsy; please, go right ahead and ask away! No question too big, no question too small! Fire away!"

Oh, good! So they were both here to talk about the same thing - or rather, the same stallion. Obsidian grabbed her notebook from her saddlebag. Perhaps she should start with something big, to immediately clear the ground. Or maybe just a gentle prodding with a scout party - a few innocent questions...

Why in Tartarus was she thinking in strategic terms?

"Well, over the past couple of days, I've heard a few times about a suggestion of a 'wedding'. I know how it's supposed to look like technically, but... but..."

She waved her notebook-less hoof around chaotically. "... I'm not sure if it was just teasing or not! I simply lack any sort of cultural context! I know what the wedding is, what it represents... but I don't think I fully realize its' true meaning!"

Okay, something big, then.

Pinkie looked at her for a moment... then, her smile seemed to go fully electric.

"OHMYGOODNESSYOUWANTTOMARRYMYCUPPIEANDYOU'REASKINGFORPERMISSIONFROMMEFIRSTOHYESYESYESSSS!"

She suddenly jumped up and took Obsidian's hooves in her own and began a mad waltz through the warehouse.

"OHINEVERTHOUGHTI'DSEETHEDAYOHOBSIDIANINEVERTHOUGHTANYONEWOULDWANTMYSWEETCUPPIEBUTYOUDOYOUDOYOUREALLYREALLYDOOOOOOO!"

BY DARKNESS!

"I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND A SINGLE WORD YOU JUST SAID," Obsidian protested as her probably-soon-to-be-mother-in-law started a rollicking rampage through the warehouse, dragging her along by her hooves helplessly.

Pinkie laughed aloud, then waltzed to a stop in the back area, twirling Obsidian onto the couch rather smoothly as she pirouetted herself into the nearby chair and sat down. "OH... s-sorry! I get carried away so easily nowadays, and with you and Cuppie being so close, I just thought you'd come here to ask me for permission to ask HIM to marry you! I just... I... sorry."

She offered a warm smile, and only had a bit of an embarrassed blush on her cheeks as she did. "Okay, well... from everything I'VE heard, a wedding isn't just symbolic to the two getting married, but it acts as an announcement to the world that you two love each other, and are dedicated to loving ONLY each other."

She pondered for a moment. "I've known a few stallions and mares who enjoy being able to love anyone and everyone whenever they want, but most of them are still lonely. Marriage is supposed to be a commitment to someone else, to have snugglebunny playtime ONLY with them, and to dedicate yourself to making sure they have a wonderful life... and, ideally, they should do the same in return."

Okay, explanations - explanations were good. "Er... snugglebunny playtime?" This time, however, explanations needed additional explanations. The overall description DID sound nice; Obsidian would want to announce that she loves Cupcake... though she was pretty sure everypony already knew it.

"Snugglebunny playtime is the phrase I use for..." she leaned in and spoke dramatically, "ESS... EEE... EKS!"

She then smiled wistfully. "Oh, I remember the first time I ever had snugglebunny playtime with Cheese; so much seltzer... so many cream pies..."

She sighed longingly, then shook herself out of it and looked at Obsidian. "But anyway, snugglebunny playtime can cause foals, so you should be certain you either want foals or have some sort of birth control if you want to enjoy snugglebunny playtime with my Cuppie..."

She got small stars in her eyes. "My little Cuppie... having his first love, his first kiss, his first... uhhhhh..." Pinkie then blushed a bit herself, and smiled broadly as she settled back into the chair. "There's some folks who claim the wedding is EVERYTHING... but I don't think like that. The wedding is just a show for everyone else, more or less - it should mean something special to YOU and HIM."

Wait. Waaaaaiiit... did this whole 'sex' thing include seltzer and pies? She brought out her trusty notebook and took some notes. "Hm, isn't the wedding a necessary ritual that comes before sex? I'm sure Cupcake mentioned something a few weeks ago about foal-making being reserved for married couples or something..." She wasn't sure - at the time, she was a bit more concerned about the Umbral Invasion.

Pinkie nodded. "That's how I was raised; foals should have both parents, so it's better to wait until you're married to have them. Of course, there are also Spell Foals, who were made with magic... did you know Cuppie was a Spell Foal?"

She smiled. "Cheese was on his 'Party Of The Century Tour', and I was really, really lonely for him, so we decided we'd have another foal... but he couldn't make it back to me to make one 'the old fashioned way', so he simply charged his part of the Foal Spell, then sent it to me where I put the rest of the charge into it, and BAM! Cup in the oven!"

"In the oven?!" Obsidian shrieked in terror, as she imagined it.

Pinkie laughed. "Not a real oven, silly!" She patted her belly gently. "THIS oven. It's a baking analogy, Siddy - where the 'bun' is the baby, and your 'oven' is where the baby comes from. It's just a cute way of saying it, that's all!"

Obsidian kind of deflated a bit; idioms and metaphors - the bane of her existence. "So... not all sex is a foal-making, then? Foal-making should wait for married life... well, how about non-foal-making sex?" At least Gypsy had explained to her what 'birth control' was to her.

Pinkie now put on a sultry smile. "Oh, that kind of snugglebunny playtime? Oh, yeeeaaaaah... it can be LOTS of fun. Cheese and I enjoy it a LOT - and I promise you, my foal-making days are done, but it doesn't mean I've stopped having snugglebunny playtime with him!"

She sat forward. "It feels... well, it's... it's like..." She then laughed. "Okay, it's HARD to explain, but it feels wonderful... at least, once you get into it, it does. It feels like the two of you become one being, and the pleasure it brings..?"

She suddenly sat up, and squirmed in her seat a bit. "Umm. Well. Okaaaaaaay, I may have to find my Cheesy after this conversation! Any other questions?"

Obsidian pondered a moment. "Okay then, where should I acquire 'protection'? And if I may, where exactly IS Mr. Sandwich? I'd like to meet him, sooner or later." Okay... so it was fun, hmmm?

"Well... there's a section of the pharmacy shop where they sell that sort of stuff, but I've never used it!" She pondered for a moment. "Come to think of it, maybe that's why I have so many children? But I don't regret a single one of 'em, 'cause I love them all!"

She looked at Siddy and grinned. "There's two kinds: pills and sheaths. Pills are what YOU take to keep yourself from getting pregnant before you're ready to be, and sheaths are what HE uses to make sure he doesn't make a baby inside you." She looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded vigorously. "Eeyup - that's it!"

Pharmacy shop... check. She still didn't know the whereabouts of Cup's father, but sooner or later he would have to visit. "So... did YOU have any questions, Miss Pie?"

Pinkie thought for a moment, then looked at Obsidian with a delicate smile. "I wanna hear what you have to say about my Cuppie; I know you like-like him, but tell me what he makes you feel, what you think about him, and what you like best about him!"

Oh dear. That could take a while. It was quite a serious question, wasn't it?

It wasn't something she could easily say... but this time, she wasn't going to say anything about 'scoring'.

"He... he's the best thing that's ever happened to me in my entire life, Miss Pie. The sight of him alone makes me feel happy and safe, and I want to be a better mare just because he deserves as good of a mare as possible."

Now, what did she like in him best? She actually blushed a bit as she started to think more deeply about him. "I suppose what I like best is that he's completely and totally different from anything I ever knew in my old life." Great, now she felt she needed to cuddle him - a LOT. "And his breath always smells sweet."

Pinkie's eyes were wet, and she sniffled grandly before producing a hankerchief, blowing her snout noisily, then putting it away while it was still dripping. "Oh, that's so romantic! Such a change from what you once knew, and you love the changes... so, naturally, you love him too! Plus, how he make you feel... what you said about him deserving a good mare..." She stepped over to Obsidian and gave her a hug.

Obsidian, of course, returned the hug. Quite eagerly, considering it was her future mother-in-law.

"If you ask me," Pinkie said softly, "I think he's getting the bestest mare in all of Equus! You're so sweet and kind, and you treat him so well, and he just goes on and on about you... so it's good to see that you feel about him like he does about you!"

She then whispered into Siddy's ear. "Don't tell him I told you, but he just loooooooves the smell of your mane; he says it's what helps him get to sleep at night!"

Well then, she would have to stockpile some shampoo, then. "Thank you, Miss Pie - that means a lot to me." She felt... good. Very good, actually. And she had Cup's mom's approval, which was wonderful.

"And it means a lot to me that you think enough of me to come chat with me about it! Oh, we're gonna be GOOD in-laws, I'm just SURE of it!" She then stepped back and grinned at her. "Y'know... you two are gonna make some adorable grandfoals!"

Hmmm... now that Miss Pie mentioned it, there was a chance that Obsidian and Cup could make foals - assuming that she was able to have them, considering her artificial heritage. Oh dear... was she ready for foals? She'd never thought about it. The mere idea was making her feel... rather strange.

"Y-yes, of course we will. But first, we'll have a wedding... AND, we'll have to deal with all of my remaining siblings. First things first, after all," Obsidian replied with a somewhat resigned sigh.

Foals - wow. So many changes since she first woke up in Equestria...

Pinkie looked at her for a moment, then smiled. "Well, then I guess it's a good thing your soon-to-be mother-in-law has the bestest information network in Equestria!"

She made her way over to one of the crates by the fireplace, knocked on it, and it opened up to reveal what looked like...

It had a number of screens, and two keyboards. It had a chair that looked rather comfortable, and a drink holder that still had a cup in it. It was some sort of station where someone could sit and watch these screens, seeing whatever they had to show. It was unlike anything Obsidian had seen yet.

"Of course, you gotta keep all this stuff a secret, mmm-kay? I mean, it all started when I was younger, as a bunch of filing cabinets... but I upgraded a few years back! Doc said it was the most advanced technological whoosi-whatsis and stuff, but it really just means I can see everything..."

She wore a slightly manic smile as she repeated, "...EVERYTHING..."

Well, THAT was just a little bit terrifying. Obsidian ws shocked, though it WAS rather impressive - she surely envied Miss Pie for having such an impressive spying aparatus. She simply didn't expected that Pinkie Pie would invest so much time, effort and bits into something like that.

"Er... ah... please, might I ask for you NOT to look in on our home today? Starting from about, say, 8 PM?" Obsidian asked gently, trotting closer to inspect the screens. The breach of privacy actually didn't bother her too much, but it was at least somewhat expected - after all, Obsidian was a mare who spent most of her life in a place like the Crystal Empire under Sombra's rule.

Pinkie smiled as she sat in the chair and flicked a hoof across a panel, making the screens light up.

The first one Siddy noticed was what looked like Twilight's courtyard, where Lemon Custard was apparently performing uniform inspections. The next one had a picture of Blue Raspberry, kicked backon her bed with headphones on, playing air guitar. The one under that had a picture of Licorice, smiling and chuckling, sitting in a hot tub with what apeared to be no less than three mares, all smiling at him. Next to that, Peppermint was onscreen, finishing up a transaction with a customer, upstairs. On another, Cupcake was setting a covered dish on their dining room table... and the rest of the table was LOADED with food dishes!

Pinkie smirked. "I like to keep tabs on my kids... and see who lies and who doesn't. Granted, I know what they're really doing, but I always feel like they should have the chance to come clean to me on their own. Of course, not all of them do; it's okay, because I still know, and that helps keep me from worrying so much."

"But don't worry," she said with a giggle, "I'll find something else to watch, when it comes to you two. At least for today."

Obsidian tapped her cheek in thought as she watched it. "So I had the right idea about bathing together," she mused as she watched Licorice. Quite a popular stallion, eh? She had to wonder if there was enough room in their own bathroom for something like that tub. Well, at least Cup only had one mare to deal with.

Pinkie chuckled. "Oh, Licorice knows he's not supposed to do stuff like this - last time, he almost got a mare pregnant, and there was a LOT of fallout from that one. But he never really listens well, and even when he does, he's so forgetful he just never thinks about it until he's caught."

She sighed, then looked at Siddy. "Kinda glad you didn't fall for him; he's not they type that would be good for marriage - not yet, anyway. He's my sweet boy, but it'll have to be a REAL mare who'll have a chance to tame him. But, that's my colt!"

Obsidian pressed a hoof to her chest. "Miss Pie, please - primo, Licorice really looks far too similar to my father and his lineage, which would make any falling for him rather... awkward. Secundo, I think that a mare could use Dark Magic could tame him, if necessary. Tertio..." she shook her head, "well, he's, er... simply not my type, I suppose."

Pinkie smirked a bit. "Oh, I know he's not your type - I've seen you with Cuppie, remember? But I'm sure either he'll find somepony he WANTS to be exclusive to, or he'll just have fun with the mares. Either way, as long as he's happy, that's all that matters to me."

As Obsidian looked, she saw Pinkie stare openly at all the screens. She reached slowly out with a hoof and touched the screen displaying Licorice, but her eyes kept moving among all the screens of her precious children, her smile fading to more of a stare - one that spoke of yearning to be a part of lives that had moved along on their own paths. "As long as they're all happy..."

"I wonder... did he ever have a chance to meet Amethyst?" Obsidian asked with curiosity in her voice. Maybe what her angry sister needed was someone like Licorice to tame?

Pinkie seemed to snap out of her thoughts at the sound of Obsidian's voice, and she turned to face her with what looked like a hurriedly-constructed smile. "Oh, not yet - your sister, however, has been pretty busy lately. I have a number of files on everyone, and hers is one of the more interesting ones..."

She tapped a few keys, and the screen in the middle changed from Lemon Custard yelling at a guard about his muddy hooves to one that showed a back alley... somewhere. Into the frame came a rather heavily-coated Amethyst; the only reason Obsidian recognized her was that Pinkie was talking about her moments ago, so her visage was still fresh in Siddy's head. Reaching the alleyway, she then looked about a bit, then removed the coat... and the one under it... and began to flex and stretch.

Pinkie pointed at the screen as she finished, and Amethyst got up and moved a well-dented trash can into the center of the alleyway. She walked up to where she had a good angle, and she then dropped to the ground, rolled onto her back, and took up the trash can... and began flipping and rolling it between her hooves, balancing it carefully as she continued to practice things like flips, lifts, and occasionally tossing it lightly into the air above her, then catching it deftly with her sky-pointing legs.

"I know what she's doing; that's the kind of training I used to see from circus acrobats! She must be planning to do some running or something, because that kind of thing can keep your legs in REAL good shape!"

Obsidian could not help but feel somewhat suspicious at this strange activity. She didn't trust Amy; she loved her as a sister, of course, but she was suspicious even when Amy was in the bathroom with the door closed... and it wasn't as if she didn't have good reason to be. With Tourmy's attitude towards her, the murder of Ruby, Diamond's utter and complete fear of her... well, Amy wasn't exactly a 'good' pony. But why would she train that way? Perhaps she just wanted to stay in good shape; it was possible... but Obsidian doubted it was as innocent as that. "Fascinating... Miss Pie, tell me - has she done anything else strange and unusual?"

"Well... she's been active for the past week, since she went to town and bought stuff. She got more of her foodstuffs, and stopped into a pawn shop. I think she bought a dresser there... aaaaaaaand since then, she's been doing this exercise thing everyday."

She tapped a few more keys, then a still frame picture of Amethyst leaving the pawn shop came onscreen. She seemed as if she were watching for anyone who might have recognized her as she was lugging a rather fancy-looking dresser out of the shop on a small wagon, pulling it along with her mouth.

Obsidian was starting to feel paranoid. Where would she put that damned dresser? Had she brought anything like that home? What she was doing?

"Perhaps she should live with somepony more suitable for reforming villanous types..." Obsidian pondered aloud.

Pinkie turned to face her. "I don't think so, actually. I think she's best right where she is... where GOOD ponies, like you and my Cuppie, can keep an eye on her and stop any shenanigans she might try to start. Plus, surrounding her with good things might reach her, eventually. Giving up on someone is the LAST thing anyone should do, because everyone needs support, every now and again."

She turned back to the screen. "I mean, you have the Siddy Six, Twily, Flur, Markannus, Shorty and Whispy, Luna, Celesta... you've had a whole SMORGASBOARD of support and help acclimating and adjusting, so you've had a lot of help getting used to the new life you've got, and lots of friends to comfort you when you feel down."

She looked back at Obsidian. "... and who does she have?"

"Nopony..." Obsidian replied gloomily. "But... but Diamond is scared out of his mind of her, a-and I think Tourmaline still would prefer to finish her... and I'm just not sure how to deal with her!" How was anyone supposed to deal with somepony like Amy? She was lucky she hadn't landed in Tartarus - or worse! She'd outright murdered Ruby! Killed plenty of ponies with Peridot! Scarred Diamond for life!

Pinkie now stood up from the chair, and fixed Obsidian with a very serious look. "You mean... the same way nobody knew what to do with YOU when you first appeared? Maybe we should have done things differently, but I don't think anyone trusted or liked you when you showed up - Sombra-Daddy didn't help with your first impressions - but with time and effort, we discovered how wonderful you really were."

Her gaze went back to the screen. "Imagine it: no sense of purpose, no family who even likes you, no friends, not even able to use your magic... granted, she might have brought a lot of her suffering down on her own head, but if there's never any forgiveness... then there's never any hope."

"Folks have HOPE because they have to believe things can't be awful and wrong forever... and because, when there's no hope, well... that's when folks do STUPID things, and usually they just make things worse instead of better. But she has no help, no friends... NOTHING... and now, she's doing some weird exercise-stuff in a back alley, with no way to tell why she's doing it. Sounds to me like either an extremely efficient way to battle boredom... or like someone's got a specific plan where she needs to be in good shape."

"Now, that's not exactly the same situation; Amy already made plenty of first impressions... and in many cases last impressions as well," Obsidian felt she had to point out. In her own case, nopony knew what to do with her, all right - and nopony knew anything about her. In Amy's case, the main problem was the fact that Obsidian knew too much about her - and didn't like most of the things she knew.

"Tourmaline got better... even though at first, I thought that he was more violent and brutal than she was," Obsidian rubbed her temple. Why would Amy need to be in good shape... what was in that dresser? And where was she hiding it?

"Your brother? Oh, he's been busy, too..." The pink earth pony flicked a few more switches, and suddenly the screen lit up with a direct feed from Obsidian's basement! How many cameras DID Pinkie have active?

Tourmy was seated at his small table, Gunther sitting across from him, and the two of them had a number of pictures in front of them... but from the distance the camera was at, she couldn't tell what was in the pictures. "He and Gunther have been doing this every other night for the past few days; I don't know what it is, but they've-... uh, do you know about those two?"

Obsidian deadpanned. "Yes... yes, I do. Why is there a camera here? Tourmy is rather loosely connected to your children."

Pinkie waved her concern away with a hoof. "Oh, I keep tabs on EVERYONE in Ponyville! It started as just a few files for each creature with a birthday, but eventually, it turned out that keeping an eye on this town is more of a job than you'd think it was! So, when it comes to Ponyville at least, always remember that I'm watching youuuuuuu..." She held up her hooves and put on a silly-spooky act, right before she broke out in laughter.

Turning back to the matter at hoof, she tried focusing the camera on the pictures, but to no avail. "Well, whatever it is they're doing, they keep smiling and even giving each other a cute little kiss every now and again. I hope it's something nice - he's really grown to become a nice stallion, your brother has!"

"Yes, he truly has; I had really hoped Amy would also get... friendshipped, as well," Obsidian sighed. Perhaps she needed a pairing, like Tourmy? But who would ever give someone like Amethyst a chance?

"I'm really doing what I can about her, Miss Pie. There's just so many things to do with... well, with basically everything."
Perhaps it was an excuse... but honestly, there were a lot of things to deal with, all the time, it seemed!

Pinkie sighed. "Well, before we move on, I just wanna make sure you know that family should always find time for family... because you may earn friends, make your own children and have all sorts of contacts throughout your life... but you only get family for so long, and once they're gone... they're gone."

She sniffled a bit, wiping a tear from her eye as she sighed wistfully. "I wouldn't want you to lose Amethyst, then spend the rest of your life regretting it."

Now, there was a disturbing question - would she really regret losing Amethyst? She didn't think very much about Onyx, after all... Peridot was a special case, because he was clearly sick... Amy, however...

Obsidian loved her, as a sister should do. But it didn't change the fact that she was utterly afraid of her, and what she might do. "At least my relations with my father are... set in stone."

Pinkie gave a howl of a laugh, then hugged Obsidian again. "Oh, Siddy - that was great! I got a good feeling you'll fit RIGHT in with the Pie Family!"

"Well, I certainly did, that's for sure!" came a voice from behind them.

Pinkie's muzzle lit up like an exploding forework. "CHEEEEEESYYYYYY!!!"

"PINKIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

The older mare suddenly did a remarkably nimble backflip over Obsidian's head, and when her hooves hit the floor, she rushed toward the stallion who was now standing at the door to the back room. He looked about the same age as Pinkie, but he had a look of merriment on his face that seemed to match perfectly with Pinkie's own broad smile.

The pink mare tackled him, and the two rolled to the ground, laughing and kissing for a moment before they both stood up. The stallion chuckled, but Pinkie was apparently SUPER-excited. "Cheesy! THIS is Obsidian! The one who loves Cuppie!"

"I know who she is," Cheese said smoothly as he bowed in front of her. "The name's Cheese Sandwich - Party Pony Abroad!" He then held out what looked like a plucked chicken made of rubber. "And this is Boneless The Third, my ever-loyal companion! Say hey, Boney!"

He squeezed the chicken, and it let out a little squeak that almost sounded like a high-pitched, but polite cough. "You'll have to pardon his abrupt manner; he's worn out from all the time on the road... but now that we're home, we'll relax and spend time with the fam. He just LOVES spending time with the fam, Boney does!"

Pinkie sidled up next to him with a sultry smile on her muzzle. "I know you do too, Cheesy. And I'm glad you're home, too... Obsidian and I got on the subject of, uhh... snugglebunny playtime... and it made me think of you, and how we-"

"With the red licorice?"

"And the fuzzy dice..."

"And how you do that one thing with your-"

"Uh-huh."

Cheese's smile became a bit saucy, though it was still a smile. "Oh, yeah... that's the stuff!"

Oh wow - so Cup's father was REAL! Obsidian got pretty startled when Pinkie - by all means, no longer a young mare - jumped over her, but, well... it was Pinkie Pie, mother to her impossible coltfriend; one should expect unexpected things from her.

Sombra's daughter stood up quickly and bowed slightly, feeling excitement rising within her at the prospect of getting to meet Cup's father! And, by extension, her (hopefully) soon-to-be-father-in law! And his, er... chicken.

Wait, just what was that about red licorice? Dice with fuzz? What? Damnation, this 'sex' thing was complicated, but everypony seemed to be quite enthusiastic when talking about it.

"I'm so glad to finally meet you, Mister Sandwich," she exclaimed happily. Cheese was... well, he seemed to be rather similar to his wife. Not that it was any sort of surprise; they seemed as if their similarities made them happier with each other. Obsidian had heard once in passing that 'opposites attract', but it was obvious that similar mindsets also seemed to get long well.

The stallion chuckled. "Please, just 'Cheese' will do; I've never been a fan of big, flashy titles!"

"Yeah, he's a fan of accordions, juggling, rubber chickens... and me." Pinkie nuzzled Cheese lightly, and he returned the nuzzle in turn.

"You bet, missy! And you," he looked to Obsidian, "you're really pretty - I'll bet Cupcake has no idea how fortunate he really is! I mean, lucky me, I found MY Special Somepony, and I love her with all my heart..."

"Same for me, Cheesy-Poo!" Pinkie piped up little hearts in her eyes.

"... and to know that Cuppie, my little ball of explosive energy, has found someone like that too? It's a swell feeling!"

"Absolutely wonderful!"

"In fact... it feels so good..."

"What's up, Cheesy?"

"That I feel..."

"Ohhhhh, here it comes!"

"... A SONG COMING ON!"

The smile froze on Obsidian's muzzle. "... w-well, I still have to go to the pharmacy store and learn some anti-mind-controlling spells, soooooo perhaps I should be on my way..."

Love has never been too easy, but it shines just like a staaaaaarrrrrrr...

Cheese's voice was mellow and a bit reedy, but wasn't unpleasant to hear.

And love will keep you flying, no matter where you aaaaarrrrrrrre...

Now Pinkie Pie was joining in!

But when the Fates have led you down the path that winds so faaaaaaarrrr...

Now they were DUET-ING!

You gotta KEEP ON LOVIN'! KEEP ON BELIEVIN'! Always be kind and NEVER be decievin'!

Oh sweet Darkness, she had to escape before they tried to get her to join them! Out, had to get out... where was the way out!? Obviously she couldn't leave the same way she came in... wasn't there a tunnel? No, no, not this! NOT NOW! There HAD to be somewhere she could escape! She was already made to dance this week; she didn't want to start a singing career as well!

One of the boxes next to the shelf quietly popped open as Pinkie and Cheese continued their number; inside, Peppermint smiled up at Obsidian as she motioned for her to crawl into the (obviously) fake present.

... and though our love is strooooooooong...
... and our love cannot be wrooooooooong...

Peppermint frantically waved for Obsidian to join her, and the unicorn practically jumped on this opportunity - and did jump into the fake present. Safe! By Darkness, she was SAFE! Apparently those two, when they came together, were hazardous to the non-singing variety of ponies!

Pepper closed the lid, and gave a slight giggle as she turned and began to crawl-shuffle her way through a small corridor, big enough for them to crawl in, but not quite stand up. The earth pony led the way, shuffling through a few different passages until she finally brought them to an intersection, then - with a conspiritorial glance around - she then reached over and nudged a screw with her hoof.

The vent next to them dropped open, and outside of it was what appeared to be Sugarcube Corner's kitchen. Pepper slid out and down, then waited for Obsidian to follow suit.

Not much other choice, was there? Either Obsidian could return to the adult Pies, and hope that they had finished their number, or she could choose another direction to crawl in and probably get lost and starve in this labyrinth of ductwork. However, she could also just continue to follow wherever Pepper went - so that's what she did.

In the kitchen, Pepper dusted herself off a bit before makng sure Siddy was clear of the vent, then pushing it back into place so the escape tunnel could feasibly be used again, should the need arise. She looked over at Obsidian, and pantomimed wiping sweat from her forehead as she looked like she was relieved to have reached Siddy in time.

"Thanks, Pepper. Your parents are both rather... intense, I have to say." She really had no better term to describe it. Cupcake was active and exciting, but Pinkie Pie was on a completely different level - and coupled with her husband, Cheese... by Darkness...

"Well, at least I managed to ask almost everything I'd wanted to before they started singing," Obsidian sighed with relief. Now, about the pharmacy, and her stopping at the pharmacy - maybe it was only a small detail, but better safe than sorry, right?

Pepper nodded, then gave a silent, knowing giggle as Obsidian described her parents. She nodded in agreement, then smiled as she made a face like someone in love... then again with the soundless giggles. She walked over to and leaned on the nearby counter, and smiled at Siddy kindly.

Peppermint wasn't a very tall mare, but she was well-proportioned and fit. She also seemed to have some fashion sense, as the bowler and her spectacles made her look somewhat trendy... but Obsidian got the idea that she didn't do it for the trend; she wore those things because she liked them.

Obsidian smiled; it would be nice to be a part of this family. Sadly, Mister Cheese didn't understand that she'd pretty much prefer to call him her 'father in law' - just to be able to call somepony 'father' without feeling ill - but he seemed like quite a nice pony. Inviting her in-laws to the house to have dinner with them and enjoy their company would be a most wonderful idea. If not for Amy.

"Sooo... did you possibly hear my questions about, er... weddings... and such?" Obsidian asked shyly.

Pepper nodded a slight bit, and had the decency to blush for being caught eavesdropping.

"Okay. Ah... good. Yes. Well, then... do you think it's a good idea, Peppermint?"

Actually, how would they be able to do it? Didn't they need some kind of... like, rings? Bracelets? Amulets? There was something like that involved, wasn't there? Oh dear. Oh, and of course there was the teeny tiny little matter of finding out if Cupcake himself agreed! It was sort of a good thing that he was older than Obsidian, and more experienced than she was...

Even though she was pretty sure she knew which of them was more mature.

Pepper smiled broadly, which revealed a fairly noticeable gap between her two front teeth, and nodded. She then reached over and hugged Obsidian tightly, then stepped back and sighed happily at her.

Oh dear; it seemed everypony loved the idea... while Obsidian herself was a bit nervous about the possibility. Which was hardly surprising - she'd never planned a wedding before. "Good. Er... y-yes, well I suppose I'll go find Cup, then. I'll come back later - perhaps tomorrow - to discuss the trip to Pola Industrial, okay?"

Pepper nodded, pleased that she was being invited to travel along with Siddy. She turned and, hoofing it from a display case, lightly tossed an apple tart to Obsidian before returning to her place behind the counter and giving Siddy a wink.

Obsidian simply had to hug her back; Pepper was so very kind - and besides, she owed Pepper for saving her vocal chords!
That done, with a wave to her soon to be -sister-in-law, she hit the street. Okay, so... now she had to go to the pharmacy. And eat a scrumptious-smelling tart. Perhaps she should save it to eat with with her Cuppy?

Ponyville was a bit overcast, thanks to the cloud cover that the pegasi seemed to be working up, but there was no rain yet. It left what seemed like a decent amount of time to make her way through town. The pharmacy was still open, and after a bit of (somewhat awkward) explanation as to what she wanted, Obsidian finally began to make her way home. At least there hadn't been any other customers in the store; it had been harrowing enough, simply asking the mare at the register!

But to think, her Cupcake (HERS, wow!) was there waiting for her with a dozen or so culinary delights, cooked and baked to perfection... all so he could have a meal with her. He really was something, wasn't he? Going to all that trouble, just because she'd come home after being gone for such a short time...

It was strange, how Life worked; when she'd first met him, Obsidian wanted to flay him alive... now? She simply couldn't stand to imagine Life without him. She practically waltzed home, she was so pleased about her love for her enigmatic, inexplicable and incredible coltfriend!

Okay, look - time to address the elephant in the trunk (was that the correct idiom?); Obsidian was not going to ever, in her life, even on threat of DEATH, use the term 'snugglebunny playtime'. Especially not in public. It was apparently only Pinkie's thing, which was good - it meant nobody else would ever say anything so... so... foolish? Foalish? Both?

But, ahhhhhh... she finally reached home - her sweet, cozy home, filled with laughter, happiness, joy... and Amethyst. Strange, though - Obsidian didn't notice any of her siblings present; were they both in their rooms? Or perhaps Amy was still doing her weird circus-traning thing. Gypsy should be here as well - after all, they'd invited him. Perhaps he simply hadn't made it here yet.

But... first things first. And this time, Cupcake was the firstest thing of them all. Obsidian happily trotted into the kitchen, then sauntered over to him and pulled him into a tender hug, nuzzling him lovingly.

Wedding... wow. With all she'd been through, who would have thought she would have THIS kind of issue in her life?

Cupcake was quite pleased to see her; his tail was even wagging a bit, it seemed. "I'm SO glad you got home okay!" he said as he returned the hug and nuzzle, smiling from ear to ear. "So, what'd you find out? Did you make any progress? Can I go meet your brother yet?" He seemed eager to do so, as if he was as excited about gaining a brother-in-law as she was to gain a mother-in-law.

"Oh, plenty of progress! I've gotten my hooves on four spells against mind-control, which we should use before we go to sleep tonight. I successfully freed Diamond, but he's currently a bit..."

She reminded herself of how he looked - especially when she mentioned Amy, "... a bit unwell, yet. Given time to recover, he should be okay. Oh, and he doesn't speak Equestrian; it doesn't stop him from making sweet eyes towards Stalwart, though," she chuckled slightly.

"Your brother's making eyes at Wart?" Cup laughed merrily. "He literally has no clue what he's in for, does he?"

"No, he most certainly does not. At first, he was asking me if he's supposed to marry Princess Twilight." She smiled a bit at that, then continued. "He... well, even if he is far merrier than I was after my first appearance in Equestria, he's still quite confused. I hope you weren't too bored all by yourself today and yesterday, love?"

Cupcake turned and led Siddy to the decked-out table. "What? Who? Me? Bored? Naaaaaaaah... I kept myself busy by getting some stuff done around here, baking, spent some time with Blue and Lemon, checked up on Momma and Dad, took Amy to the clothing store, played some... uhhh... chess? With Tourmy? I don't really know what I was doing, but it was fun, and he even said I'm good for practice!"

He pulled out a chair at the table for her. "Here, My Princess... your seat awaits you."

So, Tourmaline was playing chess? Maybe she could play it with him... heck, maybe even Amy would like to join them as well? "Wait. Waaaaiiiiit... Amy? To the clothing store? Praytell, how did it go?" she asked with curiosity as she trotted to the chair.

Before she sat down, though, she kissed Cup's cheek. "Mmmmm, thank you... My Prince."

Cup blushed brightly, but sat down across from her and smiled as he just stared at her for a moment before answering her. "Well, she was completely rude about asking, then grumped about it all the way there, then she ditched me for a moment, until I found her in the fabric section. Once she got what she came for, she grumped all the way home, then didn't even thank me for going with her - she just went straight to her room."

He shrugged. "I did the nice-brother-in-law thing with her, but... I don't think it worked."

"I'm, eh... sure she appreciated it", Obsidian ensured him, though she wasn't that sure about it herself. The question was, would she wear any of the clothes she'd gotten from there? The fact that she was grumpy was hardly something new, but deep in her heart, she surely liked it!

... wait, did Amy have a heart?

"It seems we both had some fun... but we still need to play a bit of 'catch-up' with each other. Maybe we could... take a bath together later?" she smiled at him, her grin a cross between something sultry... and something highly nervous.

Cup nodded. "Oh! Sure we could! We can scrub each others' backs, or help wash each others' manes, or have a water fight! Oh, it sounds like we're gonna have us some FUN tonight!"

Obsidian blushed profoundly while giving a knowing smirk. "Yes... fun."

Cup went right to work clearing his plate; he ate heartily, but not sloppily - something that stood out to the well-mannered princess. Oh, he was putting food away like there was no tomorrow... but he was being careful not to make an utter pig of himself. "Tourmaline says he wants to chat with you, when you get a chance - he's not here right now, as he's off with Gunther doing... uhh... griffon stuff, I guess?"

Cupcake had gone quite overboard, it seemed - there were probably more dishes here than Obsidian could eat in a week! It didn't stop her from trying to at least taste everything - though her portions were rather minute in comparision to Cupcake's.

"Did he say when he'd be back?" Griffon stuff, eh? Last time she saw him, he was doing something with pictures. "I also met your parents - both of them. Your father is very nice." And sings a bit too much, she didn't say aloud.

"Tourmy said he should be back by tomorrow; I figure, he and Gunther are having a sleepover, so I figured it would be fine. They get along so well anyway, right?" He sat back, burped behind a hoof, excused himself, then gathered his plates and took them to the kitchen sink, returning for hers once she was done.

"Hey, you met Dad? He's great, isn't he? So cool and suave and awesome..." Cheese Sandwich? Suave? Now THAT was a funny picture. "... he's like, one of my greatest heroes! He goes all over Equestria and throws parties for those in need of one. He takes his job VERY seriously, but that also means he knows how to have some serious fun!"

So, uh... a sleepover, eh? Well, she had no idea what two stall- er, two males could do during a sleepover together. Were they playing some kind of card game when she saw them on Pinkie's monitor?

"Yes, he looks great; I'm envious, really! So perhaps... maybe we could meet your parents together? I mean... more or less officially? Hit a restaurant... or perhaps invite them home for a meal... you get the idea, right?" she proposed.

Cupcake laughed. "Well, of course we could! I don't see any reason why they wouldn't be absolutely stoked to come to dinner! I could make Red Velvet cake, and maybe some mint pudding, or I could glaze a loaf-..."

He then stopped, glanced up at the ceiling, then back at Obsidian. "Wait. How are we supposed to deal with Amy, if we bring my parents here?"

"Bribery? Nicely asking? Setting up a mystery date for her, somewhere in Ponyville?" Poison? Nothing lethal, of course - just some sleeping pills. "She isn't here at the moment, but... mayhaps she could make some use of some of our small feast?"

Cupcake considered for a moment. "Hmmmmmmm... well, if I knew what kinds of foods Amy liked, then I could make some for her, and leave her a picnic basket! Yeah! Then, she'd see it sitting out, and would be all like..."

He hunched over and affected a voice that sounded like a cranky old witch than Amethyst. "A-HA! With no one to guard these delectable goodies, I, Amethyst the Rotten Sister, shall steeeeeeeal them, and make my way off to enjoy my ill-gotten goods! NYEH HEH HEH!"

Obsidian put a hoof over her mouth to stifle a laugh. Yup, that was kind of the vibe Amy was giving off, all right. However, was she doing it because she wanted to behave that way... or was it because she didn't know of any other way to behave? Obsidian was sure she would have far better relations with her if they weren't living together in one house, and she wouldn't have to become a nervous wreck each time Amy picked up a knife to cut her food.

"By the way, Cuppy, did you happen to notice her with some kind of dresser?" Might as well ask... maybe Cup had seen it?

"You mean the really frilly one, with the gemstones inlaid? Yeah, I helped her get the stupid thing upstairs! I swear, I didn't know she was such a fan of... well, girly stuff." He shrugged, then sighed. "Amethyst is her own pony; I don't know what it would take to actually make her a friend... but I'm fairly certain that, whatever it is, I ain't got it. Maybe you can reach her?"

It felt like everypony was telling her to reach out to Amethyst. Meanwhile, the best idea of 'reaching out' to Amethyst was beating her flank again to reassert her dominance and remind her that she'd already lost twice to her and, as such, shouldn't feel too cocky.

Or, Obsidian could simply throw her out of the house completely. Of course, she'd only resort to that idea if the power of friendship, offers of hugs and smiles and other similar things turned out to be ineffective.

Wait a second... "Gemstones?"

Cup nodded. "Yeah - really decorated all frou-frou and stuff; don't worry, they're not magical - I checked. Still, all those little gems all over the drawers kinda make me feel like it's WAAAAAAAAY too much. Heck, honestly? It looks like something Auntie Rares would own..."

Obsidian remembered the Rarity Suite with a bit of distaste. Though, come to think of it, frou-frou was a term that certainly described the place... but it still didn't seem to make much sense. Amethyst, Tartarus-bound and scary nasty, had purchased a dresser that had gems all over it, and was (according to Cupcake) quite girly.

THAT didn't sound like Amy at all.. of all ponies, she was the last creature that Siddy thought would be doing something like that. SHE WAS UP TO SOMETHING!

Or she always dreamed to dance in the ballet.

"I'll have to talk with her tomorrow, yes. I'll have to try to understand her, or I'll lose my mind," Obsidian muttered. "And where exactly is she right now? Did she come back home already?"

Cup pointed a hoof at the ceiling. "Upstairs, as usual. She doesn't seem to go out very often, doesn't have a job, and does NOTHING around here to help out." He sighed again. "Siddy... have you considered... asking her to move out?"

"Yes, among many other things," Obsidian replied shortly. Eh, whoever decided to put two reforming siblings into the same house with her, made life harder for the Grey Princess. "So... did she actually get any new clothes? You know, when you two went to the store?"

"She got fabric... but no, not really any clothing, as such. Unless she bought some while she was away from me - and I SWEAR, I was trying to find her the whole time - then I think it's safe to say that Amy doesn't even HAVE anything to put in a dresser!"

Cupcake now was beginning to look a bit concerned as well. "Fabric... dressers... what could she need those for!? RRRRGH! It's like, the fuse has gone all the way down... but the cannon hasn't fired yet. YET."

Obsidian facehoofed, with both hooves at the same time. Just a few days ago, she had to fight with her brother and eventually kill him. Today, she'd smuggled three siblings of hers into Equestria, freed one and then prepared some measures of defense against another one. Oh, and negotiated help from two ancient alicorn princesses.

And now, she'd returned home to her coltfriend... and had to talk about Amethyst "Are there any animals in Ghastly Gorge?" she asked resignedly.

Cupcake shivered. "Ummmm... yes... is... the short version. Auntie Maud tried living there once... once. She now lives in her cave by Ponyville. Momma said she'd have been eaten up if she hadn't rescued her!"

He looked at her curiously. "Why do you ask? You think Amy would want to move there? I mean, it IS far enough away from us that we wouldn't have to deal with her anymore..."

"Oh no, I'm just thinking about a small field trip. A nice, short adventure with Amy, to strenghten our sisterly bonds." And perhaps train some of her Dark Magic skills. It could be useful; she hardly had any reasons to feel negative enough around Ponyville - what was more, she really didn't want to use it around Ponyville.

"I also met with Jynx, and I agreed to participate in that game of yours," she added.

Cup's muzzle lit up at the mention of Jynx and the game. "Oh, it'll be a BLAST with you joining us! I'm a ninth-level paladin of Systra, with a plus fifteen to hit! That's, like, reeeeeeeally good! Chances are, you'll be starting out at first level... but with the stuff WE go up against, you'll catch up to us in NO time!"

Cup then sat back and grew a thoughtful look on his muzzle. "Ya know... I'll bet, if you wanted a chance to bond with Amethyst... maybe you could find out what sort of stuff she likes to do. Aside from murder. And stalking. And threats. And generally being scary and nasty. Y'know - THAT stuff."

There were two categories of things to do - first, things Obsidian wanted to do. It was a broad category, considering how many friends she had and how many new activities she'd like to experience. She liked to think that she was a rather nice mare, so many of these things were nice as well. Then there were things she had to do: Taking care of her siblings. Being a good marefriend. Working and learning.

In Amy's case, these two groups really didn't have too many common elements.

"Maybe I could start with getting her some real meat?" A paladin of who? Plus fifteen what? Okay, it wasn't that important at the moment - she could learn about it later.

"MEAT!? Wait... you mean, after all that stuff about eating us, she's still being allowed to eat that stuff!? FEH!" Cupcake shook his head to clear it of thoughts, then settled into a slump in his chair, just looking at Siddy and smiling softly.

"I'm glad you made it home, Siddy... I was starting to miss you something fierce. It's like, when you're not around me, it's... hard to concentrate on anything anymore; not impossible... just really hard. I keep thinking about you, how sweet your voice sounds to me, how pretty you are, how you're so independant, yet still kinda need me."

Cup now smiled sweetly at her. "I love ALL that stuff about you. I love you more than you'll ever truly know, Obsidian - more than even I will ever know, because infinite is infinite. And that's how much I love you; infinite."

"I... I feel the same, Cupcake. I couldn't stop thinking about returning to your presence. It seems we are both addicted to each other," she smiled lovingly at him, her heart fluttering at his words. "And... I love and trust you more than anything or anypony else in my life. I want you to be mine, Cup... and I want to be yours. Forever."

Cupcake's smile said a million words... but he spoke not a one of them, as he instead got up from his seat, made his way around the table to her, wrapped his forelegs around her and gave her a deep, lingering, breath-taking kiss. He was warm and soft. He smelled lightly sugary. His voice had cranked down to a lower register, which made it somewhat... alluring.

For every bit of hassle and trouble he'd been, Cupcake Sprinkles had proven to be more than worth the work. He was strong, he was fast, he was intelligent, he was... well, unique. There would never be another quite like him... and to think; he was all Siddy's, hook, line and sinker.

"Obsidian... I love you so very much. That kinda sounded like a proposal of marriage... are you sure we're ready for that step, even if it's gonna be a bit before we can do it? I mean, YEAH, I wanna marry you - who woudn't? - but will we have the time?"

He nuzzled into her mane, where she heard him lightly sniff. "But even if we DON'T have the time, I'll MAKE the time! Siddy, if you really wanna do this, then we can make it happen. Maybe not today or tomorrow, or even this week... but we WILL make it happen. because, between the two of us?"

He smiled. "Nothing can stop love." He then leaned in and gave her another hoof-curling kiss.

So that sounded like a proposal? Obsidian wasn't aware of it - but she considered it to be the final confirmation of the fact that, apparently, their getting married would be a fine idea. After all, she just said out loud what was in her heart... and by Harmony, he didn't have to do anything to make her spine and knees soft... though she certainly approved of his efforts.

She simply loved every aspect of him, from his breath to his innocence. Other mares could be fascinated by Licorice; Obsidian already got her grand prize. And he was a great kisser.

"I... Yes, Cup, I think we are ready. I said exactly what I meant - and we are both made for each other. I didn't even know I could love anypony this much."

Heh... 'meanie'. What a rather unique memory.

Cup's smile threatened to eat his face. "Neither did I, beautiful. I never cared for the mares who kept trying to get at me, because they always seemed to want something from me... but, all YOU ever really wanted... was me."

Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked on her lovingly. "Siddy... oh, Siddy... MY Siddy... you're everything I could ever want from this world! Even if I were to never eat a single piece of candy for the rest of my life, I'd still be happy, because the sweetest treat of all is right here in front of me."

Amy would probably be utterly disguisted by them right now. Stalwart would be probably mortified to her very core. In public, their behaviour would already have crossed a few lines, most likely.

Luckily, they were here. Together. Alone. They could coo, kiss and pet each other to death, and nopony would have any right to complain. Right now, Obsidian thoroughly enjoyed it, even if comparing her to sweets was hardly a new thing.

She simply grabbed him into a tight hug. "You are the absolute best, Cuppie."

He smiled. "I was thinking the same sweet thinks about you, too."

His scent, his warmth, his soft coat, his loving kisses, his gentle sighs... he was more or less lost in a slice of Heaven that wore the name Obsidian. His hooves carefully stroked her mane, his eyes staring right into her soul...

>THUMP<

Something made a hard sound in the kitchen. Cup paid no attention to it at all; he was lost in his Obsidian ocean.

Perhaps Amy had snuck into the kitchen, then overheard them and overdosed on sappy sweetness? Obsidian sighed deeply, annoyed that the mood was ruined, quickly kissed Cup's cheek and pulled away from the hug. Damnation, she was enjoying her exposure to so much Cupcakiness right now, and it felt so lovely...

"One second, love," she grumbled as she trotted towards the kitchen, intent on discovering what the source of the big thump was.

Author's Notes:

'Snugglebunny Playtime': the most ridiculous words I can think of to put together for Pinkie Pie's special way of referring to sex. I think it works rather well for Ponk Pone... and Obsidian's reactions to it are hilarious.

TRIVIA: The word 'snugglebunny', I got from an old Bloom County comic strip about censorship; worth a look into.

Really, if you consider it, Pinkie has a point about Amethyst; she has nothing at all. Obsidian might consider putting her out, but the recent talks she's had might help her decide on a different path. Any thoughts as to Amy's possible fate?

Of course, The Pink One's information network spawned from her Birthday Archives... and of course, the 'Doc' she's referring to would be Doctor Whooves himself. (Sorry; 'Time Turner', for those who prefer his canon name.)

So... now the question comes: will Siddy pop the question? Will she get some special sign of their love made for them? Will there be a wedding in the Grey Princess' future?

That's right, folks - no spoilers.

[Pinkie & Cheese's song lyrics by me.]

Thirty One: Snugglebunny Playtime

At the table, seated in a slump in one of the kitchen chairs, was a very bedraggled, exhausted-looking Amethyst.

She looked as if she'd been running a marathon all day long; her mane was limp with sweat, her coat matted, her eyes narrow and tired. Even her tail simply hung there off the chair. She had Cup's carton of orange juice in her hoof, and by the time Siddy came into the kitchen, she already had the carton up to her mouth, gulping noisily.

Just how did she manage to sneak past them? Or perhaps Cupcake didn't notice she snuck out of her room? Obsidian took liberty of sitting down in one of the other chairs, focusing her sights on her suspicious sister.

"Hard training routine, Amy?" she started carefully.

Amethyst put the carton down on the table, belched soundly, then turned a weary eye to her sister. "Not like you care," she grumped.

Great. First she ruined the mood, now she was getting grumpy. Obsidian sighed deeply and counted to ten.

"I'm a busy mare, dear sister of mine, and you haven't really done much more than complain, these past few days. If you don't feel too welcome here..."

She had nothing. She had nobody. She was dangerous...

"... then, perhaps you'd like to hunt a bit?" Fine - Miss Pie said not to give up on her; Obsidian hoped beyond hope that she would turn out to be right.

"I've heard that Ghastly Gorge is, er... exciting. And the local beasts probably taste better than that fake meat you keep buying. This trip would be only you, myself... and perhaps some spices to flavor the bounty?" Obsidian was praying in her head to any deity, higher power or spirit that would listen that Amy wouldn't react negatively to the offer.

Honestly, if they did go, Obsidian herself would probably prefer to just bring a bag of hay with her.

"Now, about your training..." she began.

Amethyst sat up. "My training is none of your business, and I'll thank you to keep your fat flank out of it. Dope." Wow... she must be tired; that insult was hardly an insult! However, she looked as though she really were pondering it over for a moment.

"... hmmmm... Ghastly Gorge, you said?" Wait... was it working?

"Yes. It's far removed from civilization, it frankly sounds better than gallivanting through the Everfree, and I need a place to train my Dark Magic," Obsidian added.

Amethyst's entire body language changed when she said those words; the mare sat up, and her eyes went wide... and she gave a smile that said she was eager to see what Obsidian looked like in action again. "Oh-HO! So, you're finally gonna listen to your sister, and start actually trying to TRAIN your Dark Skills? It's about time!"

She got up (though visibly slower than usual) and stood in front of Obsidian. "If you think we HAVE to do it somewhere where we'll be able to get away with it, then I suppose an old crevasse will do the trick well enough. Not like I haven't worked with less, honestly - it's a decent start! And YOU!"

She smiled again; it was getting creepy.

"You've surprised me here... I was completely certain you'd just let your Dark Magic wither, atrophy and die... but here you are, actually wanting to train!" She moved over to the table again and sat down. "So, does this mean you're honestly possibly considering taking over Onyx's work?"

Hunh. Obsidian had expected some kind of scowl, baseless anger, perhaps another accusation or just plain and simple grumpiness; she didn't expect to see Amy so enthusiastic about the whole ordeal.

And taking over Onyx's work? Uuuuh... slavery was bad, Umbrals were evil, and Sombra was merely an idiot who managed to get himself defeated three times in such a short span - once by a part of his own soul forced into a crystal! But it hardly meant that Onyx didn't have good insight into a few matters.

"As far as I remember, sister Onyx suffered a very nasty case of 'bodily explosion'... so perhaps 'taking over' would be a bad idea. I have my own ambitions and interests, after all," she explained calmly. Besides, her official research topic of Grey Magic included mixing both Light and Dark Magic - and to achieve that, she had to work on both branches - even though she still wasn't comfortable with the idea of mixing magic from two different sources.

And then, there was her pet project of researching the origins of the Umbral Shards... and the fate of Butter's long-lost brother, whose bloodied clothes were found around their destination. Most likely, it would be almost impossible to find anything after so long, but Obsidian was still curious and hopeful. After all, Butter was supposed to be one of Cup's best friends - so the Grey Princess should also be interested in her well-being, right?

"No, I mean her CONQUEST plans! She'd drawn up some really complicated plans - said she was looking forward to turning them over to Father personally, but..." She shrugged; the nicest reaction to Onyx she'd yet seen from Amy. "Your own ambitions and intere-..."

She suddenly stopped cold, and her previous scowl settled back into place. "Waaaaaaait... why am I getting all worked up over this? I know what'll happen: you'll practice Dark Magic, but you won't actually use it, will you? And if you do, your 'ambitions and interests' usually lie with something cheery, sunny or - FEH! - adorable."

She facehoofed. "Why would it be anything else? Just another let-down, like everything else in this miserable era..."

She almost seemed to have to drag herself out of her chair, and she turned to head to her stairs again. "But... still... Ghastly Gorge would mean I'd have to spend almost an entire day without Tourmaline or your asinine coltfriend around... so fine. I guess when you decide you want to do this, you can let me know. Even though I think this is some sort of stupid plan or something to get me to be all saccharine-sweet like you are... I'll go."

Conquest, eh? Well, when Obsidian becomes an alicorn and then a princess, she won't need to make conquests any longer, right? "I'm not sure about cheery or sunny, exactly... it's about raw, real power. And you know, my favourite living sister... turning you saccharine-sweet like me would be a waste. You could enjoy life a bit more, but you aren't really cut out to be cutesy," Obsidian shrugged slightly. "And besides, we'll get some real meat... that is, IF we can figure out which creatures are viably edible, of course."

Amethyst stopped at the foot of the stairs, leaning against the wall for support, yet not turning to face her.

"Obsidian... why are you being so nice to me?"

She sighed, and slowly turned to meet her gaze. "I've been nothing but a thorn in your side since I was 'generously' given the attic in this dump... I've taunted and called you all sorts of stuff... I've been as unpleasant as I can, hoping you two would just throw me out on the street, so I could just go wallow in my own misery..."

She sighed again. "But you keep being nice to me. Why? I... I don't GET it. What's in it for you?"

Why was it that Amy couldn't get it? For a pony who apparently lived longer in Equestria than Obsidian had, she really didn't seem to get the whole friendship theme and so on.

"You hoped for that? What, you don't like your room?" Obsidian cocked her head a bit to one side. "There's nothing in it for me, Amy; frankly, you could be a blind, deaf paraplegic... and I would still care about you. You are my sister."

There it was. Nervous about blades, unsure of motives, and generally uncomfortable because of Amethyst's presence... but they were family. And Obsidian wasn't about to give up on the possibility of HAVING brothers and sisters - even one as difficult as Amy was.

Amethyst stared for a moment at Obsidian. Not with a scowl, nor a smirk, nor any sort of facial expression... just looked at her, as if seeing something she hadn't noticed before, and was committing it to memory.

"... and you are mine. Whether either of us like it or not."

With a strained sigh, she turned and made her way back upstairs slowly, taking time with each step she took. It was strange, but... it was actually an interaction with Amethyst that didn't end badly. She didn't yell or goad; it was just a conversation - though with some grumbling - and it had ended well enough. Though it may have been nothing to any passing observers, or to those who didn't know them...

For Amethyst? It was a marked change.

Obsidian rubbed her temple - she seriously needed to get cupcaked right now. Hopefully, their joined carnage in Ghastly Gorge would bring them a bit closer to each other, because Obsidian didn't want to throw her away - getting her to the point where she could live on her own was one thing, but just sending her away was another.

Siddy turned to head back to the dining room. Maybe she could eat a little something sweet to improve her mood a bit...

When she reached the kitchen door, she almost ran muzzle-first into Cupcake who was making his way in. "Whoa! I was just coming to check on you; it was WAAAAAAAY too quiet in there for it to have been Amy, so I thought there might be a burglar," he said meekly, putting down the rather large and intimidating umbrella he'd been holding. "Are you okay? What's going on, love?"

Running muzzle-first into Cupcake wasn't the worst thing that could happen to her. In fact, she continued the forward movement of her head until she buried her muzzle into Cup's chest fur. "Mmmmmmm... well, I planned a field trip with her. Should be fun," she explained, nuzzling his chest with enthusiasm.

He grinned and brought a hoof up to wrap around her neck, pulling her against him and nuzzling her back, letting his muzzle come to rest in her mane. Again, she heard (and felt) the lightest of sniffs; Pinkie had been right.

"A field trip? With HER?" He looked concerned for a moment, then blinked and smiled at his love. "Well... I guess she kinda IS your sister... and it's not like I don't get it, y'know; remember Blue?" He pulled her with him into the living room again, trying to guide Siddy to the couch... where he could properly snuggle her.

OOH! Obsidian had an idea! A lovely idea! She made a mental note to check on a few things tomorrow. After all, if she practically proposed to Cup already, she should give him something to symbolize it with, right? Of course, she should deal with a few other things first... including finding one, specific changeling to plan an infiltration of Pola Industrial... but she couldn't neglect her relationship.

"It's hard to not remember Blue, Cuppy," Obsidian chuckled as she let him guide her to the couch. Couch was fine. Couch was great.

"Well, after she got out of her 'filly' phase, it took us what felt like forever before we got along... more or less." Reaching the couch, he gently guided her onto it, got her to lie down, went around to the back and stepped over, wiggling in behind her until she was neatly spooned on the couch, her Cupcake right behind her.

"Once she reached her tenth summer, she fought, pulled manes, teased, taunted, and was generally a big butt," he went on, "so it was about, oh, I'd say my thirteenth summer before we finally clicked. We'd both been assigned the task of cleaning up the warehouse, and neither of us wanted to do it."

He grinned. "So, I made a game out of it; for every ten boxes put away, the mover would get a piece of candy. Naturally, as I moved boxes, I got faster and faster... but Blue was determined to get that candy, and she kept up with me, despite not having my Sugar Powers." He chuckled at that. "By the time we ran out of candy, the warehouse was spotless; because I'd made a game out of it, it only took two hours - and it's usually a minimum of four to get it done!"

He hugged Obsidian tightly to him, and she could feel his warm, sweet breath across her neck and shoulders. "Blue told me it was pretty cool of me to figure that out, and we've been okay ever since. Maybe not perfect... but okay."

By Darkness, she was really happy here. The feeling of Cup's body pressed against her back was one of the best things she felt she could ever get in life... and a few other said best things were also connected to Cup.

"Perhaps I should bribe her with sweets, then?" Obsidian chuckled once again, closing her eyes and simply enjoying the embrace of her coltfriend. "It would be wonderful to be okay with Amy. And if she would be okay with the rest of the world."

On one hoof, she was looking forward to their shared bath... but to get to the bathroom, they would have to leave the couch. Such a terrible dilemma. Cupcake's warmth felt like it was joining with her own, the result being the ball of warm comfort they now made together, there on the couch.

"Maybe that's the key, you think?" Cupcake pondered. "Maybe she just doesn't know where she fits into this new world, and it's got her feeling mean, or maybe the mean stuff's more of an act, and she's actually depressed?"

He sighed, taking in a deep breath while buried in the luxury of her mane. "Either way, something needs to change, there. I keep waiting to see if she mellows out any... but if she doesn't, I don't know how much longer I'd want here here. I mean, please don't be mad at me about it, but I don't know how much longer I can live with someone who I'm afraid will eat me if I fall asleep alone."

"I was also wondering if-or-when Amy and/or Tourmy would move out on their own... er, b-but let's change the topic, Cuppy, please? I just had an actual pleasant discussion with her, and at the moment I'd just like to allow myself to be a bit hopeful about it," she whimpered, breathing evenly.

Maybe she should visit a hairdresser? Take care of her mane a bit more for him.

"Ah, also - I learned that 'scoring' doesn't exactly mean what you think it does, Cuppy," she said as she attempted to change the topic on her own. "Because, well... I used a sentence including the words 'score' and 'my coltfriend' next to each other when I was talking with Princesses Celestia and Luna and, well... it turned out to be somewhat... humorous."

Cupcake looked at her with a quirked brow. "It doesn't? I always thought... I mean, I'm sorry if I gave you bad information or something; I had always heard that it was-..."

He then gave a small giggle. "Well, just proves that nobody knows everything. But then, if that's not what it means," he asked, "then what does it mean, Siddy?"

Ah, her lovely coltfriend. So happy. So innocent. So gosh-darn-heck cute.

"Sex," she explained plainly.

He looked at her with wide eyes. "Snugglebunny playtime?" he asked with wonder in his voice.

By Darkness, how much did Miss Pinkie use this term!?

"... yes, Cuppy. That," she said with a sigh.

Cup stared for a moment... then, he began to fidget and squirm. "But... b-b-but I've never... never ever... done, um... THAT... b-before..." A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead... and yet, from behind her, his body seemed to be reacting as well, but in a totally different manner.

"I mean... I m-m-mean, do you really wanna... with me? I KNOW I wanna with you, b-but..." He blushed hotly.

Did she want it? She actually hadn't thought too much about that particular point. She knew that it was something ponies in pairs were doing... that it's apparently pretty pleasant... and can lead to foals. For her, it was just another interesting aspect of life she hadn't explored yet.

"Now now, Cuppy... I was simply explaining what the term actually means..." Wait. Waaaaaaaiiiit... did it mean those gossips in school were saying that she'd already had snugglebu-... had sex with him? How very annoying.

"... but yeah... sure, I guess," she added quietly, slowly half-lidding her eyes.

Cup was actually quiet for a bit... but he snuggled tightly with his mare, and placed a line of tiny kisses along her neckline, right where it met her mane. It made her spine tingle.

"... iloveyou." It came out as all one word, but it was clear what he meant as he held her close to him, as if daring the world to try to take her away. His breathing was a little heavy, and she could feel him reacting to her (his body was as honest as he was), but he simply nuzzled and snuggled her, content just to be in the presence of his beautiful princess.

Ah, the pleasures of the body! Of the mind! Of... other things, too!

"I love you too, Cupcake," she purred. Perhaps she was a little curious to take a peek behind her... but, alas - his kisses had the magical power to melt down her spine into nothingness, forcing a blissful lazy peace onto her.

"... and I want you to be happy... happier... the happiest. So, well..." she finally turned her head a bit, to look at him with eyes wide and seeking, "... would that make you happy?"

His smile was the stuff of romatic ballads. "YOU make me happy, Obsidian - anything else is just icing on the cake."

He kissed her in a manner that blew his smile away, and made Obsidian shiver with how delicious it was; it even tasted sweet. She never really had the chance to hear any romantic ballads - in her old life, she obviously didn't have access to them, and in her new life she was busy with so many other things. It was very nice of Cupcake to provide her a real life equivalent.

She started to breathe a bit deeper, feeling... somewhat strange. Heated. Excited? Perhaps. "... so... about our shared bath..?"

Cupcake stood up from the couch, taking Obsidian into his forelegs, and moved her onto his back, where she could put her own forelegs around him. He then headed for the stairs that led to their own room and bath. He walked slowly up, making sure not to overbalance her, and carried her all the way to the bathtub, where he began to prepare the water as he let her stay where she was, with him warm and soft beneath her.

Well, he was really enthusiastic about it, it seemed! Obsidian didn't expect that - she'd kind of planned to try this special way of walking she'd heard about, that somehow makes the plot the most active part of the body... but this was nice too. It was quite the novelty, and while it wasn't the fastest way to travel, she had no reason to complain; she could nuzzle him the entire way upstairs.

She had just enough of clarity of mind to magically snag the special thing in her saddlebag - the results of her recent visit to the pharmacy.

Once the bathwater was drawn and slightly steaming, he stepped into the tub and, without taking her off his back, he slowly sat down in the water, sighing as its' warmth took hold of his body. He then grinned and slid further down into the water, until Siddy herself was immersed in the tub. He then turned and looked back at her - but it was just the very top of his head; two eyes, a wet mane and his ears.

He blew a single bubble underwater from his snout.

A nice, steamy bath - that's exactly what Obsidian needed after the last two days... and perhaps the two days before that as well, considering that she immediately went from 'saving the world from a Peridot-ridden Midnight' to 'trying to smuggle her siblings across the border undetected'.

However, compared to the pleasure of being with Cupcake, a hot bath barely meant anything to her.

"Now now, Cuppy - stand up a little bit, or I won't have easy access to your kissable lips." That, and he would drown - this was an important fact to remember.

His head slipped underwater... then, he suddenly lunged up out of it, his forelegs on either side of her as he was just THERE in front of her, and he planted a solid kiss on her lips.

"RRRRAWR!" he growled playfully as he broke the kiss, "I'm the mean ol' nasty hydra, and I wanna nibble on ya!"

He began to give tiny, barely there nibbles at her cheek, her neck and her shoulder. "Om nom nom nom nom... now, you are my prisoner! And I shall keep you with the rest of my treasure, because you are so valuable to me! RRRRRAWR!"

Oh yes, that was the Cupcake she loved - he was always able to surprise her, no matter what the situation. It was almost making her a little concerned about his possible ideas for snuggl-... other activities. Almost.

"Oh no! Whatever am I supposed to doooooo?" she tried to exclaim in a dramatic fashion - even though she couldn't stop giggling. "Just don't devour me whole, you nasty hydra, you!"

Cup grinned evilly, then lunged at her - and closed his mouth around her left ear. Gently.

"Nom," he spoke softly into it. "I starts here."

It was surprisingly amusing. "And end wherrrrre...?" she asked with a sultry smile.

He froze for a moment, his brain trying to figure out what to say... then, he gave a deep, low chuckle.

"... anywhere I please, because you're MY prisoner... though, I might be able to think of a few places that I was told about..."

He ran a hoof down her chest, almost lower... but instead, he then leaned in and moved his mouth to her cheek, nomming it fiercely. "Ear was nummy; time for cheek."

The water was hot, her coltfriend was cute and loving... it was the best possible thing. She really should have done this earlier, even without any discussion about snugg-... foal-making-without-foals, it was simply great.

"Mmmmm..." Obsidian sighed, "oh, do try to spare my lovely horn, scary monster! I do so like it... even more, since it got straightened..."

Cup's smile grew, and he moved slowly from her cheek to her forehead, then onto her horn. He wasn't using even a single tooth on her; his nibbles were all lips, and he even gave it a few soft kisses. "... is this what they mean by being 'horny', you think?"

"Maybe," she giggled while Cup kept playing with her horn. It was surprisingly sensitive for something that, in theory, looked just like a strange bone, and it made her wiggle a bit. "So - that would mean we are both horny, right? Sounds good to me..."

Cup gave a giggle of his own. "Then I think I like it!" he said as he then moved right down to her muzzle and >BOOP!< stuck the tip of her snout in his mouth!

"Nom," he repeated with his mouth full.

Siddy playfully crossed her eyes trying to focus on her soon-to-be-devoured snout. "Oh no, not my nose! How will I smell without it?"

Cup gave something between a sexy chuckle and an amused giggle. "You'll smell beautifully, 'cause bath, remember?" Good - he got it. But of course he would have; he was Cupcake Sprinkles, after all.

His kisses now began to make their way down her face, to her neck, to her chest. She felt little tingles under her skin where his lips touched, and he even gave a stray nibble of two as he did. However... now he was beginning to get low on her barrel... and she found herself reacting in a gradual manner, her breath getting quicker, her body putting off a bit more heat, the way every tiny touch was like electricity on her flesh.

By... well, by Harmony, it was simply divine. It wasn't just a physical pleasure - she doubted that it would feel as great if she didn't love Cuppy so damned much. And she was starting to get rather curious about the next surprises he had prepared for her. Her hoof reached down to stroke his mane as she started to pet him carefully, calmly.

Her foreleg was shaking slightly...until Cup placed a calming hoof there, and looked at her with a nervous smile.

"Uhhhh... S-Siddy?" A blush began to creep up his face. "I, um... I w-wanted to know if... i-i-if you might be willing to... I mean, there's this thing, um... I..."

He stopped, closed his eyes, took a deep breath and calmly let it out. "Obsidian, my love," he started again, in a somewhat smoother manner, "I'd... like to show you this... trick... I've heard about... and I wanted to try it out. On you."

He smiled... but it was a different smile; this one was soft, knowing, and very loving. "... please."

A trick? Well, whatever it was, Obsidian was sure it would surprise her in some manner or fashion. After all, it was Cupcake she was thinking about - he always knew how to help her realize that the world held even more wonders than she'd ever thought of.

"Of course, Cuppy - I completely trust you," she reassured him, "and I just love your tricks!"

Cupcake's smile was... strange, but not at all bad. He nodded.

"Then close your eyes... and lie back... and just trust me." His head slipped under the water and out of sight.

Well, she just said she trusted him, right? There was no other option but to follow his request... and apparently, wait. Hopefully it wouldn't be tickling, she thought - at least half of the water in the tub would end up out of it in a hurry!

It was strange; at first, it didn't seem like anything would happen at all. Then, his hoof came to rest on her inner rear thigh, and began to slowly massage... then, he followed with his right hoof doing the same... and then-

SWEET FUCKING DARKNESS! WHAT WAS THAT!?

It felt liiiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH...

Was heeeeEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOHHHHH...

That was his toooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH...

And he waaaaaaAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHOOOOOHHHHHH...

In herrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH...

Yes. She did love his tricks. And he was always surprising her - it was more blissful than anything else she could have ever experienced. In fact, the last time she felt this incredibly overloaded was... maybe when she was powering up using the Amulet of Light?

No - even then, it didn't feel THIS great.

The young mare opened her mouth and tried to calm and slow her gasping. She hadn't even opened her eyes yet - Cuppy had asked her to close them, so she was complying with his request. Her tail was twitching nervously underwater, being the only reaction she wasn't able to completely hold under control - at least, the only one at the moment. This... thing... he was doing was sending jolts and surges of pleasure through Obsidian, and she felt as if she would melt away into the tubwater.

He stopped momentarily, and his nostrils surfaced. There were a few deep breaths, and then he went back under... and back to what he'd been doing - except this time, he was practically shoving his muzzle into herrrrrrrRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOHAAAAAA...

The pure bliss of whatever the Tartarus he was doing continued for another twenty minutes, where Obsidian discovered that there were things in life that are better than even the best foods, the best dreams, the best days... but not the best coltfriend. Oh, no - nothingwas better than that. Especially right at that moment.

When his entire head finally surfaced, he was wearing a deep blush, and was panting a bit himself... but he was more intently looking at his love. "Was... d-d-did I do it right?"

If he was doing it wrong, then Obsidian was kind of scared how it would feel when done right. It felt like her own, private heaven, and she barely noticed the flow of time. If anything, she was a bit surprised that the water was considerably cooler by the time Cup returned to the surface.

"Y... Yes... Yes, you did, Cup. By Harmony..." Obsidian was already barely able to sit or breathe without panting hotly... and yet, it was just the beginning.

"I... I thought you would stop after... a-after..." How could she describe it... what could she say? "Are there other... t-tricks... you'd want to try on me? Or maybe a trick you've heard about that I... could try on you...?" He was obviously more experienced, despite it being his first time. She had no other option but to rely on him... but it was such a sweet reliance.

He gave a nervous grin. "I'm just glad I... I mean, I'd never done that before..." His voice was uncharacteristically soft and husky, and held a sense of awe in it. "I just... heard that it felt good, so... I wanted to try it out... and I never liked anyone enough to try it with them before. As for more than that, I, uh..."

He fidgeted a bit. "I know how snug-... how sex works, but I really don't know too much about what to do other than... um, wh-what I was told was the usual way." He looked thoughful for a moment, then looked to her again. "Maybe... we could... experiment?"

Experrrrriment... "Oh, I am certain we could... however, perhaps in, well, our bedroom? The water is kind of cold..." She smiled nervously at him. It was going to be very interesting, whatever came next.

Cupcake's smile evened out, and looked sultry. "Then I guess we should move to where it'll be... more fun..."

He now picked her up out of the water, and set her down on the chair at the vanity mirror. He took up a towel, and he began to dry her off... slowly. He took his time, his hooves and the soft towel flowing over her figure until she was mostly dry; her mane and tail were still damp.

Once dry, he then did another surprising thing: he stood up on his rear hooves and picked her up in his forelegs. With her in his hold, he then walked - on two hooves! - to the bedroom with her.

"I love you so much, my princess," he said as he carried her over the threshhold.

Surprise after surprise, tonight. And strangely enough, for all the advantages this bath had over normal one, they forgot to properly clean themselves.

"You are so... Impossible," she giggled. With any other stallion, she would be a bit confused and somewhat concerned for her safety with a stunt like this - but it was Cupcake Sprinkles.

They entered the bedroom, and Cup nudged the door closed with his flank.

It was a very interesting night.

~>-<~

Ruby looked quite frightened and a bit disheveled. "Obsidian, wha-"

~>O<~

Cup's soft little snore greeted her in the morning as she woke from...

Sweet. Darkness. Harmony. Whatever... last night had been something she would never, ever forget. But why her dream had been cut off again, she had no idea.

It had been a very intense, interesting night - and Obsidian had been really looking forward to her chat with Ruby. So many things had happened lately - she'd rescued three of their siblings, freed one from his shard prison, proposed to Cupcake (um, kind of - she still didn't know it would be understood as such, but she was fine with it) and, um...

A talk with her older sister would've been perfect - but it didn't happen. Why? Just... why? Even such a grand and glorious night simply had to be tainted with anxiety and nervousness. Did Princess Luna forget about her request? Maybe the message simply didn't reach her yet? Or perhaps...

Obsidian sighed heavily as she tried to wiggle out of Cup's sweet embrace. Looking over at him, she smiled warmly and softly kissed his forehead before getting to her hooves.

So today she had to... meet with Tourmaline. Discuss her little idea - ooh, perhaps with Eloquence? Check on adorable little Diamond. Find Markannus... somehow. Also, she apparently had to go to the post office send another, more urgent message to Princess Luna. Whatever was happening with Ruby, it seemed to scare her - and Obsidian, as well.

But first things first - she was practically starving.

Downstairs, the smell of hay bacon seemed to fill the entire house. At the stove was Tourmaline, who was busily making breakfast as Gunther, sitting at the table, was speaking to him.

"... an' I don't evah wanna be dat close to water - heck, you seen what that stuff does ta wood, right?"

"Well, I guess that's another one off the list," Tourmy replied, "so we can-... Obsidian! Good morning! Hope you don't mind Gunther joining us for breakfast, do you?"

Mmmm... breakfast prepared by somepony else was always great, particularly this morning. Less things to do for Obsidian, more time to focus on the important stuff. "Of course not - good morning Tourmy, Gunther. And how are you, this fine, wonderful morning?" She trotted to the pantry get some bread for herself.

"Gunther's a bit irked due to some setbacks, but it's nothing he can't handle. I, on the other hoof, feel grand this morning. And how about you, sister?"

Gunther motioned to Tourmy as if agreeing with his statement, then sat back again and put his claws behind his head. "If what I heard last night has anything ta do widdit, I'd say she's feelin' pretty good right now." The griffon tipped her a knowing wink.

Obsidian had enough decency to blush. "Y... yes, I feel great. Was it that loud? A-and when did you two come back? I thought you were going to spend the night elsewhere?"

Tourmaline looked back at them both from the stove. "What was that loud?"

Gunther quickly spoke up. "Nothing, nothing... just something I overheard after I carried your flank back home from the bar." He looked at Obsidian, and after Tourmy shrugged and turned back to the stove, the griffon put a single claw in front of his beak, smiling at her.

Well, Tourmy would find out sooner or later anyway. "So... you spent a night at the bar?"

Bread, butter... some water - plenty of water - she felt dehydrated as Tartarus...

"This guy was gonna nut-up if he stuck around the house too much longah; your sister's a capital-tee-total punk, by the way," Gunther said to her.

Tourmaline growled a bit from where he was at the stove, but said nothing more.

"So's I figger, take 'im out and let 'im get good and liquored up, then bring him home and stuff him inta bed. Worked like a charm, din'it?"

Obsidian tilted her head a bit, curious. "... Total punk? What does that mean, praytell? And it seemed that it worked perfectly, yes. I may not know much about alcohol, but... shouldn't you two be suffering from some sort of side-effects from it? I think I read something to that effect, anyway."

Gunther laughed. "Not when yer drinkin' with a pro like me, ya don't! I know a few good ol' home remedies fer a hangovah, and i used at least three of 'em on Tourmy; he's fine as sterling silvah!"

"He means," Tourmaline answered from the stove, "that Amethyst was being exceedingly rude to me yesterday, and it was getting to the point where I was starting to want to kill her again... but that's when Gunny here got me out of the house."

"Oh." Not just plain rude, but exceedingly rude? Amy really had to have done her utmost best to rile up Tourmy that much... and that was combined with the knowledge that he was still quite hostile towards her, and hoped that she would be thrown out. "Well, I think sister Amy doesn't take to this new situation as well as we do, Tourmy. In fact, I'm planning a small field trip with her - it should cheer her up a bit, I think."

Tourmaline finally finished on the stovetop, and brought Siddy a plate of the aromatic hay bacon... with a slice of toast, too. "A field trip? With HER? ALONE?"

Gunther just chuckled. "Eh, slow yer roll, T - if Obsidian can take down Sombra, I'd like ta think she can handle a magic-less creampuff like Amethyst."

"I plan to have a lot of fun hunting with her. And yes, alone - it means we could have some real, proper sisterly bonding! It will be wonderful," Obsidian said cheerfully. The smell of the hay bacon was simply divine - almost as good as Cup's, just in a different way. "Thanks, Tourmy. Also, brother Diamond is in Princess Twilight's castle - he seems to enjoy modern times. Would you want to welcome him later?"

Tourmaline's head swiveled to meet her eyes as if it were spring-loaded. "DIAMOND??? He's HERE!? Wha-... whe-... you found Mundy!?" He suddenly got up from the table, a huge smile breaking across his muzzle like a wave. "Seriously? You found him? Where WAS he? Is he OKAY? When did THIS happen!?"

He looked over at Gunther. "She found Mundy!"

The griffon chuckled wryly. "So I gathered."

Toumaline made his way over to Obsidian."Yes, yes, a THOUSAND times yes! Diamond is here, he's alive... Siddy, that's wonderful news!"

Okay, Tourmy also loved him - he simply HAD to have been a really great guy. As soon as he starts speaking Equestrian properly, Obsidian hoped to enjoy introducing him to her friends. Especially Cupcake, considering that they were apparently going to get married.

... damnation, what a sweetly-terrifying thought!

"To answer your earlier questions, he was within the Crystal Empire, and I saw him after I decided to take a peek in on my old room, after my fight with Peridot. Jade and Amber were also there, and they are currently also secured. Princess Luna offered to help with Jade, as soon as we manage to do something about his... condition," Obsidian sighed.

If Tourmaline's muzzle had lit up like the sun at the mention of Diamond, it became a rictus of sheer horror at the mention of the other two. "JADE!? And AMBER!? Obsidian, ARE you CRAZED!? DO you KNOW what THOSE two are CAPABLE OF!?!?"

Now, he looked panicked, and his eyes were a sea of nervousness. "Amber alone could spell the end of all of us... and Jade? He's a MONSTER!"

"That's why I thought it would be a good idea to secure them and keep them safely under supervision, instead of abandoning them in a place where somepony could potentially free them. Princess Flurry Heart found them first, but luckily she didn't try to do anything with their shards. Besides, Jade is merely a victim - he wasn't that dangerous when he only had his sneaking talents, right?" Oh, that bacon tasted as great as it smelled...

Tourmaline shuddered. "Obsidian, YOU'VE never SEEN Jade! He's so full of poison, he glows! His breath alone can kill! Just being NEAR him can make you sick! Plus, in case you weren't aware, he can become invisible! So pardon me for panicking, but the thought of an invisible stallion who can melt steel and make others sick just by being around them makes me fucking scared to death!"

Gunther now sat forward, looking a bit concerned himself.

"And that's peanuts, compared to Amber! That mare is waaaaaaay too clever for her own good, and she has a willpower the likes of which Equestria has never known! Siddy, she might take the alicorns, for crying out loud! And once she controls someone, they are hers, no matter what!"

Obsidian blinked. Then blinked again. "... brother, when did she ever have any sort of opportunity to test her powers on alicorns? And yes, of course I know that Jade is dangerous in his current form - which is why I actually feel more safe knowing that he's been secured, and that nopony can release him by accident."

Tourmaline paced nervously. "Siddy, Father trained Amber to take the minds of all manner of beasts and ponies... I'm fairly certain that, given the chance, she could take an alicorn. After all, she'd really only need ONE; the destruction she could cause through a single alicorn could potentailly kill us all!"

"Whoa whoa whoa... Tourmy, calm down! Fer cryin' out loud, she just toldja they were being held safely, yo - stop freakin' out, 'kay?"

"Gunther... you don't KNOW what I KNOW about THEM!"

"No, I don't... but I know you, and yer 'bout two minutes from a heart attack, if you don't stop all dat right now!"

Her brother stopped pacing, sighed, then sat down at the table too. "Obsidian... okay, honestly, finding Diamond was a stroke of genius, but I still think it to be eternally foolish to have taken Jade and Amber, too! Worst of all, in this modern world, I don't even know if Equestria would be capable of handling even one of them!"

"Brother... without finding them ourselves, they could be released by mistake. Amber's powers could affect somepony and force him or her to serve her, while we would have no idea where she is. That way, we can release her in a secured room and immediately enclose her horn with so much anti-magical restraint that she'll be effectively crippled."

Or, if she's THAT bad, we could always simply grind her shard into gravel, Obsidian's thoughts took a darker note.

"Besides, I already fought an alicorn controlled by one of our siblings. I... regret that Peridot didn't survive the encounter, as I'm sure he would know how to heal Jade, but..." she shrugged.

Tourmy groaned and dropped his head onto the table. "Ohhhhhh, this is bad, this is bad, this is BAD..."

Gunther looked at Obsidian for a moment, then sighed and turned to Tourmaline, where he suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders and planted a firm kiss directly on his lips, holding him there as they kissed. The panic in Tourmy's eyes slowly seemed to drain away during the kiss, and by the time Gunther broke it off, her brother wore a similar look on his muzzle to the one Obsidian got after Cupcake passionately kissed her.

"There," Gunther said as he sat back down, "bettah?"

Tourmaline gave an incomprehensible mutter, his eyes half-lidded, a smile on his lips.

"Ho-kay," the griffon turned to face her, "dat'll work for 'bout another, oh, two 'r' three minutes... so, with dat in mind, I wanna know more 'bout dis. So who's dis Diamond, an' who're Jade an' Ambah?"

Good thing Amy didn't see it happen, or the whole secret would be revealed - wait, she didn't see that, did she?

"Well, Diamond is our brother. He's, er... rather short, has a talent for healing, and is surprisingly joyful and kind for somepony related to us. Amber is our sister, with a nasty talent for mind control and the ability to use our connections between us. And Jade is another one of our brothers, a skilled thief... but tortured by our father into insanity, and cursed to become a poisonous, walking disaster." It was a short, yet effective description. "Oh, I also found Opal and Quartz, as well... but they are, ah... already free. And not by me."

Gunther put on a thoughtful look. "'kay, so... dat means you got, uh..." he counted on some of his feathers, "... what, like... nine of ya? Sheesh, Ol' Sombra didn't waste much time, did he? Still... from whatcha say, dem three you talked 'bout are safe, an' deeze... uddah ponies, right? Like you? Dey're out dere somewhere, loose in Equestria, right?"

"Thirteen, Gunther, thirteen. And that's only assuming that I'm really the youngest, and he didn't produce any others." Hopefully his soul was too damaged at this point to do anything else... though his natural foal-making abilities were probably still an option.

"And I've even already identified them - Opal has an industrial company and Quartz is a fashion designer. Frankly, I hope that he doesn't plan anything dark and dangerous - I'd love to meet another sibling that won't try to murder everypony around them."

Gunther gave a low whistle. "Dat's... a LOTTA sibs, Siddy; yer Pop must be a Casanova 'r' somethin'... ooooorrrrrrr, if I recall correctly, he was a slave lord, so..." His own face wrinkled with disgust. "You ain't tellin' me dat each o' ya were... forced on somemare, are ya?"

Obsidian peeked over at Tourmy - did he want the griffon to know? "Well, I know about one mare who sort of, er... helped our father to make us, and she was apparently his only love in life or something..." She carefully spoke a small half-truth, half-lie. She'd told Pepper more details, but Obsidian was going to be part of Pepper's family and Pepper, in turn, would help her with Opal - so it had seemed like a good idea.

"No..." Tourmaline now chose to speak, and he slowly began to wake from the dreamy kiss he'd gotten. "... NOT his love... his best friend."

Gunther looked back and forth between the two siblings, a confused look on his face.

"Father really had no want for any sort of queen," he continued, "because he was intent that Radiant Hope would be his second-in-command. Of course, when she vanished, he was absolutely furious about it... shortly after her vainshing, he created us."

Gunther looked at the stallion. "Wait - I thought you said she helped to create alla yaz?"

Tourmaline looked at Obsidian. "Did she? I'd always been told she'd vanished before we came into the picture; I don't remember her being there, but there was a lot of talk about her, between the slaves. Nobody knows what happened to her... except maybe Father, and he never was big on sharing information with any of us."

"Diamond said she taught father how to make us, and that one of her spells went wrong, somehow. As far as I'm aware, I also apparently look like her. I'm sure that there's a connection somewhere in all of this - but in any case, some of the implications kind of gross me out."

Either Sombra really made her to look like his best friend - for some strange reason - or there was something else. Whatever it was, Obsidian was both a bit concerned and very curious about the fate of Hope.

"So I assumed that she participated in creation of at least some of us." Obsidian shrugged. "Perhaps Diamond knows more details?"

Tourmaline sighed. "Perhaps he does; perhaps ALL of us have a portion of that story, and it would take fitting it all together to make a clear picture? Because, honestly, if Radiant Hope's fate might help us discover more about ourselves in the process..."

Gunther shook his head slowly. "Dis is a bit much fer me ta wrap m'head around... I think I'm gonna leave you two to it, yeah? I'll stop back by later ta see ya, T... but I gotta feeling youse two need some talky-time, widdout a nosy griffon amongst ya."

Tourmy started to speak, but the griffon held up a claw. "Nope, ain't stayin' put - youse two gotta REAL weird fam'ly, an' I'm just givin' ya a bit o' respect."

He stood up, headed for the door. "Later on, Siddy... an' I'll be back fer YOU later, handsome..." Tourmy only blushed a little bit.

"So," Tourmaline turned to face her again, "when do you plan on going to see Mundy? Because I most certainly want in on that visit."

"Hold on, Gunther - wait a bit!" There was something else Obsidian wanted to talk about, and if Gunther was already there, then he could hear it as well. "I, um... I think I... proposed to Cupcake yesterday."

She really wanted to say it - she just didn't want to just put it in the middle of discussing their family issues. However, if Gunther was already leaving, it might be best to come out with it now. "I'd wanted to visit the post office first, Tourmy, because I didn't meet Ruby again tonight, and I'd like to ask Princess Luna about it... but I planned to go meet Diamond as soon as possible. If you wish, I can postpone my other plans so we could go there immediately... after sending a quick message to the princess, that is?"

Tourmaline just stared at her for a moment. Gunther, completely taken by surprise at the door, also froze in place.

"Did... you... just... say..." Tourmaline sounded as if he was still trying to understand the words that had come out of her mouth.

Gunther barked out a strong laugh. "HA! Toldja it wouldn't've been long before doze two hooked up!"

Tourmy simply stared. "You. Proposed. To him."

Gunther smiled. "Dat's what she said, yeah."

The stallion didn't look angry... but he didn't look happy, either; he simply looked stunned to hear the news, and his brain may have been contemplating how to reply. That, or Tourmaline had a mental meltdown. Either way, now they knew.

"Uh-oh - do you mean he should have proposed to me? You know I'm not too knowledgable about local traditions," she tried to explain quickly. "but, er... anyway, it would be great if Quartz would turn out to be non-violent. It would be nice to ask him for help with a wedding dress, don't you think?"

Tourmaline just stared at her. Gunther looked at him a moment, then turned his gaze onto Obsidian and shrugged. The stallion then blinked, and looked as if he was trying to decide something... then, he apparently made his decision.

"I... can accept that." He sat back, looking a bit weary. "I may not exactly... agree with your choice, as he is a ball of sugar, nonsense and goody-goody sweetness, but... but YOU are the one marrying him, so... for you... I will accept it."

Gunther cocked an eyebrow. "I'm sure she appreciates yer support, dere... but if she wants ta marry 'im, she's gonna do it. I've seen what happens when DAT mare puts her mind on somethin'!"

Obsidian patted her chin. "Plenty of sweetness... oh, yes." And last night, she discovered that in a more than a few ways...

Gunther looked at her directly. "Yo, Siddy - you want me to keep dat announcement under my wing, or you mind if I blab about it all ovah town?" He grinned.

"At the moment, I'd rather you keep it under your wing, Gunther; I'd like to inform the rest of our friends together with Cup. After that, it can spread like wildfire, as far as I'm concerned. I also want to buy Cup something... do you think an engagement necklace would be acceptable?"

Gunther grinned. "Yeah - dat sounds good ta me. You go, girl - do dat thing youse do. I'm headed out; bye Siddy... later, lovah."

He went out the door, closing it softly behind him as, at the same moment, the attic stairs door opened and a bleary-eyed Amethyst walked zombie-like to the fridge, where she opened it and stuck her head inside.

"Morning," said Tourmy.

Amy gave a low grump.

So it was a good idea to get those symbols, it seemed. Really, she hoped Eloquence will be able to help her out with it.

"Good Morning, Amy!" Obsidian practically chirped at her, happy to see her lovely, wonderful sister... though she didn't seem to be too happy at the moment.

Amy gave another low grump, then came out of the fridge with the pitcher of orange juice in her teeth. She carried it to the table, plopped herself down into Gunther's vacant seat, then just took the pitcher in her hooves and turned it up, drinking directly from it.

"Germs," Tourmaline said, but got only a glare from Amy as a reply, once she finished drinking. She then gave a decent belch, and looked between the two of them.

She looked... strangely worn out. Even after what Obsidian assumed was a full night's sleep, she still looked tired - though, to be certain, it wasn't on the same level as Thunderclap had been after Peridot had cursed her; Amy just looked as though she' been doing far more than anyone knew lately. Not reassuring, but at least she was keeping busy, right?

"... are you all-right, Amy? You don't look too good; perhaps you should see a doctor?" Obsidian tried to guess the correct way to approach it. Her self-training, that weird dresser... she didn't look that worn-out yesterday, did she? Hopefully, she and Cup didn't interrupt her sleep that much!

Amethyst rolled her eyes. "No. I'm fine," she insisted, "so stop it. I just want breakfast; you two can piss off, for all I care..." She dragged herself back up, and returned to the fridge to search for whatever she was hungry for.

Meanwhile, Tourmy looked at Siddy with a bit of real, actual worry on his muzzle. Worry for Amethyst? From Tourmaline?

"Lemme get some leftovers, and I'll go back upstairs where I don't have to see OR hear either one of you," she mumbled.

"Amy?" Tourmy asked. "ARE you okay?"

She turned to stare at him, the look on her muzzle one of shock. "Since when do you care?"

Tourmaline's expression soured a bit... but he tried anyway. "Amethyst, we're not rivals anymore; we're not enemies. It took me a little while to realize that, but you seem to be fighting it at every turn. Why?"

Amy stopped, then looked over her flank at Tourmaline. "Maybe because I don't wanna be made into some fruity, goody-goody, two-shoes, namby-pamby ASSHOLE; you ever consider that?"

She turned from the fridge, and addressed him directly. "I've watched what's been going on here - YOU, Tourmaline, used to be STRONG... you used to enjoy watching others bow and scrape before Father... you were as heartless as I was, at one time. But since we came to this accursed place?"

She now came close enough to be almost snout-to-snout with him. "All I've seen is how it's changed you and how it's killed those who wouldn't reform. And I do NOT want to be anyone but MYSELF, thank you very much."

With that (and a covered plate from last night's feast), she went back to her stairs and began to stomp her way up them.

Okay, that was shocking. Tourmy asking if Amy was okay? Obsidian surely didn't expect that. Apparently it was going to be a day full of surprises.

"Amy seems to be surprisingly sentimental of her old days... at least for a pony who, in a short span of time, almost got her horn kicked out of her skull, imprisoned, robbed of magic, somewhat tortured by Onyx and eventually backstabbed with her own dagger, no less," Obsidian noticed. "Perhaps we should ask somepony for some advice? There was that one unicorn with the damaged horn who managed to conquer Canterlot, whom I read about; I think she got reformed quite easily, but her past experiences could impress Amy..."

Tourmaline sat there, the look on his muzzle being one of concern and deep thought. "Obsidian..." he stared carefully, "... is it a bad thing that it's possible that Amethyst might actually have a point?"

He sat up and sighed. "When I was awakened by Onyx, I truly was a heartless bastard; I stole, I hurt, I even tried to kill you... but then, when you fought against her, then actually bested Father - which I STILL don't understand how - since then, it's like I've been feeling myself transforming into... into something I've never known before. And, well... it makes me think: are we still ourselves? Or are we becoming what Equestria is shaping us into?"

Obsidian didn't even have to think about that. "Oh, I know I'm still myself - I'm the very same mare, just one who knows a bit more about the world and doesn't worship a loser named 'Sombra'. Bah, I'd say I'm more than I have been - my plans are my own, my thoughts are my own and so on. When I woke up in Equestria for the first time, I was merely a tool for our father. And I've outgrown that. I mean, did you want to be a heartless bastard? Or were you just dancing to Onyx's tune? How many decisions that were truly your own did you make, the whole time you were working for her?"

He looked down. "Honestly? I don't even KNOW anymore; all I know is that Onyx would throw a Nightmare Spell on us if we didn't obey. Amethyst herself spent a whole month inside one, at one point - THAT was for trying to tell Onyx to go... well, let's just say it was physically impossible and really rude, and leave it at that."

Tourmaline sighed deeply. "I was manipulated for... well, practically all my living years, either by Father or Onyx. I really don't even know who I am yet. But... Gunther helps... and so do you, Siddy. I may still be trying to figure out what I want from life, but you two have helped me realize that I want my own life."

"See? It wasn't you - it was Onyx being an ass... though to be fair, she was also father's tool; she would probably have even found her own purpose in life without Sombra's shadow over her," Obsidian shrugged slightly. "Now, Amy's gotten away from the fucking harmful influence of our sister and our father... but she still considers everything they put into her to be part of her. That's why I hope that our field trip will work well - it's the only alternative to throwing a Nightmare Spell on her myself that I can think about." She didn't know how to cast that spell, but that was beside the point.

Tourmaline gave a slight shudder, then looked at Obsidian with a great gravitas. "Obsidian... listen to me. Very. Carefully. I understand you may have meant it jokingly... but you've seen what that spell can do to someone. Seen its' potential. And I have PERSONALLY been on the recieving end of that spell over a dozen times, thanks to Onyx..."

He glowered at her. "Don't take this the wrong way, but... if I discover you have EVER cast that one, particular spell? I WILL kill you - or I will die trying. That spell is one that Onyx herself created, and I will be DAMNED if I ever allow it to be used again."

He leaned forward. "ARE we CLEAR about THIS?"

He then sat back, the anger in him deflating like a popped bicycle tire. "But... you do make a point, though. Maybe... maybe this little outing you have planned might just help bring her to the point where she realizes she doesn't NEED to keep such a deathgrip on her past..."

He then sighed. "Or, she's plotting to murder you out there, where we'd never find your body."

Obsidian was taken a bit aback by this reaction - she didn't expect such strong vehemence from her brother - and it was a shocking experience to see him that angry at her again. Thankfully, it passed quickly.

"If she created it, then it's lost forever, brother - fear not," she reassured him. Though perhaps something could be found in her notes... but Tourmy was right; it was terrible spell. "And if Amy did that, she wouldn't survive for too much longer. She is without her magic, and she would have to deal with the vengeance of some rather dangerous ponies."

Tourmaline leaned back in his chair and laughed, loud and hard, for almost a solid minute. Then, wiping a tear free, he looked at her again.

"Are you serious right now? Obsidian, Amethyst was one of the most physically fit of ALL of us; Father put her through a lot of strict training regimens, and I honestly think he might have been grooming her to be a royal assassin." He threw his forelegs wide. "Magic or no, she's still dangerous! I wish ponies would stop assuming a unicorn is helpless without their magic; she's good enough to survive for weeks out in the wild, if she really wanted to; don't allow her to fool you into a false sense of superiority - she'll play you like a lyre."

"That would explain her training routine," Obsidian mused, "but I still think I will survive. I don't think she wants to kill me... at least, not too much."

Besides, they were going to have some fun with Dark Magic. It should prove to be quite interesting; Obsidian wanted to see how much anger she still could produce.

"Though, to be on the safe side, I could learn how to teleport before that trip..." Assassin... would she need one? Ever?
Killing others was excessively wasteful, after all... could Amy possibly teach her? It could be a useful set of skills to have.

Tourmaline nodded. "Probably a wise idea, honestly. Ruby was the one who was our teleporter, she always-..."

He suddenly got quiet. Then, without warning, his bottom lip began to quiver and his eyes started welling with tears.

"... oh, poor Ruby... I never... got to..."

And with that, Tourmaline began to cry; great, hitching sobs filled the kitchen as he put his head in his hooves.

"Why? Why? Why didn't I ever show her what she meant to me! She was always kind to me - even when I was an ass to her! She was so sweet, a-a-and..."

His sentence dissolved into sobbing, but he tried again, through a teary voice. "I never mourned her until now! WHY!?!"

Oh dear. He really had travelled a long road since he'd lost his magic. Obsidian herself had never really mourned Ruby - she was in shock after her death, and for good reason - but mourning somepony who still talks to you is... diffcult.

She quickly trotted over to Tourmy to hug him. "Shhhh... It's okay, Tourmy. Ruby... she's still with us."

Tourmaline looked up at her, the tiniest glimmer of hope visible among all his despair. "... she... she's alive?" he asked with so much fragile hope.

"Her... spirit... lives on within me; I actually chat with her quite often." Obsidian tried a smile on her brother.

Tourmaline leaned back from her a bit to look her in the eye, the skeptic inside analyzing her for even the slightest hint of a lie.

"Wait... you mean... wait..." he seemed confused, "... I don't... underst-stand..."

"Two minds, one body. She only appears in my dreams, though; I don't know how that happenes, but Princess Luna explained some of it to me."

Tourmaline just stared at her for a moment, then...

"So... does that mean... there's a way to... *sniffle*... t-to bring her back?" That little spark of hope seemed like it was slowly, cautiously trying to grow.

"I plan to," Obsidian confirmed with a nod. "We are already made out of shards of a soul, forced into an artificial body; I hope that it would be even easier with a complete soul to work with."

Toumaline now looked as though he were thinking in earnest, even through the tears he wiped away. "Then that means... we just have to find, what, a body? Or maybe a way to duplicate the spell that made us in the first place? But... but I don't know that spell..."

He shook his head to clear it of the sadness that was trying to nest there. "Okay, then - I suppose we would have to find out who DOES know that spell, yes? For certain, Father knows it... but I'm fairly certain he won't talk. Radiant Hope was the one who taught him... but no one knows where she disappeared to, so that's no help..."

He sighed. "So, who else might know of such a powerful spell? Who can create Life like that?"

"It won't be an easy task, brother - nor a short one. There are so many options... so many possibilities!" It was an intoxicating thought. "But... first things first, my brother. First, I need to contact Princess Luna, as I wasn't able to contact Ruby tonight and I'm worried about her. The sooner I send her a message, the better. There is also the issue of Diamond..."

Tourmy held up a hoof to stop her. "Okay, then - enough talk in this kitchen; let's deliver that letter, then we can go and see Mundy. You know, even if I was never able to show Ruby what she meant to me, I can still show him."

Now, he looked a bit excited at the prospect... and it was a bit weird to see him so emotional; he'd been all sorts of nasty and mean when she'd first met him, but now he was so much more than some throwaway side villain.

Cup was still sleeping, apparently. Not surprising - after all, he was very active last night, oh yesssss...

Obsidian left him a short note: Post office, Twilight's castle, Eloquence, possibly Markannus. That should be enough to find her, if he wanted to catch up.

To be a little bit romantic, instead of signing it, she kissed the note and left a lip print. Because why not - it was a signature he could identify, wasn't it?

Author's Notes:

For the record, I can get FAR more detailed and descriptive about Snugglebunny Playtime... I simply chose to keep it as light and innocent as possible; this is supposed to be heartwarming, not smutty. Anyone who IS interested in seeing the other stuff, let me know. Might be a future project... if I can get over being shy, that is.

Yeah - Pinkie's little speech helped; as much of a pain in the flank as Amethyst can be, Siddy's not ready to give up on her yet. We'll just have to see if this decision ends up being a good or bad one in the long run, won't we?

I support LGBT+ relationships, which is why I enjoy the partnership between Gunther and Tourmaline. Now, I don't think the FOCUS of the characters should be that - because that feels disingenuine to me; it has to feel natural and unforced, just like any worthwhile relationship. Plus, THAT is how you gather acceptance for a lifestyle; not as a marquee banner, but as a love letter.

And what sort of 'protection' did Obsidian buy? I left that vague on purpose; extract your own possibilities.

And so, more Diamond incoming - and I hope you have your Insulin ready, 'cause the sweetness is about to be turned up to 11!

Thirty Two: Shine On You Crazy Diamond

Ponyville was as busy as usual; ponies (and other creatures) all around them, doing their daily best to live their lives. Interestingly, a few passing folks did either call out to or wave at Obsidian; she was known in town now, and was just as welcomed as anyone else here.

And Obsidian waved back merrily - after all, it was the polite and kind thing to do. That, and her mood after last night's events with Cupcake, spurred her on to reply in such a manner. In all complete honesty, she was really enjoying being part of a community of ponies who weren't wearing chains or slave collars.

Tourmaline himself was the target of a few waves... from mares who seemed to have a certain look on their muzzles for him. Pity; were they to know the truth, it would possibly break their hearts. Still, he waved back and made a rather decent attempt at returning smiles.

The post office was there, with a letter carrier coming out just as they were arriving. He was a full-grown stallion, though a bit skinny and lanky for his size... but he was most certainly tall, as he nearly dwarfed Obsidian in size.

"Oh, hello," he said with a strange little accent, "might you be wanting to mail a letter? I'm about to head out right now, and I'd be happy to take it along with me, if you like?"

Ah, how wonderful! A carrier was already here! "Yes, I'd like to do just that! Please give me a moment, as I need to get a proper envelope, would you kindly?" She was beyond happy - the sooner she could send it, the sooner Princess Luna would be able to reply!

She made a mental note to invite both princesses to her wedding.

The mailpony nodded. "Right then - I'll wait here for a minute, and once you get what you need, I'll gladly take it where it belongs!" He seemed genuine and sweet... then again, in the mood she was currently in, even Amy had been a joy to see.

The mailmare inside sold her the necessary envelope (and proper postage, as well), and she got the letter to the mail pone. He gave a big grin, then shouldered his mailsack and, with a wave, headed out to deliver. He wasn't even a pegasus... he looked to be just an earth pony. But he seemed happy about his job, nonetheless.

Obsidian had now sent two letters to Princess Luna; sooner or later, she had to be able to reach her. If not... then, in the worst case scenario, she would have to ask Princess Twilight for help. She surely had something to contact them in an emergency. Considering that it was an important issue that might be dangerous to her and her head-bound sister, so she shouldn't be angry about that. Right?

"So... onward to brother Diamond, then," she nodded.

Tourmaline smiled. "Yes, please! I can hardly wait to see him again... though... he miiiiiiiiiiight not wanna see me very much. I mean, it wasn't as though I was outright cruel to him, but... well..."

He looked at Siddy meaningfully. "I have gone through a number of changes, recently; I hope he accepts that."

Obsidian patted her brother gently on the shoulder. "Fear not, dear brother of mine - as long as you are in my presence, he will surely realize that we are all changed and ready to behave like normal, non-pathological siblings."

She pondered for a moment. "Maybe we could buy him a present? Some kind of 'welcome to the world of tomorrow' gift? Maybe a plush toy?"

Tourmy's eyes lit up. "We could, at that. And if I recall correctly, he was always a big fan of phoenixes; we could find him a plush one - that shouldn't be too hard to do, right?"

They talked about it as they made their way towards where Diamond was being kept. A few small stops later, and there was a plush phoenix sitting directly on top of Tourmaline's head. He'd placed it there as soon as it was paid for.

Obsidian was a genius. This way, Diamond will be happy with his gift AND Tourmaline will have a nice little bribe for his forgiveness. It was grand to be so wise and intelligent...

Well... okay, so at least THIS was going to work out!

"Now, I do hope Stalwart didn't have to stun him yesterday; he seems to be... quite fond of her," Obsidian chuckled as they made their way toward the castle's approaching path.

"He... wait..." Tourmaline's muzzle turned up in a smile. "Really? The midget with the chip on her shoulder is about the same size as he is, come to think of it. Wouldn't they just make the cutest couple?" He laughed at that. "That is, if Mundy can deal with that hard-boiled half-pint! She might actually be too much mare for him!"

"Well, there is a small problem with that, as I think Midnight may also be interested in her, as well..." And in Obsidian herself, but he only said something along these lines once; hopefully, there wouldn't be any problems. "... but yes, they would. I quite agree."

"A small problem?" Tourmy said with a chuckle. "Good one, sister dear." Okay, in this particular case, Obsidian hadn't been planning to make a pun with 'small'... but yes, it was kind of funny. Ha ha.

"But still... have you ever heard anything more about those two? If not, I'd say Stalwart Stance is available for anyone who wants to try... after all, she's her own pony, isn't she?" He then rubbed at his midsection. "Not to mention she has a Tartarus of a headbutt."

"Not really, no - though I may have saved Midnight and the world and immediately started to travel across Equestria to find out more about our siblings and get Diamond to safety... so I'm not exactly in a positioin to catch much news, I'm afraid." Obsidian smirked a bit. "As far as I'm concerned, Midnight could literally have already proposed to her, and I wouldn't know anything because I haven't had much chance to talk with ANY of them lately," Obsidian sighed. Of course, it was a bit of an excessive example... but it should get the point across.

And, ahhhhh... that headbutt had been glorious.

Tourmaline nodded. "Then that settles it - we should go see short and angry right after we visit short and sweet; there's no sense in allowing your friendships to atrophy, especially after all the work you've put into them, eh?"

The facility they were directed to at the front hall was at the far end; it was in the Scientific Wing, as the guard had called it. There were a number of ponies here, mostly unicorns, and almost all of them wore lab coats. The receptionist, a cotton candy pink mare with an electric blue mane, looked up at them as they approached.

"Welcome," she said in a very fluid, soothing voice, "how may I help you?"

"Good morning," Obsidian began, "we are looking for our brother, Diamond - a patient here, I believe," she said, hoping it would be enough. If this mare couldn't help them, the search for Mundy could be a bit more difficult than she thought.

The receptionist held up a hoof and looked over a quick list of names on a clipboard... after a moment, she smiled and turned back to them. "He is resting comfortably in Room number five; I have permissions here for you, Obsidian, to visit... may I inquire as to your companion?"

"Er... Tourmaline," he said softly.

She looked at the clipboard again, then she seemed to set it back down with a soft sigh. "I'm afraid that there is no mention of any 'Tourmaline' being registered as a visitor; do you wish to register him now, or shall he wait in the lobby?"

One never wins against bureaucracy. "Let's... register him, I suppose. We're siblings, so it only makes sense to allow him in, too."

"Very well," she smiled, "all I need is some information, if you please."

She turned to a screen, and began to wave her hooves over a glowing green crystal set at the base of it. As she did her waving, the word 'ENILAMRUOT' appeared on the screen from their side.

"Alright then... what I will need from you is a home address, a birthplace, and a quick background check; from there, the rest should be easy." Tourmaline looked at Obsidian with a touch of worry; would he even be allowed in?

"Don't worry Tourmy; you've been getting integrated fairly well, so I'm certain there's no reason to fret." Hopefully. Her own word should count for something in this matter, right?

Tourmaline cleared his throat, then spoke to the mare. "88 Cherry Chestnut Lane, Ponyville..."

She waved her hooves, and the words appeared backwards to them again.

"Uh... Crystal Empire?" She nodded, and the rest happened again as before. Once that was done, the receptionst smiled at them both. "If you'll have a seat over there, I'll run the background checks - as long as you're not a criminal, then you should be all set!"

He turned to Siddy and motioned to the chairs. When they got there, he shot Obsdian a nervous look. "With this ring on my horn, I might be listed as potentially dangerous! How am I going to see Mundy if they won't let me go in?"

"Perhaps he will be allowed to come see us?" Obsidian tried to guess. "Equestrians didn't keep me in my room; quite the contrary, as the princess sent me a liaison and allowed me to move around. I don't see any reason why Diamond would be any different - if anything, he is more friendly than I was!"

It was a nervous moment or two, but then the receptionist looked up from her screen and waved them both over.

"Mister Tourmaline? It DOES say you are under observation for attempted criminal activity, so normally we cannot allow you to enter..." She smiled. "But... as I was reading through your file, a writ of special perission came through, signed by Princess Twilight herself. The only stipulation is you are ONLY alowed to visit while in the company of Miss Obsidian."

He breathed out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank Darkness, I was worried for a moment there!"

"Thank... darkness?" The receptionist looked at him.

Tourmy gave an embarrassed grin. "Eh, it's... something we say. Pay no mind to it, please."

The receptionist eyeballed him a moment more, then waved her hooves again, and two slips of paper came out of a small slot on their side. "There you are; keep these with you at all times while you're here, please, and be sure to be respectful of the others here. Room Five is down this hallway, on your left. Thank you kindly for your patience."

"Worry not, we are always respectful!", Obsidian assured the mare as she took her slip of paper while Tourmaline nodded, thanked her, and then he and Obsidian made their way down the hall towards Room Five.

Good to know that Princess Twilight remembered about Tourmy - though Obsidian couldn't help but wonder if she remembered about Amy, too. Though in Amy's case, 'remembering her' probably meant something along the lines of 'arrest her if she attempts to visit Diamond'.

The other rooms around them all had closed doors and no windows; there were slots instead, where presumably, one could look though to see what was happening on the other side. It felt a bit... confining... but it wasn't a hospital; it was supposed to be a laboratory, right?

"I hope he's awake," Tourmy said softly.

"I hope he already has a liaison. He should start learning about modern-day Equestria as soon as possible," Obsidian added.

Room Five's door was slightly ajar, and they could hear voices as they drew close.

"{... way the light shone off her beautiful armor, and how lovely her tail was, a-and her amazing eyes! Oh, I admit, I am stricken by Stalwaat! She is the most magnificent creature I have ever had the chance to behold!}

That was Diamond, no doubt.

{This one is quite pleased you have found something so lovely in his friend; he does not know if she would feel the same for you, but it is still a good thing to have hopes, yes?}

And the other voice, she was quite familiar with, of course; there was only one creature she'd met yet who would refer to himself as 'this one'.

Good for Stalwart - it seemed that she was NOT chosen to become Diamond's liaison; it might have driven her insane, sooner or later. As far as Obsidian was concerned, there was only one Nightmare in the history of Equestria - the one that created Nightmare Moon - but a furious Stalwart would be probably just as dangerous. Also, good for Diamond... who, in this case, Obsidian kind of hoped he wouldn't end up in a relationship with his liaison, as she did. The mental picture was... weird.

Obsidian knocked gently on the door, which opened slightly, and Obsidian was treated to the sight of Gypsy Rover peeking out of it before smiling broadly and wagging merrily. "Siddy! This is a p-p-pleasant surprise, y-yes! Diamond is aw-w-wake, if you wish to-"

"{Obsidyan! Is that you?}" The little stallion's voice was filled with hope.

"{Yes, Diamond, it's me! And I'm not alone,}" she replied cheerfuly. Immediately after opening the doors she hugged Gypsy as a welcome, and then she trotted to her brother to do the same. "{How are you two? Having fun? Is Gypsy your liaison?"}

Gypsy gladly hugged her back, smiling sweetly as he did. "This o-one has missed you, f-f-friend. It is good t-to see you."

Diamond also eagerly hugged his sister. "{Oh, Obsidyan! I am overjoyed to see you once more! Has Stalwaat come with you too?}" He looked eagerly towards the door, just as Obsidian's guest entered.

"Diamond?" Tourmaline said.

It was quiet for all of a few seconds. Diamond just stared, and Tourmaline stared back. It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

"{... Tourmaline? Is... is that you?}"

Tourmy nodded, nervously.

Diamond looked at him a moment more, then asked, "{Why do you have a stuffed phoenix on your head?}"

Tourmaline cautiously spoke. "{It is a gift for you, my brother... and an apology.}"

Diamond's eyes practically bulged from their sockets - he was quite surprised to hear that! "{Tourmaline... you are... apologzing for what, exactly?}"

With that, Tourmaline came in, closed the door, and came to sit on the edge of the bed. Diamond didn't flinch away; he simply watched his brother as if he was trying to figure him out.

"{Mundy, I... have been a horrible brother, and have done you disservice time and again. I have since learned the errors of my ways, and have begun to reform myself as a citizen of the Equestrian Empire-}"

"{Nation,}" Gypsy corrected.

"{Yes, nation... and to have this chance to see you, after all this time, in this place, with these changes...}" Tourmy took the doll off his head and placed it gingerly on the bed between them. "{... I may not deserve such, and I understand that, but...}"

Diamond reached out and took up the little phoenix. Curious, he looked it over a bit, then gently set it down next to him, on his bed's pillow.

"{... but... i-if you can see a way to do so... do you think... think I could... be...}"

Diamond simply reached across the bed and embraced Tourmaline tightly. "{Of course, my brother - you are forgiven.}" Tourmy began to cry again, but Mundy held him even closer, comforting him gently.

Tourmaline really had made such incredible progress in such a comparitively short amount of time. And Diamond was already ahead of both of them it seemed, considering how easily he'd forgiven Tourmy for his past sins - though they were unknown to Obsidian. Considering that he'd tried to kill her, well... she could imagine how unpleasant he could be.

She quietly moved to the side, closer to the Gypsy - after all, she had something to tell him as well... "Touching scene, isn't it?" she spoke sotto-voce to her friend.

Gypsy nodded. "It is always g-g-good to see forg-giveness in others, as there are of-f-ften times we require f-forgiveness ourselves, true? This one is pleased to b-be here to witness i-i-it." He then sniffed at the air a bit, cocked an eyebrow, and looked at Obsidian again. "This one... n-notices your scent. It is... sw-sweet. It is v-very similar t-t-t-to Cupcake, in fact. Have you c-come from hugging him, p-perhaps?"

Obsidian blushed a bit. "Um, perhaps a bit... more than that. I also, erm, kind of proposed to him. B-but don't spread it around, okay?"

Gypsy looked her over a bit, his own eyes wide for a moment... then he smiled knowingly, and gave Siddy a single-armed hug. "Obsidian... there are m-m-many things in this w-world that make little s-sense... but you and C-Cup are not am-mong those things. It is a w-wonderful thing to hear, a-and this one is honored f-f-for you to have shared it with him."

Tourmaline sat back from Diamond, and the two stared at each other for a bit. Then, calmly, Diamond spoke first. "{You look... different, somehow. There is something about you that is... brighter... than when last we met.}" He then gave a little giggle. "{Which, admittedly, has been quite a long time hence. Tell me, brother - how have you survived? How were you awakened?}"

Tourmaline's smile petered out, and he gave a heavy sigh. "{Onyx.}"

Diamond gave a small start at that, but Tourmy quickly added, "{Do not worry, as she is... unable to harm any of us, anymore. It is... a long story.}" He then looked at his sister with a slight grin. "{One that Obsidian would possibly be far better informed to tell than I would; after all, she was the hero of it.}"

Diamond looked at her with wonder. "{You are... a hero?}"

Not too long ago, it would have been sheer ludicrousness for her to be with Cupcake. In fact, it was probably the greatest evidence that Destiny worked in mysterious ways. After all, she was born a thousand years ago before him, and yet-

Oh, wait - her brothers were talking to her.

"Yes, I..." Wait, wrong language. "{Yes, I saved Equestria twice: once from Onyx, and once from Peridot. Onyx... tried to take over Equestria, while the spirit of our brother tried to commit genocide. So... yes, I suppose.}"

Diamond looked at her with sparkles in his eyes. "{Woooooooowwwwwww... you bested Onyx? AND you defeated Peridot's spirit? You must be quite astute to have even had the chance to best them! To outwit Onyx, and to undermine Peridot... I am in awe of your might, my sister!}"

Tourmaline gave a smile now. "{Oh, she did not do so alone; she had quite a bit of help from others to accomplish this. Including the diamond dog before you.}"

Gypsy blushed. "{This one is but a footnote in the annals of history; he was simply happy to have been of assistance.}"

Tourmy then smiled a bit wider. "{As well as a certain small guard mare...}"

Diamond's eyes lit up again. "{OH! You mean Stalwaat! Oh, to have seen her in battle must have been a treat for the eyes, yes?} He looked expectantly at Obsidian, almost begging for an answer.

"{She looked like a goddess of victory,}" Obsidian assured Diamond, "{and there were three other friends that helped us - my coltfriend Cupcake, a pegasus named Thunderclap and the Earth pony Mica. And with Peridot, I was also helped; at the end, I wouldn't have survived without the help of Princess Flurry Heart - from the Crystal Empire - fighting with him to buy me some time.}"

Diamond listened intently, but he sat bolt upright when she mentioned Flur. "{WHAAAAT!? Another princess who sits on the throne? But how can this be? What of Father, and what of all of us? What has become of us, Obsidyan?}"

Tourmaline sighed. "{We are displaced; the throne is no longer ours, and Father has been... dealt with in a manner that stands to contain him for quite some time.}"

Diamond looked stunned at the revelation. "{Oh... oh, poor Father; to have worked so hard, to have put so much of himself into his plans, just for them to... this is a LOT to take in, Obsidyan. I ache for him, yet I truly am a bit...}"

He looked hesitant to say what was on his mind, but he swallowed loudly and continued, "{... relieved, i-if I may say such a horrible thing about Father. He was our creator, yes... but he was not very kind to us.}" He then covered his mouth with his hooves. "{Darkness preserve! I did not mean to speak such blasphemy! Forgive me, sister!}"

Obsidian waved her hoof. "{Fret not, brother. I was in the group who defeated him, remember? He was trying to destroy us, but his spells couldn't reach us, and eventually we sealed his magic away. He is currently contained, and the more I learn about him, the less I respect him. In fact,}" she peeked at Tourmy, "{I'd call that 'blasphemy' a 'common sense realization'.}"

Diamond stared for a long time, just gawking at her. Then, he looked to Tourmaline, then Gypsy, then back to her once more. "{But... but... Father trained us. He was all we had between ourselves and the cruelty of the world. He kept us and prepared us, so that we would be ready when he needed us most. It may not have been a kindly upbringing, but it was STILL about bringing us up to where we could do what was needed to keep and grow our... o-our empire...}"

He looked down, and his next words were soft and quiet. "{... and you betrayed him?}"

"{Plenty of that cruelty was of his own doing, brother. He created us as mere tools, only to be used and discarded by him. His return alone killed sister Onyx, and as soon as he came back he attacked my friends and he hurt me. This way...}"

Her expression hardened. "{This way, at least he won't hurt anypony else.}" Even when he returned, she still had hopes that he could be reasoned with - and that didn't end well. "{Love, especially in a family... shouldn't go in only one direction.}"

Diamond didn't look up; he simply looked confused... and a bit hurt. "{This... this... Obsidyan, love - true, unfettered love - comes whether or not love comes back. I loved all of you. And I loved Father. He may not have loved me, but love should not require love in return; it is to be freely given, and any expectations about returns... sound selfish to me.}"

"{Father sacrificed so much of himself to create us... Obsidyan, we OWED him at least some of our love, did we not? We would not even exist, were it not for his toil at the Royal Spell Altars... where we were created.}"

He sighed. "{I... can comprehend why you have done what you have done, my sister... I do not agree, but I can understand. And I forgive you, as well... for there is no sense to hold any anger towards another.}" THIS was Father's creation? HOW!? How could someone who was so very caring about others - even those who would abuse him - have come from someone like her father?

Obsidian lowered her head a bit to look Diamond squarely in the eye. "{But it does require a positive return; otherwise, it turns into a pathological and sad mockery of itself. It isn't selfishness, but an honest requirement of a healthy, normal relationship. All of us were doing everything we could to satisfy our father, but in vain - he saw us as no more than tools, pets at best. The only reason he was defeated was because I realized that my feelings towards our father should not... must not... be manifested as total, complete obedience. Especially as it clashed with my love for our siblings and my friends.}"

She straightened her posture once again. "{Eventually, I had to stop him so he would stop hurting my friends. So he wouldn't kill any more of us. So he could have a chance to stop the madness he tried to unleash. In this case, my love towards him manifested in my pleads for him to change... and that's all.}" Who gave any right to this midget to forgive her for anything? What nerve!

But... Royal Spell Altars? Ah, now that was interesting; she wondered if there was anything in her books about them - if so, she could possibly be another step closer to bringing back sister Ruby.

Diamond looked down. "{I... see that I shall not be heard in this matter. Then I shall not speak of it again, Obsidyan. My apologies if I have upset you.}"

Tourmaline leaned forward towards him. "{Each of us had to discover for ourselves what we truly needed AND wanted from Life; I suspect it will not be long before you reach the same conclusion, my brother.}"

At that, Diamond looked up at him and smiled. "{You are so very different than you once were, Tourmaline... is this the sort of changes that being... independant from Father has wrought you?}"

Tourmy nodded. "{They are indeed. I have discovered that Life is not as bitter as I once thought, I have realized I am worth more than a tool... and... I have found love, Diamond.}"

The little stallion's eyes grew wide. "{OH! Have you? I suspect whomever he is, he is quite a talker, yes?}"

Gypsy looked at Obsidian and mouthed the word 'he?' Tourmaline just blushed a bit, and Diamond laughed - a very cheery sound, but not loud at all. "{Yes, he must be. I am so very happy for you, my brother, to have found so much of living to be worthwhile at last. I assume this means no more fooling around with dynamite?}"

Tourmaline balked, then laughed. "{So you recall that incident, brother of mine?}"

"{Where it took four hours to get that single stick of crude explosive from you?}" Diamond grinned. "{Why would I ever forget?}"

Obsidian blinked. Instead of admitting he'd made a mistake or an error in judgement, Diamond simply stepped back from the conversation. It wouldn't do... but at the moment, she really didn't want to argue the point anymore. Besides, he would find out what she meant soon enough.

But, uh, dynamite? And... Diamond seemed to guess that Tourmaline's interest was a 'him'? "{Apparently, you two have quite a history together, eh?}" Obsidian quirked an eyebrow.

"{I was already alive when Diamond came into existence,}" Tourmaline began, "{and I did not care one whit about any more siblings... but he cared for me. There were so many times he would heal us after fighting practice, after tortures, after just plain fights; he was always willing to help, even if we didn't need the assistance. The explosive he speaks of is when I stole one of Opal's more crude explosive sticks and was determined to end my life with it. I went into the tunnels, and made my way outside of the city - so that I wouldn't be stopped.}"

Diamond continued, "{But I followed. And when he was about to ignite the stick, I begged him not to do so. The next few hours were filled with conversation about duty, obligation and life in general. He eventually heard my logic, and we both returned to the palace.}"

"{Yes... I owe you my life, Mundy - many times over.}" Tourmaline gave Diamond a pat on the head.

Diamond waved the comment away. "{Love does not owe, Tourmaline - I would have done so at any time, for any one of you. I am a healer; I care for others, and help them to stay healthy. To do so was part of who I am.}"

Gypsy looked at Diamond. "{This one notices you spoke of... Royal Spell Altars? May he ask about them?}"

Diamond nodded. "{Of course, my liaison friend!}" The diamond dog tipped Siddy a wink; he knew what she'd wanted to hear about. "{The Royal Spell Altars are where each of us was brought to life; it is where Father once cast many of his armada's spellfire attacks from, and served him well for the defense of the Empire. They were capable of magics heretofore unseen in the world, and were miracles of magic in and of themselves. However, after our creations, he had them sealed off, forever forbidden to the rest of the world.}"

Gypsy cocked his head a bit. "{Sealed? Does this mean they may be reopened?}"

Diamond pondered the question. "{... yyyyyyes. Maybe. Perhaps. I am unsure... but I do know where they are located.}"

Magics unseen in this world... YES. And she didn't expect that Tourmy - after all of this brainwashing - really would want to end himself. This day was full of surprises.

"{You are older than Diamond, Tourmy?}" Obsidian's expression went to a curious look. "{But... Diamond, you said something that Radiant Hope helped in our creation, right? Yet, Tourmaline doesn't know anything about her...}"

"{Tourmaline did not have the chance to read Father's diary, either,}" Diamond spoke with the tiniest of smug smiles.

Tourmy stared at him for a moment, mouth open. "You... YOU were the one who read Father's diary!?" He'd completely slipped out of Crystallian to say it.

"{I was but one of three: myself, Amethyst, and...}" Suddenly, Diamond's muzzle fell. "{... and Jade. Oh, poor, poor Jade... if only I was strong enough to heal him... and yet, the curse would keep me from doing such. My poor, poor brother.}"

Tourmaline gave Obsidian a knowing glance; Mundy had said that their erstwhile sister had read Sombra's Diary... and now, they knew it. Maybe the field trip would be more revealing than Obsidian had first planned, now that she was aware of what Amy knew.

"{Diamond... you were not the one to send him to steal it, were you?}" Obsidian inquired.

Diamond balked this time. "{Darkness preserve, no! It had been Onyx's idea, yet Jade felt that she did not deserve to read it, as she was... difficult with him about it. So, in spite, he allowed us to read it over. I read more than half, but Amethyst read it through twice.}"

Very interesting. Sadly, it seemed that Diamond himself wasn't able to cure Jade, but perhaps...

"{Do you think you could heal Jade using these Royal Spell Altars?}" she asked with curiosity in her voice. Their father's diary... his knowledge, his thoughts... oh, how she would love to get her hooves on it! She was fairly sure all she would have to do would be to ask Princess Twilight for access to it... but there were always so many more things to do, and so little time to do them in!

Diamond pondered for a moment, then shook his head sadly. "{I am afraid it will not work that way, Obsidyan; Jade's Curse calls for him to 'prove his nobility', in order to break it. However, with as much as he has been through,}" Diamond unconsciously took up the phoenix plush and hugged it to himself, "{I am afraid there will BE no way to break the curse.}"
He looked sad for a moment, then simply gave a sigh...

Amy - now that could explain her smug behaviour, and her bragging about her knowledge of Dark Magic. She knew more than she'd let on! Obsidian was really looking forward to their little trip now. "{... and Radiant Hope. Please, tell us something more - I apparently look like her, for some reason...}"

When she mentioned Radiant Hope, Diamond looked at her sharply, but not unkindly. "{You mean... she who would be our mother.}" He looked very closely at her for a moment... then, he closed his eyes and gave a small smile.

"{I saw a portrait of her, once... and yes, Obsidyan - you bear her looks so very closely. From the very first page of Father's diary, her name was mentioned every single day. Though he had a small crush as a colt, his intent became pure friendship when he realized that romance with her would possibly risk changing that precious friendship...}"

He looked up again. "{And before he was a conqueror, his friendship with Hope was the only thing in the entire world that truly mattered to him. And when he... lost her... he was never the same again. It was what spurred him on to create us all, to perhaps fill the void caused by her loss.}"

Tourmaline asked, "{Do you know what happened to her, brother?}"

Diamond looked around at all of them... then, he hung his head in shame. "{I never got to finish the book; Father discovered it missing, and cast a spell to locate it; when it began to glow, I merely... I dropped it and hid myself, to avoid his wrath...}"

He closed his eyes. "{... of which, Jade got no such luxury.}"

Obsidian tapped her chin as she pondered. It seemed that Peridot was quite a clever bastard - a truly brilliant mind, if he was able to weave such an obscure condition into his curse. Hopefully they would be able to come up with a plan, using Luna's help; considering that she was able to wander into the dreams of others, perhaps there would be a way for Jade to get better and improve himself before releasing him? It would be worth a shot.

Of course, it would be safer to release him in another city. Country. On another continent. Just in case.

And another confirmation that she looked like Radiant Hope - was it just the whimsy of their father, that he crafted her this way?

"{So I will have to ask Amethyst, back home...}" Too bad these Altars couldn't be used to restore Jade - but still, they had so much potential!

Diamond's eyes flew open, his pupils shrank to the size of peas, and the phoenix went tumbling to the floor as Diamond shuffled backwards off the bed, panicking, and backpedaled quickly to the far corner of the room, utterly terrified.

"{SHE YET LIVES!? IN YOUR HOME!? NO OH DARKNESS SWEET DARKNESS PRESERVE, NO! NOT HER! NOT HER! }"

Gypsy was at his side in a moment, with Tourmaline right behind him. {"DIAMOND! Please, calm yourself!"} Tourmaline spoke up, worry writ large on his muzzle.

"{NONONO! NONONONONO! PLEASE, NO!}" He was almost in hysterics, he was so afraid!

Oh shit! She really should have known better - it was a very, very bad idea to mention that particular mare around him. Obsidian quickly galloped to him with his little phoenix; for a pony who had forgiven Tourmy without batting an eyelid, the fact he was so very afraid of Amy was scary. Practically terrifying. "{Brother! Please, calm down! You are safe here! You are safe with us!}" She tried to reach him.

Diamond squeezed his eyes shut, quivering with fear from every inch of his little body. "{PLEASE... PLEASE NO... PLEASE NO... nonono... nonononononono...}"

He curled up into a ball of pony, his eyes pouring tears, shaking like a leaf in a storm gale. Tourmy, Gypsy and Siddy all hugged him tightly, and he simply began to weep.

Apparently, this might need a long therapy session to deal with. Maybe two. Obsidian looked at Tourmaline with a questioning look. "Brother? Do you know anything about...?"

Tourmaline looked back at her, stricken yet calm. "Am-..." he glanced at Mundy, "... she was FAR worse than anything Father ever did to him; for a number of years, he was mostly her toy-slash-punching bag... and her favorite target to use her blade on. Repeatedly. She was mean to all of us, but since he was so little, she was doubly so with poor Mundy."

The little unicorn was shivering, and silent tears fell from his eyes as he made not another sound... like he was trying to hide from the memory of his terrible sibling.

"I cannot tell you how often I witnessed him having to heal himself," Tourmy continued, "... and what he was healing from was sometimes the stuff of fiction and nightmares."

Gypsy looked back at Obsidian. "This one... n-now has a bone to p-p-pick with your s-sister." He did NOT look happy. At all.

Well, it didn't sound very rational. Assuming Amy didn't want to train to become a surgeon, there was no reason why she would treat anypony that way - especially her own brother! Perhaps that's why she was so surprised that Obsidian was treating her so nicely.

"Gypsy... no. It wouldn't end well, I'm sure," she warned him. It was still very, very concerning.

Gypsy didn't protest... but his eyes narrowed slightly, as if he were making his own decisions as to what he'd be doing later.

Diamond sniffled, then looked up at Obsidian, looking both utterly helpless and strangely cute, like a stuffed phoenix. "{PLEASE Obsidyan! Do not tell her I live! I beg and beseech thee - let her believe I am dead! Do not tell her of me... please, Obsidyan!}"

"{I did not tell her of your return for that very reason, Diamond - worry not. She won't find out about you from me." If anything, Obsidian not only cared about Diamond enough to keep him from Amy, but she also didn't trust her sister that she wasn't trying to plot anything for Amber and Jade.

She needed that field trip - they needed to spend some time together and bond, even if it was over a dark crystal-ridden carcass of some animal.

It took a few minutes (and much reassurance) before Diamond finally managed to get to his hooves and made his way back onto the bed. Now, Tourmaline and Gypsy were flanking him on either side, with a chair for Obsidian directly in front of him. He was still shivering a little bit, and again, Siddy's eyes saw the large scar running down his little side, almost to his cutie mark...

A dark crystal heart with a bandage around its' middle, encased in an aura of light.

"{Are you better now?}" Gypsy asked with concern.

Diamond took a deep breath, let it out slowly, then gave a slight nod. "{I... sh-shall be better, given time, thank you Gypsee. I appreciate you more than you know... all of you. Thank you.}"

Tourmaline looked at him for a moment, then seemed to think of something. "{Diamond... from what you read of Father's Diary, was there perhaps any mention of the spell that gave us life?}"

Diamond nodded. {"Oh there was quite a bit written about it, yes - Father's notes held parts of the incantations, including some of Hope's notes. She was a wise and gifted spellcaster, and Father seemed to be quite taken with her research. Why do you ask?"}

Tourmy looked at Siddy with hope lit in his eyes. "{For a friend,}" he said with a grin.

"{Then I do hope your friend is well-versed in magics, because from what Father wrote, the spell is exceedingly dangerous. Each creation made with it requires a piece of the caster's soul and mind; I feel it is why Father became as he was. We cost him too dearly.}"

"{This one is trying to understand - Sombra could create life?}"

Diamond shook his head. "{Nay, Gypsee - the spell expands what is put into it, and allows magic to fill in the remaining spaces within. It creates a manner in which a life can be made, but it does not manufacture life from nothing. It is why the spell is supposedly very dangerous; it may take more of you than you realize.}"

Clever Tourmy - he remembered that Obsidian was looking to create a new body for Ruby... but Diamond's response was somewhat disheartening. Soul and mind? She didn't know exactly what would be the difference between those two, in this case. Was it only Ruby's mind within her? Was it Ruby's soul? Both?

Obsidian hazarded a guess that it was at least her mind, as in the dreams she was clearly sentient... but her soul?

"{So then... the soul and mind act as a seed? Magic fills the void, so that's why we aren't just smaller copies of Sombra. Does this mind and soul have to come from the caster directly?}" After all, Obsidian didn't want to create children for Ruby or herself - but to put her soul into a whole new body. Perhaps this spell wasn't exactly fitting for this specific goal...

Diamond looked at her with a somewhat confused stare. "{Er, I... th-the spell says it requires a portion of mind and soul, but... it does not mention such a thing, to be honest. I am not an expert on this sort of magic, so I will not guess and have you take it as law; though I do not believe the spell will act with an unwilling subject, should that be a thought.}"

Good to know; it meant nobody could be forced to cast the spell.

"{And your statement about our not being direct copies is correct; we are our own, unique personae, and we exist just as much as any other creature in Equestria... our origins are simply different.}"

"{This much is certain,}" Gypsy chuckled.

Perhaps at least her theory about the changes in Sombra's personality was correct? "{Do you... Diamond, do you think that the order in which we were created, and in which the different parts of Sombra's soul were harvested, had an influence on our personalities?}"

He smiled for the first time since the mention of you-know-who, and nodded vigorously. "{Yes! That is listed within the spell notes! The order, perhaps, is not as important... but what goes in most certainly shapes what comes to be! Very astute, my sister! I am beginning to see why Onyx and Peridot stood no chance against you!}"

"{Each of us,}" he continued, "{has a portion of Father's mind and soul within us; depending on which portion we have, it shapes who we are to become. I know of a few of my siblings portions, but not all.}"

"{Then, you come from his kindness?}" Gypsy asked, and Diamond laughed out loud.

"{YES! That is correct!}" No wonder he was so little... "{Our personae are not written by what is within us, but guided, instead. It is a voice inside us that tells us what we think would be best thing to do - even if it ultimately turns out to be a bad decision. We have the capacity to outgrow or ignore such thoughts... but it would not be easy.}"

Well, it honestly wasn't that surprising; anypony who knew about this whole shard bussiness and had met both Diamond and Amethyst would suspect that something was rather fishy here. But then... what part of Sombra's soul was Obsidian herself forged from?

Her, ah... conditioning... wasn't too hard to break; perhaps she only changed sides because Tourmy tried to kill her (otherwise she would have happily joined her siblings), but even then she already had a few friends (or candidates for friendship) by that time. And of course, she turned out to be rather, ahem, open to love. Very open. And contrary to her father, she didn't know (or care to know) if love would ruin her friendship - a good thing, because she couldn't imagine her life without Cupcake at the moment.

"{So... there should be some explanation in the order of our creation, perhaps. Maybe further creations were, I don't know, weaker? More prone to cruelty?}" she mused.

Diamond and Tourmaline both nodded. "{As each of us were created,}" Tourmaline spoke up, "{Father became more and more unstable. More cruel. More angry... and it's quite possible it's because Mundy here had Father's kindness... so Father would have either had a diminished leftover... or none at all.}"

Diamond shuddered and hugged himself. "{Yes. The caster will lose a portion of themselves in the casting, but Hope's notes claim it is a wound that can heal, given time and attention. And love, as that is the balm that can heal the world.}"

Tourmaline rolled his eyes. "Okay, that was a bit sappy, even from YOU, Mundy."

Diamond gave a soft laugh. "{Perhaps a bit, yes... yet no less true.}"

Obsidian clapped happily. "{So then... with Cupcake's help, I'd be able to create an entire ARMADA on my own!}" she exclaimed happily. "{That is... if I ever need one, of course.}"

Diamond stared at her. Gypsy stared at her. Both seemed a bit disturbed by her statement; Tourmaline simply gave a chuckle. "Perhaps, but maaaaaaaaybe you two can make an army of your own without the altars, too... the natural way."

Now, the other two began to laugh - and it was a strange sound, between the wheezey chuckle of Gypsy Rover to the soft, tittering giggle of Diamond. "{Honestly, you two - you should relax a bit more,}" Tourmaline smirked, "{Siddy has quite a sense of humor, you know.}"

Hmmm... actually, they were right; an army of golems would be far better. Not that she would ever need any - it was just a theoretical musing. To defend Equestria from villains, she had to think like villain!

Juuuuuust not too often.

"{Only after marriage, Tourmy,}" Obsidian grinned.

At that, all three laughed loud and hearty. "{I am very pleased that you came to see me, my sister... my brother... and my friend.}"

Gypsy grinned happily, tail-a-wag.

"{I am humbled that Fate would see me through what I have experienced, and has now placed me into a world I could only imagine... where there is light, love and laughter - things that were impossible to find during Father's reign. I consider myself blessed by the spirit of luck itself.}"

Gypsy grinned. "{This one is glad to know you, Diamond; after all, you are one of his favorite kinds of gems! And you are so well-versed in Crystal Empire history that he has enjoyed every minute of our conversations! This one can hardly wait until we broach modern history, where he can teach you!}"

Mundy nodded. "{Obsidyan is fortunate to have a friend like you, Gypsee.}"

So he knew that Sombra's regime was cruel and sad - and yet, just a moment ago, he was accusing her of betrayal. At least it seemed that, just as Obsidian guessed, Gypsy had a great time with him... which only left the question of how much did Diamond traumatize Stalwart? He was still alive, so it couldn't have been too harsh.

"{Yes, I'm a very fortunate mare, brother. I can hardly wait until you meet the rest of our friends.}" Gypsy seemed to be having the time of his life lately - first he met Celestia and Luna, and now he was spending time with Diamond (who, thanks to the fact that he was far less isolated than Obsidian was, probably knew more about ancient history than she did).

"{Besides, now that we are all here... do you remember brother Quartz?}" Obsidian asked; might as well get some inside informaton while she could, right?

"{Quartz?}" Mundy gave a half-grin. "{The fashion plate? Obsidyan, I remember all of my siblings - save you, of course. And now, that circle is complete. But as for he, Quartz is not as angry or worrisome as some of our other brethren, to be sure.}"

Tourmaline spoke up. "{Quartz never was much for pain and suffering; he was more interested in looking good while he did whatever was ordered of him. He is no simpleton, but... he isn't the darkest shadow in the night, either.}"

Diamond looked to his brother. "{Be kind, Tourmaline - that sounds so strange to say! - and there is little call to make light of him that way.}"

Tourmy just shrugged. "{Facts are facts, and he wasn't exactly in the same caliber as, oh, Onyx or Peridot, that's for sure.}"

Diamond nodded. "{True, but all the same...}" He then turned back to Obsidian. "{What did you wish to know about him?}"

Obsidian tapped her chin in thought. "{Well, I am aware that he works as a fashion designer - under his real name, too. I'm just curious if it is possible that he plans something cruel and terrible for Equestria. Because, as you know, I have a rather terrible track history with our siblings.}" She glared slightly at Tourmy - she never did get to jog with Clap that morning.

Tourmaline rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes - I get it, ha ha, quite a-MU-sing," he grumped in Equestrian, but he didn't seem too terribly upset by the comment. A bit chagrined, but not upset.

Diamond thought for a moment before answering his sister. "{Quartz... isn't the type who would try to conquer anything; he was far more at home with his artworks and his fabrics and metals. Not only was he an expert tailor, but he was a rather competent blacksmith, as well.}"

Tourmy nodded. "{Father's trademark steel boots and cloak? Those are Quartz's creations, to give you an idea.}"

Diamond nodded his agreement. "{Yes; regardless of how your interactions with the others may have gone, I am highly doubtful that he is plotting, scheming OR conniving; he was among the youngest of us within the palace, and was either doing what Father told him to, or he was making his designs. It does please me to hear that he not only lives, but is doing something he truly loves.}"

Siddy nodded, then pondered aloud. "{So... I should be able to just walk in, hug him and say that I'm glad to find another lost relative? That doesn't sound too bad... and I'll need a wedding dress soon, so finding him was apparently quite lucky for me.}"

Gypsy and Diamond both smiled at that. "{I do hope, Obsidyan, that your mate-to-be is kind; I am quite ready to make friends, as I have been told about by Princess Twilite! I look forth to meeting him, and perhaps adding him to the list of friends I wish to make while I am here!}"

Tourmaline gave his own smirk. "{Kind? Well, he most certainly counts as one of a kind. Thankfully.}"

"{Oh, he is exceedingly kind... and he makes delicious sweets. Do you like sweets, Diamond?}" There was a small glimmer of hope that she'd be able to find out something more about their previous lives, here.

Diamond gave a bit of a blink, confused. "{... sweets? What is this?}"

Tourmaline looked at Obsidian. "Chances are, he has no idea what those are, Siddy." He then turned to face Mundy. "{Obsidian speaks of candies, a delacacy here in Equestria, that can be found on almost any corner, in any town. Have you ever had anything that tasted... sweet?}"

Again, he looked a bit confused. "{I do not know...}" He looked at Obsidian. {"What is the taste of 'The Sweet'?}"

Okay, that was a point for their father - for a moment, Obsidian was afraid that she would turn out to be the only child of his without any access to sweets - just like she was the only one without any access to the outer world, or to the knowledge of her siblings' existences. It seemed, however, that his dietary regime was equally opressive to them all.

"{You shall learn soon enough; I'll certainly ask Cup to bake something for our next visit.}" Obsidian really couldn't help but smile at the little stallion; he was simply adorable - she was sure his first encounter with sweets was going to be wonderful.

Diamond nodded, then gave her a curious look. "{Obsidyan... when may I leave this room?}"

Tourmaline looked at Obsidian with a questioning glance as well.

"{There is sunlight outside, and I miss its' warmth on my coat... and I truly wish to see this land of Equestria, as I have seen ponies of many colors since I have been within this place... and I desire to find Stalwaat, so that I may discover what she likes, what she knows, what she wants from life...}"

Diamond hugged the little stuffed phoenix to himself; Siddy certainly hit the target with that idea.

"{I feel... a bit trapped. I have been told that I am under observation, yet no one here has yet told me when I will be well enough to leave... and I have not the capacity to ask them.}"

Gypsy stood up. "{This one shall inquire on your behalf, then - as a proper liaison should do. A moment, if you please.}"
With that, Gypsy made his way out into the hall, closing the door behind him.

Mundy looked back at his siblings. "{I am unsure how to... approach the subject, but when I am released from here, where shall I be expected to live? It sounds as though I would not be allowed within the Crystal Palace any longer, and so I wonder where I shall sleep at night?}"

He felt trapped, did he? This room was already bigger than Obsidian's had been, back in the Crystal Empire - which would, among other things, explain a bit why she was so obedient at the beginning. Considering that Diamond apparently had a bit more freedom than she once did, it was probably to be expected that he wouldn't react to isolatiation as well as she would.

"{I wouldn't fret; when I first arrived, I was living for quite some time within the castle suites here.}" That would be the most logical thing; after all, she REALLY didn't want to move him into in the same house with Amethyst.

Well... at least The Applejack Suite would be rather empty.

"{Castle? There is another castle? But why? Does not Equestria fall under the purview of the Crystal Empire?}"

Tourmaline rolled his eyes and sighed. "{More like the other way around, Mundy.}"

Diamond looked stunned.

"{The Crystal Empire is ruled by an Equestrian princess, who is married to an Equestrian guardspony. She's very nice, actually... but our Empire is sadly in a subordinate position to Equestria,}" Obsidian explained, "{and I meant Princess Twilight's castle.}"

"{The purple alicorn mare - she has a palace? Her Crystallian is... er... entertaining to hear, yet sadly is not advanced enough for her to truly understand my speech. Obsidyan, might you be willing to teach me to speak Equestrian, so that I may communicate with others better?}"

He then gave a tiny grin. "{Especially Stalwaat Stanze; I cannot wait to proclaim my heart to her!}"

Tourmy looked at Obsidian with a glance that said she should try to get him to knock it off... but, DID Diamond have a chance? She would need to talk with Stalwart - Obsidian had no idea how much she would approve of this sort of behaviour. It didn't exactly help that Diamond only seemed to have a crush on her because of her appearance. Let's be fair - Obsidian fell into Cup's embrace because of his personality, not his appearance.

"{We'll surely do our best, brother,}" she reassured him. "{Might I ask how much Equestrian you DO know?}"

Diamond answered instantly. "{My name is very similar, and I can undertand it fluently; otherwise, I know nothing of speaking it. Father was quite strict about my being well-versed in Crystallian - after all, it was his goal to make it the ONLY language in the entire world.}"

Tourmaline nodded. "{He WAS rather strict on Crystallian, but with some help and practice, the rest of us learned a good bit of Equestrian. But father was relentless with Mundy, because he expected him to teach the world our words.}"

Diamond sighed. "{Another dream, dead and gone.}"

Would the inevitable slave ponies even have use for speaking in a restored Umbral Empire? Perhaps the Umbrals, brought back into this world by any means their father had planned, would speak Crystallian too?

"{Well, it's not that difficult, my brother - language normally doesn't dominate so many territories without being rather... simple - you should be able to learn to speak it fairly quickly. We may lack the proper books that could help us, though.}" After all, how many books could be made to help teach native speakers of ancient Crystallian, the Equestrian language? It would have been terribly niche.

Tourmaline began to smile. "{And you know, you might still be able to accomplish a similar goal... I mean, what is to stop you from teaching Equestria how to speak Crystallian?}"

Diamond mulled the idea over. "{Would... would they have me as a teacher of students? It would not be impossible, I suppose... and it would still allow me to teach, instead of conquer - which I am not created for, obviously.}"

It did sound like a good idea; Diamond could feasibly get a job at the school, teaching Ancient Crystallian... if, of course, there were enough students interested in learning it, that was.

"{We could always ask Gypsy how he learned to speak Crystallian - he is surprisingly fluent, so he surely had a very good teacher or translation book. Anyway, his experience could be quite helpful.}" Obsidian realized.

After all, what was the chance that a young diamond dog - a member of a not-so-popular species among ponies - would learn something like that? Especially at such young age?

Diamond's smile widened. "{Oh, Gypsee is a wonderful individual! He knows so much about history, and he is so polite and kind! Oh, Obsidyan, I am so very glad to have met him - I am in awe of how incredible your friend is!}"

Tourmaline looked to Obsidian. "Maybe it would be best to stop him here, before he meets Thunderclap?" He chuckled, then turned back to Mundy. "{Obsidian knows many interesting individuals, and has a knack for friendship that leaves the rest of us in the proverbial dust. They even threw her a party.}"

"Hey! Thunderclap is just great, thank you very much! Just... don't let her race him." She could accidentially step on him.

Diamond nodded... then looked at Obsidian again. "{Please, what is 'The Partee'?}"

"{It's a small festival; plenty of dancing, eating, drinking and laughing.}" Hopefully her short explanation would be enough. To be fair, she'd missed quite a lot of her own party because she was busy with with discussing how to save the world/Equestria/herself/her siblings... again. Luckily, Cupcake made the portion she attended much more interesting.

"{Oh - a festival? You mean the celebration that the Crystallians used to throw during father's time as a colt? That would be... interesting to observe, as I have only read about Festival before.}"

The door opened, and Gypsy came in, tail wagging. {"Good news, everyone!"} he said, {"The scientific staff have told this one that you are clear and free of disease, that they have taken all sorts of pictures and diagrams of you for their records, and that you will be allowed to leave later this very day!}"

Diamond jumped up out of bed and looked absolutely thrilled to hear the news. "{How wonderful! Obsidyan, I will be FREE today!}" He then paused, as the thought went further than he'd expected it to.

"{I... I am free...}"

The realization that he was indeed free of all his pains, his past worries (mostly), and his father's control. As she saw it hit home within him, he turned to Tourmaline with tears in his eyes.

"{... I am free. I am Free. I AM FREEEEEEEEE!}"

He then grabbed up Tourmaline in a hug, and spun him around like he was as light as a feather! The stallion was at least TWICE the size of little Mundy, yet he lifted and swung him as if he were nothing more than a sheet of parchment!

"{Okay, OKAY, Mundy! I'm glad too, just put me down!}" Tourmaline laughed as he tried to get his brother to release him.

It was quite an an amusing sight... but it also meant that Diamond would need a lot of help! Friends... social interactions... ooooh, he would surely LOVE Professor Fluttershy! There were just so many things they could do together - and as long as they didn't come across Amy, everything was going to be great!

"{Hmmmm... Gypsy, did they happen to mention where Diamond will be living? Wasn't he asked to meet with Lemon or something...?}" Her own first interaction with Lemon Custard had initially been rather... sour.

Gypsy smiled. "A-a-actually, they have told this one that th-they wish Diamond t-t-to meet with another official, a st-stallion by the name of Stonewall. He will b-be waiting at the p-p-palace; he should only have to a-ask after him."

Tourmaline chuckled as he brushed his coat back into place after Diamond's display. "{Do you hear, brother? Stonewall is whom you shall meet with, and hopefully he will assist you in getting situated here.}"

Diamond nodded, then looked to the diamond dog. "{Gypsee, will you accompany me, please? It would be embarrassing if I had to speak with him, only to discover he knows not our language.}"

"{Of course, dear friend,}" Gyspy answered in Crystallian, "{as your liaison, it is the duty of this one to accompany you and help you communicate with the world around you. He would be honored to do so.}"

Diamond clapped his hooves in excitement, and turned back to face Siddy and Tourmy. "{Shall you both accompany me, too? Oh, it would be such a wonderful thing, getting to witness the Equestrian world for the first time, surrounded by my my new friend and my wonderful siblings!}"

Honestly, Obsidian had a few other plans for today... but she really didn't think any of them had to be dealt with immediately. As far as she was concerned, she should try to bond with her brother as much as possible, anyway.

"{Yes, brother - I shall gladly come with you.}" Perhaps she would meet some familiar faces in the process? Maybe even Cupcake would catch up with them.

Diamond let out a tiny little squeaking sound, and jumped almost to the ceiling! "{I am happiness incarnate! Please, Gypsee, tell me that we may leave now, so that I may experience the pure bliss of living!}"

Gypsy chuckled. "{You will have to go to the front desk, and they will present you with your bill of health; you may leave after that, yes.}"

Diamond quickly grabbed up his stuffed phoenix and set it on his back, in a prime position to see everything clearly. "{Then there is no time like the present! Onward!}"

With that, he marched proudly out of the door, with a grinning Gypsy, an eye-rolling Tourmaline, and a broadly smiling Obsidian right behind him.

Author's Notes:

Oh? And what's this? Details surface about Sombra, and how he might not have been who Obsidian thought he was. Perhaps she'll be able to put more pieces together soon...

Diamond is heart-achingly adorable; I wanted to make certain there was a light and happy character in this story among Sombra's Shards, because spanning a number of personality types proves they aren't mere clones; they are living, breathing pones - and each pone is their own being. (*except Mary Sue characters; those are cabbages.)

And so, Diamond gets his first actual day outside, after being cooped in in a shard first, then in a laboratory. Next chapter, Ponyville gets a dose of Diamond... let's hope the residents have enough of a sweet tooth to withstand the adorable onslaught!

Thirty Three: Diamond's Day Out

It was refreshing to see that King Sombra, their tyrannical father, could spawn somepony so kind and enthusiastic as Diamond; perhaps he wasn't so bad, after all.

But then, why would he scar himself with the creation of thirteen children in such a manner as this spell? Perhaps Diamond was small, but it was clear that there was something good in King Sombra. At least, good enough to create him. Mysteries after mysteries...

The front desk receptionist was kind, and once she finished giggling from Diamond and his plushie's antics, she presented him with his papers. After allowing him to sign for them (for which he wrote in beautiful loopy Crystallian cursive), she smiled and wished him well, which he heartily returned... and Gypsy dutifully translated.

When they stepped outside, Diamond just stood there for a moment, taking in all the sights of just being outdoors. His head slowly tracked from one side to the other, then back as he seemed to drink in every detail. When he spoke, it wasn't the chipper, gleeful sound he'd been making, but once of awe and reverence.

"{Never has the veil of beauty ever been so fully revealed unto me, lo this very day, as I wonder at the wonder that lies before me...}"

His eyes teared up a bit as Gypsy sidled up to Obsidian. "Your brother q-q-quotes a classic nov-v-vel, from the Empire before S-Sombra's rule; this one is impressed that he kn-knows such things."

"{Mine eyes hath seen the glory...}" Obsidian mused under her breath while Diamond was feasting his heart on the sights in front of him - and that was merely the beginning! Her little (yet older) brother had so many things to see, so many new experiences to live through! Friendship! Laughter! Magic! Snugg-...

... okay, there would be some lines. But all that could come along later; right now, the little stallion with the big heart (and the plushie phoenix) needed his moment to enjoy it all.

Mundy looked back at Obsidian and the rest with tears on his cheeks. "{It is the most beautiful sight that my eyes have ever witnessed...}" He then sniffled, wiped his eyes and gave a smirk and a light chuckle. "{Save for Stalwaat Stanze, of course.}"

The three of them made their way along the path that would lead them to (and through) the castle proper - after all, the facility was attached to it, but they were taking the long way... just for little Diamond. And he seemed to appreciate it so very much.

When they reached the front gates, the guards directed them to the office section... however, when the name 'Stonewall' was brought up, the guards all had a similar reaction; each one made some sort of expression that told Obsidian they probably didn't care for this 'Stonewall' very much.

Eventually, they reached a door that held a placard on it that proclaimed:

[Cpt. Stonewall Peavine]

Tourmaline shrugged and sat down at one of the nearby waiting chairs. "If you don't mind, I'll sit this one out right here; probably some boring talk anyway, and that office surely can't hold us all."

"{Will you come with me, Obsidyan? I would very much like to have you with me to meet this Stonewall! Perhaps we can all be friends!}" He looked so hopeful.

Obsidian actually had no idea who this 'Stonewall' was. What should they expect to find waiting behind that door? "{We can try, my brother,}" she replied carefully, "{but it is possible I could be asked to leave - I am not your liaison, after all.}"

"{Regardless,}" Gypsy spoke up, "{this one shall be with you, too; even if Obsidian is sent away, they surely cannot send a liaison away as well, yes? You shall be fine."}

The little unicorn nodded, and then reached up to timidly knock on the door.

"Yes, fine - come in," said a bored and... familiar?... voice.

Diamond looked back at Gypsy and his sister and nodded, grinned bravely to Tourmaline, then went inside.

The office was, to be blunt, a bit of a mess. There were stacks of papers all over, along with a number of swords, a few crossbows, and even a few pieces of plate armor. All were neatly polished and exactly stacked, but the room was just cluttered with so many various objects, there was nowhere to sit down at. In the center of the place was a large desk, made out of what looked like steel. The desktop was organized, but every inch of desk space was taken up by announcements, notices, messages and more.

But it was who she saw sitting behind the desk that told her this could possibly be a bad moment for them all...

"YOU!" he said as soon as he saw Obsidian, and pointed a hoof right at her. It was the pastry thief!

Any trace of a smile simply dropped from Obsidian's muzzle when she saw who this mysterious 'Stonewall' was. Of all the possible ponies around, it just haaaaaaaad to be the thief that tried to ruin Thunderclap's only joy that day! Obsidian started to raise her hoof... then thought a moment about it, realized her situation - more importantly, Diamond's situation - and put it back down with a huff.

"Me," she said with a deadpan voice to match her current expression. The two of them glared at each other for nearly a solid minute before they both heard a voice.

"{Greetings and salutations!}" Mundy was looking up at him, oblivious to the exchange. Gypsy, however, took a step back and watched with apprehensive eyes, being spooked by the initial reaction.

Captain Peavine blinked, and turned his angry gaze on Diamond. "That better NOT have been an insult!"

"P-p-please, it w-was not a-an ins-s-sult to y-you, good c-c-c-captain," Gypsy stumbled out, "i-it is a g-g-gr-g-greeting, n-nothing m-m-more."

Peavine eyeballed the little unicorn, then looked back up at Obsidian. "And YOU... why are YOU here?"

Oh, sweet embrace of Darkness, this going to be fun - and by 'fun', she meant 'ripping your own horn out from the middle of your skull using nothing but your own hooves' kind of fun. "Because I can speak ancient Crystallian. Fairly well. Thank you." It was one of the reasons, sure... just not the most important one; the bastard didn't need any more fuel for the fire he was undoubtedly going to attempt to burn Diamond with.

The stern-muzzled stallion turned and gave a look to Gypsy. "And YOU?"

"Th-th-th-this o-one i-i-is-" the diamond dog stammered, being put on the spot by an agitated unicorn.

"Taking too long, is what you are! If SHE can do the job, then YOU can wait outside, dog!"

Gypsy's ears drooped, his tail hung, and he looked like someone just crushed his paper swan. "Ap-p-p-ap-pol-"

"Just go!" Peavine yelled, and Gypsy padded out of the room quickly with a yip, closing the door behind him. Peavine now sat back s-l-o-w-l-y in his seat, examining them both.

"Now, I was told that this would be another refugee from the Crystal Empire, one that I would be in charge of, generally speaking. I don't know what YOU have to do with this little pone, but with you here, I'm getting a few ideas..." The smirk he put on was anything but reassuring.

"So - is this your friend, by any chance?" He seemed to be quite interested to hear the reply.

Diamond just looked a bit confused, and looked to Siddy with a raised eyebrow.

She could simply kill him; considering the reactions of the other guards, nopony would miss him very much. If anything, she might even get some congratulatory gift baskets. "I literally just met him yesterday... and for your information, you've just rudely sent away his official liaison." The ancient and sacred art of half-truths was going to be demonstrated quite frequently today, it seemed.

"{Oh, Obsidyan is my dear, dear sister - and she is a wonderful sister at that! I am pleased to meet you; my name is Diamond, and I would like to be your friend, if I may?}" Diamond chirped happily.

Peavine slowly narrowed his eyes at Mundy as he spoke, then glanced at Obsidian. "Well?" he said, ignoring her comments, "what did he say?"

"{Use caution, Diamond - this one is not a nice pony.}" Granted, Lemon didn't start too nice either - but at least he didn't try to steal her pastries. "He said that he is pleased to meet you, his name is Diamond, and he wants to... *sigh* to be your friend," she translated almost completely and utterly truthfully.

Diamond looked at her with a curious glance, but Peavine just barked a laugh. "HA! A stallion that small would have little to offer in the realms of royalty, where I spend much of my time, by the way - besides, I already have all the friends I need, and you seem... seem..."

Stonewall leaned forward, his eye going from Diamond's flank to Siddy's, back and forth for a moment, before a slow, wicked grin crossed his features. He then sat back in his chair, pleased with himself.

Jynx was right - FUCK was the perfect word, right now.

Diamond looked back at Peavine again, and then cleared his throat. "*ahem* {Well, though I may not be very important, I would still wish to get to know others during my time here. Yet, I understand if you do not wish to become friends yet; I can wait for that.}" He smiled beatifically at the captain; the smile went unreturned.

"Ask him if he has any previous experience with something along the lines of actual work," the captain said to Obsidian, still grinning like a hyena about to feed.

Was this little fish in a big pond thinking far too much of himself? He certainly was full of himself - annoyingly so. By 'spending much of his time in realms of royalty', he probably meant scrubbing their toilets or something of the sort.

With a heavy sigh, Obsidian reached into her saddlebags and placed a very specific bracelet on her leg. She needed Flur - for some mental stability... or at least a good source of creative swears.

Flurry? she thought, Are you available?

"{Diamond,}" she said aloud, "{he asks if you have had any experience with labor. Or perhaps I should simply introduce you as a medic?}"

Diamond looked at Obsidian with an 'are you serious?' smirk. "{Do you forget that I can understand him? He is the one who requires translation, not me, silly sister!}" Diamond smiled kindly at her. "{But yes, please inform him that I am of a medical ability in my work. Perhaps he would like that?}"

"Okay, what was all that junk?" Peavine said.

Whoa! Sids, is that you? What's up, buttercup? Did you manage to get any of your siblings free yet?

Didn't he say earlier that he didn't know Equestrian? Or... er, did he? "He's a healer... a talented one."

Of course it's me, DUH - did you expect anypony else? Have you possibly made more bracelets like this? To be fair, it was a rather silly question from Flurry. Yes, Diamond is free and he is oh-so-very cute! What is going up with you, my friend?

"Healer? Him?" Peavine goggled at her, then sneered at Diamond's stature. "He looks to me like someone who could barely hold up a cotton swab!"

"{Oh! Does he possibly wish to see a demonstration that I can hold up a... kottan swhab?}"

"What'd he say now?" The captain looked somewhere between trying to figure out the words and not caring much either way.

Ha ha, fuck you - but hey, you got Diamond free - totes awes! And... you say he's cute, eh? Has he got a marefriend yet? Obsidian heard a slight chuckle on Flur's end.

Well, on the subject of fu-... actually, n-nevermind. For some reason, Obsidian got the feeling that if she told Flurry, it wouldn't be long before everyone knew; maaaaaaaybe she'd keep that particular tidbit to herself. For now. But if she DID tell anyone first, who better than Flurry Heart? He is making a valiant effort, but... heh... well, Stalwart doesn't seem to be too eager for his affections, at least at the moment - but he's still trying.

"Captain, this stallion has healed many, many wounds in his lifetime - some being rather terrible ones. This includes the one that gave him that nasty scar on his side," Obsidian earnestly tried to communicate with this... asshat. But unfortunately, the asshat was an asshat.

Really? First Lemon Custard, now Stonewall Peavine; why did it seem like every officer responsible for Sombra's children was hoofpicked for their rude manner and annoying behaviors!?

Peavine looked at the scar she mentioned; he seemed unimpressed. "Hmmph - if he was really as good as you claim, there wouldn't be a scar, now would there? Well, it's fine anyway," he went on, shuffling papers about as he spoke, "because I already have a work assignment for you, once we get past this meeting... and I'm sure you'll just love it."

THAT couldn't be good.

"{He has found an assignment I will enjoy? Wonderful! Perhaps he will be my friend after all!}"

STALWART!? Are you fucking serious - he wants STALWART!? Hooooooooly SHIT, that's fuckin' hilarious!

Obsidian tried to breathe as she attempted to spread her attention properly. "{I do not believe so, Diamond.}" Inhale. Exhale. "I do think that, after being wounded in so gravely a manner, a scar was the least of his worries." Inhale. Exhale. I'm going to MURDER the bastard... INHALE. EXHALE...

The captain waved away her comment with a hoof. "Yes, whatever - where he's going, he won't need those skills, anyway... because he's going to the dungeons!"

Peavine pointed an accusatory hoof at Diamond, and the little unicorn gasped, finally beginning to see what Obsidian was trying to tell him.

The guardpone laughed mockingly at him as he sat back down in his chair. "... to clean them."

Diamond looked at Obsidian, worry writ large on his little muzzle.

"There's a rather sizable number of cells that require cleaning down there, since we don't ever have much call to USE them anymore... so, as his first assignment under MY authority, he is to report to the palace dungeons, grab a mop and bucket - maybe even a sponge - and get to work."

He shuffled through a few more papers, then lifted one up and inspected it closely. "Looks like the Rainbow Suite's open; he can park his flank there, and if he doesn't like it, too bad."

"{Obsidyan... have I done something to make him angry with me? He seems like he might make a good friend, if he would just calm down a bit...}" Diamod looked concerned; was he under the impression that HE had made a mistake here? OOOOOOH, Obsidian was NOT going to have that!

"What's he yammering now?" Peavine asked, the tone of his voice starting to reach that perfect pitch of whine and exasperation that could drive someone over the edge...

Yooooooooooo... what's with all the feelings of hate comin' down the proverbial pipeline, here? What gives?

This stupid fucking asshole guard captain wants to assign Diamond to dungeon cleaning! I'm a fucking Daughter of Sombra, by Darkness! I know some nasty fucking spells and soon e-fucking-nough, I'm going to fucking use them!!! I can marry Cupcake in prison, OKAY!?

Obsidian wasn't in a very good mood at the moment.

"{He tried to steal my pastries, Diamond - and then got angry when I didn't let him,}" she explained shortly. {"He's just a type of small, pathetic creature who got a bit too much power, and now tries to abuse it, all the while failing to notice that bullying the daughter of one of the most notorious warlocks in history can be extremely dangerous... silly, isn't it?}"

Obsidian narrowed her eyes, not bothering to give Peavine a reply.

"{Obsidyan.}"

There was something... authorative... in Diamond's voice as he spoke. "{Are you allowing him to control your joy? Your kindness? Your heart? No - this is not how you handle someone who is angry and spiteful; do not allow his hate to dwell within you, Obsidyan... else you only become him through your own actions.}"

He looked at Peavine again, but still spoke to Obsidian. "{When spite is your enemy, give it nothing TO spite; tell him I thank him for my assignment, and I appreciate his work on my behalf. Please.}"

"Well? Are you going to tell me anything?" Peavine looked practically livid. "What. Did. He. Say!?"

"{Do not let others steal your happiness, Obsidyan - for they always replace it with hatred,}" Diamond said softly.

FUCKOLA, Sids! What the Tartarus did this guy do to get to you like this? SHIT! Who the fuck IS this ass-clown?

Captain Stonewall... he's currently trying to bully my brother, and he puts my kindness, patience and benevolence to the test! I can stand it when somepony tries to irritate or harass me... but my friends and siblings are OFF-FUCKING-LIMITS.

"He... thanks you... for his assignment... and appreciates your work on his behalf," she replied haltingly through clenched teeth; she was already plotting revenge.

Diamond smiled at her sweetly, while Peavine eyeballed them both for a moment. "I fail to see how so many words are needed to say something so simple... but good. Glad to hear he appreciates it."

He swiveled his chair until he reached another stack of papers, riffled through them and pulled out a single sheet. "And I'm GLAD he appreciates it, because there is plenty of work to be done around here! Since he likes it so much, I'll be sure to add a few other tasks as well..."

He then gave Obsidian a snotty grin. "You know... because he'll appreciate that, won't he?"

Stone- CAPTAIN FUCKING PEAVINE?! SHIT! Fuck, Sids, I'm sorry about that shit; he was here for a few years, until Dad got a number of complaints about his behavior toward the other guards. He was an insufferable fuckin' turd! THAT'S why Dad reassigned him to Auntie Twily's castle; so he wouldn't have to look at the fucker anymore! Oh, fuck me with the moon, Sids - that SUCKS.

Mentally, Obsidian sighed. Well... on a brighter note, I proposed to Cupcake.

HOLY SHITBALLS! Woo hooo! Way ta go, Siddy! FUCK yeah! You'd BETTER send me an invite to the damned thing, gurl! Guess you get the High-Score, you magnificent bitch, you! YAAAA-HOOOOOO!

"Now," Peavine went on, "make sure he knows he's to report to the dungeons bright and early tomorrow, and that he'll be expected to return to me after he's done with it; I'll have more assignments for him by then, so I assure you he will NOT be bored."

"{Thank you, Obsidyan - I promise, in the long run, how you conduct yourself among those who spite you will mean far more than how you spite them in return.}" Diamond then turned and bowed low and humbly to the captain.

Peavine looked at him for a moment before his eyes swept back to Obsidian. "Now... unless someone stole your sweetroll, I'd suggest the two of you get out of my sight, this instant. I have some very important work that had to be sidelined to deal with this midget, and I am NOT about to allow it to go wanting much longer."

Of course I will send an invite, Flurry, though it would be probably wise to deal with your problems with Thunderclap before. Your mother would possibly like to know as well... but please, don't tell anypony else. It's, um... fresh news; not even all of my friends here know about it yet.

Perhaps Amy would like to help out with her little Peavine problem? There were SO many accidents that could happen to a bastard like Stonewall. "{Let us go, Diamond,}" she growled with irritation. That bastard - all of that, just for pastries!

Oh, Mom and Dad know all about little love secrets, trust me - ask Pinkie. Oh, she's gonna be so fuckin' STOKED! And... and... do we REALLY have to invite Thunderbutt? I mean, it's supposed to be a HAPPY occasion... and that fuckin' bitch is anything BUT!

"{Of course, Obsidyan. Thank you for helping me.}" Peavine didn't even glance their way as they left, but out in the hall, Tourmaline looked up sharply as they came out; Gypsy was in the chair next to him, curled around his tail and looking nervous.

"{Diamond, what happened in there?}" Tourmy spoke up.

Diamond just smiled. {"Nothing a kind heart and a calm mind cannot handle, Tourmaline."} He then went to Gypsy and began to speak softly to him, explaining that all was well, and that Peavine was just... understandably upset at being pulled away from his duties. Tourmy didn't look as though that answer was satisfactory enough for him... but he said nothing. Yet.

"{And where shall we go now, my most honourable sister?}" Diamond asked, eyes wide and smile sweet.

Oh, shit. "Don't..." Obsidian stopped herself, took a breath, and began again.

"{Please don't call me 'most honourable'; I have some rather... embarassing memories with this specific term, brother. Please.}" Obsidian was still very visibly annoyed - and the fact that this... this push-over - her own brother - seemed to be fine with everything happening to him, only served to irritate her further.

Had Amy been seeing her in the same light? Huh.

"{Perhaps Lemon could do something about it; with his position...}" she mused.

Come now - she's one of my best friends, Flurry. She really is nice now. Hotheaded, yes... but nice. And she genuinely regrets her past actions, too. Come on, at least try? For the wedding?

"{Obsidyan, do not bring more stress, please - to act out against this unicorn would only begin a war between the two of you, and I would be caught in the middle. I beg of you, ignore his anger, and focus on your own happy thoughts; I do prefer to see you smiling, sweet sister.}"

Gypsy got up, gave himself a rough shake to straighten his hoodie, then turned to Obsidian. "P-p-p-pl... p-p-p... {Please, may we go now?}"

Apparently, Gypsy's Crystallian was easier to maintain than his Equestrian; was it just a mental block?

"I think we should, as well," Tourmaline said as he glared suspiciously at Peavine's door while they passed it, headed toward the front gates once more, "and I believe I may have some things to say to... certain parties... that might bring a change or two." He had spent his time in the dungeon playing cards and telling jokes with the guardponies; maybe he DID have a few contacts down there..? Lemon did say he'd been 'charming' them, hadn't he?

The four of them headed for the front gates, but it seemed only Diamond with his little phoenix friend, was now the only one who was in a good mood. This day was shaping up to be fucking irritating.

Stupid Peavine. He simply didn't know what he had inadvernetly unleashed today! Maybe talking with Amy would be a bit too much - but there was always Jynx...

"{Well, what's next? Maybe we could stop in to visit Lemon? We could possibly look for our friends? Perhaps give Diamond a tour through the School of Friendship, then we could take him to Sugarcube Corner, and introduce him to the broad choice of sweets there. Or, we could possibly go to the Carousel Boutique, and introduce him to Eloquence- OH! And I have to meet with him today, anyway. Otherwise, the sky's the limit.}" It was the correct use of this idiom, yes?

Diamond listened intently, then smiled broadly as that foalish sparkle came into his eyes again.

"{I... I want to see it all, Obsidyan! I want to meet the Lemons! To look for friends! To tour the School of Fremship! To go to the Sugared Cubes Corners! To go to the Carry Sell Boutique! TO LIMITS OF THE SKY!}"

Tourmaline and Gypsy both now wore small smiles at Diamond's enthusiasm (and mispronunciations), and Diamond himself was skipping like a filly at recess as he went merrily along with them.

He was just so gee-gosh-darn-heckin cute; even if he was sort of a push-over, he was still a pretty lovely individual.

"{To Eloquence, then. I really need to talk with him a bit, plus I also left a note for Cup that I'd be there. Maybe we will be able to meet him somewhere along the way... and after that, we can buy something sweet for you.}"

"{OOH! Could we purchase a sweets thing for Stalwaat? If I share with her, will she like me?}" Diamond looked so eager-to-please, it was difficult to say no.

Gypsy chuckled. "{Stalwart does not care very much for sweets... however, this one knows she does like spicy foods.}"

Diamond's muzzle lit up, and he looked at his sister with almost a puppy-dog-like pleading. "{May we purchase a spicy sweets for her?}"

"{I'm... not sure if there are any 'spicy' sweets... but if there are, Cupcake would know about it, I'm certain,}" Obsidian was sure about that. Though she was a bit less sure if Stalwart would appreciate the gesture - but that was something she had to discuss with Wart directly - without Diamond around.

The four of them continued to walk through town; again, a number of passers-by waved to them, and Gypsy and Tourmy waved to a few of them. Diamond waved to everybody, whether they waved or not.

Ponyville was bright and cheery today, and it seemed to match Diamond's mood precisely; the way he went through town, it was almost as if the place had been built specifically in mind for the cheery little stallion.

At one point, they reached a furniture store, where four large stallions were attempting to heft what looked like a massive dresser into the back of a cart. Diamond saw this and lifted a hoof to them. "{Please! Allow me to assist you, kind Equestrians!}"

With that, he stepped over to where they were, took one end of the dresser, and lifted it clean off the ground!

Three stunned stallions watched as he simply walked over to the cart, not a sign of strain on his muzzle, and placed it gently in the back... where the fourth stallion, who had apparently been hanging onto the dresser for dear life, had apparently also been lifted and loaded in.

Diamond brushed his hooves together as the stallions gawked at him. {"I am pleased to be of service, gentlecolts!"}

Tourmaline simply chuckled and stepped next to him. {"You never stop helping, do you?"} Gypsy just stared, as open-mouthed and shocked as the other stallions were. The pair of brothers simply walked on, as if nothing unusual had happened, as the mover stallions just gawked at the little unicorn.

"{Diamond, how... h-how is it even possible that you are that strong? That dresser seemed to not only be quite heavy, but also unwiedly!}" Perhaps their father had imbued them with some kind of secondary powers?

Tourmaline laughed. "Oh, that's right - nobody told you; Diamond here can bench press boulders, if he wanted to - he's always been freakishly strong, so it just never occurred to me to tell you about it."

"W-w-w-wow." Gypsy was dutifully impressed, and shut his mouth with a snap.

"{Indeed - I have been gifted with more than enough strength for my compact size; it was FUN helping the stallions!"}

Gypsy pondered for a moment. {"Then... is there a reason you allow yourself to be treated as you were by Captain Peavine? You easily could have shown him merely a demonstration of your strength, and he would have-"}

"{Gypsee,}" Diamond said with that strangely authorative tone, "{the true measure of one's strength is not what you have, but how it is used. There was no need for such, and besides - long ago, have I taken a vow of pacifism. I shall harm no living creature.}"

Tourmaline's muzzle got an almost sick look upon it, but Diamond went on. "{If I were to lift a hoof in violence, it would be so very easy to do so again... and again... and again, until I no longer even consider the peaceful options anymore. I shall not use my strength for violence unto a living being, for I am a healer - that would be against all I believe.}"

It explained why he was terrified out of his wits by Amethyst; he clearly would never strike her back, and she probably knew it. This vow worked a bit too well, perhaps.

"{Was it something done by our father, during the creation process? Some kind of alteration to it?"} Obsidian asked.

Tourmaline shrugged. "{Honestly, I don't know - and he never specified, either way. Mundy's just always been... tiny, yet strong.}" Maybe it was something to do with how powerful Harmony was in this land and age; Sombra may have had only a small amount of kindness, but apparently, a little went a LONG way!

Eventually, they found their way to the Carousel Boutique. Recalling her feelings towards the Rarity Suite, this might once have been downright painful to endure... now? maybe not so much. While placing her in Rarity Suite right after she was dragged from the dungeon she'd called 'home' was a mistake, Obsidian had kind of gotten used to these frills. As such, she was able to look at the building without scowling or retching.

"{Ohhhhhhh}..." Diamond marvelled, "{What a beautiful building! Are we going inside here, Obsidyan?}"

{"Yes we are, Diamond.}" Either he was really easy to impress... or perhaps he really, genuinely liked it.

When they opened the door, a merry little bell gave a tinkling sound that made Diamond giggle aloud. Inside it wasn't quite as frilly as it was outside; this was a workshop, and had all the hallmarks of such. There may have been a decoration or two (or twenty), but the place looked more for action than display.

Around them were a number of dresses on racks; light ones, heavy ones, frilly ones, snazzy ones, sultry ones, cute ones, adorable ones, simply divine ones... anything except ugly ones.

"Ah, salutations!"

Possibly because all the ugly in town was parked on Eloquence's muzzle.

Again, Obsidian was a bit taken aback at how very hideous his face was; it hadn't gotten any better since she first saw him in the library, and from the looks of things, it never would. Diamond stared at him for a moment, just looking at his muzzle directly and unabashedly.

"Obsidian, darling! Oh, I am so STOKED you could make it, dear!" Elo gushed, "I've been looking forward to this for a minute or three, and I see you've brought extra guests as well! Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, one and all!"

"{May I try to heal his face?}" Diamond asked innocently.

Obsidian might not understand why somepony would make a clothing shop in a city where most of the ponies who lived there were almost completely naked, and how they were able to withstand fierce competition (after all, there were a few other shops in town - like the one where she went to with Thunderclap during their 'shooping experience'), but she had to admit these dresses looked nice.

"Hey there, Elo!" She waved to him with a cheerful smile, tainted a bit by the suffering she had to go through while looking at his muzzle.

"{Diamond, that's a bit rude - he's not sick, he just has... er... a unique beauty.}" Okay, that was a terrible lie.

Obsidian turned back to Eloquence. "Well, I most certainly have come to see you; in particular, for a spot of help with one small thing. Do you perchance know where I could purchase a necklace? With custom modifications?"

"Necklaces?" Elo looked shocked. "Oh, sweet-treat, are you mockingme? I happen to have a number of rather exquisite pieces right here in the shop! Designed and crafted by Mother and I, specifically to be worn around the most important necks you could ever know... come now, darling, don't tease like that. It's uncouth."

He made his way to one of the counters, and sure enough, it was a display counter with quite a broad selection of baubles, necklaces, brooches, earrings, bracelets... just about any sort of accessory one could want.

"Now, Siddy-licious, I'm just certain there has to be something here that'll take your minds' eye by the shoulders and shake it into complacency, so feel free to take your time and peruse all the fine wares you'd like," Elo said as he spread his hooves dramatically over the display case.

Diamond looked at Elo, studying him thoroughly, while Tourmaline came over to look at the accessories as well. Gypsy, on the other hoof (paw?) was transfixed by a display that held a number of fine hats... specifically, he was staring at one that had a number of lovely diamonds on it as a trim.

Mundy looked at Obsidian. "{You say he has a unique beauty... where is it?}"

Eloquence still had a rather original manner of speaking... though sadly, most of these necklaces were a bit too frilly for her own tastes. She wanted something plain, something simple... and with no diamonds. She was lucky that she was named after an inexpensive stone.

"Ahem, Eloquence... this is Diamond - my brother. He joined our company yesterday, and it's his first time in Ponyville. Gypsy Rover is his liaison." She turned and answered Mundy softly, {"... in his heart, Diamond. In his heart."}

Elo looked down at little Diamond, and (shudder) smiled. "Well, aren't you absolutely bright and cheery-looking today, hmmm? YOU look like you could use a scarf, because you're just so adorable, you practically NEED some sort of accessory..."

He then leaned in closer to Diamond. "I mean, the phoenix is a lovely touch, but I'll bet we could find that phoenix a cute little matching scarf to go with yours? I mean, if you're going to be so very charming, it would only be fair and just for your little friend to follow suit, right? Plus, I'd consider it fun to see such a heaping helping of CUTE find just the right thing to make them happy; that IS what it's all about, after all."

Diamond smiled broadly at Eloquence. {"Yes, Obsidyan - in his heart. You are correct."}

Elo lifted an eyebrow. "Was that... a yes, perchance? Apparently, I don't speak 'Adorable-ese', so you might have to give me the rundown, Obsi-love, as to what he's saying?"

"He says you've got quite a big heart, Eloquence," Tourmaline answered, and the reply made the ugly stallion smile even more... at least, she hoped it was a smile.

Elo looked down at Diamond again, smiling as well. "Well, aren't you just chock-full of sweetness, darling? Thank you heaps and leaps, my fine sir! Now, we keep our scarves here," he brought Mundy to a rack, "and I'll tell you what; purchase a scarf today, and I shall make a matching one for your little buddy - free of charge!"

Oh gosh, this little phoenix outfitted with a matching scarf would be simply adorable. And with it, Diamond would be able to induce heart attacks in ponies, merely using his cuteness! However, cute as the scene was, introducing Diamond wasn't the only thing that Obsidian had wanted here.

"Did you possibly see Cupcake today, by any chance?" she asked with a touch of hope.

"Cupster?" Eloquence smiled. "Why, yes indeed - he stopped by, bought a little something," he nudged Obsidian and winked at her, "but he said to let you know he would meet you at home, darling - he's been so exceedingly busy at Sweet Apple Acres, I have to admit I was a bit shocked he made time to stop by!"

That was news - he was spending time there?

"{OH! Rapture!}" Diamond lifted a scarf from the rack - a sky blue one with yellow trim - and brought it over to show to Obsidian and Tourmaline. "{Look! It is perfect! I like how it looks, and it is SO SOFT, Obsidyan! May this one be purchased?}"

Elo smiled again. "I can't understand a word he's saying... but his voice is so sweet, and his expressions so merry, I almost don't have to know!" He then looked at Obsidian with an almost sheepish... look... type... thing... on his muzzle. "Almost - what did he say, darling?"

She had a feeling she knew what exactly he bought; probably the very same thing she wanted to buy for him. It was also nice to know he was once again spending time with Butter - they were friends, though Obsidian didn't see her too often.

"{Yes, brother, I'll check on the price.}" She turned to Elo. "He said it's perfect for him - how much does it cost?" She took her purse from her saddlebag; even if it was expensive, she had to admit: Diamond would look terrifyingly cute in it.

"... and now that we're talking about purchases... do you perhaps have any necklaces with obsidian stones, and possibly with a small locket? I need a... um... a-an engagement necklace." Assuming, of course, that something like that already existed; admittedly, Obsidian had no clue.

Eloquence's smile almost seemed to eat itself... no, no; he was smiling widely, that was all. By Darkness...

"Hmmmmmmm... let's see. The scarf will come to ten bits - though, for you darling, I'll say eight; after all, if you're going to be my muse for the next, best, brighest collection I have in mind, then we'll just call it 'a professional discount' and leave it at that, shall we?"

He then looked at Diamond. "Now... are we ready to see the magic of creation at work, my friend?"

Diamond nodded; he was excited.

"Then, by all means, it's time for inspiraaaaaatiooooooon!!!" With that, his horn lit up, and from seemingly every corner of the store, fabric, ribbons, thread and scissors came to life and began hovering over to the table.

As they watched, Eloquence sliced the fabric, added trim, cut the proper length, sewed it together properly, fixed any loose ends, and finished the little copy of Diamond's scarf within the space of a single minute. Once done, things floated back into place as the tiny scarf was levitated over to the stuffed phoenix, where it was lovingly and tenderly wrapped until it looked just right.

As he did this, a small box also floated out from behind the accessory counter, and set itself in front of Obsidian, settling on the countertop.

"There we are! As pretty as my mother! OH! But don't tell her I said that!" Elo chuckled.

The magic of creation, indeed! But Obsidian was more concerned about the small box he'd brought out. With a trip-hammering heart, she opened it to check it's contents.

Inside, it was perfect. A simple, yet elegant necklace of small obsidian beads, and a simple silver pendant which had her own cutie mark etched into it.

Diamond's eyes couldn't get enough of the little phoenix's new accessory. "{Oh my... he's so cute in his little scarf! Oh, THANK you, Mister Eloquence!}"

Elo smiled. "THAT sounded like a thank you; you're a million times welcome, my friend - it warms my heart to see such joy brought by my hard work! And YOU, you adorable little mint, would be welcome to return any time you please!"

Tears appeared in Obsidian's eyes - not of sadness, but of sheer joy and wonder. Her friends were able to surprise her again and again, each time in a different way... and she had no idea how to repay them. Indeed, she could only hope that she was worthy of it.

And because of how incredible it was, Stonewall Peavine was now the farthest thing from Obsidian's mind; Elo had most likely saved his life.

Tourmaline stared at the necklace in front of Obsidian. "Color me impressed."

Speechless, she decided to show her gratitude in a rather plain and simple way - with a strong, friendly hug. "Oh... oh, it's perfect, Eloquence. Really..."

The unicorn gave a soft laugh as he hugged her back. "YOU'RE the perfect one, darling - I just made a little something that helps accent that, is all! Let's say I was... inspired... by Cupcake's purchase. You'll see," he grinned.

He then glanced over at Gypsy, then turned back to Obsidian. "You know, if he wants that hat so much, I could sell it to you for six bits? He probably doesn't even NOTICE the hat, honestly... which is fine, as long as he enjoys the purchase, eh?"

"You could sell winter coats to yaks, Eloquence," Tourmaline observed, "and they'd thank you for it."

Elo laughed merrily. "Darling, yaks have come a long way since mother's days, but I think that may be stretching the possibilities just a wee bit!"

"Isn't six bits a touch too cheap for a hat bejeweled with diamonds?" Obsidian looked at him with surprise. Inspired by Cupcake's purchase... ohhhhh, this was going to be great! She loved that stallion so much!!!

Elo spoke behind a hoof to her, sotto voce. "We haven't been able to sell THAT eyesore for at least a decade; he'd be taking it off our hooves, frankly. Passe fashion like that rarely comes back in fashion... and if it does, we'll just make more. Go on, darlng - make him a happy pup."

Obsidian liked making everypony and everycreature happy. She took out her purse once again. "And the engagement necklace...?"

"THAT," he grinned, "is on the house, Obsidian my dear - because it would be an honor to have crafted something so special for such a special couple. It's yours, darling. No charge."

"{We ride with the desert wind! Come, Pancho! We must go where adventure takes us!}" Diamond now wore his own scarf too, and was making a bold and proud pose. With the matchingly scarved stuffed bird on his back, he looked so much like a child... so bright and cheery, so full of happiness...

It was hard to keep in mind that he was not only an adult, but supposedly older than she was.

Obsidian put hooves on her chest. "It's... too... cute... I'm not sure if... my heart... can take it," Obsidian mock-moaned, then she smiled, "and if my heart can take it, then I know that my teeth will be ruined by all that sweetness!" She simply found herself full of pleasant feelings as she stared at Diamond with cheerful, happy eyes.

That phoenix had been a great idea. The scarf was a great idea, too. Well, Obsidian was apparently responsible for so many good ideas today; she almost felt clever.

"Obsy, your friend here is just a load of adorable on the in-bound train from Cutesville. You ever want to bring him by again, well you just go right ahead and DO so, you hear me?" Elo chuckled as he watched Mundy's antics.

Even Tourmaline laughed. "{Mundy! Stop being so ridiculous - only barbarians ride with the desert wind!}"

Diamond looked back at his brother. "{Then I shall become MUN-DARR, THE BARRRRRRR-BARIANNNNNN!}"

Tourmaline laughed a bit harder, and Elo raised an eyebrow. "I know dramatis personae when I see one; you need to teach him Equestrian - because I would love to know what he's saying right now!"

Gypsy's head popped up to look at what was going on... and the diamond dog gave a toothy grin at seeing Mundy posing dramatically.

By Darkness, it was getting better (or worse) with each passing moment! It was exceedingly strange to see a pony as small as Stalwart, acting so differently - she would probably prefer death than to be caught acting in this particular manner! But it was still oh-so-adorable.

"I shall, Elo; he's already having such a grand time - meanwhile, by this point, I was busy screaming at the rest of the group for being too friendly with me." She chuckled ruefully. "But as bright as his heart is, I expect great things from him."

After all, if the stubborn and Sombra-loving Obsidian managed to evolve into the mare she was today, then Diamond should turn out to be even better.

After exchanging bits (and a touch more cuteness from Mundy and 'Pancho'), the four of them left the shop, out into the sunshine again. From what could be told, it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. Even if there was a hiccup or two, it would be quite difficult to ruin a day like this.

"This o-one thanks y-you for the diam-... er, f-f-for the hat," Gypsy smiled. He wasn't wearing the hat, thankfully - it WAS a bonnet, after all - but he held it in his paws and admired the diamonds inlaid on it.

Even thinking that it would be difficult to ruin such a day was simply an invitation to trouble; hopefully nothing worse than Peavine's blustering would happen. "Enjoy it, Gypsy... but you should thank Eloquence; his prices for friends are quite... generous."

Obsidian smiled giddily, as she was still thinking about her necklace. She'd have to cut a lock from her mane, to put into the locket for her Cuppy... and perhaps some thread to tie it, as it would be a shame if her lock of love would turn into a wadded mess of hair.

"Anyway - we wanted to visit Sugarcube Corner next," Obsidian grinned, "unless somepony has a better idea?"

Tourmaline shrugged, and Gypsy's tail began to wag a bit faster. No complaints here - and at least a diamond dog's approval.

Diamond was actually prancing down the main street, head held high as he and Pancho (the stuffed phoenix) paraded their way proudly through town. A number of other ponies stopped to look at the sight, many of them quite amused and entertained by Mundy's impromptu little march. As they passed the fountain in the center of town, Mundy high-stepped past it, and was joined in-step by four others - three colts and a filly - and they began marching in formation for the cutest little parade Obsidian had ever seen.

When they reached Sugarcube Corner, the young ones all bid Mundy farewell, and went on their way as he waved to them. The shoppe's door was open, and the smell told her that there was a fresh batch of cookies about to go on display.

Diamond stopped short of the doors, then turned to the group with wide eyes. "{Obsidyan... what is that scent?}" He looked as though he was utterly stunned by the smell of fresh cookies.

Obsidian now wanted a foal just to see how Diamond would care for it! Luckily it was only a passing thought, and she didn't pay any special attention to the idea. "{It's the scent of baked sweets. And sweets are sheer happiness, transformed into food form - you'll see,}" Obsidian smiled to him and entered the place, curious as to whom would be behind the counter today.

As they opened the door to the shop, the little bell dingled, and the smell of fresh baked cookies hit her square in the face. Eeyup, nothing could bring down such a day as-

"Oh. It's you. Great."

... and there was Blue Raspberry, sitting on a stool behind the register, reading some magazine with what looked like batponies on the cover, chewing gum. Of course, it was going to be Blue - her not-so-chipper-soon-to-be-sister-in-law. It didn't change the fact that Obsidian still needed to get used to her at some point; might as well be now.

Blue didn't even look up from her reading to greet them. "What do you want, Obsidian?"

"{Greetings, blue mare! I have come to conquer the sweet, so says MUN-DARR!}"

Now, she looked over the top of her magazine. "... when did YOU get a kid?" she asked.

"Hey there, Blue!" It was simple; Obsidian just had to treat her like a kinder, sweeter version of Amy - one that didn't have a violent history with knives. "Nice to see you! This is my brother, Diamond - he's new to Ponyville, I'm giving him a little tour," she replied with a pleasant smile. Now she just had to figure out what might make an excellent introduction to sweets - maybe some donuts?

Blue looked over the counter, down at the little stallion. "Brother, hunh? Looks more like a kid to me."

Gypsy entered the shop behind them... but he was acting strangely; he seemed to be walking on his tiptoes as he made his way in, and looked as though he was almost floating to the fresh-baked counter, where there most certainly WERE cookies ready. They were chocolate, and had chocolate chips in them - if she recalled correctly, Cupcake himself had made her some of these once. It had been amazing, of course.

Diamond looked up at Blue and grinned. "{You are quite pretty, miss mare! I would like to know if I may have some sweet, yes?}"

"Did he just call me a bitch!?" she suddenly sat up straight, glaring at Mundy.

So maybe Crystallian had one or two words that were close enough to other words that might have been misheard... but Blue didn't look like she was laughing about it.

Oh dear - and here comes the trouble with foreign languages. "No, quite the contrary - he said you are pretty. He doesn't even speak Equestrian, Blue - only ancient Crystallian," Obsidian quickly explained. "Gypsy and Tourmy can confirm this."

Tourmaline nodded; Gypsy drooled on his hoodie, looking at the cookies.

Blue glared for a moment more, then gave a single "humph," and went back to her reading. "What you want, point it out, blah blah blah. Just watch his mouth."

Diamond wandered past the displays, wide-eyed, as he tried to eat everything with his eyes. "{There are so many! Obsidyan, are these sweets? Because they look like they would be tasty!}"

What a relief - Obsidian was afraid Blue would want to argue the matter... or possibly throw a punch. It was a bit surprising that Diamond's inherent cuteness charms weren't working on her.

"{They are quite tasty - what would you like to try first? Gypsy, Tourmy, what about you two?}"

"C-c-cooooooooooooookieeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssss..." Gypsy replied dreamily.
"A pastry would be nice," Tourmaline said thoughtfully.
"{ALL of them!}" Diamond squealed.

Blue rolled her eyes, made a dramatic show out of putting down her book, then made her way (slowly) over to the counter, where she leaned on it and waited with a distinctly sour look on her face.

Obsidian once again grabbed her purse, a bit thinner than it had been at the beginning of the day. "Let's see... chocolate cookies for us all, but mainly for Gypsy, a donut for Diamond, a pastry for Tourmy... which pastry would you like, brother?"

And for Obsidian herself, she looked for something with cherries.

Tourmaline smiled. "Perhaps something with cream cheese? I do so enjoy that stuff..."

"{What is this... downut?}" Diamond asked, tearing his eyes away from the display case of treats to look at her quizzically.

Blue gave an exasperated, exaggerated sigh and began to open the display cases and get each thing Siddy had asked for... and taking her sweet time doing so.

"{It's a ring of sweet, fried dough - I hope you'll like it. If not, well... we can always check for something else.}" Why in the world was Blue even working here, anyway? It was strange that somepony could have such a sour attitude in a sweets shop.

As she finished gathering the foodstuffs, Blue looked idly over the counter at them all, then focused on Tourmaline. "Hey. You. Do you rock?"

"Do I... what?" He asked in return, which brought a sour grin from the blue mare.

"Yeah, heh, I didn't think so... how about you, Gyp - you rock?" Gypsy didn't reply, as he only had eyes for the cookies.

Blue scoffed, looked at Diamond, shook her head, then finally looked at Obsidian. "Twelve bits, Obsidian. And make it snappy; I wanna get back to my mag."

Curious; why didn't she ask Obsidian about rocks? Perhaps she already knew that Obsidian rocks... oooooor that she didn't.

"Here you are," she said, giving over the proper bits, "and, if I may, what do you mean by 'rock'?" Obsidian was curious; Flurry had used this word once or twice, but there could be other meanings. Like with 'scoring'.

Blue gave her a flat look. "Like, Rock & Roll? Heavy Metal? Thrash? Music, stupid."

Diamond's head snapped to look at them. "{Music?}"

Blue shrugged, took the bits, and pushed the bag of goodies across the counter to Obsidian. "Not a ONE of you rock - which, really, doesn't surprise me."

Tourmaline gave Siddy a questioning look.

Okay, so it was about music - not 'rocking' in any slang sense. "Blue... our lives themselves are fucking metal," Obsidian deadpanned.

Blue actually took a step back from the counter, eyebrows raising as she looked at Obsidian. "Whoa... unexpected."

Now that she thought about it, they could make a fortune writing a metal album about the Umbral Siege of Ponyville! Though it was likely that some ponies - especially those with victims in their families - perhaps wouldn't approve of such a project. Maybe compose some metal about the Crystal Empire?

Now... if only she knew for certain what this 'metal music' really sounded like. "Well, okay - more like parts of our lives."

Blue then leaned forward and gave her a narrow-eyed stare for a moment... then, she simply stepped back and gave a smirk. "Okay then, metal life, then maybe you'd be up to hear some metal for real?"

She slapped a flyer onto the counter, staring right at Obsidian. "If you really ARE hardcore, then maybe you'd be up for hitting The Feedbag, this coming Saturday night? Unless you're just faking it..." Saturday night... that was four days from now.

The flyer was mostly black and red, with what looked like bloodstained hoofprints in the background of the words:

[BATTLE OF THE BANDZ!]
[Starts @ 7 - lasts 'til we FUCKING WANT IT TO!]
[featuring:] [Bunyip Hollow - The Fracas - Razorslave - Fooscap - Grunting Dawgs - Slither]
[First Prize: 250 bits] [Second Prize: 100 bits] [Third Prize: Free Drinks for the night]
[Anyone less DOESN'T GET SHIT!]
[The Feedbag Bar, Appleloosa]

On the one hoof, Obsidian had no idea what she'd be doing in four days - lately it seemed like each day was spoken for before the previous one ended! On another hoof, however... this was not an offer that Blue had ever made before; it might actually lead to bonding between them, and out of the Pie children, Blue was the most distant.

"Let me check..." Obsidian took a look at the notes she'd gotten from Jynx, just to be sure that it wouldn't collide with the Ogres & Ooby-Doobies(?) game - it was supposed to be in six days time, but damnation if she was going to risk turning her life into a teen drama, with all the required wailing and crying that she'd set up two events at the same time.

"I'll, er... do my best to be there...." Ogres & Oboe-nets(?). Hunting with Amy. Metal concert...

Blue eyeballed her again, then gave a single nod. "We'll see... metal life." But she grinned - it was apparently a good choice.

Battle of the Bandz... perhaps she'd just bitten more than she could chew - unless Cupcake was secretly a metal singer, and
Mica could put a band together in record tme. And it was in... Appleloosa? Where was Appleloosa?

Well, this was going to be fun. "{Brother Tourmy, can you, er... sing, perchance?}"

Tourmaline looked at her as if she had lobsters crawing out of her ears. "{Sing? Obsidian, why in the wide, wide world of Equestria would you ask me something like that?}"

"{Because,}" Diamond spoke up, "{in a world full of Stalwaat, scarves, phoenixes and the sweet, it would be such a joy to hear you sing!}"

"{How do YOU know? I've never been influenced to sing in my entire life, Mundy!}"

"What are they babbling about?" Blue asked, giving them both a skeptical eye.

"Well, I felt... ah, inspired by this bit about the 'battle of the bands', Blue. We speak in Crystallian to keep Diamond in touch," Obsidian explained as she took both the purchased goodies and the flyer, "and we're discussing Tourmaline's chances at being a lead singer."

Lyrics shouldn't be too difficult... instruments... music... ahhh, who was she kidding? Still, it might've been fun - they could have named the band 'The Spawns Of The Dark Emperor', or something like that.

Blue seemed to take a moment to mull over what she'd heard, then looked at Obsidian with a rasied eyebrow. "Wait... you DO know I'm wanting you to show up 'cause I want support for my band, right?"

Wait - Blue had a band? "Really?"

S-she knew that. Yeah. She did. No, really.

"Give me all the details; I want to know everything about it... but I can certainly still check to see if my siblings can scream like demons anyway - just in case."

Blue considered whether or not she really meant it... then, strange to see, a BIG smile broke across her muzzle, and it was almost as though someone had finally plugged her in at last!

"Me and the band - Razorslave - have been practicing for MONTHS to get ready for this shit! Goggle does the vocals, Haunt's our drummer, Roll does the bass playing... and I shred the motherfuckin' guitaaaaaar!"

She took a stance, and made a pose like she had said instrument in her hooves, then gave it a massive strum and flourish, sticking her tongue out as she did. "It's gonna be SO badass! Haunt's got the numbers all planned out, and Gog's been working his pipes for this; we tried last year, but we only scored third - we're gonna WIN the bastard this year! The PIT is gonna be LIT!"

Diamond looked at Obsidian. "{She seems fun - what is a Battle of DeBans?}"

Obsidian nodded her appreciation. "{A contest, Diamond - for music bands,}" she explained quickly to her brother before continuing to Blue. "So... what do you need my support for? It seems you already have everything you'd need."

Blue facehoofed. "DUH! The band that has the most applause and screaming from the audience wins the thing, and the more voices I have on my side in the audience, the more chance we'll have to win! So I want you to get there, get in and fucking SCREAM when we get onstage, got it? I mean, fuckin' ROAR with all that pent-up angst you got in there!"

Diamond smiled. "{Like an Ursa Major? Their roars are exceedingly loud!}"

"Just show up when it starts," Blue said with a partially excited, partially skeptical look on her muzzle, "and cheer us on. Can you do that?"

"So long as there's no mad alicorns trying to murder us all or Dark Magic-infused machines invading Equestria... I'll be there. And I shall torture my vocal cords with the very best screaming I can muster," Obsidian promised solemnly.

Blue actually smiled. "You'd better be, bitch, 'cause you have to see us in action to believe it! Besides, you got that 'metal life' rep to maintain, right?"

It was a welcome change from the morose and snarky atttude she usually had... and it was a change that Obsidian wanted to foster in her even more, if it were possible.

"Right. I'll ask around to discover who else might want to see it. Maybe Thunderclap? That girl has lungs like Tartarus..."

Blue chuckled. "Oh, Clap's gonna be there; she's always there. She rocks."

"{Obsidyan, may I have my downut now, please?}" Diamond asked sweetly, his eyes wide and shining.

"OH! Er... yes." She levitated Diamond's donut to him with a ribbon of her magic. Cookies and pastries - particularly a cherry pastry. Life was good.

"I'll be sure to talk with her about it, then; I'm sure she'll give me... what was that word... a run-down?" Or was it run-over?

Blue grinned. "Oh, I'm sure she will - and she knows the way, too, so no saying you couldn't find the place, got it?"

Diamond looked at the donut for a moment, then laughed. "{It looks like a fat bracelet!}"

He then took a bite.
And chewed.
His eyes went wide, though his mouth stayed neutral.
And he swallowed.

And then, very slowly and deliberately, he placed the donut onto the countertop, walked over to Obsidian and put his forelegs around her, giving her a gentle hug as he began to cry.

"{Oh, Obsidyan... it... it is... there are not the words...}" he said with an impressive measure of awe in his voice.

Gypsy, meanwhile, was gobbling cookies one at a time, the scant few crumbs decorating his hoodie, along with the occasional colorful dried paint splotches. Tourmaline took his treat, gave it a hearty bite and smiled with satisfaction. "Now THAT is a pastry."

"{Brother Diamond, if you liked that, then try the chocolate chip cookies... quickly, before Gypsy gets them all! Trust me, those are even better.}" She graciously patted her little(r) brother on the back, happy that he was satisfied. She had experienced some rather mind-blowing contact with modern cuisine as well; it was fun to share. "{And if you want, you can even take a little bite of my cherry pastry.}"

"Of course, Blue. I'll be there - with Clap." And everyone would be happy - partcularly Blue Raspberry,

They left the shop, a somewhat nice wave from Blue to send them on their way; such a change, yet certainly proof that the punk-rock mare was a little more intelligent and sociable than she typically showed.

During their walk, Diamond tried a bit of everything from each friend, and the tears came with each treat he ate. It was as if he had never known such treats before... deja vu? All the same, Siddy got plenty of hugs, as did Gypsy and even Tourmy took one or two.

The little guy was ecstatic; he finally had his freedom from his father's tyrrany, had siblings who obviously cared deeply for him, his new diamond dog liaison, his Pancho, his sweets... and, for what was possibly the first time ever, his own life.

Making Diamond happy felt good - maybe it was thinning her purse drastically, but it really felt good.

Now, where should they go next... "Gypsy? Do you happen to know where Thunderclap lives?" Perhaps she could quickly inform her that they were going to this particular place together... that way, she wouldn't miss it, not by any chance.

"C-C-Cloudsdale is where she l-lives..." Gypsy then seemed to lose some of his spring, and looked at Siddy with a slightly worried glance. "... w-w-with her m-mother." Oh joy.

"Well then - we won't be able to get all the way to Cloudsdale... at least, not in any form of acceptable time," Obsidian said quickly. Gypsy said it as if Siddy might have been afraid of the blue pegasus mare with the prismatic-colored mane. It just meant she would have to find Clap the next time she was in Ponyville - no big deal. "How about Markannus, perhaps?"

Gypsy scratched his head. "This one kn-knows Markannus has a very b-b-busy schedule; he does n-not know, and is s-sorry."

Tourmaline looked at Diamond for a moment before speaking. "Maybe it would be a good idea to get Mundy here over to his room, so we can see where he'll be staying?"

"{Oh, I would like to see what my new bed will be like! May I ask that it not be a stone floor, please?}" The sad thing was that he looked so earnest in his request that he didn't know that sleeping on stone wasn't typical here.

Considering that Obsidian was out of ideas, and returning home was out of question, as not only was Amy there, but she also wanted to exchange gifts with Cupcake in private.

So she had to agree. "Excellent. The Rainbow Dash Suite, it is - let's go."

She didn't reply to the question about the bed; let Diamond be surprised.

Author's Notes:

Captain Stonewall Peavine; no apologies. Hate away.

Eloquence makes another appearance, and we see what most certainly makes him Rare's colt. I love writing for him, because I can thow in all sorts of fun words and phrases that not many other characters can get away with. Plus, it's a bit of a quirk with him - aside from that airship-sinking face. *chuckle*

The Battle of The Bands, for the record, doesn't occur in this story; one of those moments that helped define Blue a bit more, but didn't happen within the narrative. Sorry if that disappoints, but I figure I'd say something now, rather than explain later. (Woulda RAWK'D, tho.)

Super bonus points to everyone who caught the Muppet Babies reference; you're welcome.

'Gone For A Walk' artwork by SonicPegasus, a talented and fun artist, who I feel captured Diamond's exuberance perfectly. Plus, Gypsy catching butterflies was completely ad-libbed by the artist - and I love it.

Thirty Four: Setting Plans

The walk to the palace didn't take too terribly long, and again there were many along the way who enjoyed Diamond's antics. He was going to be a popular pony - very popular. Stonewall had no idea what he'd provoked...

When they got inside, a guard gave them directions to the Rainbow Suite, and they followed them quite well; the room in question was about three doors down from the Rarity Suite, so Obsidian should be able to find it again without any issue.

The actual door to the suite was trimmed in brass, and had Rainbow Dash's cutie mark carved onto it, with lots of exciting-looking zigzags and notches. Diamond seemed quite excited to see what it would look like. "{Would it be too much that I may ask for some paper and a charcoal stylus as well? Would they allow it?}"

"{There shouldn't be any problems with such a request... but perhaps you'd prefer something a touch more more modern? Pencils, crayons, ink pens... you'll see for yourself, no doubt,}" Siddy grinned knowingly.

"{And if there is none to be had,}" Gypsy added, "{this one would be honored to share his art supplies with you, friend.}"

Suddenly, Obsidian's muzzle lit up. "{Oh! And I have your portrait artwork of our brethren with me! You know, the one where you sketched most of us?}"

Diamond's eyes lit up like small stars. "{Artwork? What could-...}" He suddenly gasped. "{YOU HAVE THE PORTRAIT!?}" He seemed extremely happy to hear this news. "{Oh, Obsidyan - I am so surprised! I never thought I would see it again, that it was lost FOREVER! M-may I please see it? PLEASE?}" Tourmaline gave a light chuckle at Mundy's enthusiasm.

There was no reason why she shouldn't show him - especially as she was well aware that she had multiple copies. Obsidian took it from her saddlebag and opened it carefully in front of Diamond - the artist and his work, reunited at last.

When he looked at it, tears formed at the corners of his eyes, and he spoke in more of an adult tone, smiling wistfully. "{Shortly after I was created by father, I tried my very best to endear myself to all of my siblings; this portrait of us - those I had met so far - was my gift to Onyx. Yet later that same day, she took great pleasure in telling the story of burning it in father's firepit. I... I cried over the cruel fate of this drawing, because I had put so much work into it, yet it seemed to have meant nothing to her...}"

He looked up at Obsidian - and for the first time, she could see the stretch of years between herself and this old soul. "{And yet, here it is,}" he said with a bit of a strained voice, the sound and timbre not quite matching the young-looking and compact unicorn.

"{She'd kept it among her belongings, Diamond. She'd had it, all this time,}" Obsidian assured him with a somewhat bothered voice herself. So that's what this portrait meant? But why would Onyx decide to torture Diamond with the false story of burning it away? She was a strange mare, that dead sister of hers - an enigma that would probably never be solved.

Diamond softly sniffled, then held it back out to her. "{Obsidyan, I would be honored if you would have it; I know it will be in good hooves with you.}" To that, Gypsy's grin became a smile, and his tail wagged appreciatively.

It certainly was in good hooves... after all, it had turned out to be a very helpful drawing. Considering it had helped her find a few of her siblings, there was no doubt that it had spared her a lot of running around and fruitless searching. She treasured it already; now, she had the artist's kind blessing.

Tourmaline (having already seen the artwork in his own copy) decided to reach over and open the door himself.

The entire room was like a gigantic shrine to none other than Rainbow Dash. Everywhere they could see space was filled with pictures, posters, trophies, placards, awards, medals and just about every kind of reward for doing well that could be given. Her muzzle was EVERYWHERE.

Otherwise, there was a strong-looking wooden desk in the corner, along with two dressers, nightstands, and a large brass-framed bed at the far wall. And every single piece of fabric in the room was rainbow-colored.

Gypsy looked around and said, "It is... eh... c-c-colorful."

Tourmaline stuck out his tongue. "It looks like a paint store threw up in here."

Diamond stared, sparkle-eyed, then he began do dash about the room, happily exclaiming as he went: "{A desk? I HAVE A DESK! MY OWN DESK! A-a-a-and storage dressers for my scarf! AND LOOK AT MY BED! Oh, it is SO much more than I would ever have dreamed I would know in my life! And these COLORS! Father never allowed such colors! Oh my oh my oh my OH MY!}"

Oh dear. This suite was quite an eyesore - and filled to the brim with Rainbow Dash, to boot. Obsidian shook her head; that mare was terribly full of herself, apparently. But Diamond was happy with it all, and that should be enough - besides, it was impossible not to be happy when looking at him in a mood such as this. "{Remember, my brother, it's only your first day here; from now on, your life is going to just keep getting better.}"

He seemed as though he would twist his little head off, trying to look everywhere at once. Then, his vision focused on them, and he walked over.

He hugged Gypsy. "{Thank you, my fine new friend, for being able to speak for me, for offering to guide me, and for being the magnificent creature you are!}"

"{This one is humbled by your praise, and he is glad to call you 'friend'.}"

Next, he embraced Tourmaline. "{And thank you, my brother, for finally accepting me, for becoming as kind as you have... OH! And for sharing your pastry with me, as sharing is something I never imagined you and I would engage in!}"

Tourmaline chuckled and hugged him back. "And thank you for giving me the chance to do so, Mundy. Maybe NOW I can appreciate it more, right?"

Finally, he went to Obsidian, and... bowed?

"{My brave sister Obsidyan... there are no words in any language to accuartely describe the love I have for all of you... especially you, as Gypsee has told me YOU are the reason I no longer exist as a crystal shard. I owe you my life, my freedom, and my love. YOU are magnificent, and I hope that you and I become the closest of friends...}"

With that, he stood up and embraced her warmly, nuzzling against her neck.

Diamond could be an extremely useful tool, considering his little speech and the fact that he felt as if he owed her so much... but lucky for him, Obsidian abhorred idea of using others as tools. But she didn't abhorr the idea of hugs (at least not anymore), and she was more than happy to give her strongest one to Diamond, followed by a gentle kiss on the forehead.

Damnation, he looked so cute! Like a young, innocent colt; he was behaving so adorably - possibly without even realizing it. How was it possible that Sombra had enough kindness in him to create such a joyful creature?

Tourmaline leaned in close. "Perhaps we should leave Mundy to get better acquainted with his quarters? Gypsy, I'm certain, will happily keep an eye on him... unless you're out of errands to run?" He grinned a bit; he knew how busy she was.

"Oh. Well, hello," said a familiar voice from the doorway; in it stood Mica Chip, looking about at the room as he moved closer.

"For a moment, I thought we had another burglar," he said, looking at Obsidian to see if she remembered how they first met, "but it's only-..."

He then caught sight of Diamond, who also caught sight of him as well. "Oh. A guest. Hey," he said politely to Mundy.

Diamond smiled broadly. "Ha-... haaaaaa-loooooo..."

Tourmy and Gypsy both gave a slight start; Diamond had spoken in Equestrian! ... well, sort of.

"MICA!" Obsidian said with a more-then-above-average level of cheerfulness in her voice. "Nice to see you! This is Diamond, my brother - he doesn't speak Equestrian... eh, heh heh... too much."

"{This is Mica - he's one of the friends I've been talking about, Diamond!}" She said to her brother.

Mica looked at Siddy and nodded, then stepped lightly into the room. He glanced sideways as he passed her other brother.

"Tourmaline," he said in his neutral manner.

"Mica," Tourmy answered, looking bemused.

Gypsy smiled. "Mica, this one is t-to be Diamond's l-liaison. Is this not g-g-good news?"

"It is indeed; congratulations, Gypsy. Now, just make sure he stays with you, and doesn't go wandering off with a couple of ponies that'll take him to the Friendship School." Mica was joking, but of course he showed no expression.

Diamond swung to look at Obsidian. "{There is a school for fremship!?!?}"

Tourmy chuckled. "Now you've done it."

"{I already mentioned it earlier, Diamond,}" Obsidian reminded him. Ha - it had been ages since Mica and Clap 'kidnapped' her to show her the school, meeting Gypsy and Stalwart, and eventually rejoining with Cupcake.

"You know, it isn't a bad idea, Mica; he may find himself quite a few friends. And, contrary to my own experience, he probably won't end a discussion with a rather vocal support of Sombra's regime and a denunciation of love and friendship," she smirked at him. Really, it had been AGES ago...

"And, er... now that I've mentioned love, I, uh... I proposed to Cup yesterday." she added softly.

When Mica heard the news, then he gave his small, special smile. "I'm glad to hear it, Siddy - congratulations. You and Cup make a fine pair, and I look forward to hearing Clap go on and on about how she wants her wedding to be like yours."

Diamond walked up next to Mica; Maud's child stood almost three times Mundy's size, yet the knowledge that the tiny stallion could easily throw Mica was a bit comical for Obsidian to picture.

"You're quite compact," Mica said to him, "A pleasure to meet you, Diamond."

Diamond smiled back at him. "A-pezzerr t' miite yeeewwwww!" Tourmaline covered his muzzle with a hoof and giggled, but Mica nodded and gave Diamond a bow, which the little stallion returned.

He was really making some progress with that - at this rate, he should be able to communicate more properly soon enough. His accent wouldn't be pretty, though. "Oh? Are you two planning something as well?"

"Not yet," Mica admitted, "but after she hears about you, chances are we won't be far behind. Clap doesn't like getting left in the dust, after all."

Diamond c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y climbed into the brass-post bed, and he slowly laid himself on the mattress, which had fresh sheets... rainbow ones, of course. "{Is... is THIS what it is like to lie on a cloud for the pegasi? Because it feels like I have my own cloud, now...}"

"{You'll have to ask Clap about that, dear brother.}" Of course, there might be the small issue of her accidentially stepping on him. "{... besides, it's her mother's suite; both she and her mother are Equestrian heroes.}"

Mica stepped over to Obsidian. "You recall when I talked about that thing in the woods? There's news," he said as Tourmaline leaned in a bit closer. "Now there's smoke. Pegasi Fire Marshalls say there's no raging fires, but they can't seem to get near it; someone keeps chasing them off."

Diamond nuzzled himself into the pillows at the headboard, smiling and sighing happily.

Gypsy looked a touch alarmed. "Sm-m-moke? What do you sp-speak of?"

Mica looked at Siddy and lifted an eyebrow, as he didn't know if she wanted to say or not.

Damnation. "Do you remember Aquamarine?" she said to Tourmy.

Tourmaline's features hardened. "I remember, all too we-"

"{Aquamarine!}" Diamond sat up in bed. "{Oh, yes - I remember him! He always had much anger and scorn for us all, and he was always trying to prove he was better than any of us - it was as if he thought he could be father's only heir!}" Diamond's smile still held firm. "{But he was creative, and he did enjoy carvings! He was a master with a piece of wood or chunk of stone, and made all sorts of things!}"

Tourmaline gave a reluctant nod. "He... was rough, but he wasn't on Amy's level of rough; do you think that's possibly him? And if so, do you think you could perform the same miracle with him as you have with myself?"

The 'miracle' with Amy worked only after almost kicking her horn off her head and healing a life-threatening backstab wound. With Tourmy, it had been far easier - he just had to be headbutted.

"{I think so... perhaps. Okay, maybe... but why would he just destroying a forest like that?}" Perhaps it wasn't Aquamarine, but somepony else? However, his behaviour would explain Onyx's opinion about him - he wasn't a subordinate, but a rival. Onyx, frankly speaking, didn't look like the kind of mare who would enjoy having a rival.

Tourmaline shrugged. "Who knows why he does anything? Maybe he's just letting off steam, maybe he's building the world's biggest wooden shoe; the point is, IF it's him, something should be done about it, while we still know where to look."

Mica blinked. "You... lost me there, Obsidian. What was that?"

"Oh - sorry Mica." Maybe she shouldn't be using Crystallian so much; hopefully, Diamond would learn Equestrian quickly. "I was only wondering why Aqua would be destroying a forest... assuming it's actually him, of course. But who else could it be? I also remember the name 'Sapphire', but I haven't found out anything about her. Tourmy? Diamond? Do either of you remember Sapphire?"

Diamond nodded. "{Oh yes - sister Sapphire was our spooky sister, and she knew it. She seemed to drift about when she moved, and her attention was always hard to keep for long. She was the one that Ruby learned mane and tail care from, though.}"

Tourmaline nodded. "Yes, she was a touch vain, perhaps... but, as far as things went, she could've been worse. Maybe there'd be a chance for her as well? That is, if you can stomach her weird; even father didn't quite seem to get her."

Then, it was almost as if it was a strange doubling of their voices, as both Tourmaline and Diamond spoke at the same time:

"... but she had POWER."
"{... yet she held POWER.}"

Mica didn't look as though he needed a translator for that one.

"Power? What power - what do you mean?" Wasn't Obsidian herself supposed to have been the one holding the power of their father's Dark Magic? Then what was Sapphire able to do? Still, it didn't sound as if she would be spending her time scorching forests for fun.

Tourmaline looked meaningfully at her. "Saffi had a magic that could control the elements themselves; wind, water, earth and fire. Her magic could sculpt and shift, bend and compel elemental sources; she could make a ladder out of water, or build a shield out of fire, or make walls of stone grow from the ground-"

"{And she could fly!}" Diamond added with reverence.

Tourmaline nodded. "... yes, and she could fly, quite rapidly. However, she was also an absolute sucker for even the smallest praise from father; she only acted when he told her to, she was such a lapdog."

Diamond looked at Tourmy reproachfully. "{She did not know any better, brother - she was taught to blindly follow and obey, much as we all were... are...}" The last word seemed to bother Mundy a bit, and he went quiet, as did a thoughtful-looking Tourmaline.

"Then, we're speaking of a sister who was under direct mental control... who may now be completely on her own for the first time ever." Mica looked concerned. "That's not good; an airship goes wild when there's no one at the helm."

Every single sibling of hers seemed to have wonderful, incredible powers... and what did Obsidian get? Dark Magic which was leeched out of her by stupid Onyx! Just wonderful. There was apparently a pretty big design flaw somewhere while her father was crafting her. Maybe SHE wanted to fly sometimes!

"So, this forest fire could be done by either Aquamarine and his explosive powers, or by Sapphire and her talents for turning nature itself into a toy. Or perhaps it's something completely different, and for the first time in my life, a big problem won't be connected to our family in any way whatsoever..."

Gypsy sighed. "Th-this one wouldn't b-b-bet on it."

Mica nodded, then looked at Obsidian curiously. "Any way I can help?"

Tourmaline looked at him. "Well... maybe all of us could; do you have more than one thing that you have to look into? Maybe one or more of us could take some of your extra duties off your hooves?"

Mica nodded, then looked back to her.

"Quartz, Opal... and a mysterious forest vandal - those are the most important things at the moment. I think we can safely assume that brother Quartz is not evil... but Opal and her industry could pose a serious challenge, I'm afraid. I'm planning to meet with Markannus and check if he could somehow get us access to Pola Industrial. I also already asked Peppermint for help."

There were also Jade and Amber to deal with. "And we'd need to find a way to neutralize Amber, hopefully as quickly as possible."

Mica glanced at Gypsy. "You'll be here with Diamond; think you might be able to ask around the palace to see if you can find out tidbits we might not know yet? If anyone can sniff out a clue, it'd be you."

Gypsy grinned back at the earth pony, then looked at Siddy. "This one c-c-can talk to oth-thers here, and discover what is t-to be said, yes."

Tourmaline stepped forward. "I can see about going to Manehattan, and-"

Mica interrupted with, "Not with that ring on your horn; it's also a No-Long-Distance Travel Ban, and it means you won't get there without going by hoof... but that doesn't mean I can't go, instead." He looked at Obsidian. "I don't even have to encounter Quartz; all I'm doing is scouting the city & gathering information. I'll be perfectly safe, and can either get back to you by tomorrow, or you can meet me there."

Tourmaline looked put out by the reminder of his 'questionable' status, but he seemed to accept it with no protest.

Obsidian sighed deeply - yes, it would be a great help; she just had to remember to not feel exceedingly guilty for not doing everything personally. It wasn't using her friends - it was accepting their help... and worrying if they were okay... or if they were quick enough to avoid trouble... or-

Damnation. "Maybe you could take Clap with you when you head there, Mica? With her interest in clothes and fame, perhaps she could be of help as well?" Obsidian tried to suggest.

Mica looked at her flatly. "Thunderclap Dash? In Manehattan." He then gave a tiny chuckle. "I thought you wanted me to get things done?"

"Well, you said yourself that she didn't like to be left behind," Obsidian mused, "but if you don't think it's a good idea... then perhaps Eloquence would like to visit the big city?"

Mica gave a tiny smirk; one of the highest forms of expression from the poker-muzzled pony. "Visit? His mother owns a boutique there; he spends his fall season there, working where he can enjoy seeing famous fashion ponies, and get inspiration for his own styles. But talking to him about it might help us out; I can do that before I go."

Tourmaline didn't say a word, but Gypsy did; he stepped next to him and placed a paw gently on his shoulder. "For what it is w-worth, this one has s-s-seen how you have changed, and he kn-knows it shall not be long before everyone e-else knows it, as well."

Tourmaline looked like he wanted to shrug off the diamond dog's paw and walk away in a huff; instead, he sighed and reluctantly nodded. "Fine. But I can STILL try to see what I can discover from here - if there was paperwork, even a diary or the like, I could feel at least like I had a good lead..."

A diary? Noooooo... she really wanted to keep that for herself! There were plenty of things she could find in there - many of them useful, though not really legal, expressively interesting and so on and so forth. Perhaps she could find something that would give her an edge in her research about their father, Dark Magic, Gray Magic and other things.

"Don't worry, Tourmy - I'm sure you'll be considered 'reformed' pretty soon... after all, you're pretty much a shining example of integration." And when standing next to Amy, he looked even better by comparision.

*sigh* Amy. She really chose a good time to complain that Obsidian wasn't so dark, trying to conquer the world and so on - she had so little time that she couldn't even read the diary of her (explosively) murdered sister in search of dark secrets!

"I... found Onyx's diary; I'd wanted to check it out myself, but I've had no time lately..." Ah, well - it was for the best, right? "It seems like a perfect task for you, Tourmy."

Tourmaline's jaw dropped open and his eyes almost bugged out of his skull as he made small utterings that sounded like they were trying to be words.

Mica leaned over, completely deadpan. "I think you broke him."

Tourmy, to his credit, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then let it out slowly before refocusing on her. "Sorry - I was just... surprised it even still existed. It was something none of us could ever find before; she was a master at hiding things." Miss Tome had been evidence of that, for certain.

"It was like you just said you'd stumbled across father's crown," he explained. "It's THAT big of a deal... or, well... it was, when she was... w-was alive..."

For the first time, she saw a pang of regret cross her brother's features over Onyx; it was further proof of how far he'd come, and showed a tinge of compassion that was becoming more and more frequent within her brother.

It was THAT big of a deal? Hopefully, Obsidian wouldn't have to regret that moment of honesty - after all, she only found the diary and two measly books. Considering the amount of arcane knowledge Onyx had surely gathered during her lifetime, it was certainly a shame.

"Well, I'll bring it home later. I'd also like to check a few things in the library when I have an opportunity. Considering that finding Markannus is proving to be a bit harder than I thought, perhaps I'll just study magic later," Obsidian mused. She certainly felt like she had to learn how to teleport if she wanted to increase her chances for survival.

Mica nodded, and Tourmaline now seemed to have a sense of purpose about the proceedings. Gypsy would manage to fish out some little slip of information, she was certain of it; he had a 'history' for it, after all. Now wasn't the time for puns, however; it was time for-

"{... ohhhh Stalwaat, so brave and true... zzzzzzz... my churning soul, it burns for you... zzzzzzzz...}"

By Harmony, he mumbled love poetry in his sleep? Diamond was nuzzled deep into his pillow, a look of purest satisfaction on his muzzle as he slept peacefully and soundly... possibly for the first time ever. It hadn't been that long of a day, had it? Or perhaps it was just a side-effect of his first contact with a real bed?

"Okay... I think that our trip to the Friendship School is *ahem* temporarily postponed. Quietly now," Obsidian herself did her best to sneak out of the room without making any sound. The rest followed suit, and Gypsy quietly closed the door behind them. Let the sweet little stallion sleep - there would be more experiences for him later, she was sure.

"Okay, we know what we're doing," Mica said bluntly, "so I say we get to it. Glad I ran into you, and glad to help. I'll contact you from Manehattan, so let Cup know to expect communication of some sort."

Tourmaline looked at her. "Then I suppose we go onto the library, you and I?"

It looked like Cupcake was going to have to act as the messenger service, it seemed. Maybe Princess Luna had already responded in some manner to her message about Ruby...?

"You can head home, Tourmy - as I said, I'll bring it with me when I return, but first I'd like to check a few other things," Obsidian said sidelong to him; she didn't want to reveal her secrets just yet, "... it may take some time."

He nodded, then gave a slight sigh. "Hopefully, no Amethyst; last thing I'd need is her being nosy... there's no telling what she'd do if she knew there were others still free. And I don't want to contemplate it, either."

Gypsy looked at her. "This one will k-keep an eye and ear on D-Diamond, and will ask ab-bout what things m-m-might sound like a lead, yes. If he finds out a g-good thing, he will tell Cupcake."

Obsidian smiled gratefully at Gypsy. "Thanks, my friend; I'm really glad you've become his liaison. You really helped out our family there, Gypsy." Hopefully Diamond wouldn't learn Equestrian from Gypsy - otherwise he'd possibly learn it with a stutter. "I think that's everything?"

Mica nodded, leaned over and gave Siddy and Gypsy a quick hug, gave a nod to Tourmaline and headed on his way. As calm as he was on the surface, the stallion's heart ran as deep as any ocean.

Gypsy also gave Siddy a hug, then literally turned up his nose and began to sniff at the air, before smiling to himself and heading in the direction of the kitchen, where he would undoubtedly beg for scraps while he listened for gossip.

Tourmaline looked at her and gave his head a tilt. "You had her diary; that's where the drawing was, wasn't it? You gave me a copy of that drawing a few days back; have you had it all this time?" He held a completely neutral muzzle; there was no telling if he was upset or merely curious.

"I have - I was looking for clues about Peridot, but I didn't have too much time to check it out aferwards." So many secrets to find, so many arcane arts to learn... even if she did plot something about conquering the world, she simply didn't have the time for it! Even without any plans for playing this 'Ogres & Oatmeals', or support for Blue's metal band... she was always busy dealing with her siblings!

Tourmaline looked as though he made a decision, then slowly, he smiled. "That... makes sense. I just... i-it's difficult for me sometimes, learning to trust anyone... but I'm trying to get the hang of it. I appeciate you telling me about it..." He smirked at her. "Late as it is."

Obsidian really didn't want to reveal that she held Onyx's diary in the first place... but it didn't change the fact that she felt hurt by the jibe. "Hey, I was busy! Yesterday, we even didn't see each other because you were out, drinking."

Hmmm, now that she thought about it... "By the way, brother - are you going to move in with Gunther? I moved in very quickly with Cupcake." Obsidian, through watching others around her, was getting the feeling that perhaps it wasn't exactly standard behaviour - after all, Clap and Mica were still living separately.

He blinked in surprise, then gave a soft chuckle. "Actually, I'd been meaning to talk with you about that; he and I have been looking at places to live lately - I figured it might be better if I was out of both of your manes so often..." He then gave a wry chuckle. "Not to mention, away from Amethyst."

So that was what those pictures he and Gunther had been looking at; homes for sale!

"So now, I only have to find a coltfriend for Amy to convince her to move out and..." she sighed, "... and then, probably another set of siblings will move right in, for some reason."

Tourmy chuckled. "Honestly? You could do worse than Diamond... but not while Amy's living there, I promise you that. Well, I'll be waiting at home for you; be careful." With that, he made his way in the direction of home, leaving Obsidian on her own... a feeling she once thrived in, but now it felt... empty, somehow.

Not that it was a completely horrible thing, after so much contact with others; more like it was a bit more... hollow, where she could now feel and understand what truly being alone was, after so long of simply assuming it was supposed to be that way. This friendship thing had really knocked her for a loop, that was for sure.

At least she knew that she could go and meet with her friends, at almost any given time - and that they were nearby. Heh, to think that she would have craved Cup's presence so much during her trip to Silver Shores and the Crystal Empire...

Cup... her Cuppy... oh, she had to meet with him - quickly! She really, really wanted to give him his necklace; perhaps she could quickly cut a lock of her mane, to add to the locket? The library was practically her own private place...

But first things first. She trotted away from the doors to the Rainbow Suite; she still had work to do.

The trek to the library was typical; waves, smiles, passing conversations where she could overhear about just anything from the newest fashions to what the pegasi had planned for the weather. Once arriving, the library itself was soothingly quiet; this was a place where 'alone' wasn't lonely - it was about learning. About studies. About things that yearned to be known, contained in thousands of books that surrounded her like a bunker.

Books... ah, so much knowledge... and she still had so very much to learn! Obsidian wasn't sure if Headmare Starlight - or frankly, anypony - would have the time to teach her anything about teleportation today. Maybe Lemon would know a trick or two - she'd wanted to see him concerning Peavine, but Diamond had convinced her otherwise... a shame. Still, she could meet with him later, she was sure.

Reaching the beloved shelves, she quickly checked for books concerning magic, to see if there was any sort of teleportation guide. Maybe she'd find something meant for quick study under Spell Theory?

There were a few notable guides on the subject... but unfortunately, all three books in question were currently checked out... by Guidance Councilor Lulamoon, no less. A shame, but it meant there were books on the subject; she'd just have to wait for them to come back in before she could utilize them.

Still, it wasn't a total loss... especially as there was a small box of chocolates she'd stashed here. Normally, she might not have kept such sweets hidden at work like this... but they'd been hoofmade by Cupcake, and they helped her get through her workdays without him.

Ahhhh, library work. She was truly beginning to miss that simple life...

A normal life or the pursuit of power - both paths were fine; hunting down her problematic siblings? A bit more stressful, and hardly something she liked doing... but potentially just as rewarding, in the end. She hoped.

Alas, no books available about teleportation meant she had to ask somepony for help... maybe Lemon... or for that matter, Guidance Councilor Lulamoon. After all, Obsidian needed guidance, especially if she wanted to get back to her schoolwork quickly...

Anyway, the pronounced lack of the necessary books on the shelves meant only one thing - a return to the tomes of ancient lore. With a tiny, excited giggle, she trotted quickly to her secret stash.

The stash was right where she'd left it, undisturbed since her last visit; it was sort of fun, having a secret that nobody knew about - it flew defiantly in the face of her father's teachings, and it was a sweet little thrill she could have all to herself.

It wasn't long before she found a passage in Onyx's diary that spoke on the subject.

Teleportation is the ability to literally wish yourself to be somewhere else, yet perhaps in not as grand of a gesture. And as loathe as I am to admit it, I met my match today in Ruby.

Oh?

I'd been wondering if any of the newer siblings would have been able to master the spell before I could, and lo and behold, it just so happens to be the NEWEST one. She makes me sick, with her always going, 'ooooh, does my mane look okay?' or 'oooh, does my tail look okay?' FEH! All things considered, she should be lucky that Father allows her to keep such foppish things in the first place. Regardless, it takes MUCH too long to master something, once the competition takes the fun out of it. So, as accordingly, I managed to shape the magics as necessary to dulicate the spell, as is my forte. Father, however... he knew. Somehow, he knew that I'd cheated to pass his test of my ability to teleport... and yet, he did not punish me for it. No, in fact, he seemed as if he were pleased by my ability to warp magic to suit my needs; any sort of spell that was cast around or at me, I could change at my own design - let's see that brat master THAT sort of magic! But teleportation, of itself, is still beyond me, I hate to admit. But if there were a way to simply copy Ruby's abilities, then I wouldn't have to learn the spell at all; I'd just have to keep her near me... NOT something I exactly look forward to, with all her mewling... but it may have a purpose someday.

Obsidian tapped her chin in annoyance; even that damnable hag Onyx had failed to learn teleportation and had to cheat, using her unjustly gained abilities.

What exactly was Obsidian's place in Sombra's plans? Why didn't SHE get any interesting powers! And why was she kept in a state of nearly complete lockdown? Was she only a spare body?

Bwah... *sigh*...

Maybe she could at least find something further along in the book about Dark Magic. Something useful... Teleportation, mind control, metal concerts, Amethyst, wedding possibilities, Ogres & Obladi-oblada... she had so much on her poor, pretty head!

There was a passage further on in the book that actually had an incantation for a spell that might've been just as handy to have...

If you can't get out of the way, then see to it that the way itself is clouded. I may not be able to teleport out of harms' way without Ruby, but I can use a Displacement Spell to offset my enemy's aim. This variant shifts my image about five inches to the right while active, which would potentailly safeguard me from headshots, but my precious flank might still get struck. Still, short of teleportation, it makes for a good passive defense, allowing for those assassin's darts to warn me instead of kill me.

It seemed like the best she could do in a short amount of time. Obsidian practically pressed her muzzle into the book as she started to carefully read, re-read and memorize the spell. It was actually fairly quick to learn and simple to cast, requiring very little magic to put into play. Useful as a last resort, as such a low cost may be the only thing that stands between yourself and a bolt of magical energy.

It was roughly half an hour until Obsidian felt she'd put the spell to proper memory, and felt as though she could successfully call upon it when needed... and at least it was better than nothing; even if Obsidian herself would pretty much prefer something that would let her escape dangerous situations more directly, it would do the trick for now.

But now, with the diary's supply of information exhausted in this endeavor, it was the time to once again check the two Dark Magic books. As she had powerful enemies, some rather ambitious projects and a small field trip to attend with Amy, she felt she should check out the spells in there - to defend herself, to attack... and to research.

She remembered some quick mention of a spell about imprisoning a soul, which got her attention. She'd planned a hunt anyway, so perhaps she could hunt not only for the meat... but also check on how much she could potentially do with the spiritual energies of the hunted beasts?

One of the two books spoke of a magic that could indeed strip the very life essence from a creature, and imbed it within a receptacle of the caster's choice. The spell explained that the process took an entire hour, and that the creature in question would be in miserable agony the entire time, not to mention while their spirit was locked out of their body as well. Plus, it spoke of the magics being able to manipulate and use the soul energy to power other magics...

Of course, the soul would then suffer immensely at each use, wasting away like a common battery until it was forever extinguished, fated neither to a good end, nor a peaceful one. However, the soul's loss - as a final cost - would then act as a black stain on the caster's soul, making it obvious to all who witnessed their true nature, what sort of being it was that would cast such a spell.

Hardly the most moral or simple spell in the world... but perhaps with Amy's help she could pull it off, and...

A black stain on her soul? Obsidian tapped her chin in annoyance; if she couldn't suck a mere rabbit's soul essence out of its' corpse without corrupting herself, then what else could she possibly do to enhance her knowledge of and experience with Dark Magic? Hopefully, there'd at least be a decent repository of offensive spells...

There were a number of vile, wicked spells that would flay flesh from bone, starve someone to death within seconds, burst parts of their brains or even twisted their spines into balls of pure agony... a great number of offensive spels to be had, yet nothing that didn't seem to be gruesome, at least in some manner.

Until she reached a spell that seemed simple enough; it was a Fire Spell, one that created a small burst of flame - about a cubic meter area, or useable as a three meter spray. Close quarters only, but fire was an effective tool. Not only that, but the fire itself wasn't inherently evil, so no soul-stains.

Hopefully, it would be good enough. She knew she would have to test it later in a safe place - maybe in the same place where she fought with Tourmaline? Eh, Light Magic was simply better - no soul stains, efficient, flexible... but still, she needed some firepower - and fire was providing some firepower. She started to read the spell a bit more carefully...

The Fire Spell was flexible, the description went on; it could be used as a minor catalyst in creating bigger spells. All it took was some imagination and effort, coupled with practice, and she might be able to cause big OR small fires, or have a fire in an exact line or pattern, to avoid burning allies. It was mostly like a building block; it could be used in many ways, but the version written here was just the basic starter spell.

Catalyst in creating bigger spells, eh? That actually could be useful with Light Magic - perhaps she could mix it in some way? Maybe some Light Magic spells where using fire in some creative way was possible? Or perhaps...

The unexpected discovery of 'Catalyst Block Spells' (as she quickly named such malleable power) rallied up her enthusiasm - she once again dove into the rest of the library's books, looking for similar spells... hopefully ones that wouldn't stain the soul.

An intelligent choice, because through the other books available, she came across three more 'Catalyst Block Spells': one for water, one for smoke, and one for growth. Between these four spells, she could conceivably cast a number of lesser spells - provided she had the creativity and power to put them together in different ways. It was a good start, and showed that there was potential to be had with this line of study.

Four of them, and all of them powered by Dark Magic - splendid! With such basics as these, she could try to craft more useful spells. She could hardly wait to properly research and learn their full potentials - perhaps she could mix the Smoke Catalyst Block and Onyx's Dislacement Spell, so she could mask herself in a fogbank? There was also this Growth spell - the fact that it was fueled by Dark power was fascinating to her. Could she use it on plants, and would they be changed by the nature of its' magic? So much potential...

Happening to glance up, she idly noticed the clock on the wall, which showed her that three hours had passed since she'd been into the books; it was late. Far, far too late!

Obsidian quickly hid her Dark Magic books back in her secret stash, grabbed Onyx's diary and trotted to the library doors. Hopefully Cup wouldn't be too annoyed with her...

By the time she reached home, it was dark out. The hours had been eaten away by the day, and it had come to the point where nightfall was here, turning the bustling Ponyville into a quiet hamlet. When she got to her house, she saw Cup's muzzle staring out the window. As soon as he saw her, his eyes lit up, and he smiled as he got up and came for the door to let her in.

"Guess you had a lotta reading to do, hunh?" he said as he greeted her, giving her a warm kiss right on the lips. Of course he wasn't annoyed - it would probably take quite a lot for Cupcake to be upset with her.

Immediately after passing through the doorframe, she gave Cup a warm and proper hug. She spent practically her entire day with Diamond, and then got lost in her reading... right after they spent a rather active night together, and got engaged! It probably shouldn't be like that.

"Yes, Cuppy - I got caught up, and I'm so very sorry." She gave him an embarrased smile and started to take off her saddlebags.

Home, sweet home... and damnation, she was starving! The sweets from Sugarcube Corner were good, but they weren't a proper meal - at least not in the small quantities Obsidian had bought.

... she had to get some thread... a lock of her mane... oh, it was just too good of an idea to miss!

Cup grinned. "Well, you're working on important stuff... I get that. So, no worries about ME - I wanna know how YOU did today! Anything get solved?" She could smell the distant memory of dinner in the air; fried squash and battered bamboo shoots, from what she could tell. A Cupcake specialty; she was sort of upset she missed it.

"There's still some leftovers," he smiled, "I can heat 'em up, if you're hungry? Oh, and I... uh, I h-have something for you, when you've got a moment?"

"Yes, please Cuppy. Well today, I spent some time with Diamond, made a small war council with him, Tourmy and Gypsy, and Blue invited me to a 'battle of bands'; I'll have to ask Clap more about that later." Sadly, after her initial enthusiasm, she doubted she would be able to make any sort of functioning metal music band. Though with some Dark Magic...

"Hmmm, what else... I got something for Tourmy, and well... I, er, ha-have something for you, too. We can deal with it after dinner though, okay? I'm positively starving..." Mmmmm, bamboo shoots...

And while Cup was heating them up, she could finally add one last little touch to her own necklace. The Perfect Plan! "We have thread somewhere in the house, right?" she asked him innocently.

"Sure - the sewing box, in the bathroom, left drawer; should be a spool of waxed floss - will that do?" he said as he made his way to the kitchen; within moments, she heard him doing his thing. A moment more, and the scent which had been fading was now regaining strength, making her belly rumble with anticipation. She headed up to their bathroom quickly, trying to hide an excited giggle.

Sure enough, the floss was where he'd said it was, and the spool was only one-quarter used up. With as much candy as Cupcake ate, of course he would know where the floss was. Though, to be fair, this wasn't exactly string, per se... but it would still do the job, and the extra wax coating might help keep it in place, perhaps? And well... if anything, she could replace it later with another lock - it was the thought that counted... right?

With the floss and a small box in her magic's grip, she disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door quietly. She left it a few moments later, missing only a small tip from her mane, and with a very, very tightly tied lock inside the pendant. It should be fine - at least she hoped so. Now she had to viciously devour some bamboo shoots!

She got to the kitchen just as he was putting the last plate on the table, and from the looks of it, he'd outdone himself. The shoots and squash were there, along with some milk gravy, some hoofmade buttermilk bread rolls, carrot slices soaked in butter, and a bowl of black bean chili, absolutely saturated with cheddar cheese.

"The chili, I made to snack on while I waited for you; the rest was tonight's din-din, which Tourmy ate and thanked me for... and Amy ate and ignored me for." He shrugged, but had a smirk on his muzzle; Amy would have to try harder than that to get him down. Placing the last plate on her side, he then fetched her a tall cup of apple/grape juice (Cup usually just called it 'Grapple'), and simply sat on the other end of the table to watch her.

By Darkness, it was a really good thing that her father had been starving her so much - thanks to that, she was only just now catching up to a normal weight for her size... otherwise, she would probably already be fat!

"Cuppy, you've outdone yourself... again. The sky is no limit, eh?" she giggled as she sat down. Chili snack..? Well she just had to remember to have some milk available, just in case it would be too spicy for her. Her stomach growled angrily, encouraging her to dig in - so she did just that.

"So, how are things in Sweet Apple Acres?" she asked while enjoying the bread rolls.

Cup gave a sigh and shook his head. "Well, it's going well enough, but Butter's still not quite up to speed yet. She's got the routine down; she just needs to get faster, or she's gonna spend her whole entire day just getting the basic chores done! Uncle Mac helps her out a good bit, but between his own grandchildren and his failing eyesight, he won't be able to hold on forever... and Apple Bloom's only here until Nightmare Night - then she's gotta meet back with the other Crusaders, as they're headed into Forthright Changeling territory soon, and they'll need all the help they can get!"

Though he was going on and on about things, his eyes never left Obsidian; he was so much in love with her, too.

Wow. It sounded like Butter could really use some help. Maybe, just maybe... they could convince Lemon that Stonewall was a stupid asshat, and Diamond should be sent there instead? With his strength, Butter would be more than able to catch up with her chores! "And this highly annoying officer named Peavine is taking care of Diamond; he sent him to the dungeons - just to clean them, though. Do you think we could convince Lemon to intervene a bit on his behalf?"

Cup grew thoughtful. "Well, I don't know - why would Lemmy want to intervene? I mean, is Peavine being unfair or violent to Diamond? If so, then we absolutely should talk to him - but I wasn't there myself, so I'm not really sure. What happened to make you want to call Lemmy in on this?"

"Well, do you remember when Thunderclap got cursed and we had to bring her home? She lost a sack of pastries she'd just purchased, and I went to look for them..."

She let out a huff. "Well, Peavine was trying to claim them, and wouldn't listen to any other reasoning at this meeting because he held a petty little grudge! He dismissed Diamond's healing skills, and put him on some rather tiresome duty - ah, er, b-b-but it's... ah, it's less about Diamond in this case, and more about Butter, to be fair. He is quite strong. Very, very strong. And he's kind, nice, and charmingly cute..."

Obsidian shrugged. "I simply thought that perhaps Diamond could help her out - but first, he would have to be relegated from 'dungeon duty'."

Cupcake's seriousness doubled. "This guy stole cakes? Oh, I cannot allow THAT to stand! Yeah, I can talk to Lemon, and tell him that this 'Peavine' character is being a real pain in the flank, and see if maybe he can change Diamond's orders."

"Tried to steal, Cuppy - the goods got, um... destroyed... I had to buy new ones. But, um, it's less about Peavine being a real pain in the flank - just, well... try to suggest that Diamond would be more helpful at the Acres with Butter, okay? You could do it more easily than I could, I'm sure of it. Besides, Diamond asked me not to escalate the conflict."

Cup nodded, but then his smlie returned with gusto. "So what was it like, seeing him wake up? You say he's nice, kind and cute? Why, what did he do? Does he like you? C'mon c'mon c'mon, tell me all about him!" Cupcake looked eager to hear about his soon-to-be brother-in-law.

She tapped her chin. "Diamond is Stalwart's size; he likes me, yes - but to be fair, he apparently likes everypony. Gypsy is his liaison, and they already seem to be on the road to becoming besties. Sadly, he doesn't speak Equestrian, so it's necessary to know ancient Crystallian to understand him - or have some help, of course."

Cup chuckled. "He sounds like he favors Ruby more than Onyx; a good mark in MY book, anytime! And good on Gypsy for taking up the mantle; trust me, from all my service experience, I'd say he's in for a lot of work!"

Cup just made a joke about liaisoning Siddy; cute.

She then gave a light smirk. "Yes, ha ha. You know, Gypsy... he doesn't stutter at all when speaking in Crystallian; can you believe that?"

"Why does it not surprise me that Gypsy can speak ancient Crystallian? When it comes to sciencey or mathy stuff, we go to Mica; when it comes to history, we go to the Gypper!" He then pondered a moment. "But maybe he just... I dunno, maybe he just thinks about it less when he's speaking in another language?"

"I have no idea; perhaps he just enjoys Crystallian more than Equestrian? Or perhaps it's about the fact that more creatures can undestand him when he's speaking a more common language," she shrugged slightly, "and don't worry - I'd say that Gypsy has a far, far easier task than you did. Besides, you seemed to enjoy the challenge, especially after a day or two," she said, giving him a rather sultry smile.

Cup nodded with a similar smile. "Well, after I got over myself, that is." He then sat back and just stared at her for a moment. Then, casually and candidly...

"So, can we talk about... what, uh, happened? With us and the thing the other night and... yeah. Are we supposed to talk about it, or do we not say anything, or... what?" He looked as if he genuinely didn't know.

Talk about it? Well, perhaps, perhaps not... Obsidian herself knew even less about the subject than Cup himself. After all, her own parent never talked about anything like 'snugglebunny playtime' (DAMNATION! She didn't want to USE that!!!) and such. She felt somewhat glad, though - it would be a terrifying experience, she was sure of it. "Well... I guess we can. It was, um... very nice?" she tried with a somewhat awkward smile.

Cup blushed a bit as well. "YEAH, it was! I mean, uh... heh heh... it wasn't anything I ever expected it would be like... after years of calling it, well, what Mom called it, I half-expected we were missing a bunny somehow!"

He laughed at that, then settled down and looked her in the eyes. "It was like, you and me, we were the same pony for a moment there... like we were, y'know, connected at the heart? I couldn't tell where you ended and I began..." He now wore a dreamy look. "I'm glad I didn't have that experience with anymare else; you were the right one to wait for, Siddy."

Obsidian tapped her cheek thoughtfully. "Well, the heart wasn't the only place where we were connected, to be fair," she smirked a bit. "And I'm glad I didn't take my notes - otherwise, I would have been worried about a lack of seltzer."

It seemed that Obsidian learned a bit TOO much about Miss Pinkie Pie's preferences.

"But oh, it was most certainly something! I didn't know what to expect, but... but..."

Once again she was in a lack of words. "... it was better than anything I could imagine. And it was done with the best stallion in the world."

Cup couldn't take that compliment sitting down; he got up, came to Obsidian and hugged her tightly, nuzzling into her mane as he did. "My Princess, I love you more than can ever be measured, doubled on itself, times all the numbers in the world; thank you for choosing me. For your liaison, for your friend, for your... uh, l-lover..." he blushed brightly, "... for everything."

How could she reply to a proclamation like that? The only thing sweeter than their talks were Cup's sweets - and she wasn't quite sold on that. "We are really made for each other, aren't we?"

Cup hugged her tightly, and kissed her deeply in response. When he finally broke off the kiss, he was blushing fiercely, but grinning from ear to ear. He may still be a bit naive, but when it came to sex, Cupcake obviously felt that it was a good thing.

"So, once we get things done here, I'm sure it'll be sleepytime, but what're you up to tomorrow?" It was a fair question.

Hmmm, tomorrow... well, she had to train, look for Markannus, find Thunderclap, train some more... and most importantly... "It mostly depends on the current situation with Ruby, to be honest. I hope Princess Luna got at least one of my messages," she admitted.

Wait - did Cup know about Ruby?

Cup blinked. "Uh-oh... what's going on with Ruby?" he asked.

Okay, he didn't.

To be fair, until her meeting with Luna and Celestia, Obsidian didn't really know that she wasn't supposed to have tea parties with her dead sister. She'd gotten used to it, as a normal part of her life. "She literally lives in me; we are able to talk while I sleep. I recently asked Princess Luna for help with Amber's attempt to get at my mind... that time when I woke up screaming?... and it seems that it locked Ruby out as well. I found some anti-mind control spells yesterday, so I think I'm rather safe... but Ruby still didn't appear tonight."

Cupcake thought for a moment. "Well, then either Luna has decided that Amber's too much to risk and hasn't given control back yet, or she hasn't gotten your messages yet. Either way, I'm sorry to hear that; I know what she means to you, love, and I hope things get worked out soon."

He looked at her for a moment, then gave another shy chuckle. "I'm glad you won't wake up screaming, yeah... but I also know it's gotta be hurting you badly, not being able to talke to Ruby. Poor Siddy."

"Oh yes, it does - especially as we have a lot to talk about," Obsidian admitted. Poor Ruby... she was already missing her so much. For a pony who lived in isolation for the most of her life, she really couldn't live without her friends and siblings now.

"Anyway, I'm really not sure what I'll be doing tomorrow. So many things to do, so little time, you know," she smiled slightly at him, though it was once again a rather awkward smile.

Cup nodded, then gave her a grin. "Maybe one of these things, you could bring me along with? I mean, that way, we could still spend more time together, and I could also help out where I can. Remember, I like to help!" He seemed so enthusiastic about helping her out; he was such a sweetheart.

"Wait, hold on," he held up a hoof, "did you say something about Blue and some sort of battle, back there?"

"Battle of bands, Saturday night, Appleloosa. Blue said that Thunderclap would be there as well, so I plan to discuss going there together because frankly, I still don't feel too sure about trains. She asked me to support her metal," she explained. Of course, taking Cup with her would be great... though she wasn't sure if she would be able to think very much about working/learning in his presence, though. Hee hee hee...

Cup's eyebrows shot up. "Holy Schnikes! Blue asked you to come to the Battle Of The Bandz!? She's never asked anyone outside of the family to show up to those, except her other bandmates! She's been entering that thing for years, and keeps getting close, but never quite wins it..."

He smiled at Obsidian. "If she's asking you to be there... well, that's GREAT news! This could be your chance to bond with her finally! And yeah, she's all about heavy metal - it's the one thing she gets excited about!"

"I know! Isn't it great? I just need to learn how to cheer properly - but that's what I need Clappy for!", Obsidian replied cheerfully. "We visited Sugercube Corner - I, Gypsy, Diamond and Tourmy - and she was asking us if we 'rock'. After some clarifications she asked me to come and support her."

"Blue usually doesn't go out on a limb like that to just anypony - she must've heard all the stuff I've been saying about you, and decided to give you a chance! But Siddy, don't blow this one! Blue rarely gives first chances; a second one is impossible."

He then grinned as he hugged her again, then made his way over to the fridge, where he began to rummage around as well. "Y'know... that thing, about Ruby 'living on inside you'? It just makes me wonder... is Onyx in there too?"

His question was flippant and passive, yet it caused chills to run down Obsidian's spine. The thought that Ruby was trapped in her head was bad enough, but if she was trapped in there with Onyx...

"I don't plan to blow it, Cup. Especially as it's my first chance to see a metal band on stage," Obsidian admitted truthfully. The modern era - and modern music - were strange... but enjoyable. And the next question made Obsidian stop and think...

Well, she saw Onyx alongside Ruby after Clap made her Sonic Rainboom, right? Ruby looked happy... but Onyx was still there, right? Obsidian was enjoying the idea of an additional mare living in her head, but to consider Onyx might have been in there was... something else.

"If so, then she hasn't shown in ages. I've seen her once, a rather long time ago... but that was all." She asked Ruby about Onyx, after all - and Ruby didn't say anything. She would warn her about any sort of danger she knew of, right?

Cup came out of the fridge with a number of bowls of leftovers and proceeded to take them to the counter, where he began to manufacture sandwiches from the bowls' varied contents. "Well, then I guess that'd be good riddance, right? I mean, the last thing we'd need is Onyx coming back into our lives again; once was bad enough. Nothing but trouble, she was!"

And again, the fact that Diamond's drawing had survived all those years, hidden in the pages of Onyx's diary... even after she'd told him it had been burnt into ashes, crossed her mind. Was Onyx truly the heartless terror everyone saw her as, or was there more to the mare than anyone was giving her credit for? It would be an interesting experiment, to try to bring back to life not one, but two sisters. But was it even possible for Onyx to stay hidden for such a long time?

"Well, she was only trying to please our father; without Tourmy's attempt to kill me, I would have stood by her side," Obsidian pointed out.

Cupcake looked at her for a moment, then sighed. "I mean, I understand that... it's just a little disheartening to hear that your decision was only influenced by your brother's actions." He gave her a bit of a sad look.

Oh dear. "Er, well, that is... not only that, o-of course..." she tried to correct herself carefully. "It was just the defining point where I felt that I had no other choice; I still didn't know much of anything about Equestria, but I knew - or at least I thought I knew - my father. I only wanted to point that Sombra brainwashed us - I'm here only because I learned that there are other choices than a life spent in servitude. Onyx... well, she didn't."

"Onyx," he nodded, "was a tool, and didn't seem like she ever wanted to be much more than that. You learned that there was more to life than servng an ungrateful father, and that - in my opinion - is what's kept you from going all evil and stuff."

He then gave a grin. "Regardless, I'm glad you're with us, Siddy - they didn't deserve someone like you."

It was the perfect moment for a gift exchange. "Now you mention 'deserving'... I have something for you." She brought out the small box.

Cup smiled. "Oh, and I have something for you, too..." He also pulled out a box, which looked exactly like hers.

Cup looked at the two boxes. "I hope we didn't get each other the same thing."

Well, Elo wouldn't have allowed that, right? "To show you how much I care about you..." she opened her box, presenting her necklace to her stallion. "Cuppy..." she felt her throat choking up; the emotions were overwhelming, "... will you do me the honor of becoming my h-husband?"

Cupcake's smile was dwarfed by the smile in his eyes as he looked at the necklace; he then gave a chuckle and brought his box forward, opening it and reaching inside. "... only if you'll be... b-be my wife..."

The necklace he brought out looked almost exactly like Obsidian's, except that it was a polar opposite: it had silver beads, and an obsidian stone pendant that had a picture of Cupcake's cutie mark etched into it.

Cupcake looked back and forth between them, and he gave a smirk. "Elo's outdone himself," he chuckled as tears began to fall from his eyes - tears of happiness.

"I love you," he said simply as he held her gift out to her with one hoof, while taking her precious gift to him in his other. "It's perfect," he whispered as he looked at what she'd gotten him.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, ohhhh dear... they made it, they officially made it, they exchanged wedding necklaces, they were officially engaged to be wedded now, oh dear!

She took his gift with her magic, carefully putting it on her extended (and slightly shaking) hoof, to look at it more closely. Oh yes, Elo most certainly outdid himself - and it was great of him to do it so quickly and perfectly! By Harmony, she was really overdosing on happiness lately!

"Open it," she said quietly, her own eyes teary.

Cupcake looked at the locket... then, he opened it up. He looked at it for a moment, unsure of what he was looking at... Then, with a dawning look on his muzzle, he brought it to his snout and gave it a light sniff... and a broad smile broke out across his features.

"It's so perfect! Oh, I just love the scent of-... eh... eh heh heh heh... your, uh... y-y-your, um... mane." He blushed, muttering, "no, Cup, that doesn't sound weird at all."

He wasted no time in putting on the necklace and looking down at it, admiring the pendant before looking up to admire her. "YOU'RE perfect, Siddy - oh, thank you so much for loving me!" He looked like he needed a hug.

"I know, Cup. I know..." Mercifully, she didn't add 'your mother told me about it'. Obsidian put her necklace on as well - and immediatelly hugged Cupcake, as gently and lovingly as she could. That 'lovingly' part was rather new in her life; she'd been training in it for only a few weeks now, but she was doing her best. "Thank you for making me better, Cuppy."

Ha. 'Meanie' - it worked out perfectly, didn't it?

Cup hugged her back, and sealed their moment with another one of those kisses that made her tail curl on itself. "And we've got SO MUCH ahead of us... and I wouldn't wanna face it with anyone else but you."

He ignored the dishes and, as he did before, he picked her up in his front forelegs and took to his hind ones, standing on two limbs again as he lifted her up and began to carry her to their bedroom. "The sooner we get snuggly, the sooner we get to wake up next to each other," he smiled sweetly.

Tomorrow morning they might be a bit grumbly about these dishes, but who cared about it right now? "I agree wholeheartedly, my beloved fiancee..."

It sounded so perfect; she already loved this word.

~>-<~

Ruby's mane and tail looked rough and frayed, and Obsidian could see the very traces of Ruby's ribs along her barrel. She jumped up and ran for her, looking panicked and harried.

"OBSIDIAN, WAIT , PLEA-"

~>O<~

Author's Notes:

Diamond in the Rainbow Suite; I wanted to show how very much the little stallion would appreciate something that others were not so pleased with - it's kinda hard to complain about a bed to someone who's really never known one before.

The bit about the wedding necklaces was ALL Wungiel's idea; I found it utterly adorable, and my own eyes got teary as I originally wrote it. Reaching this section in my editing, it got me all over again. The bit with Cup and Siddy's mane is one of my favorite quirks for him.

So, plans made, things at the ready, and Diamond safely stashed away. Now, we'll be getting back into the search soon enough - but first, onward to make some inquiries as to poor Ruby's situation... and perhaps a surprise visit?

Eeyup, that's right kids; no spoilers.

Thirty Five: Only In My Dreams

The sound of birds chirping outside greeted her, and Cup's warmth next to her brought her focus out of the fuzzy haze it was in, and back to the reality she was lying next to. He still wore the necklace, and had a tiny smile on his muzzle as he sighed, his snout buried in her mane with his lips right next to her cheek, his sweet breath rolling across her face.

Shit, SHIT, SHIT! Obsidian practically leapt out of the bed. Luna - she had to meet with her personally; either she hadn't gotten her messages, or she couldn't get to Ruby, or it was something completely different... damnation, Ruby looked half-alive! It wasn't about just lack of ability to talk with her anymore - it was about her life! Or at least about its' poor remains.

Bathroom. Kitchen. She had to go back to Silver Shores, NOW.

In the kitchen, Tourmaline was busy helping himself to a cup of coffee... yet, when he saw Obsidian's muzzle, he grew worried.

"Obsidian, what is it?" he asked, "I can see something's got you worked up; what's going on?"

"Ruby still couldn't speak with me; she looked half-alive! I need to get to Princess Luna, quickly," she replied as she hastily prepared herself something edible for a fast breakfast. In fact, she should go with somepony - riding a train alone would be a bad idea. "And I should wake up Cup, too..."

Tourmaline stood up, then placed a calming hoof on her shoulder. "Obsidian, the news this morning is that Luna herself has come for a visit to Ponyville; can't be a coincidence, her being here after you've contacted her. Supposedly, she's staying in a suite at Twilight's Palace."

He looked at her seriously. "Chances are, she's here to speak wth you about the same thing you want to speak to her about."

Thank Harmony, the train travel issue wasn't a problem. Obsidian took a deep breath to calm herself. "Her mane and tail were both in an awful state... it's deadly serious," she shook her head.

What a terrible problem. Who would think that Ruby would have so much trouble after her death? "Well, if I don't have to waste my time on the train, I think I'll go and see her with Cup." Now that she thought about it, she helped herself to some coffee as well; waking up in a panic notwithtanding, she really needed it.

Tourmaline gave a somewhat concerned look, then glanced out of the window as he sipped at his own mug. "Your friend Gypsy came by earlier, and said he'd found one or two things he'd share with you when you went to see him and Diamond today. Oh, and he says that Mundy apparently likes orange juice... and he's been asking about your little Wart, as well."

He then looked at her earnestly. "So... Onyx's diary? You still going to let me look at it, or have you changed your mind?"

Obsidian facepalmed. Hard. A bit too hard - ow. "Oh, I forgot to give it to you yesterday. I was, eheheh... kind of busy, you see..." she muttered.

Necklace... hmmmm, her own necklace probably had a locket too; should she put something of Cupcake's in there?

Tourmy gave her a skeptical look, but one with a humorous overtone. "Mmmm-hmmm. Busy, I'll bet - there were still used dishes when I got up this morning. I cleaned them - you're welcome - and put them away already."

He then looked towards the attic stairs. "Amy didn't get in until three in the morning, last night; haven't even seen her at all this morning." He sipped again at his coffee.

Wonderful - NOW what was Amy planning? Damnation! To be fair, it would be nice to talk with her about the things she discovered in Onyx's diary, but she didn't have time for that at the moment!

"Thanks, Tourmy. We got kind of, ah... lost. Heat of the moment. You know the drill," Obsidian muttered. To cover her own slight embarrasment, she walked out of the kitchen to fetch the book for her brother.

When she retuned with it, Tourmaline was standing at the doorway to the kitchen, waiting for her, and when she came in, he stopped her and pointed to the kitchen table.

There, sitting at it, was Amethyst... but she looked horrible. Her mane and tail were in utter disarray, her coat looked dirty, her left ear had what looked like soot stains on it, and to top it all off, she was sporting a black eye on her left. She was sitting there, wolfing down what leftovers were left over from last night. Her eyes were closed, and she had a look that said talking to her might be hazardous to one's health.

"Guess she was hungry," Tourmy muttered to Siddy, watching Amy eat.

By Darkness... Amethyst looked worse than Ruby did! Was it connected? Was it not? Obsidian didn't care about the possible danger to her health - she trotted right inside.

"Sister of mine... what the fuck happened to you?" Obsidian gawked.

Amethyst looked up from the table, and fixed Obsidian with a bleary-eyed stare. "Nothing." She then put on a scowl that, strangely, didn't seem to be directed at her. "Abso-fucking-lutely nothing."

She seemed like she was about to go on... but then, she just went right back to eating the platefull of stuff she'd gathered from the fridge. Frankly, she didn't even seem to notice what she was eating; she was just shoveling it into her mouth, chewing, then swallowing.

Obsidian focused her eyes on Amy; could it be possible? What if... "Sister... does something possibly try to take control your mind in the middle of the night, forcing you to act bizarrely?"

She looked at her as if Obsidian was proving to be the slow sister. "No, stupid. Nothing happened, which isn't at all what I was hoping would happen; there, satisfied?" She angrily turned back to her food, now eyeballing Obsidian as if daring her to say one more thing...

Okay, so perhaps it wasn't Amber after all; it was just Amy behaving like Amy. Just a weird Amy. "I've been preparing lately for our upcoming field trip, learning one or two new Dark Magic spells," she said as she tried to carefully approach her from the other side.

Amy's eyes slowly rolled to look at her. "Really? DARK Magic. What, you get 'em from a box of candy somewhere? You write to Princess Twi-Lip that you needed something spooky and scary to fight animals off with?"

But her eyes were still watching her intently, regardless of her jibes.

"No - from my own sources, sister." Obsidian sighed. "Resources that are sadly somewhat limited, but I hope to get access to something more soon."

Perhaps it was lie, perhaps it wasn't. Perhaps she was considering Amy to be her best direct source of Dark Magical knowledge at the moment - or perhaps she was even talking about her plans to request possession of Sombra's diary.

Or perhaps she was just baiting Amethyst without any further thoughts; it kind of depended on how she reacted.

Amy stared at her for a solid minute, then gave a single grunt and returned to her eating. Tourmaline motioned to Siddy to meet him in the hallway; Amy either didn't see or didn't care.

Stupid Amy. Obsidian made her way back to the hall; at the moment, Amy just really wasn't in the mood, apparently.

In the hallway, Tourmy brought her within whispering distance. "Look, whatever it is that Amethyst is up to, I'll try to figure it out; you have better things to do. Hopeully, by the time you get back home, I'll have answers for you... or, if nothing else, at least something more of what's going on with her."

He glanced back at the kitchen. "Let's just hope that whatever she's doing, it has nothing to do with Umbrals..."

"Perhaps she met a nice stallion somewhere, and they got a bit carried away? Who knows?" Obsidian snarked, slightly discouraged by Amy's behaviour.

It was maddening! Tourmy had a lot to lose from betraying them all, plus he'd found his own life and liked it; Diamond? He was far too nice and kindhearted to ever betray them (unless his kindness was just a way to hide his true intentions so he could slit their throats in their sleep)...

Amy, however? She had nothing to lose from plotting against Equestria... and/or against Obsidian, for that matter.

"I'll go up and wake up Cup. Good luck brother," she gave an exasperated sigh, "I have a feeling you'll need it."

Tourmy sighed, then headed back into the kitchen. "So, I guess you were busy last ni-"

"Drop. Dead."

Well, Tourmaline certainly had his work cut out for him, didn't he? At any rate, she made her way to the bedroom she shared with her fiancee (it WAS fun to say!), and found him snuggled up tightly to her pillow, with his muzzle buried in it as he softly snored on.

Okay, Obsidian might have to do something very, very naughty, here. One may have thought that she'd reached the depths of her sadism when she forced Amy to try to integrate into Modern Equestria, but it was going to be peanuts (Correct? Right?) compared to this scheme.

"Cuuuuup?" she lilted softly, "Oh, Cupcake Spriiiiiiiinklllllllles, it's time to wake uuuuuup..." she nudged him with her hoof and shook him gently.

Cup gave a soft groan, and lifted a leg to give a soft fart into the soft mattress. "... zzzzzzzz... but I don' wan' brussels sprouts, momma... zzzzzzz... I wan' da watermelon-flav'red bowling ball... zzzzzzzz..."

Strangely enough, it wasn't the weirdest thing she'd ever heard him say in his sleep.

She leaned down closer to him, and purred sweetly into his ear. "Cupcake, did I hear correctly? Is your marefriend... pregnant?" she grinned wickedly.

"... mhrrmrhrrrr?" He stirred, then slowly sat up until he was upright. Of course, his eyes were juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuust barely open, and he looked at Obsidian dully.

"Dish soap bubble gum is nashty," he said in a mutter as he smacked his lips dully. Okay, she got at least some sort of reaction from him.

"Cuppy," she nuzzled him lightly and kissed his cheek... twice. She needed him in working condition, after all.

His neutral muzzle crinkled into a smile, and he returned the nuzzle. "Mmmmmmmmmmmm... I never get tired of waking up to you, Siddy," he said with a lazy grin as he gave a s-t-r-e-t-c-h, yawning as he did. When he finished, he scratched at his flank for a moment, then looked at her fully.

"Mornin', beautiful," he smiled, "feel like some breakfast yet?"

"Sorry - I already ate," Obsidian admitted, "I quickly made something in the kitchen and almost ran off to do all those important things, before I realized that it would be a better idea to take you with me!"

She then lowered her voice. "Princess Luna visits Ponyville today, and I really, really need to see her; I didn't talk with Ruby again tonight - something is STILL blocking her. It's serious, too - her mane and tail were in a terrible state, Cuppy!"

Hearing the worry in her voice, Cup rubbed his eyes and seemed to focus himself a bit more. "Oh, no... poor Ruby! You're right, we have to speak to Luna about this, right away! Okay, I'll get up and get myself ready - I shouldn't take but a few minutes. Go ahead and get ready to go, and I'll be down shortly."

Cup gave her a quick kiss, then got up and started to rummage about, getting himself ready for going out - good. Luckily, her fiancee understood gravity of the situation. Obsidian nodded, then went down to prepare her saddlebags - and to check and see if Tourmy was still alive.

Downstairs, she could hear talking in the kitchen as she approached:

"... fucking business!"
"It IS my business! You show up, beaten to Tartarus and back, and simply expect me to let it go-"
"YES! For fuck's sake, you little shit, am I not allowed to have my own life, like you clowns!?"
"You are - as soon as we have PROOF that you won't spend it like Onyx spent hers..."
"Oh, go fuck yourself with Gunther's dick!"

With that, Tourmy came striding out of the kitchen, and glowered at Obsidian in passing as he went to his own stairwell.

"That BITCH can ROT for ALL I CARE!" he growled as he made his way downstairs, slamming his door behind him.

Okay, apparently that wasn't the best idea - though he proposed it himself; Obsidian had trusted that her older brother was subtle enough to go through with it. Sadly, it seemed like it didn't work... and it also seemed that Amy knew about Gunther, but had kept that to herself... well, until now, anyway.

She carefully peeked into the kitchen; hopefully, Tourmy hadn't made things worse.

Amethyst was seated at the table, turned facing the wall; her muzzle was in profile, and as she sat there staring at the table below her, Obsidian could see tears tracking down her cheeks, falling into the plate of food beneath her as she quiety sat there.

Amy was... crying?

By Darkness... that mare was impossible to understand. Utterly impossible! Who would have thought that she was able to cry? And yet, here she was...

She stood up, dumped the half-eaten plate of food into the sink and made her way to her stairs, where she began to plod up them - one at a time, as if her limbs weighed as much as her heart seemed to.

"Amy?" Obsidian trotted closer - but not too close. "Amethyst, please, we... we're just worried about you. Really."

The mare stopped her upward progress. "Look. You have a life that's yours to do with as you please. So does the moron. Both of you are expected to make complete lives for yourselves, and to integrate into this society of 'Harmony'," she said the word as if it tasted like sulfur and charcoal, "while making all sorts of stupid friends and becoming oh-so-sweet-and-kind..."

She hadn't turned to look at her. "Me? Everyone expects me to be up to no good, executing some dastardly plan, murder a few citizens and end up getting either statued like father or being out-right KILLED to preserve the current order..."

Now, Amethyst turned to look at Obsidian over her flank. "... even you."

She turned away again, but when she reached the top of the stairs, she spoke over her shoulder. "This Ghastly Gorge thing... it had better be worth my time." Entering her attic space, she shut her door behind her.

Amy was hard to deal with, and it really didn't help that at least half of the time, Obsidian actually was worried about some kind of dastardly plan she could come up with... but the 'even you' part still hurt.

It also didn't help that the darkest thoughts Obsidian recently had were about using Dark Magic to dominate Amy completely and utterly - and Amethyst, at least a few times, had encouraged her to work more on her Dark Magic... which could end badly for her.

Unfortunately, there was nothing more to do here. What in Tartarus did that damnable mare like? Training, skulking around, a nice dresser... maybe she would enjoy dancing? On another hoof, Obsidian couldn't help but think about metal music being something her sister might enjoy.

Bah - if Amy was annoyed that they kept suspecting her of something, then perhaps she should communicate with them more often! Obsidian would be suspicious of anypony behaving in that creepy way, and Amy - let's be fair - was NOT your average pony!

There was nothing else she could do at the moment... unless she felt like shattering the doors and barging inside, planting Amy facedown on the floor with her magic and demanding her to stop being so fucking enigmatic!

She trudged back into the living room; hopefully Cup would get here quickly.

As she reached the wide hallway, Cupcake Sprinkles pranced downstairs, looking proud of his saddlebags and how well he'd combed his mane out. He continued the high-stepping gag until he saw Siddy's expression... when he came down the rest of the stairs normally, and made his way over to her with a questioning look.

"You okay?" he asked, "Because you look like someone just rankled your fur the wrong way..."

"Amy's being all mysterious again," Obsidian waved her hoof dissmissively. "You know, for a pony who complains we don't trust her, she never tries to explain what she's doing..."

She then trotted over closer to Cup, whispering safely into his ear, "This time, however, she was crying... so it's a bit more serious than usual."

Cupcake looked at her and mouthed the word 'crying?' with a stunned expression. He looked upstairs at where the unicorn mare had closed her door, then he gave Obsidian a seriously worried look.

"You know, Dad says depression is a REAL thing, and it can do all sorts of nasty things to you... even kill your sense of humor. He said it took Mom's hard work to get hm to laugh again, even though he thought he'd lost his laugh for good."

He pondered a moment, still staring at Amy's door. "Maybe she's just depressed, and it'll take someone doing something really special for her to get her out of it? Or maybe we 'll have to try to include her in more stuff we do? Either way, we could maybe do more to make her feel welcome..." he sighed, "because Dad also told me that there are some... dark things that can cross your mind, f you're depressed. REALLY dark things."

Obsidian tilted her head a bit... Dark things? "Like... using energy from the souls of pony slaves to destroy Equestria?" she tried to guess. That's surely what she would do, if in a very bad mood - but perhaps it really would take somepony special to help Amy.

Cupcake's words were so quiet, she almost didn't hear them: "Dark things like taking your own life."

He looked serious about that one, as if his father had basically told him he'd almost committed suicide during his depression... and the thought of just coming across Amethyst's corpse, killed by her own hoof, was sadder than even the sight of her crying.

In theory it would be a great thing to convince Diamond to give he a second chance - but that might take a LOT of doing to achieve that goal. Even if he could be convinced, there was just no way he wouldn't be too scared to make this 'second chance' look real.

"It would be rather diffcult to incude her more... especially as she always sems to be busy with something. I'd offer to do something she'd enjoy... but even after all this time, I still don't know what she likes," Obsidian shook her muzzle. She was just one pony, with lot of things on her poor head. "Let's go to Princess Luna... and perhaps your mother would know what happened to Amy last night."

He shrugged. "Well, maybe we could ask Tourmy or Diamond if they know what she likes, right? I mean, wouldn't they know? At least something?"

He followed her to the door, then out they went. As they began their trek to the castle, Cupcake seemed to ponder out more of his thoughts. "I mean, we know she likes sharp things... and jerky... and frilly dressers, I guess... and acting mean... and her dagger. I'd say we could give that back to her to see if it helps... or, er, maybe a replica?"

"I'm not so sure about that, Cup; I think it be more like salt in the wound," she mused. A replica of a thing from her past which made her much more dangerous and terrifying? Really, it would practically be mockery.

"Tourmy doesn't exactly idolize her, as you've noticed - and Diamond is terrified of her - you'll understand why as soon as you'll see the scar. Jerky... well, that's why I want to go with her on a field trip."

Cupcake looked at her for a moment, then nodded. "I... don't actually trust her, Siddy... but I trust you, and that means I have to trust that you know at least some of what you're doing with her. If not, well, it feels like you're on the right track. Maybe it WILL help? We'll just have to do what we can, I guess."

Reaching the palace, the guards recognized them and allowed them entrance. They soon found themselves in the main foyer, the other hallways around them leading to all points palace-wise.

"So, where're we headed?" Cup asked as he glanced around.

"Supposedly, Luna stays in a suite.... though sadly, I didn't learn which suite it was," Obsidian sighed, "but Diamond should be in the Rainbow Suite, so we can safely assume that Princess Luna is not there. Alternatively, we could just ask somepony if they've seen her."

Cupcake turned to her, a look of excitement in his eyes. "Orrrrrrrrrrrr... we could go see your brother and ask if he's seen her, couldn't we?" Cup was just eager to meet Mundy... but, then again, it wasn't a bad idea to ask if he'd possibly seen a royal blue alicorn passing by?

"Diamond most certainly is somepony, so it fits my idea - and perhaps she's in one of the suits closer to his room," Obsidian agreed. And if not, then at least they could meet with Gypsy.

"Diamond apparently likes orange juice," she sighed, "and I was so worked up about meeting the princess that I forgot to bring him any from home..."

Cupcake smiled, reached behind him, and brought out an entire sack of oranges. "Well, maybe he'd like to try making some himself? We can give him these!" He then smiled at Obsidian and, without further ado, began to merrily skip his way down the hallway, whistling a catchy tune as he did.

Well, that was her fiancee, for better or for worse. Obsidian could only stare in shock and disbelief; she really, truly should be used to it by now. Lucky her - getting used to it would make its novelty and magic disappear.

He skipped on for a bit until he slowly came to a stop, glancing up and down the hallway before turning to Siddy. "Uhh... where are we headed again? I was going to the Rarity Suite... because, well..." Because that's where he'd met Obsidian. "... because I memorized where it was, but I'm not sure where the others are..."

"That's fine - we're almost there," she smiled at him.

At the Rainbow Suite, the door was open, and voices floated out to greet her...

"{... and even Pancho thinks so!}"
"{Does he, now?}"
"{Oh, indeed! She was so kind to free him from the clutches of the toy store, and he is SO happy to be living with me now!}"
"{He does seem to enjoy your company... are you aware that my own sister once kept a phoenix as well?}"
"{REALLY? A real one?}"
"{Indeed; Philomena was a fine friend and companion to her for many years. Eventually, she left to begin her own family, but she still soars the skies of Silver Shores on occasion... with her children in tow.}"
"{Oh, that is a lovely story, Miss Luna!}"

Well, that solves that mystery. What a nice turn of events: instead of running around everywhere in the palace, looking for Princess Luna, BOOM - everypony she needed was already in one place. If Gypsy was there as well, then everycreature she needed would be there!

"His stuffed phoenix is named Pancho; try not to overdose from cuteness, Cuppy," Obsidian giggled as she happily trotted to the door of the Rainbow Suite. Cup just grinned; he was going to understand, soon enough.

When she opened the door, Diamond looked up and smiled broadly. "{Sister Obsidyan! How wonderful to see you again! I have been visited by an alicorn!}"

Luna gave a soft laugh. "Your brother is adorable, Obsidian; he acts so young, yet he is so very knowledgable! I dare say he knows more about healing magics than even I do!"

Gypsy, who was seated on the couch, wagged his tail as he saw her. "Greetings, Obsidian - your b-b-brother has been enj-j-joying his company today!"

Ah, so it was everycreature - wonderful! "{Good morning, brother...} Princess Luna..." she bowed shortly to her, "and Gypsy. It's good to see you all here... "

Two children of Sombra, a retired alicorn, a diamond dog speaking ancient Crystallian and a sugar-fueled unicorn; what a motley crew.

"{Gypsy, you didn't have the opportunity to meet my fiancee yesterday... Diamond, meet Cupcake Sprinkles!}" She introduced him as soon as she crossed the threshhold.

Cupcake stepped through and looked down at Diamond, who looked back at him with equal interest. They stared at each other for a moment, then they both leaned in close, coming almost snout to snout.

"I like your phoenix," Cup said, matter-of-factly.

"{You smell like sweet things!}" Diamond chirped.

Cupcake looked at Obsidian excitedly. "So, what'd he say? Does he like me?"

It was a far less earth-shattering first impression than Obsidian had thought it would be... in fact, she had been somewhat expecting a small apocalypse. The actual reaction was a bit underwhelming...

"He said you smell like sweets," she obediently translated for her coltfriend, looking with expectation at them. Aaaaaaaaany minute now...

Cup looked back at Diamond. Diamond looked at Cup. Their stares got intense...

Then, without warning, Diamond simply reached over and picked Cupcake up off the floor in a hug. "{Oh, Obsidyan, he is also a wonderful pony! SO MANY wonderful ponies I have met! He smells like The Sweet, and he likes Pancho! May he be my friend as well, please?}"

Luna gave a low chuckle. "I admit, he surprised me with the power of his hugs, as well... however, he means no harm."

Cupcake just started laughing. "WOW! He's got some muscles!"

When Mundy finally sat Cup down, the bigger stallion then held out the sack of oranges for him. "Siddy said you liked orange juice, so I thought I'd bring you some oranges! These are the fruits where OJ comes from!"

Diamond's eyes widened. "{Are... are these all for me?}"

"See, Cup? That's why I said he could possibly help out a lot at Sweet Apple Acres!" she beamed.

Cup smiled. "And how! He could get a LOT accomplished on a farm, I'll bet!"

"{And yes, Diamond - they are all yours. As you can see, Equestria is wonderful... Cupcake is wonderful... practically everything is wonderful...}" Except for Amy's depression... or Ruby's current state... or Jade's curse... or Amber's mind-controlling powers...

"{Diamond, what about your dungeon duty?}" she said as she realized that her small brother should be toiling under the harsh 'care' of Stonewall Peavine - not relaxing with Princess Luna in his room.

Diamond looked at her as she asked her question. "{Oh, I have already performed my duties for today; the Captain wanted to assign me further work, but Miss Luna came to visit, and she told him I was going with her. He looked so funny when she told him this!"}

Luna gave a light sigh. "Ah, yes... Captain Peavine. I could tell he was not amused at having his latest 'project' removed from his care for the time being, yet he knows better than to try to tangle with the likes of me."

"{Soooooooooooooooo woooooooooooooonderfulllllllllll!!!!!}" Diamond began to dance a small, quick waltz around the room. Naturally, Cupcake joined him, and the two were waltzing smoothly across the floor, laughing like twin loons.

Luna looked to Obsidian after getting an eyeful of the show in front of her. "Actually, you and I must speak on matters most important, regarding your other siblings... and the suspicions I have gathered. It might also be best to speak more privately, as well."

Obsidian peeked over at Diamond and Cup - they seemed to be having fun on their own, and would be fine for a bit. "Perhaps in another suite, then?" she said with a hint of resignation.

Suspicions... *siiiiiigh*... it sounded like a terrifying amount of work. Or danger. Or dangerous work. In any case, there would likely be threats of death and so on...

Well, with the help of her friends, nothing was impossible to solve or defeat... but still, she was becoming downright paranoid when it came to her siblings.

Luna looked to Gypsy, who nodded and motioned with his paw for them to leave; doubtless, he'd overheard them with his keen hearing. The diamond dog began to clap a three/four beat, and the two stallions (who looked ridiculous holding each others' hooves like that) continued the dance, both of them giggling like schoolfillies as they did.

Luna led the way to the room next door; another suite, but this one unnamed and bare of furniture, save for a single chair and a candleholder.

"Obsidian, I'm afraid I have rather disturbing news..." Oh, that couldn't be good.

"I have used the past few nights to venture into your dreams, to see if there was something that could be done from within your own mind to defend you against control. It was there that I encountered an entity most powerful, and fought with it to ensure your mind remained your own."

She looked at Siddy, and for a moment, the look she wore spoke every single second of her long and weary life. It was almost as if the youthful appearance she wore had... faded from view for a moment... and beneath, the mare Obsidian saw was so very tired and worn, not to mention somewhat jaded and even a bit bitter from all her years of life.

Then, with a shake of her pretty head, Luna was what she appeared to be again... albeit, some of her inherent invincibility was diminished, in the wake of what Siddy had witnessed just now.

"The second night was the same, with my fight being difficult and prolonged until you woke in the morning from your slumber. But after that night, I realized what I was fighting was not coming at you through your dreams... but through YOU, directly. Obsidian... the call was coming through your very soul."

The alicorn began to pace as she spoke. "I put much time into the venture when I awoke, finding what I could on such connections in the past. From what I have learned, it is becoming apparent to me that your sibling Amber has some form of connection to you that surpasses magic... and stopping your dreams is the best way to blind it..."

Luna then looked at her gravely. "But I cannot stop it."

By Darkness - nothing that starts with 'disturbing news' could be good. Obsidian kind of expected bad news, but if an ancient alicorn calls something 'disturbing', then it was obvious that the situation was exceedingly serious.

A most powerful entity that an alicorn princess had to fight just to ensure that her mind would stay her own... coming directly through her soul... with Amber abusing this connection with her... and Luna unable to stop her in her dreams.

Perhaps the idea of turning Amber's shard into gravel wasn't as bad as Obsidian initally thought; it would make her list of dead siblings longer, of course... but it was in self-defense, as well as the defense of poor Ruby. And of course, it was Amber's fault.

"So... we might have to free Amber to stop her personally?" she tried to guess at the best way to deal with this.

Luna closed her eyes. "May the seas boil before we have to resort to that; there is no telling how powerful she would be, should she ever regain a mobile body. Pray we never have to resort to such a dire solution."

She looked up again, and resumed her pacing. "Last night, there was another development... two, in fact. The first was that, when I came to defend your mind again... I found no need to; the presence never showed, not even once. I wandered some of your dreamscapes, but I found no trace of anyone there. Some interesting scenes," she gave Obsidian the smallest of smirks, "yet no sign of Amber's hungry, slithering magical signature. That worries me, as it leaves me to wonder where her presence currently IS, if it is not here."

It made sense, in a way; Amy's disheveled appearance, combined with Amber's lack of presence, worried her. Siddy hoped beyond hope that it was merely a coincidence; if Amber was taking Amy's mind over to do underhooved things on the sly...

"I made sure to scour your own mind to make certain it was no trap or ruse... which is where I have come across the second discovery I made." Luna leveled her stare right into Obsidian's soul... and Siddy could tell the alicorn mare was almost afraid. "You exist, of course... and Ruby does as well, within you. Yet, even with this knowledge..."

She visibly gave the slightest of shudders. "... I do not believe the two of you... are alone."

By Darkness...

"An extra presence within my mind... could it be Onyx?" she whispered, almost too afraid to say it aloud. Why didn't Ruby say anything? Obsidian had been asking her about their late sister, after all - was it that hard to tell her 'your brain has just been turned into a hotel'? Just how much had that damnable mare planned, or how much luck did she have?

And why was it that every sibling of Obsidian's seemed to have cool powers that allowed them to practically attempt a world conquest by themselves... while she had to accomplish everything the normal way?

"Third? Obsidian, I sensed at least FIVE." Luna whispered. "Yourself, Ruby... and three other, distinct minds within - one of them being very powerful."

Obsidian could only stare back at her in shock.

Luna sighed. "I could not identify them, as I have only met yourself and Diamond before; they are unknown to me, yet even as I cannot know them, I can feel them... and each of them is part of what was ultimately assisting me in defending you from Amber's attacks. I do not know if they are there to assist you completely, or if they have more sinister purposes... but I believe that your soul houses other entities within you, aside from yourself and your sister. Further, I believe that Amber no longer seems to have any interest in you... which would behoove you to investigate your other stray brethren as soon as possible."

Luna looked at her very seriously. "Because I doubt they have the same caliber of defenses that you currently possess."

Obsidian rubbed her temple nervously for a quite long time - to say that her hoof was shaking would be an understatement.

"Okay, let's try to figure this out... Ruby died in my presence, as well as Onyx. Peridot was technically dead when I destroyed the curse that pinned his spirit to this world, but perhaps he survived this way, too. Of course, there's possibly my father, but he was first stripped of magic and then turned into stone... quite a shame, but at least it stopped him from trying to possess our bodies."

They were assisting Princess Luna with her mental defense? Somehow, that made the entire situation even scarier, in a way.

"There's also the case of the mysterious disappearance of Radiant Hope. Perhaps she's somewhere in there as well..." Five minds in one body, and only one was in control the whole operation - how very annoying.

"Princess... did you notice anything strange when you visited my dreams for the first time? Was I alone then?" If that presence was already there, then perhaps it was long-lost Hope. "And I've glimpsed Ruby during these last few nights, but only for a moment - she looks worse with each passing dream, and gets more and more desperate to say something. Each time, my dream is cut short before she's able to. Is there anything, now that you're here personally, that you and I could do to talk with her again?"

Luna looked at her solemnly. "I am... afraid to consider what may happen, should I remove the Dream Barrier now, yet I wish to help poor Ruby. And I shall not deny that yours is a situation that I do not envy... yet, to be sure, I shall still assist you in this endeavor. Tonight, I shall lift the veil that prevents you from dreaming, and I shall be there personally to ensure nothing happens to you through Amber's direct influence. If she does not show, then I would make haste to your siblings to check on them, as they would be likely targets."

"I shall not interfere with your dreams, so that you may experience Ruby in peace... yet know that I am watching over you, and you will have nothing to fear." Even Luna sounded as if she were trying to convince herself of the last part. "And, to help in these matters, I have managed to convince my sister to allow me to place an enchantment upon one of your friends that will help us communicate more directly. To this end, I will require Gypsy's assistance, but we can get to this in a moment."

She leaned forward, concern writ large on her lovely muzzle. "Are you... will you be okay?"

Obsidian didn't feel okay, and doubted she would ever really be okay... at least until she found out which family members were there in her brain - and until she could stop Amber, of course. The fact that Gypsy could help them with sending messages was very reassuring, but the main problem was still present. Plus, there was also Opal, who was probably trying to invade Equestria with some Dark-Magic-Powered robots or something. No rest for the wicked, eh?

"I can only hope so, princess... however, perhaps it would be a good idea to try sleeping right now? I'm sure I could find some sleeping pills and try to communicate with Ruby while Amber is not targeting me." She really had to find out what Amy was doing... IF it was Amethyst at all.

Luna looked at her. "Seriously? If the plight is that dire, then come and curl up here on the floor; I shall tend to thee-... er, I mean, I can induce sleep magically, if need be."

"Her tail and mane were ruined... which, in Ruby's case, is a sign that something is very wrong. Besides, she seemed to have something to tell me - it could help us in the fight against Amber, or possibly help identify these other minds that are buried within me," she explained quickly.

Luna nodded, then waited for Obsidian to get situated on the floor. Once she was ready, she ight have looked up to say something more, but Luna's horn and eyes flashed at that moment.

"SLEEP..."

~>-<~

Ruby looked over at where Obsidian was standing, and when it registered who she was, the mare began running at her.

"No! NO! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME HERE AGAIN! PLEEEEEASE!"

She reached Siddy, and almost bowled her over as she tacklehugged her and began to cry in great, heaving sobs. "Oh SIDDY! You're HERE! You're really really really here! Oh I missed you! I'm sorry! I'll do better from now on, I promise! I PROMISE! Oh, please don't leave me alone like that again, oh SIH-HI-HI-HI-DEEEEEEE..."

She was shaking like a flag in a windstorm as she clung to Obsidian's barrel, nuzzling her chest as she sobbed heartbreakingly. The poor thing looked like she hadn't bathed or eaten in days.

By Darkness, it felt so good to once again talk with Ruby! To see her... to hold her. Obsidian hugged her right back - though the better word would be 'clutched', as she grabbed her and held on as if she wouldn't ever let her go.

"Ruby! Ruby Ruby Ruby, I missed you so much! Soooooo much!" She then started to cry as well, pulling her sister closer to her...

Wow, she was really getting emotional lately, eh?

It took a few minutes straight of sobbing from both of them before it finally tapered off enough for the mare to regain some control over herself; she still kept hugging Obsidian, but now she was making sounds that approached conversation-type words.

"I thought... th-thought I'd messed up, somehow... that I'd said... or d-d-done the wrong thing... and you got angry with me, and you wouldn't... wouldn't..." Her muzzle began to crack again, but she maintained control at the last moment, fighting off tears to stay talking with her sister. "... but you're here, which m-means I probably didn't mess up, and it's been something else, right? Something else going on outside of all this, right?"

This teary-eyed reunion was hardly proper compensation for the loss of the last few days, when Obsidian was unable to talk with Ruby - but it was fine enough for now. Damnation; perhaps she wouldn't have been hit so hard by this moment if she hadn't been so scared for her sister's very existence! Unfortunately, the mere fact that Amber was skulking around somewhere mentally, plotting dark things and nasty surprises, was enough to make Obsidian triply-worried.

"Ruby, my lovely, wonderful sister... do keep in mind, if I'm able to withstand Amy's attitude when she's in her typical foul mood, I can't imagine anything that could make me that angry at you!" Obsidian kissed her sister's forehead - that poor, sweet forehead, barely protected by an unkempt and lanky mane.

"But... yes, Ruby - plenty of things are going on outside of this, I'm afraid. Our sister... you know which one... has breached my dreams, and her invasive presence utterly terrified me; I asked Princess Luna to block my dreams for a few nights, so I could find some counter-measures... but things got even more serious, and I've been unable to contact you or her. I've only managed to meet you again tonight because Princess Luna herself visited Ponyville personally - and I felt I had to rush to see you, as soon as I saw the state you were in!"

Ruby squeezed Obsidian in her embrace. "I'm so so so so SO glad you did - I feel like I've been dying in here without you!" As she spoke, Obsidian could already see a bit of color returning to Ruby's pale cheeks, her mane and tail beginning to regain a bit of their former body.

"Oh, Obsidian - when is the world gonna ever get tired of messing with you, huh? Why can't my favorite sister just have a few days off to enjoy life, learn to love and grow, and have tea parties with me? Is that too much to ask, Fate?"

She then gave an attempt at a light and snarky laugh; it sounded far weaker than Ruby had ever sounded before, and it made Siddy's spine shiver. But she was certainly starting to show signs of recouperation already, thank Harmony; Obsidian wasn't going to let her go until she was completely back to her old self again.

"But wait, what do you mean, 'things got even more serious'? Are you okay? What else could be going on?" Ruby looked highly concerned.

"How should I put this," Siddy sighed, "our sister is apparently strong enough to put up a decent fight with Princess Luna for my mind. While she was there, the princess also found not one, not two, but three additional minds inside me - not counting myself and you." Well, that was brutally brief.

"... but, ah... on the bright side, I no longer have a coltfriend - I have a fiancee now." She grinned sheepishly.

"Amber is fighting off alicorns? Oh, that's not good - not good at all... a-and there's three others in here with me? Why haven't I seen them by now? Oh, Siddy, if I'm not alone in here, that could mean some-..."

She suddenly jerked back and stared at Obsidian. "YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED!?"

There was a burst of light from the tip of Ruby's horn, and just like that, she was her beautiful old self again, her eyes wide with shock and awe, a huge smile on her muzzle. She laughed loud and hard, just like Siddy remembered, and hugged her tightly.

"Oh, Siddy! Cupcake? That's wonderful! Oh, I'm so happy for you! Oh my gosh, this is incredible news! My favorite sister is getting married to the stallion of her dreams! Oh Obsidian, congratulations!"

Now THAT was much, much better... but Obsidian still wan't going to let her go; she had a debt of three nights worth of hugs to make up for. "Yes Ruby, Cupcake! We've got matching engagement necklaces and everything! And you look much better now, sis - your mane and tail are perfect again," Obsidian smiled at her.

"But now that you feel better, we should get down to business. I was hoping if you could tell me what it could mean, that there are three other minds present? I'm wondering about a few guesses... Onyx? Peridot? Applejack? Radiant Hope? Maybe, somehow, Sapphire? I've seen Onyx once before, after everything that happened; you were sitting next to her in some sort of spirit form after Thunderclap made her Sonic Rainboom."

Ruby looked at herself, smiled softly, then turned her eyes to Obsidian and nodded. "Well, uhhhh... all I know is the little area around me, where we always meet; I haven't seen or heard from anyone else in here. Maybe they each have their own separate little places too, and you have to find them yourself? It's your mind, after all; I might get lost."

"That would make sense, but there's one small problem... I'm... not exactly certain how I found you; you just started to appear in my dreams," Obsidian pointed out.

"Maybe... maybe you'd have to... I mean... I don't know! How would YOU hide, if you were in someone else's head?" Ruby sounded exasperated, yet she still hadn't quite let go of Siddy, either. "Maybe you have to actively look for them? Like, the way the items in the Nightmare Spell were, where you'd have to seek out each one separately? Of course, where would you even start?"

Probably at a pharmacy, buying something potent to abolish the headache she was forming after learning she had three unknown (and possibly unwanted) guests in her head.

"So assuming that I was right about Onyx and Peridot, I might have to look for their diaries, perhaps fall asleep while thinking deeply about them, and do so only in Princess Luna's presence - because, let's be honest, meeting with those two probably wouldn't end with a tea party."

It still left an issue of the third guest - but, considering that all three of them were helping Luna, perhaps other two would know her/him.

Ruby sat back, regarding Obsidian solemnly for a moment. "Well, if that's the case, then I guess we should be getting to it, shouldn't we?"

She stood up, finally letting Obsidian go and helping her to her hooves as well. "Okay, if I can help, I will... but chances are, it's gonna be all you. But if you can come back freely now, I can always see you tonight, right?" She could tell Ruby was still a bit skittish about the idea, but she was being brave for Siddy; it was the properly sisterly thing to do, after all.

"Probably... but I have to find out what to do about Amber; if she's that dangerous as a shard, then who knows what she would be able to do after regaining her freedom?" Obsidian sighed deeply. "Even alicorns seem to be afraid of her, and brother Tourmy was terrified when he heard the news about her and Jade. I'd hoped she would be less dangerous under our watch... but it seems that it didn't quite work out as I intended."

Ruby sighed. "Amber... is a hoofful." She stepped back from Obsidian, her beautiful mane and tail looking as elegant as ever. "Father doted - if you could call his actions doting - on Amber and Amethyst for quite some time. Between the slave helmets and the mind control, it was like they were the key to his takeover... even though Peridot said the likelihood of their success alone was abysmally low. He always seemed to be more involved with them than he was with most of us."

"Amethyst just fought her way through it, but Amber was almost obsessed with the idea of keeping father happy; she did anything and everything she could to gain even the smallest favor with him, including informing him when we... did things other than how he wanted them done. I think SHE was the one who blew the whistle on Jade, honestly."

"But because of it, she was INTENSE about her training, and she was constantly practising on whomever she could; slaves, workers, US... and she was GOOD at what she did, because she not only wanted to please father... but she enjoyed it."

Ruby shook her head sadly. "Amber loves being cruel, and never misses an opportunity to do so. If she got her magic control on you... oh, Siddy, I'm afraid of what she might do to you!" Then she gave a nervous gulp. "Or what she would do with you."

"Is it possible to physically destroy a shard?" Peridot was dangerous, but sick - and Obsidian was forced to destroy him for good. Amber, however, didn't even have the excuse of mental sickness - just brainwashing. While the Grey Princess didn't like the idea of killing ANY of her siblings, she had to know - juuuuust in case...

Ruby blinked. "I... I don't know. I mean, it would make sense that it could happen, I suppose... but... are you really considering going that route?" She shuddered. "Siddy, yikes, that's pretty damned extreme, don't you think? I mean, yeah Amber's a problem, but... are we really considering this alternative?"

"Yes," Obsidian said emphatically, "I prefer to know how to kill her and not use that knowledge, than to not know; I already had to finish Peridot because I couldn't find any other alternatives." Considering that everypony seemed terrified of Amber, and the cruel nature of mind control, it would be better to know how to end her for good, even if she was family. "Besides, considering your own presence here - as well as Onyx's and probably Peridot's as well - our family is actually rather terrible when it comes to dying."

Ruby shook herself, but didn't argue any further. "Well... if they're even here, I guess it would be some incentive to find them, right? I mean, it's not like there's signs to follow or anything..."

Ruby had a point; the entire area they were standing in was pretty much a hilltop near Ponyville, with a great view of the town. Fireworks would be beautiful from here...

"Plus, it's super creepy that I haven't been alone this whole time," Ruby worried.

"I know how you feel, sister - I consider it super creepy as well that I have unknown guests in my brain." Obsidian had to agree with her - at least she had a nice landscape in mind. This view was breathtaking... but Obsidian had a nasty feeling that she might have to travel to less pleasant places.

She had no idea where she should look for Peridot - at least not in Ponyville - but Onyx, of all ponies, should be easier to reach... unfortunately. "Now, let's see what's in the school library in this dreamy Ponyville, shall we?"

Ruby looked at her, then nodded as understanding hit home. "So, we're taking a tour of the old haunts? Well, I guess it could be worse... and yeah, Onyx spent a LOT of time in there, so it'd make sense to check it first. Okay, then!" With that, the two of them began walking down the hill, headed for town.

Ponyville looked... strange. There were no ponies on the streets, none hanging out of windows, no one passing on the sidewalk. When Obsidian had first arrived here, she would have LOVED to have experienced Ponyville without the ponies... but now, it felt lonely and a bit creepy, how the usually bustling little village was as quiet and solemn as a grave.

They reached the Friendship Academy, and headed inside to seek out the library.

"So, uh..." Ruby asked hesitantly, "if we DO find her here, what are we gonna do about her?"

"Erm... hug her and tell her it's nice to see her again?" Obsidian suggested uneasily.

She would love to have spoken with Peridot first - he seemed to accept her, and in a way even like her. It was a real shame they tried to kill each other (and that she succeeded), but hey - no hard feelings, right? Onyx, however, was something completely different; it didn't help that Obsidian was well aware that she was somewhat naive, and Onyx was a skilled manipulator.

"The last time I saw her, she was sitting next to you with a grumpy expression. The mysterious presence detected by Luna was helping her fend off Amber, too; perhaps it won't be... that bad?" Ah, these words were practically inviting disaster! The creepy, silent Ponyville around them wasn't helping in the slightest, either.

Ruby looked at her. "Riiiiiiight... I keep forgetting you never really spent that much time with her."

She began to glance about as she spoke, seeking who-knew-what as she did. "Onyx... is weird. She always had nothing but disdain for us, but she still seemed to have issues with plans that would have killed us outright. She was always harrassing us, but she kept up with our successes and failures. She never told any of us that she cared for us, but I remember many a time where she would speak to father on our behalf; kept some horrible punishments from being doled out, during my time."

Ruby then sighed. "Honestly? I have no idea how that mare's mind works - only that it works like a steel trap, and stuff you and I might think is a coincidence is nothing but another plot in place to her. I'm half-tempted not to believe anything she says, as it might be a setup for something even WORSE."

So Onyx was a skilled manipulator with some more positive feelings being visible through a hard shell of father's brainwashing, personal anger issues and some complexes that led her to believe that, apparently, bringing King Sombra back to life was a great idea. Obsidian was fairly certain that Onyx cared about her siblings - at least those around her, as her treatment of her younger sister was a bit rough.

"If only we could have Peridot with us... he would accurately calculate the chances of this whole situation being yet another trap by Onyx," Obsidian mused under her breath. "Apparently, from what you're telling me, she cared about all of you - in a rather wicked and difficult-to-understand way, but still. She could be truly great - if only she wouldn't waste her time trying to bring back that one, specific pony whose resurrection killed her. A shame, really; our entire family could be lauded as the greatest heroes in all of Equus, but instead..." Siddy shook her head slowly.

Ruby sighed. "If only saying something made it true, right?"

The library was as empty as the rest of the town; the stacks felt even more ominous and looming, without even so much as a bird's chirp from outside. Nothing but smooth, cold quiet. "Siddy... I have a bad feeling abou-..."

Suddenly, the color scheme shifted; the room now had a distinct purplish tone to much of the surroundings. Nothing had so much as changed, as the ambient light that filled the place seemed to now have the lightest of purple tints to it. What was more, Ruby simply vanished from view; she was as alone as-

"I'll take it this isn't a trip to return that book you borrowed, is it?"

And there she was... in her librarian guise, no less. Standing behind the counter, busily stamping books, was Onyx herself. The Miss Tome look still fit her well, and took a lot of the sting out of seeing her again.

"I knew that, eventually, you'd figure out that you weren't as alone as you thought," she went on, "but I have to admit, I expected you a few days ago. You're falling behind schedule, Obsidian, and I don't like it."

Of course Ruby had bad feelings about this - Obsidian had those too, and for very good reasons. But lo, it was a time for a touching family reunion with the mare that tried to torture and imprison her, kill her, and murder her friends as well. The fact that she was serving a mad king and eventually died in a gruesome fashion was good enough to warrant the suspicion, though.

"My apologies, sister - I've been a busy mare," Obsidian admitted, trotting closer with her eyes focused on the guise of Onyx. So she was here - the entire time? How much did she know? How much she was able to do? "but, I have to ask - why did you keep to this form? It's just you and I here, after all."

'Miss Tome' gave her a withering glance. "Oh yes, because you have so many better memories of my true form, don't you? It was mere whimsy that I thought it would be fun to show up like this," she snarked, stamping a book with an extra hard stamp. "And we may be alone here, but that hardly means we're completely alone. Other things are at stake, and I don't have much time for dawdling, Obsidian. I suppose you've come all this way to ask questions, haven't you?"

Well, now that she put it that way, taking a guise of a nice, kind librarian made sense.

Onyx then put on a little grin. "Well, ask away - after all, it's not like I don't know what's going on. Just understand that I still have plans at play, and I won't reveal them to you... but I'm more than happy to derail any other plans you may have stumbled across." Knowingly, she looked at Obsidian. "For instance, whatever it is that Amber is up to seems to have you rather upset."

"You know... you're right; if I'll want some small-talk, I can always return after dealing with this current crisis - assuming I don't die," Obsidian mused. "Fine, sister - how can I stop Amber? I've seen that even you were unnerved by her, and if only I could face her without any fear of being mind controlled, I could simply lock away her magic, either with a spell or with a ring. However, at the moment, it's not exactly possible..."

"First of all, if it were that easy to ward off mind control, then it would be the most useless ability in all of existence; there's a reason it's such a feared ability, you know," Onyx said as she adjusted her glasses, "but as far as Amber goes, you won't be looking at zombie-minds or the like... Amber enjoys messing with minds under her control, steering them into doing things NOT because they were 'ordered' to, but because they reached the 'logical' conclusion by themselves."

"For example," she went on, still stamping books as she did, "if Amber were to take control of a mother and her child, she wouldn't force the mother to kill the child flippantly - that's too easy for her. Instead, she would make the child see the mother as a playground playset, where he would start climbing on her... and then, Amber would make the mother see the child as a venomous snake, trying to bite her as it held onto her, and once the 'snake' was dead, she'd lift the veil from the mother's eyes... and laugh while the heartbroken mare sobbed and wailed, knowing she'd killed her child."

She stopped stamping, and looked Obsidian dead in the eyes. "Amber loves inflicting agony, be it physical, mental or spiritual... never forget that."

She then began to ponder for a moment. "Well, I can't say I know any surefire way to stop Amber, but I'm fairly certain she could be slowed down... if, that is, you'd be willing to sacrifice a playing piece to the game for the chance?"

Of course it wasn't that easy. And of course Amber was enjoying playing with her victims - granted, if Obsidian was a sadistic bitch with mind control powers she probably would have loved doing those things too. Luckily for Equestria, she wasn't.

"I don't like the idea of sacrificing anycreature... but I'll hear your idea. What is it?" Maybe Peridot would have some better ideas - assuming that he was there and that Obsidian would have the time to meet with him.

Onyx gave a light grin. "Well, I could certainly put up enough of a magical smokescreen to ensure she can't locate you for a while, but i'd need a body to do that. Preferably a unicorn - but an alicorn would work just as nicely, I'm certain."

She looked at Obsidian. "Find me a volunteer, and we can shunt my soul into their body, allowing me to do what must be done to stave off Amber's attacks. It'd be easy for me to do, having known her for such a long time, and you'd be free for... about four days, before I'd wager my energy would be used up."

She went back to stamping idly. "Of course, that's just my idea; I'm sure there are other, more time-wasteful ideas you could try... if you have enough time to search, that is." Her smile was slightly smug as she continued stamping books.

Onyx in a unicorn body? Or, Darkness forbid, in an alicorn body? Obsidian could only glare at her for a moment, unsure if she heard her correctly. Oh, it would work well, she was certain - but she had no idea if Onyx would return said body in good shape. "And what about after those four days? Would you return here?"

Onyx gave a slight chuckle. "No, dear sister, I would not. I'd most likely demand to stay inside the shell I was put in, and might even make a run for parts unknown with it. I HATE being stuck in here, and I'd probably lie through my teeth to stay in a body. That is why I'd ask for a sacrifice to this game we're playing; because it would only be proper that I would earn the rights to a body, in exchange for keeping Amber off your tail. It would be the only proper payment for such a task..."

She sighed again. "But, I suppose that would be a small price to pay, in the face of what Amber could do if she took over, oh let's say Stalwart Stance, for instance. You remember 'Wart', don't you? The one I was going to make into a vest?"

She smiled as she continued stamping. "I'd daresay she would make the little greasestain crazy, making her see threats to Equestria at every turn, and even making her believe they've all become vile changelings, intent on taking over. Of course, little Wart would fight her very hardest to rid Equestria of every last one... and then, Amber would drop the veil, and your precious little friend would probably kill herself in shame and remorse."

"And that's just ONE example..." Onyx said ominously.

Yes, just one example... and Obsidian held no doubts that Amber could get creative with all of them. However, it absolutely did NOT mean that Obsidian was just going to sacrifice some poor bastard to Onyx. Even Stonewall. Probably.

"Do you happen to know how father created our bodies? Could it be possible to put everyone in my head into new ones, one day?" It probably wasn't that easy, but with the knowledge about those Umbral Altars, there were a lot of possibilities. She had to discover their whereabouts, though.

Onyx looked at her for a moment, as if trying to decide whether or not she was making a joke... then, she closed her eyes and put her stamp down. "Obsidian, only TWO individuals know the details as to how we were created; one vanished from the face of Equus, and the other is locked in stone. No spells exist in any of my archives that even come close to duplicating that spell."

She then looked up. "However, we aren't trying to create a new shard, are we? We're merely trying to RE-body an old one... so it should be feasibly possible to accomplish, I'd think. At least, in theory." She picked up a different stamp, and set back to work again. "A NEW body for an OLD creation... it might work, at that. But there's no precedent, so you would be flying completely blind in doing so. But, all things considered, you seem to have a knack for getting out of trouble... so I would say the possibility isn't off the table."

"More to the point, you'd have to go through the trouble of creating a shard that would be capable of housing a soul... then it would be a matter of shunting said soul into the crystal, before waking them up to inhabit said form." Onyx looked at Obsidian carefully. "I take it this is more about getting Ruby out of here than getting me out, isn't it?"

"I've started to think about the possibility with both of you in mind, actually," Obsidian corrected her. "There are also apparently two more minds hidden inside me, though; I think they would be interested as well... by the way, would you happen to know who they are?" she asked so carefreely that it was obvious she'd been waiting for some time on a good opportunity to ask.

Onyx gave a cryptic smile. "Oh, there's no doubt that Peridot is in here with us as well," she said, "and he's probably got his own little world, just like each of us do. But further than that, I couldn't say; I know of his and Ruby's existence, yet she didn't know I was here as well. Maybe he knows, maybe he doesn't... but either way, you won't find any of us speaking together - we're sectioned off for a reason, Obsidian."

She stamped another book, then lightly set the stamper down. "Because if we mixed inside your skull... we might not be able to properly separate again. You'd have the potential for getting a conglomerate of Ruby, Peridot and myself - a mix that I'm certain just bring you the best possible thoughts."

Ruby's looks. Peridot's brain. Onyx's power. They would be united in a way no other family ever was; no backstabbing, no plotting, no trying to usurp anypony. A single, united, perfect spawn of King Sombra! Granted, it would require destroying their unique souls and so on, so it was out of question anyway - at least as long as she wanted to be a good, moral mare.

"But IF I were to guess where he might be in his own world, well... if you think about it, you'd be able to figure it out as well, I believe. Where was he known to spend much of his time?" Onyx finished with a raised eyebrow.

"In his Libratorium, of course. I'm sure that, with his brain, he's already figured the identity of my last guest," Obsidian smiled at her. "I'll go there as soon as possible. Thank you for your help, sister... now, last question - it's just a theoretical musing, worry not. How did all of you end up here? If I went into a wild frenzy and murdered Amy and Tourmy, would they join the rest of you as well?" she asked with interest.

Onyx looked at her for a long minute... then, strangely, her eyes got soft, and she spoke with a quiet voice.

"Obsidian... you have enough space within you to hold every soul in Equestria, if you so chose. Your reserves are limited only by what magics you fill them with, and the space we occupy is the smallest corner of the universe, in comparison. I believe we ended up here because we're not actually REAL souls; we were created to ACT as them, but we're only manufactured entities. There IS no 'afterlife' for us... except, apparently, living on within you. Literally."

She picked up another stamp, and began on a new stack of books. "And I highly suspect that, were any more of our family line to be extinguished, they would end up in here as well, yes. Perhaps you're a safety net, allowing for us to stay alive in a manner of speaking, instead of merely fading away..."

Stamping another book, she glanced around the library. "... though stading here and stamping an infinite number of books is hardly what I'd call a decent afterlife, for the record."

What? What did Onyx just say? It took Obsidian some time to digest this... EVERY soul in Equestria? Inside her? Was it some kind of power she had? She was a damned safety net for artificial souls crafted by her father!

It was... big. And it explained fairly well why Peridot ended up here, too. Was it her own 'personal' trait, just as Amber was able to control minds or as Ruby was able to teleport so easily?

Her face expressed sheer terror at first, but it slowly gave way to a more contemplative look. "That's... fascinating... and as soon as I find out more about creating fresh bodies for the souls harbored inside me... I could... I could..."

It would be glorious; if she could learn how to do the same for other souls as well? Why, she could end death. Forever.

Onyx made no movement towards Obsidian, and fixed her with a single-eyed stare. "Yes, yes... you'd have the opportunity to bring back your entire family, and hopefully allow them to live lives of peace and harmony and blah blah blah, I can see that as well. And it would not be an ignoble goal, I'll admit..."

"Thank you for this discussion, sister, I'll be leaving soon - I want to meet with Peridot before waking up, and hopefully find out the identity of this last mind inside me. So, since we have a moment more... care for a hug?" Obsidian offered happily.

Onyx sighed, then returned to stamping the books. "I'll tell you what; the day you finally manage to prove to me that you're worth my time, and that I'd be better off WITH you than WITHOUT you? I'll hug you then, and not a moment sooner - until that day, hooves off."

She then gave the lightest of smiles. "But do tell Peri I said hello, would you?"

"Well, I can either bring you back or let you stamp books for the rest of my life - the choice is easy," Obsidian shrugged slightly, but returned the smile. "I'll do that - see you later, dear sister of mine."

She turned away to leave the library, but as she was leaving, Onyx said one more thing behind her. "Oh, and Obsidian? Do you recall that Ruby stored away part of her soul inside a hoof mirror? I promise you, she knows more than even she realizes..."

With that, the coloring shifted again, and this time the world around her took on a greenish tint, and when she stepped outside...

She was back in the Crystal Empire... but it wasn't modern at all.

The air held a heavy pang of sweat and sulfur, and the buildings around her were FAR older than they had any right to be. Everywhere she looked, she saw her father's banner blowing in the breeze, and not a single parlor or restaurant existed. Obsidian was home, at long last, in a world she knew all too well.

The Delvar Libratorium stood where it always had, but it didn't look like a fashionable library, or a hangout spot for the geek elite; it looked more like a fortress, and there were all sorts of warnings about staying out unless cleared by Lord King Sombra himself. However, as Ponyville had been, the entire place was bereft of even a single sign of life.

No guards, no slaves, no one. It made the creepy and disconcerting surroundings even moreso.

Onyx's final words made Obsidian stop for a moment. Hoof mirror... she was certain that part of Ruby's soul vanished after using up all her energy to fight Onyx. Was it still around, perhaps? And how exactly did Ruby manage to do it?

To be fair, Obsidian half-expected to meet Ruby outside of the library. The fact that she went straight into the ancient Crystal Empire confused and annoyed her - and, obviously, scared her a bit.

Ah, but home, sweet home - banners everywhere, the stench of Dark Magic and fear in the air, no sign of anything cheerful in the sight.

Shouldering something between a sigh and a shudder, she carried on, going straight for the Libratorium. Apparently her brother didn't even have to put his spirit into some cursed notebook to survive - he could have simply fallen into Obsidian's mind and waited.

The Libratorium was as silent as a tomb as she entered it. It was FAR more impressive than it had been when she saw it in modern-day Equestria; there were at least five times as many books as there had been, and many of them looked to be hundreds of years old! A far, far cry from the small, reserved shelving she'd seen back in the real world.

At a table in the central rotunda, she found a stallion seated. He had a small stack of books next to him, and one open on the table... but he wasn't reading it. He was looking up at Obsidian... and smiling.

"Obsidian... thank you for killing me; this place is perfect."

To be fair, that was the last thing she had ever expected to hear from anypony. Peridot was pretty unique, wasn't he? Obsidian carefully, out of sheer curiosity, looked over the books to check their content; were they made with her memories? Or perhaps with Peridot's knowledge? What was the nature of this place?

"I'm glad to see you're so pleased with your afterlife." What else was she supposed to say? 'The pleasure is all mine'? "Sister Onyx says 'hello', by the way... I assume, by your statement, that you wouldn't have much interest in being resurrected, then?"

"I am happy with all of this... it's what I wanted in the first place; no one else alive, as far as I can behold, to fill my head with their thoughts. No one to disturb my studies. No one to bother me. It's as if the horrible grinding in my brain that I've had to endure for so long is just... gone."

Peridot rose from his seat and stepped over to meet her. "Obsidian, without other minds to produce their mental static, I'm finally at peace; with myself, with others, with the world. I can finally think straight, and it's so much of a relief, to not have everyone's thoughts clouding your mind..."

He then leaned in and hugged her tightly. "Even your presence here is fully and completely welcome, because I cannot feel your thoughts anymore - I hear no one's thoughts anymore! My mind, after all this time, is finally my own... and I cannot thank you enough for this delicious clarity, my sister."

The mysterious nature of this dream and its landscape was practically begging for more in-depth research. Sadly, a great number of things in Obsidian's life begged for exactly that, but she had so little time!

She returned Peridot's hug; perhaps it was a very unexpected meeting, but it didn't make it an unwanted one. In fact, the realization that her brother was still alive was a calming one. She didn't kill him, after all - quite the contrary, she practically offered him a new and better life than what he had before!

"I'll keep in mind to visit you more often then, dear brother, to be sure you're doing well... and to possibly ask you for your help from time to time. Perhaps I could even deliver a message for you? I'm sure Sister Amy would like to know that you've finally found peace."

Peridot stepped back, then motioned for her to follow as he returned to his table, where the stack of books was waiting for him. "I would actually appreciate your company, now that I am not adverse to such things as the presence of others. However, if my calculations are correct, you're here because of something happening in your own world... and you're looking for answers."

He sat down again, and idly placed a hoof on his book. "Now, if I calculate this out, I would say that there is a 79.6% chance you're here because of another sibling's shenanigans. Next, if this is the case, I calculate within the 88.2% chance that the sibling in question would be Amber. After all of that, it would most likely be a 94.6% chance that you are here to try to find a means to lock her out of your head, yes?"

He nodded, then simply shrugged. "But it cannot be done, because the connection she uses is not magical in nature, but telepathic. She gets a stronger connection as she learns more of who she's attempting to control, and anyone as familiar to her as we siblings would have zero chance of keeping a determined Amber out.

"However, it would be more worrisome when you factor in the chances that she has already found another sibling, and has begun to do what she excels in, so that she might take control when necessary. If she was having too difficult a time infiltrating your head, then she wouldn't waste further time and effort on you."

Peri sat forward and fixed Obsidian with his gaze. "What other potential siblings are available for her to peruse?"

He was obviously correct with everything he'd said; sadly, the more he spoke on, the worse of a mood Obsidian was feeling. If it wasn't magical, then sealing away Amber's magic wouldn't help anything - what else was left? Killing her? After all, it wouldn't be as if she was going to die for good - it would only imprison her inside Obsidian, apparently.

"Amethyst, Diamond and Tourmaline - those are the only siblings of ours that live in Ponyville at the moment, where Amber's shard is located," she quickly informed him.

"Hmmmmm... of the three of them, the highest percentile as to whom Amber would possibly attempt to control would be Tourmaline; he was a favorite 'toy' of hers when we were living in the palace, and it would be no short stretch of the imagination to envision her going back to him like a favored blanket at night. Through her connections, she can possibly forge more from the memories of the victim; tell me, has Tourmaline made any allies since his time in your presence? I calculate that there is a 77.3% chance that she may be searching his mind for any connections that you two may share."

Obsidian nodded. "He has a coltfriend.... or, er - griffonfriend, whatever it's called."

Peri nodded. "Then it would behoove you to ensure that he isn't already under Amber's influence; the mare can leave suggestions that might not trigger for years, but will still be executed as soon as they are triggered. A worrisome conclusion, I'm afraid... but not a hopeless one, yet."

He looked up for a moment and muttered numbers, then looked back down at her again. "The odds are... not complete, I think. There are other factors that I'm missing in my calculations. Please, Obsidian... are there any of our fellow siblings whom you haven't considered yet? Diamond is strong-willed, and Amethyst is immune to mind control... but it doesn't mean Amber isn't able to look through what they already know and glean more information."

Immune? Amy was fucking immune to it? What a damned-lucky mare she was! It seemed that she was possibly going to be a bit more important in the oncoming struggle against Amber - yet another reason why Obsidian had to quickly improve their relationship.

"Hmm... well, there's also Opal; she's made a big industrial business, and apparently is illicitly gathering knowledge about Dark Magic. Quartz - he's apparently a fashion designer, and doesn't seem all that dangerous. Aquamarine or Sapphire are enjoying their freedom too, methinks. And... well, Jade is still a shard. Though now that I've mentioned him... there is probably no easy way to lift this curse from him, I'll wager?"

Peri closed his eyes as he worked his hoof through the air, as if he were writing invisible calculations. "I would say... an... 82% chance that Amber will be trying to get into Quartz's head, as he is in a position where he receives more news, and she will be looking to discover what she can. That in mind, I would suggest having cutting utensils or other sharp objects upon your person, as he is surrounded by fabric, and there is a 77.2% chance he will attempt to tie you or one of your allies up.

"Opal... unfortunately, I calculate a 91.6% chance she is up to something behind the scenes; she can be reasonable, but beware the red eyes - that's a side of her you do not want to deal with."

"Aquamarine and Sapphire... hmmmm... if you can get me more information about their current activties, I can make a more educated guess as to their plans. As for Jade..."

Peridot blinked, then looked up at the ceiling as he seemed to count. "... the curse I fashioned upon him by father's command is a potent one. Though father gave the stipulation of him performing a 'noble' act, I made certain to make that a rather broad category. However, as I last saw him, his spirit will have to be bolstered for him to even conceive of a chance to redeem himself. Though, to be fair, his chances remain at 0%, so long as he remains within his shard."

Obsidian sighed. "I don't have any information about Aqua's and Saffi's activities, sadly - I know that someone is destroying part of the forest near Mount Arris with fire, but I don't know any more details. That could fit both Aqua's explosive powers and Saffi's control over elements."

It's always nice to think about problems before they start to be problems - even if it was just a choice of a cute nickname.

"I'd admittedly kind of hoped you'd left some way to disable it without all this 'noble' acting. Will you be able to help me make plans for containing him after un-sharding him, then? It's a task for later, of course... because at the moment, I'm mainly concerned with Amber - but it would be nice to get your help. Tourmy was terrified when he heard I'd brought Jade to Ponyville."

"As well he should be," Peri said, "because Jade's very presence is toxic."

He looked solemnly out at the rotunda around him. "The curse I placed on him acts as a Toxin Spell, but one that created a type of energy I have never witnessed before... an energy that poisons anyone around it, an energy that glows, that is hot without fire."

"He cannot control this energy, only endure it... and it causes him great pain to do anything more than exist. To awaken him, it would be about a 67.6% chance that he might not be able to handle being awake and aware again, and could possibly have a bit of a rampage."

Obsidian facehoofed - this time, far less painfully than last time. "Well that doesn't sound good. You know far more about this energy than I do - would you be able to, at a later date, give me some tips about preparing a place for his awakening? Some advice on proper magical shields, barriers..."

"Lead," he said simply, "and lots of it. This energy can affect others through suits, through containment... unless there is a lead lining. And I would still advise against remaining in his presence too long, lead-lined suit or no."

He then turned to look at his book. "When the time draws near to deal with poor Jade, come and find me here; I shall start designing what could be useful in containing him safely and kindly. Kindly, because I gather from your words that you seek to add him to the 'family' you are creating, yes?"

"Not 'seeking to add' - he's already part of the family... just a part that can't even stand next to us without killing everypony around, at least for the time being," Obsidian corrected him a bit. "But yes, I DO want him to be included. Maybe we're not exactly the closest family in Equestria - but we are a family, still."

Peridot looked back up at her... and smiled. "Obsidian, I do not quite understand it completely, but... I find myself drawn to your kindness, perhaps because I can better appreciate it, now that I am not constantly bombarded with thoughts. Though I paid it little attention in the past... I feel compelled to seek it now, perhaps due to my current... 'quarters'... so to speak. But I believe I am beginning to enjoy the idea of belonging to a family."

He actually made a strange little sound that, after a moment, Obsidian realized was a wry laugh. "A distant relative, perhaps... but one all the same."

Okay, she didn't expect to hear him laugh. "I wonder if we would be able to bring Amy here... considering that we have this special connection between us, maybe she could share a dream with me?" Obsidian mused. A changed Peridot would surely help influence Amethyst to change as well... or at least improve her mood a bit. "She's been behaving rather strangely, as of late- hey, what do you mean - distant? You are our brother too! And for me, you are as close as any other, no matter if you live in my house or in my head," she smiled warmly at him.

He gave her a grinning yet flat look. "Distant, as in 'existing in another's head', Obsidian. It was an attempt at a... joke." He said the word as if he were tasting it in his own mouth for the first time, and found it interesting. It was funny, but Obsidian noticed that Peridot seemed more... vibrant? Colorful? There was something about him that seemed much more alive than the way she'd seen him in their last shared dream together... was it because he was finally free of all that mental static?

"I'm glad to see you feeling so much better; it would have been a terrible thing if our final meeting in life would end so tragically," Obsidian couldn't stop herself from voicing her happiness. If Peridot was behaving this way, then perhaps Onyx would, one day, feel better as well?

Or at least maybe she'd get so bored of stamping books that she would just declare allegiance to Harmony, just to leave this place?

"Hm, so I need to get a lot of lead and check on our siblings and on Gunther, Tourmy's griffonfriend. Onyx proposed that, in exchange for a working body, she could stop Amber for a few days - but, fairly speaking, I don't think I'll be considering this offer. Any other tips from you?"

"Using Onyx to delay Amber would have a 79.1% success rate... however, there would be only a one in seventeen-million,seven-hundred-thousand-and-four chance it would end well for you. Or Equestria." He pondered a moment, then nodded. "If what I forsee is correct, then I expect that Luna is guiding your way here right now. Tell her to go seek out the dreams of Aquamarine and/or Sapphire; the sooner we locate them, the better."

"Next, I would advise that you keep your circle of friends close; as long as your group remains at least six strong, then you and your friends will be fine, in the long run. Trust in the numbers, Obsidian - they have done well by me in the past, and will do well for you in the present, perhaps even the future."

He looked at the floor for a moment. "And whatever may come, have faith in those you love and cherish... because there is a 47.8% chance that Harmony itself may be involved in your future... and that number is slowly increasing."

Peri then focused on his books, sitting in the chair directly. "Oh, and don't rid yourself of Amethyst; you're the best chance she has of finally letting the world know her truth... and the rest of ours, as well."

He then looked up again. "If you wanted to indulge in another embrace, now would be a moment to consider."

Well, that was still a higher chance than Obsidian herself initially thought, to be completely fair. After all, releasing Onyx into the world - especially after sacrificing somepony to this end - would not only free her, but also ruin Obsidian's reputation, morality and other things that had allowed her to defeat Sombra himself.

But first things first - and at the moment, the firstest of them all was hugging Peridot, which she gladly did.

"I am sometimes... embittered or annoyed by Amethyst, but she is our sister - I'll be doing my best to help her. Do you want to tell her something, a message for her?" Even when Obsidian was thinking about finding a different place for Amy, it was only because she thought it would be better for both of them.

And, Harmony itself? Wonderful... simply wonderful! Hah! The thought that yet another ancient, mystical force (along with the Umbral Altars, Grey Magic and so forth) was within reach of her hoof was making Obsidian quite giddy with excitement.

"Let's hope we manage to finish this crisis without too many sacrifices- Oh! Peri! Do you know, perchance, who the last presence in my mind is? Besides you, Ruby and Onyx?" Maybe he could calculate the odds...

Peridot looked at her for a moment, as if studying her muzzle intently. "For the information that will lead you to that answer, either look in father's diary... or ask Amethyst. Either way, you'll appreciate the answer only if you find it for yourself."

He stepped back, then returned to his seat and began to read his book... a familiar-looking book...

Wait... was that... Onyx's Diary?

~>O<~

Author's Notes:

That's right, folks - welcome back Onyx and Peridot. Did you miss 'em? Well, you'll have to watch and see what happens as a result of this new information; I promise you that their presences will most certainly be explored more thoroughly in the future.

This chapter is among the longer ones in this story; from here, most of the rest should be easier on me. A good thing, as this has been quite the adventure to produce - and there's still plenty more to come!

The plot thickens faster than Celestia's flanks at a Cake Convention; stick around, folks.

Thirty Six: Truly Gifted

Luna gave a sharp gasp as she released the magic that surrounded them both, nearly falling out of the single chair in the room as Siddy awoke to find herself right where she'd last remembered.

"Obsidian," the alicorn lightly panted, "he... he may not be... aware of how... difficult it is to... locate... a single mind... by dreams alone..." She looked winded, but otherwise she didn't appear to be in any pain or harm.

Father's diary, eh? Alas, Obsidian didn't get a chance to bid a fond farewell to Ruby... but hopefully, she would be able to fix this mistake. And fix it again, and again - without any problems until the day when their new bodies would be ready.

"So, how much were you privy to, princess?" she asked, not wanting to repeat anything she already knew.

Luna nodded. "All of it, as I was with you the entire time. That glimpse of Sombra's Empire..." she visibly shivered, "I do not recall that place being so sinister as when it was empty, just now." She threw her head back and gave a long, drawn out sigh. "As I stated before, nothing about your family is ever easy, is it?"

"Sadly, no," Siddy sighed, "though hopefully at least my foals with Cup won't make as much trouble as their uncles and aunts do." This was, of course, assuming she would live long enough to spawn them... or that she wasn't infertile due to being an artificial pony... or... well, that was plenty; no more thinking about it.

"I apparently require a dagger, my friends, and we should ask Princess Twilight for help - I think it would be a good idea to request state's help with Quartz and Opal. My poor brother probably doesn't have a plot for anything dangerous, but he could be still used by Amber..."

Obsidian stood up; damnation, this was not a comfortable place to sleep. "How long have I been sleeping?"

"Half an hour, or just under... but your sleep was intense, which is why it took so much to keep you under." Luna now shook her magnificent head and stood up, slowly, until she was at her full height. "Obsidian, Twilight Sparkle is a very busy mare; she governs all of Equestria, and is responsible for the well-being of her entire nation. I do not think that it would be effective to ask for her assistance, as she is currently doing the job that my sister held during my... absence, shall we call it?"

"I offer instead the assistance of another alicorn, who may no longer rule the realm, but is still considered the Ruler of the Night; such an ally could be useful, one would think." She smiled. "Especially one who still has access to her own personal armada of Thestrals."

"Armada? Now we're talking!" Obsidian exclaimed with enthusiasm. A grand army of bat-ponies, ready to serve Princess Luna and swoop down on their enemies, charging forth en masse to fight... er... uhm... okay, deep breath, focus, go away, illusions of grandeur!

"And yes, you're right - I apologize; I hadn't considered she would have so much to deal with. Though if Princess Twilight is at that level excessively busy, then perhaps it's the right time for some... political reformation?" Obsidian tapped her chin, thinking deeply about the possibilites for a moment before she shook her head to clear it of the lingering (and very tempting) ideas that could possibly turn Equestria into more of a quasi-feudal, greatly decentralized nation.

Illusions are only those things that aren't real; illusions you make real are no longer illusions. Meh, food for later thought, mayhaps... or, as usual, preempted by the steadily-growing mountain of concerns she had weighing in on her already.

"Anyhow, perhaps it would be possible for any scouts you may have to look for a single pony destroying forests near Mount Arris? Maybe if some of them carried my father's old banners or something like that, it would convince my sibling to parley," Obsidian mused, "while I'll also need to locate Thunderclap... and seek out Markannus... and gather a large amount of lead... and... "

She then stopped, closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath. "... and I'll need to do my best to reach Amy - quickly." So much to do, so little time! "Thank you for your help, princess; with each passing day, I seem to be more and more indebted to you. Er... do you accept cheques?"

Luna simply chuckled. "On the contrary - thank you, Obsidian. My sister and I have grown, over time, to discover that retirement... is quite boring, to be honest with you. I am grateful for the chance to do anything that requires me to leave the house!"

She pondered. "A number of Pegasi have already tried scouting out where the massive plume of smoke is coming from, and so far none have found anything that could be causing it. Though they do tell me... that it smells like burning flesh, at times. I can send a few Thestrals there to scout the area, possibly coming across something worth reporting."

The alicorn then pondered for a moment. "Markannus... if I am correct, he will be working at the 'Curious Curios' booth in Rainbow Falls today; unless you make the trek out there, I doubt you'll find him. However, his next day should be at Twilight's Palace, as a royal guard by the name of Pseudo Nimh... he'll be the most non-descript officer on duty."

Luna then gave a warm grin. "And if you truly wish to repay me, then do so by succeeding in your task, and continuing to fight The Good Fight."

"No worries - we'll keep fighting," Obsidian promised; not only because it was moral, not only because she cared so much about Equestria and her friends, not only because she had to save her siblings (and sometimes 'saving' apparently included death)...

But because the rogues' gallery of Equestria seemed to have the nasty habit of targeting her.

"Burning flesh...?" Obsidian had no idea what it could mean, in this case. Perhaps it was just the smell of animals from the forest, caught in the fiery blast? "Maybe Diamond would have a better idea about that."

Luna nodded, then gestured toward where they had left the others. "I am certain I heard Cupcake and your brother singing a few moments ago, so I believe it would be safe to check on them now. As for myself, I will speak to Twilight Sparkle about this, and I shall try to arrange for some form of support for your plight."

She stood, tall and regal, and made her way toward the door... then, she paused. "Is there anything more that may be of importance?"

Obsidian tapped her chin... anything else of importance... Opal, Quartz, Tourmy... Luna knew about the materials necessary to prepare for Jade's awakening...

"Peridot mentioned our father's writings; I'd like to get access to them, sooner or later. Preferably sooner, as there could be plenty of things in it that could help me with my siblings."

Including possibly bringing back some of them, of course.

Luna nodded. "I shall inquire about such, if you wish. Now, I shall await in the hallway while you gather Gypsy to us, and once I bestow the spell upon him, I will see to what I can." She stepped into the hallway where she waited patiently, seeming to take personal stock of what was learned through Obsidian's dream... and looking only slightly concerned.

Should Obsidian be happy that Luna was only 'slightly' concerned? Or perhaps there should be worry if she was concerned at all? She'd heard it herself - there was a rising chance for Harmony's intervention. Equestria should be safe... soon... probably. Hopefully this time without fatalities.

But for now, the young mare only nodded and walked into the Rainbow Suite.

Cupcake and Diamond were hunkered low on all fours, staring intently into each others' eyes without blinking. Gypsy was simply grinning and watching, looking quite bemused.

"Those eyelids must be getting pretty heavy, Mundy... might as well just give up." Cupcake grinned.

"{Is not the wind drying out your eyeball?}" Mundy growled playfully.

Gypsy translated instantly: "He asks if the w-w-wind is drying your eyeb-b-balls." Cupcake's smile redoubled.

"Oh, I'm not falling for THAT one... hiya, Siddy... because I'm too good at this game to fail!"

Diamond, without breaking eye contact, waved at Obsidian when she entered the room.

It was official; those two were crazy, but in a good way. However, she certainly wanted to avoid either of them taking on any undue eye trauma. "You know Gypsy, I think a part of me doesn't want to interrupt them... It's very small part, but it's still there," she muttered, wondering how to stop them; she already had a few ideas, but was having a hard time choosing.

Gypsy smiled and held up a paw. "Th-this one knows how." He stepped forward until he was looking directly between them... and blew a puff of air across both of their muzzles. Cup and Mundy both blinked, then pointed at each other.

"A-HA!"
"{THERE!}"

Then, both defeated rivals began to laugh, and gave each other a hug as they did. Gypsy nodded. "A t-t-tie."

Good - she'd been considering a small bribe; Gypsy had saved her purse a bit. "Now, if you are done with staring lovingly into each other's eyes, we must prepare ourselves. Let's join Princess Luna in the hall, shall we?"

Cupcake giggled at Siddy's joke, but Diamond just looked confused. Still, both stallions seemed to agree, and all of them made their way into the hall, where Luna was waiting. She looked at Gypsy, and addressed him directly.

"As I shall be assisting Obsidian in her quest, I shall require a means of communication. My sister has taught me a spell for just such an occasion, one she used herself in days past. Gypsy Rover, I shall require you to volunteer for this; I shall not perform the spell on an unwilling subj-... I mean, citizen."

Gypsy nodded graciously. "This one t-trusts Luna not t-t-to harm him."

She smiled at that, then nodded. She then reached into a saddlebag with her magic, and removed what looked to be a miniature scroll, complete with ribbon. "Here - eat this."

Gypsy looked at the miniature scroll dubiously, then at Luna again. "But... i-it is paper..."

Luna nodded. "You shall see, shortly. Please, eat it."

Gypsy looked at it again, shrugged, then simply opened his maw and tossed the little scroll into it, swallowing it whole. After a moment, he made a strange face, then burped - and when he did, a full-sized scroll flew out of his mouth! It landed on the floor in front of Luna, and she gathered it into her magical grip, opening it.

The scroll said: [ Spell complete. ]

Luna smiled. "Excellent. Now, should you feel the need to comunicate with me, simply write your words onto a scroll, and have Gypsy swallow it; it will come directly to me. And I shall be able to send scrolls to you in a similar manner."

Gypsy patted his mouth with a paw. "E-excuse, please."

At first Obsidian was rather interested in what kind of spell Luna was going to use; perhaps it would allow the royal sisters to see everything Gypsy had written? Or maybe it would connect them telepathically? There were so many possibilites, so many wonderful ways to accomplish it. But, instead, Luna went with something... well frankly, something ridiculous.

Obsidian looked at her, then at Gypsy, and back at Luna again. "It... looks like a rather unorthodox method of communication," she said hesistantly. How exceedingly strange... and it meant also possibly meant that Gypsy's savoir-vivre was at a constant risk. "But if it works, then I suppose it'll good enough."

Luna nodded. "If it was good enough for Twilight Sparkle, it will be good enough for you."

Did it mean one of Twilight's friends had been eating paper? Who was it? Pinkie? Rainbow? Obsidian imagined Rarity carefully consuming scrolls with a knife and fork and smiled to herself.

Luna looked at them all for a moment, then smiled. "I am pleased to be useful to you all; retirement is most certainly NOT all it was purported to be, and I appreciate your faith in me."

Cupcake looked at Siddy. "So... what's the plan, Siddy ma'am? And are we taking Mini-Mund with us?" Diamond looked interested in the answer to that question as well.

"We need to gather the entire team, Cup - just like when we were standing against Onyx. Peridot also advised me to keep an eye on Tourmaline and check on Gunther... and I'd say yes, brother Diamond can - should - come with us. First off, he needs to see more of Ponyville. Second, Peridot said he was strong willed, and it would be nice to have a medic that wouldn't be easily mind controlled."

Obsidian sighed deeply. The most infuriating thing was the fact that, except for grinding Amber into gravel, Obsidian didn't know what exactly she could do with her. Waking her could be dangerous, and their connection wasn't based on magic. At the moment, they could only try to gather all the other siblings together and check to make sure they weren't already under Amber's influence.

Cupcake grinned. "Siddy Six assemble! Yeah, we could do that, I'm sure of it! I mean, we already have Gypper with us, so that'd leave Clap, Wart and Mica; any clue where they are?"

Gypsy spoke up. "This one kn-knows that Stalwart-"

"{Oh, Stalwaat!}" Diamond gushed, looking quite taken by the idea.

"... will be finishing her d-d-duties soon, and should be here at P-Princess Twilight's palace, somewh-where. Clap and M-Mica, this one does n-not know."

Diamond looked at Obsidian with hope in his eyes. "{Please, Obsidyan - tell me that Stalwaat shall be joining us!}"

"{Yes Diamond, Stalwart will be joining us; she is an important member of our team, after all,}" Obsidian grinned... and now that she thought about it...

"{Brother?}" she asked, "{I know you don't care for violence and fighting, but just in case... do you think you would be able to defend yourself if necessary?}"

Diamond looked at her, then looked down for a moment. "{I... will not bring harm to another. I shall defend myself, yes - but do not expect me to do so by bringing harm to another. I shall take care of whatever I must as I must... but do not expect me to be of any use in a fight.}"

Cup looked at Diamond and sighed. "I don't know what he said... but all those words doesn't make me feel like he said, 'sure no problem', y'know?"

"Quite the contrary, Cuppy - I'm very glad to hear that. Sister Amber can mess with our heads, and considering Diamond's strength, I'm actually relieved that he won't just resort to harming others if she gets control of him."

It was great news - the last thing they needed was Diamond thinking that he was surrounded by Amethyst clones and going full frenzy on all of them.

"So, let's check on Stalwart now," she said as she headed for the doors, Luna waving to them as the group went along their way.

With a bit of walking and a few questions to the guards they passed, they located Stalwart Stance standing at full attention next to a door to something called the 'Map Room'; she was standing statue-still, not a single expression visible on her muzzle... until she saw Obsidian and company headed her way; her face remained neutral, yet her eyes almost seemed to light up at the sight of her friends headed her way.

"Salutations," she spoke up as they got close, "I am pleased to see you here." Diamond had eyes for nothing but the little guardmare.

"Stalwart! I'm so glad to see you!" Obsidian said cheerfully. "We need to gather the team again; another Sombra-daughter-shaped helping of problems is brewing around us. Princess Luna herself has gone straight to Princess Twilight to discuss a few matters of support for us. We need you."

Wart blinked, then gave a smart, short nod. "Absolutely, Lady Siddy... as soon as my shift is done."

Cupcake grinned. "Nifty! And when will that be?"

"Two hours from now," she replied simply.

Cupcake looked at his fiancee. "Okay, well... I guess we're gonna have some time to kill, huh?"

Well, it would be helpful of Princess Twilight to let Stalwart join them immediately, correct?

"Stalwart, we stand against an enemy who can mess with our heads. Just... be careful, all right? If somepony attacks you, try to maim instead of kill, please?" she smiled slightly, but it was a rather uneasy smile.

Wart drew a look of concern across her muzzle as she heard the news, yet she saluted smartly and gave a firm nod. "Then I shall be on my most vigilant guard, Lady Siddy; we shall see to this threat, and it will kneel before our combined might."

"{Even her oaths of determination are beautiful... oh, strong and true Stalwaat, if only thou would see me, in a world of sound...}" Poor little lovestruck Diamond kept his eyes trained on the love of his life, as the mare in question continued to stand guard.

"And apparently we DO have to slaughter a few minutes, Cupcake. Stalwart, do you possibly have any idea where Mica or Clap could be?"

Wart looked at her directly. "Thunderclap Dash's whereabouts, I do not know... however, I believe that Mica is currently out of town, as he informed me that he would be making a trip to Manehattan. He did not explain why, yet he did inform me to remain prepared for a possible call to action." Wart looked at Siddy. "Is this that call?"

Right, right, right - they'd talked about that! She was surprised that he would leave so quickly, though. Well, hopefully he would find out that everything was fine with Brother Quartz, and that he'd be back as quickly as possible.

"So he's probably already left... right, good, yes. He's checking on Brother Quartz; at least Quartz is apparently not dangerous... as long as he won't try to use clothes as an offensive tactic," Obsidian mused. What else could they do? "That leaves Gunther and Tourmy to check on; I hope my brother is still home."

Wart nodded. "As soon as my shift is over, Lady Siddy, where would you have me meet you?"

Diamond sighed softly. "{At the place where my heart meets the universe, for that is where we shall forever shine like stars...}"

Cup looked at Mundy, then gave Siddy a smirk. "I don't know what he's saying, but I know that tone... he's got it bad, doesn't he?"

"He's got it bad," Obsidian confirmed with a straight face. "Let's say... at Sugarcube Corner, mayhaps? We could eat something during the meeting of our... eh, war council. And besides, I'd like to ask Miss Pie about something..." After all, her cameras could be a great help in the current crisis; Onyx would have had to be quite clever to avoid them all.

"Oh, and Stalwart?" Obsidian tapped on her engagement necklace with a smile.

Wart looked at it for a moment, then her eyes widened. "Lady Obsidian... is that-"

"WE'RE GETTING MARRIEEEEEEEEED!!!!!" Cupcake simply couldn't hold himself back. "See Wart! I got one too! Looklooklooklooklook!"

He showed off his own necklace as well, and Wart looked them both over closely. "Congratulations, both of you - it pleases me to know that the two of you will be wed and happy together, and I salute you for your fortune!" She gave a royal salute, which made Diamond sigh longingly. "Then I shall meet you at Sugarcube Corner, and we shall discuss what we will do from there, yes?"

Obsidian would smile at Cup's enthusiasm, but she was already smiling broadly. This situation was practically begging for some slight teasing... but it could be dangerous with Diamond around; he might take it far too seriously. "Yes, Stalwart. That's all at the moment, methinks. For now, we'll go check on Tourmaline... and then we'll think of what comes next."

Wart nodded, then gave Obsidian a small smirk. "Until later, then... and I look forward to it."

It took Diamond a moment to realize they were leaving, and he gave Wart a small, friendly wave as they went on their way. "{Ohhhhhhhhh... I am blessed for every single day in which I get to witness the glory that is Stalwaat; those fierce eyes, her exquisite coat, her incredible voice...}"

Cupcake nudged his sweetheart. "He sounds like a lovesick puppy; maybe we should have Elo make up another set of necklaces, huh?"

"Let's wait until Stalwart sounds like a lovesick puppy as well; I'm not so sure that she would want King Sombra in her family tree," Obsidian replied quietly. In fact, she was more concerned that sooner or later Stalwart would get annoyed enough that it would end rather badly for Diamond - either for his heart, his hide or for some other fragile body parts.

"We should also check to see if Mica has already sent any letters from Manehattan. I was so worried about the other night and not meeting Ruby that I completely forgot he was investigating Quartz. Luckily Tourmy is home, so he could get any messages sent... but I'll have to ask him if he's going to stay put for a while; somepony has to wait for news, just in case something would happen."

Cupcake nodded. "Probably a good idea... especially because Tourmy can't really travel, what with that ring on his horn and all. I mean, we could always take Am-... Ameth-..." He suddenly burst out laughing. "Sorry, sorry... couldn't say it with a straight face!"

"{You... could do worse.}" Diamond spoke low and softly. "{She... she IS a warrior, and she would be... quite useful in a fight. I have seen it.}"

"{But is she not also banned from travel?}" Gypsy tried to counter Mundy's suggestion, but the little stallion just shrugged.

"{I suppose she would be... but my words still speak true.}" Even afraid of her, the little stallion wasn't about to see her skill overlooked.

"I just want somepony to be home, in case a letter comes. This way, he could simply inform us if it was something important and dangerous." The fact that Diamond was able to talk about Amy without panic was encouraging; perhaps his initial reaction was just an effect of the first shock? "But yes, I think it would be a nice change to fight alongside Amy, instead of against her."

Diamond visibly shuddered, then began to walk closely behind Obsidian and Cupcake, his eyes shifting back and forth, watching as if he expected his feared sibling to drop from the sky at any given moment. "{Stalwaat would want me to be brave,}" he muttered to himself as he kept pace with them.

The walk to the house was well enough, and Diamond's mood mellowed out a bit; he was walking along with them and occasionally pointing things out to Pancho 'so he won't be confused', according to Mundy. The house itself was quiet when they arrived, but there was a light on in the kitchen.

"Gypsy, perhaps you could wait out here with Diamond? Let's not risk any unwanted family reunions at the moment," Obsidian asked carefully. Gypsy nodded, and Mundy hid behind the diamond dog, his tiny figure all but vanished behind Gypsy's form.

Now, if only they could do something as simple as check on Tourmy without problems... making her way indoors, she crossed the living room and carefully peeked into the kitchen.

It smelled like onions and burnt cotton candy; as unpleasant to sniff as it is to imagine. The stove had the big pot set in place, with a muffled bubbling sound coming from under the lid. Standing at the stove itself was Amethyst, and she looked... excited?

She seemed to be fussing over the pot quite a bit, but when the kitchen door gave off the tiniest of creaks, she swiveled in place and looked at where the sound had come from. She saw Obsidian, and froze for a moment. Then, with a wary caution, she stepped back from the stove and faced the door.

"Yes? What?" It was as polite as Amy had ever been, more or less. She didn't sound annoyed; simply curious. Waiting for the bombshell to hit, perhaps, but curious.

By Darkness, what was she cooking? Poison? Though, on another hoof, it could be accidental poison - whatever it was, it certainly smelled like something brewed to kill someone with! Obsidian had no idea about the possible merit of Amy's cooking skills, after all - maybe she was simply trying to make onion soup?

"You look much better, Amy - I'm glad to see it. I've been informed that you're immune to mind control, so I guess I don't have to worry about that... so, what are you cooking?" She stepped a bit closer; now what was that dear sister of hers doing here?

Amethyst stepped lightly between Obsidian and the stove, frowning. "Whoa whoa whoa... 'Immune'? I'm not 'immune', you idiot! Father forced me to endure Slave Helmets until I could break through them; mind control doesn't work on me, because father refused to train anyone to create Slave Helmets who could BE enslaved."

She glanced down, gritting her teeth. "I'm NOT immune... I just break through them like they're made of wet paper, is all. Immune, my flank." She shifted her eyes to the pot, then back to Obsidian. "So where have YOU been?"

"I've been visiting with Ruby, Onyx and Peridot," Obsidian answered firmly. Peridot forgot to mention that it was a trained behaviour, and not one of her traits as a shard. So, theoretically speaking, Amy could possibly train her in this skill after regaining her magic; it could come in handy. "Chatted with them a bit. Peri looks much better than the last time I'd met him, I daresay."

Amethyst stared at her like she had lobsters coming out of her ears. "You... spoke... to them. Ruby. Peri. Fucking ONYX. YOU. Spoke. To them." She stepped forward, coming muzzle to muzzle with Obsidian, anger boiling in her gaze.

"Are you losing your damned mind? Is it happening like this? Are you just gong to say you-"

She suddenly stopped, blinked, glanced back at the stove... then, to Obsidian's surprise, she simply shrugged. "Okay, so... fine. Let's say I accept this, for a moment. So tell me what's going on... Siddy."

Why did that sound... not good?

Everypony acted so surprised - and yet, in Obsidian's experience, she felt that it was normal to speak with dead ponies in this manner. Perhaps it was a bit silly, but she really never experienced anypony's death before...

"I have contact with the spirits of our fallen siblings, and I've been having a little chat about Amber..." Considering that so many ponies already knew about the situation (and Amy was probably the pony best suited to deal with her), it would be silly to withhold this information - perhaps safer, but silly. "Didn't you read something about it in father's writings?"

"Amber?" The name seemed to strike a chord in Amethyst... and not a good one. "Wait, wait... are you telling me that some poor schmuck let Amber out? Great... GREAT! There goes the fucking neighborhood..."

She started to head to the table, but paused when she realized she would leave room for Obsidian to get to the stove; instead, she leaned against the wall with a thump.

"So, who woke her up, hmm? Was it you? I'll bet it was, wasn't it? Stupid nag, you couldn't just leave shit where you find it, could you? Nooooooooooooo, you have to go wake up Princess Skullfuck! SHIT." She gave a huff, then looked at Obsidian with eyes that looked both hard and tired. "So, what, where are you headed now?"

'Princess Skullfuck' was a rather interesting term - perhaps Amy would get along with Flurry?

"No - she's not free yet. She's in shard form, and additionaly encased in a sealed container, to keep her restrained. She started to mess around a bit with my head, so I decided to take precautions that nopony would accidentially free her from this form," Obsidian explained. "I was going to check on Tourmy; I'd heard that he would be the most prone to mind control... then we're bound for Manehattan, to meet with Mica."

Amethyst gave a sharp bark of a laugh. "HA! Keep her contained, she says. That's rich."

She groaned, then looked at Obsidian seriously. "She has a link to our minds through stuff that isn't magic, dumbass! Put up all the wards and spells you want to, because that won't do a damned thing to keep her out of OUR heads! Your little friends might be better off with them, but if she goes the usual route, even they won't be safe."

She glanced at the clock. "But yeah, of all of us? Tourmaline IS the weakest link; Onyx really batted him about in the Nightmare Spells, so he's sorta got a vulnerability to it."

"We had her sealed up before I'd even learned that little detail. Besides, at least it keeps her in a place where we could simply smash her, if we need to. If she remained within the Crystal Empire, she would have simply taken over slowly... and our problems would be far greater." At least Obsidian hoped she was right - in her head it all sounded logical enough, at least.

"So... do you have any tips that would protect our brother from going full berserk in unwilling service to Amber's machinations? Peri advised us to check to see if he isn't already controlled," Obsidian asked Amy directly.

The wicked unicorn stared at her for a moment, and the look on her muzzle softened, just a bit. "You... want my advice?"

However, before this could go much further, there was a >DING!< from the egg timer, and Amethyst almost instantly shut the stove off. She started to grab the pot's handle with her mouth, then grabbed up a towel first, using her hooves to steady the pot, and got it to the floor.

Amy looked up at Obsidian again, whatever moment that had been about to occur having passed. "Tie him up, keep him knocked out, make him wear blinders, whatever... I got stuff to do."

She took hold of one of the handles and pulled it to the stairs, where she began to bump it up them, one stair at a time.

>KA-BUMP<
>KA-BUMP<
>KA-BUMP<
>KA-BUMP<
>KA-BUMP<

She stepped back down long enough to kick the doorway shut, and continued dragging her 'cooking' upstairs.

>ka-BUMP<
>ka-BUMP<
>ka-BUMP<

Cupcake poked his head in the door, and wrinkled his snout in disgust. "What is that smell?"

Interesting. So Amy actually wanted to help her - if only for a moment. What was her deal? Did she want to get Obsidian to use more Dark Magic? Help her out more? Be more directly involved into matters of the family? Not be involved? She was acting more strange lately - more strange than usual - and Obsidian was clueless.

"I really have no idea, Cuppy; Amy was cooking something, but I didn't see what it was." Obsidian lifted an eyebrow. "You can't identify the smell either?"

Cup gagged. "I think it's burnt cotton candy and... onions? BLEAH!" He looked at the stairs for a moment, then turned back to Obsidian. "Did you tell her we were headed to Manehattan? I mean, if Tourmy isn't available to get messages, maybe she could..?"

Obsidian rubbed her temple... did she say something about heading to Manehattan? She'd said that Mica was there... hopefully they wouldn't have to search for him. She didn't even know how far Manehattan was from Ponyville.

"Let's check on Tourmy first; perhaps Mica already sent something," she muttered - and opened one of windows a bit. This kitchen really needed some fresh air. "Do we even have cotton candy that she could burn? I really hope it's some kind of Dark Magical thing - because if she was cooking a meal, then I fear for her life."

Cupcake made a face. "Amy was cooking something? Remind me not to eat anything she offers me... not that I'd eat it anyway, but you know what I mean."

Tourmaline, it turned out, was downstairs. He had his door open, and was seated in the hammock he'd made in one corner. "Is she done up there?" he asked, "Because whatever that FOUL stench is, it's making my eyes water."

"I think so... and I've just opened a window to let in some fresh air. Do you have any idea what she was doing, brother? And did you get any messages addressed for us, perchance?" Obsidian asked with hope.

Tourmaline nodded. "Yes, your friend sent word that he was staying at the Rockhoof Hotel, and that he found out the 'basics', whatever he means by that. He says he's waiting for you all, and that he's informed the front to keep him posted if you should write back."

He then raised an eyebrow. "As for Amethyst, if what she said means anything, Amethyst was cooking a 'leave me the fuck alone', with a side order of 'mind your damn business'."

Oh, good - everything seemed to be fine with Mica, at least for now; there was no need for any rapid intervention. While Obsidian would more or less like to visit this new city and meet another brother that (probably) wouldn't try to outright murder her... she did have other things to do.

Though in Quartz's case, it would be probably wise to advise Mica to carry something sharp with him, at all times. Honestly, she should get something as well. "If I only had a dagger," she mused softly to herself.

"Well, whatever she was cooking," Obsidian continued to Tourmaline, "it certainly didn't smell like anything I know of. Whatever it is, I hope she doesn't have it for dinner; it didn't seem to be edible." The last thing they needed was a sick Amy, after all. "Also... Brother Peridot told me that you are, ah... a very probable target of Amber's mind control attempts. Perhaps we could ask Gunther to, uhm... stay away for a little while?" she suggested meekly.

Tourmaline glared for a moment like he was about to get angry... yet he simply ended up giving a sigh, then nodding.

"Amber knows what buttons to push in me; you're... probably right. If she's currently doing Father-knows-what, then it's probably a good idea to just keep me away from the center of things, at least until we find a way to sink her."

He then looked at Obsidian. "As for daggers, well... I'm sure Amethyst's dagger is still in Twilight Sparkle's possession; maybe you could ask her for it back? After all, it's more than just a dagger, you know - it's a Foci Blade; it's a magical amplifier for her." That would explain why she wanted it back in the first place.

"Or, then again, I guess you could just grab a steak knife from the kitchen," Tourmy finished with a shrug.

To be fair, the steak knife should be enough. While Obsidian was trying to bond with Amy, she was still a bit uneasy about idea of carrying around her dagger - the same dagger that killed Ruby, to boot. What's worse, she had a bad feeling that she might get the wonderful idea to return it to Amy, as it could surely win her over - and that could end VERY badly.

"So, in this case, dear brother of mine... could you tell me where Gunther lives, so that I can speak with him as well? Also, do you have any important plans for today? Because, as I'm sure you've seen, Mica is sending us messages and it would be nice to have somepony present who could receive them, and inform us if anything is bad enough for immediate response - and, well... I'm quite worried about what might happen to you in this whole 'mind controlling' thing." It didn't seem like a bad idea. Was it a bad idea? Hopefully not.

Tourmaline nodded, albeit glumly. "Yes, yes... I suppose I can play 'messenger service' today; since I'm apparently quite the target, then maybe I'll just practise my death speech, eh?" He groaned, yet he seemed to accept what was going on, and his role in it. Begrudgingly, but accepted it all the same.

"Gunther, for the record, is currently visiting his family in Griffonstone; I'll be sure to send a message that tells him I'm sick with something or other," Tourmy sulked. "I don't like lying to him, but I'll be DAMNED if I'm gonna let him suffer, just because of me."

He turned over in his hammock to face away from the door. "Just... make sure to let me know when this is handled, Obsidian; I don't want to stay cooped up in here for any longer than I have to."

Obsidian reached over and patted Tourmy's shoulder gently. "Don't worry, my brother - you'll KNOW that it's handled, because I'll... I don't know, throw a party or celebrate in some way! I do not like the fact that yet another sibling of ours is a danger to any of us at all."

He rolled over just enough to look at her over his shoulder. "ALL of us are dangerous, Obsidian... especially you, because there's no telling what you'll do next; at least with us, we're predictable. But not you."

He rolled back over. "In exchange for this, I want you to pick up some kind of keepsake for me - I don't care what it is, but if I'm going to stay cooped up in here with her, then I want something to show for it."

Cupcake peeked in the doorway, looking between Siddy and her brother.

Obsidian tapped her cheek. "Truly, I think that I am rather predictable; I have a rather limited set of behaviours - 'panic', 'act naively', 'act paranoid', 'try to be moral', 'run around like mad'," she smirked at him. "And a keepsake, you say? Nothing specific? Do you want to rely completely on the creative ingenuity of your sister and future brother-in-law?"

Tourmy waved a hoof non-chalantly. "Yes, whatever you like... I'm not choosy; I just want proof that I'm not just your answering service. Now go on... I need to think."

Cupcake leaned in a bit. "Thank you, Tourmy. You know she really appreciates this."

"Bah," he muttered, "just get it over with, so I can go out again. I'm helping, aren't I?"

"You ARE helping, dear brother," Obsidian said enthusiastically, reaching over to Tourmy so she could hug him properly. "I'll see you later, brother; perhaps you'd want some books or postcards alongside said keepsake?"

He accepted her hug with a mutter. "Sure, fine, good."

Cupcake gave a small grin and motioned for Siddy to meet him in the hall.

"I'll bet he's just irked that he can't see Gunther right now; those two have been inseperable since he moved in here. I'm sure he'll be fine, once he can go out again. I know I'd be kinda sullen and grumpy if I wasn't allowed to see you." He emphasized the thought with a kiss on her muzzle. "So, Tourmy and Gunther are taken care of - what's next on the list, my lovely captain?"

"I need that big cake knife that you like so much, Cup. Perhaps Quartz isn't wicked, and we have zero proof he's mind controlled... but I'd prefer to carry something sharp around without the need to use it over being strangled with clothing while thinking 'gee, it sure would be nice to have a sharp knife right now'." Hopefully it wouldn't be necessary.

"Then... then, we..." Obsidian thought for a moment. "We could send a letter back to Mica, inform him of our progress. Then we should look for a nice keepsake for Tourmy, maybe a book or two as well; something the stave off the boredom. I mean, he has Onyx's diary... but reading it is a chore, not a pleasure."

She tileted her head. "Cuppy, do you have any way to contact Thunderclap?"

Cup started to shake his head... then he smiled. "Wait... I could use fireworks? She likes them, and I've got a TON of 'em! I can just set off a few of her favorites, and she'll come right on by!"

"Who'll come right on by?" And standing there at the top of the stairs was Thunderclap Dash.

"You have any idea how hard it is to find you guys!? I've been looking all day! I came here, but Tourmy said you went to Twilight's palace, so I went there, but the guards said you'd headed out... so I checked everyplace I know you guys go to, but you weren't there! So finally, I said to myself, 'yo... where could they be at, huh?'" She smiled broadly. "And so, here I am! Now, who are we setting off fireworks for?"

Finally! It'd been a while - perhaps not a really long while - just a few days - but with so many dangers around them, each moment felt like a small eternity. "Actually, they're for you, Clap; we wanted to set out colorful bait for you, because we missed you so much," Obsidian smiled at the great (in many ways) pegasus, "and because my dead brother Peridot advised me to keep our entire team together, because yet another of our sisters is a proving to be a wee bit dangerous," she added less enthusiastically.

She reacted as she heard things: "Awwwwww... oh. Oh."

She then gave a long, dramatic sigh. "Another one of your family? Siddy, no offense... but your family's kinda... well, they're kinda creepy."

"Thanks," came from Tourmaline's room, and Clap gave a flustered sigh.

"Not YOU... well, mostly not you. You know what I mean!" She then stepped forward and gave Obsidian a bone-rattling hug. "Missed you, girl!" She then did the same for Cupcake. "You too, ya mook!"

"Of course we're creepy!" Obsidian chuckled, "But worry not - Ruby and Diamond more than make up for it! Just wait until you meet him!" Obsidian obviously didn't take offense to the (obviously true) complaint about her family.

Damn, it was nice to see Clap healthy and well once again! A bit painful, as her hugs had enough power to shatter bones... but nice.

"Ooooh, and Clap? We got engaged!" she chirped happily, presenting her necklace.

Clap's jaw dropped open. "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!? Are you KIDDING me? Holy Schnikes, that's... it's... THAT is so awesome, I can't even think of WORDS for it!"

This time, when she reached out for the hug, she caught both Siddy and Cup in her embrace. "Awwww, you guys! You're gonna be so CUTE together! You'll have, like, the cutest foals in the whole-..."

She stopped abruptly as she caught sight of Cupcake's necklace. "... THAT is an Eloquence creation! I'd know that look anywhere!" She admired it for a moment, then looked at Obsidian's as well. "WHOA, and MATCHING ones? He must've gone all out for these things! They look GREAT, Siddy!"

"... please... put... us... down..." Cup gasped. Clap gave a small gasp, then carefully set her friends down again.

By Harmony, this time she not only tried to crush them, but to asphyxiate them as well, it seemed! There was a lesson to be had in this - never give Clap really good news when she's in hugging distance.

"Foals... will have to wait... until the pacification of... their aunts and uncles," Obsidian gasped. Oh, sweet air.

Clap blinked. "Wait until the passif... the pacific... the pass... the what now?"

Cup shook his head. "She means we gotta make sure her other brothers and sisters won't cause any more trouble."

The pegasus rolled her eyes. "Well why didn't you say that in the first place?"

Cupcake started to answer, but realized better of it and simply smiled at Thunderclap. "Yeah, we'll just say that next time." He winked at Obsidian.

"Cool. Oh, hey, Siddy? I never really got to say thanks for helping with my feeling sick; I heard it had something to do with some sort of 'Parry Dough'? What's THAT about?"

Obsidian smiled slightly. "I'd like some help with something that will ensure Blue will accept me. By the way, she asked me to join her at the Battle of Bands as support, and she said you always join her as well."

Clap's eyes went WIDE. "Whoa... she invited you? Sids, I had to hound her for a whole year, just to get her NOT to kick my flank if I showed up - and she INVITED you?" Uh-oh... was Clap going to let jealousy come between the two of- "ALRIIIIIIGHT! Way ta go, Sidster! You're gonna see some real MET-ALLLLLLL, I promise you! We are gonna have SO much fun, you'll see! Oh! And I'll have to take you shopping; you've GOT to have the right look in there, or they'll laugh you right outta the place!" ... apparently not.

And then, Obsidian's smile faded. "Well, what you asked about was Peridot, my brother; he was doing his utmost best to curse ponykind into extinction. I stopped him - he feels much better now."

When she heard Siddy's explanation of her brother's sinister quest, and that he was better now, Clap lifted a skeptical eyebrow. "Uhhhhhh... o... kaaaaaaay... so, what, is there another brother now? Is he like Tourmy, or like Amy?"

Okay, another shopping trip was in the works - good to know. Clap was an expert, so Obsidian was going to trust her with it. Her scant knowledge about metal was enough to make Blue look at her more kindly, but it wasn't enough to prepare her properly for the upcoming event. ... she still had a tiny urge to make her own band, but alas - saving Equestria was more important.

"Well... it... may sound strange, but he died. And I can still chat with him; the same with Ruby. Peridot had some kind of mental illness, and in this strange afterlife, he feels much better. Pretty nice fellow, he was just reacting aggresively to other ponies presences," she smiled coyly to calm Clap down, just in case she would freak out.

Clap tilted her head and just looked at her. "Siddy. I think you might be losing your gourd."

Cupcake then leaned in. "No, for reals! I don't know either, but I choose to believe her, no matter what!"

The pegasus then smiled. "Well... since you put it that way, I guess I gotta believe you too, hunh? Okay, so... who's the little guy outside with Gypper? I saw 'em both when I came in, and he looked like he was playing catch with him and a bird doll of some sort..?"

"That's Diamond - the one I mentioned a moment ago. Another one of my siblings... he's cute, kind and sweet, with healing magics... and a phoenix plushie. Don't mention Amy around him; he's still rather afraid of her."

Most of these words were spoken in whispers - after all, it was a rather little secret, and one that would sooner or later be revealed to Amethyst... but Obsidian wanted to be certain that her 'little' brother would be able to endure this particular family reunion.

"So," she grinned, "let's head out, shall we? We need to get some things for Tourmy, and send a letter off to Mica."

Thunderclap nodded solemnly as she spoke about keeping Mundy a secret. Then, she glanced at the stairs. "Right. Gotcha. So... what kinda stuff do we gotta go get? I mean, are we just picking up some stuff real quick... or are we going shopping?"

Cupcake gave a chuckle. "I think it's supposed to be the first one... but that's up to Siddy."

"We should hurry, so I'm afraid we don't have time for a real shopping trip, Clap. Not today," Obsidian replied quickly. Shopping could take way, waaaaay too much time in this situation - and wasted time was the last thing they needed. All things considered, they didn't even know when and how exactly Amber could attack... and perhaps she should also check on large amounts of lead... and hopefully Princess Twilight would receive (and honor) her request for Sombra's diary...

Clap nodded and smirked. "Right; business before pleasure, hunh? Got it - but I'm gonna hold you to it, you got it?"

Cupcake began to walk along, then he slowed to a stop as he looked at Obsidian. "Hey... you, uh... you look a little... panicky. Not like, you ARE panicking, but more like you have this look on your muzzle that says you're overloading on stuff."

Was he right? It felt like her head had been spinning a bit, so many things to do, so much possibly at stake... but here was her Cuppy, already seeing it and instantly showing his concern for her. Her thoughts may have been organized, but she had yet to actually move on a decision... maybe she needed to take a breath for a moment, after all?

Perhaps 'not today' was a mistake... though to be fair, she would have to go shopping soon anyway - to prepare for her metal-bonding ritual with Blue.

"Well, we have a number of things to accomplish, yes?" she said with a somewhat resigned look on her muzzle. "I just have this constant feeling that I'm either forgetting or missing something. Just like before, when the issue with Ruby got me so worked up, I'd forgotten that Mica had already gone to Manehattan. I'm somewhat encouraged by the fact that I apparently have a genius in my head; Peridot's calculations are simply wonderful for my nerves."

At least as long they weren't calculations centered around how to kill the entire world's population, of course - but he seemed to be through with that. She hoped.

Cupcake stepped over to her and gave her a quick peck on the cheek, which made Clap smile and blush a bit. "Have you thought that maybe, with him in that head of yours, you might be overthinking things a bit? Here, let me see if I can't break it down into easier bites..."

He suddenly zipped over to the far wall, where he quickly set up a dry erase board that he pulled from out of nowhere, then he brought out a set of markers and began to draw frantically as he spoke.

"Okay, we have this thing with Quartz in Manehattan, where he's some kinda big fashion designer, right? The bad part is that we're not sure what he could be up to, even if he IS up to something! But, our good friend Mica is there, soaking up info and getting ready to help us figure out how to tackle the situation!"

Cup had drawn a rock wearing a fancy hat and scarf, then drew evil eyebrows on it, with a big question mark over it's head. Then, a picture of a stallion which looked as dull as the subject himself looked - Mica's value was under his surface, which Obsidian possibly saw as endearing. Next to that, he drew a face for himself, Gypsy, Clap and Siddy, all happy and smiling. Of course, Mica was stoic as usual.

"Two, there's the creepy possibilities that could be happening with Opal, and her company Pola Industries. Mining equipment doesn't seem that big a deal to me, but I'M not the brains of this outfit. We don't know what she could be up to either... but whatever it is, we have proof that Dark Magic is somehow involved. Which, unless it has something to do with my snugglebunny, is bad."

He drew a picture of another rock, this one with a pickaxe and a pair of glasses. He also added evil eyebrows to it, but then he made a BIG checkmark next to it. He then added some wavy lines with a purple marker, to possibly indicate Dark Magic... or that she may have smelled like grapes.

"But we have Pepper coming with us on that end, and I could try to see if maybe we could get permission to help us get there... though, I don't remember where THAT one leads us to... do you?" Cupcake scratched his head. "Did we ever learn where Pola Industries is? I... m-might have forgotten." He grinned at her sheepishly as he admitted to it.

He then turned and drew what looked like Peppermint's muzzle with her goggles on, grinning from cheek to cheek, before drawing a big black silhouette of what looked to be an airship, with little question marks around it.

"And then, we have reports of fires and trees that look like used firecrackers from the forests around... uhhh..." Cup trailed off.

"Around Mount Arris, love," Siddy smiled, saving his proverbial bacon, "I don't remember if we even learned the whereabouts of Opal... but I had hoped that Markannus could help us with getting permission to go there. Princess Luna gave us a detailed schedule of his roles for the next day or two."

Obsidian rubbed her temple. "There's also Amber and her mind-controlling abilities, and Jade's curse, and Blue's concert, and I'm also worried about Amy..." Did she forget anything? "It's a good thing that I'm not planning world conquest myself; far too much competition."

If anything, Obsidian had been planning to start her world conquest with Equestria, yes... but by rather peaceful means - like getting wings on her back and becoming a completely legal, full-powered princess! Yeah, that would be simply perfect.

Cupcake laughed, and Clap moved up to her. "Yo, Sids... we got your back. No matter what happens, you know I won't have any problems with givng you as much of my help as I can - 'cause friends give 120%, which is 20% cooler than a straight hundred." She smiled, and gave Siddy a meaty pat on the back. "Where we goin', right now? We can figure out the rest on the way, right?"

"First things first," Obsidian nodded firmly, "we need to go fetch something nice for dear Tourmaline - maybe it will help him deal with his angst over his current situation. It's the least we could do for him."

Cupcake looked back at Tourmy's door, then nodded. "Okay, let ME hit the kitchen, and I'll whip up some blueberry crepes; he loves those! It'll take me a few minutes, but I think it'll make up for it. Are you going to wait here for me, or do I have to come to where you'll meet me?"

"I'd rather you take... the second option, methinks? Unless you already have a wonderful, grand idea for a keepsake for my brother?" Obsidian replied immediately. Crepes, eh? One could only wonder what Amy would enjoy eating in a similar situation. Hopefully it wasn't the contents of that pot...

Cup shrugged. "I have no idea what he likes... other than griffon butts, I guess?"

Clap actually barked out a laugh. "Cup, you're a RIOT!" She then turned back to Obsidian. "So, what, we fetch something from the store for Tourmaline? We really gonna make time to grab him some coloring books or a snuggie, when we could be headed to Manehattan right now?"

She gave Siddy a mock-pouty look. "I mean, you DID send my coltriend there, all by himself and stuff; not like you maybe could've told him to come get ME first, an' take me too?"

To be completely and utterly fair, Obsidian HAD suggested it - and Mica had rejected it, so she wouldn't divert his attention. And why was it that everypony wanted to go to directly to Manehattan; that was the whole point of dividing up the group - to get Quartz tended to as soon as possible!

"Well... yes, Clap. Mica isn't truly in any danger right now," she hoped, "and Tourmy's going to be our local contact in Ponyville. And he asked for that job."

Clap rolled her eyes, but gave a shrug anyway. "Okay, I guess so... but we have GOT to do some shopping while we're there, Sids - they have ALL the latest fashions and ALL the best shops in Equestria! Heck," she lowered her voice, "I can help you find something sexy to wear for you-know-who," she smiled as she nodded her head towards the kitchen.

The 'you-know-who' was unecessary - after all, Cupcake was in the kitchen and they were alone. However... what would be considered 'sexy'? And would Cup enjoy it? Obsidian wasn't too sure about the idea; even a quick memory flash of her coltfriend wearing his strange sneaking suit didn't help her with figuring out very much.

The thought DID make her tingle a little, though.

Outside, Gypsy was playing catch with Diamond and Pancho; it looked as though the little stallion were having the time of his life, while Gypsy simply looked amused. Diamond caught Pancho just in time to see them come outside.

"{Obsidyan! Gypsee has taught me a new game! It is The Catch, and it is SO much fun! May you and I play The Catch?}"

Clap laughed. "He talks funny, but he sounds happy - you sure he's part of your family tree, Siddy?"

Ah, Diamond was being quite amusing today - a cute sight, but it was only to be expected from him. "Perhaps later, Diamond. For now, we're looking for a gift for Brother Tourmy. And of course I'm sure, Clap - he's just a little more, er... enthusiastic than the rest of us."

Diamond nodded, then looked up... up and up... at Thunderclap Dash's large frame.

"Heh... you're cute, little fella," Clap said with a smirk.

"{And you are tall! Are you one of Obsidyan's friends, too?}"

Clap looked at Siddy. "Can he understand me?"

"He can understand you just fine, Clap - but he can't speak Equestrian yet," Obsidian nodded. "and yes, Diamond; Clap is my friend, and she's Mica's marefriend."

Thunderclap Dash puffed out her chest fluff and smiled broadly. "Yep, yep, yep... I saved the world with Sids, an' looked good doin' it too! We kicked those zombie flanks from here to Mt. Arris, and sent 'em crumbling into ash when your sister here wiped the floor with Ol' Sombrero!"

Now, a look came over Diamond's face, and his merriment slowly turned to puzzlement. His eyes crawled over to look at Obsidian, a vague pain and questioning in them as they looked into her very soul. "... {wiped the floor... with Father?}"

Obsidian gave a slight shrug. "I told you, Diamond - I defeated our father, haven't I? 'Wiping the floor' is just a manner of speech which means we did it rather easily. Clap didn't mean it literally."

"{I... am aware of the idiom, Obsidyan. It is why I am... curious. You told me you had to defeat him, yes... but, from what Khlap says, you did more than defeat him. Did... did you harm him? Does he yet suffer from a wound?}" He looked worried, and a bit sad at the prospect that the stallion who had doubtlessly made his life a living Tartarus was possibly in pain. Exactly how much DID Diamond care for the world?

Clap looked at Siddy. "What's he sayin' now? He sounds upset..."

Gypsy looked at the little stallion. "{Our home was at stake; what was done, it had to be done. Your sister saved our realm, our lives, and possibly our very souls from being in the clutches of a stallion who had lost all reason and rationale. What she did, she did NOT do in excess - Thunderclap Dash tends to exaggerate, to embellish a story.}"

Diamond looked skeptical, yet he seemed to accept Gypsy's response. "{Obsidyan... I think that-}"

Suddenly, his little eyes grew as big as saucers, and he looked straight up at the attic window, which had its' curtains drawn... except for a single corner.

Diamond kept his eyes locked on the window as he said, "{Please let us go. Now. Please, now. Please.}"

Damnation. "Yes. Let's go - I'll talk with Amy later... oh, by the way Diamond, are you aware of any dish that smells like onions and burnt cotton candy...?"

As they began to walk away, Obsidian saw the curtain in the attic window move slightly, then slowly close. Diamond shuddered, and seemed to walk double-time until he was out of sight of the house. Gypsy kept his eyes on the little guy, concern tempered with personal space and respect for Diamond's intelligence; the diamond dog knew he would settle himself, but stayed available just in case. Clap only glanced back at the house once, then shrugged as they moved along.

Hopefully it wouldn't ruin anything - Obsidian was rather confident that her brother would be just fine, with no tendancies for violence and so on... but Amy was another issue. She might feel hurt over the fact that nopony told her about their brother's return, after all.

"So," the pegasus began, "we're picking up something for your creepy brother; what kind of stuff does he like?"

"{He likes music,}" Diamond said softly and simply.

Clap started to speak, but Gypsy interrupted; "He s-s-says Tourmaline likes m-music."

The pegasus thought for a moment. "Hey... we could get him a little radio or something like that, couldn't we?"

"Hmmmm... that does sound like a good idea. I'm not exactly well-versed with modern technology; do you know where we could find one, Clap?"

Thunderclap grinned knowingly. "Yeah, stuff like that's easy to find - we just have to hit Buggy Hollow, and we should be able to find a radio or something..."

Cup's muzzle lit up. "Buggy Hollow? I haven't been there in forever! Yeah, that'd be GREAT!" He then turned to his fiancee, all smiles. "Buggy Hollow is a pawn shop, over towards the edge of Ponyville; it's a place where folks take stuff they don't want anymore and sell it, and Tennae and Karapuss turn it around and fix the stuff up, then resell it for a little profit!"

Gypsy leaned in closer. "It is c-c-called such, due t-to it being run by changelings."

To be fair, Obsidian deduced that right after hearing the owners' names - it wasn't really that hard to guess, especially as she immediately thought about the local changeling hive after the mention of 'the edge of Ponyville'.

"Any chance we could pass by the post office on our way there?" she asked with a touch of hope.

"Sure; like it's on the way or anythi- OH WAIT, yeah it is!" Clap laughed, as she actually didn't challenge anyone to race her there, for once. Cup walked next to her, giving her occasional smiles or glances, while Gypsy and Diamond spoke in hushed tones, seemingly exchanging information about changelings and pawn shops.

The post office was right where it had last been, and the doors were open as usual. Gypsy elected to play more catch with Mundy (and Pancho), while Clap and Cup stayed at her sides.

"So, Clap... you want to say something to Mica in our letter?" Siddy asked as she took out her purse to buy paper... again. It should a short letter - 'hope everything is fine, everything seems to be fine now, my dead brother told me to keep our group together, so we will probably join you soon'...

But, wait - Gypsy was Diamond's liaison. Could Diamond travel?

Clap looked back at Gypsy and Diamond, then looked around with great care, and stared at Cup until he walked over to play with the other two... then she leaned in close and spoke in a whisper, behind her hoof.

"Tell him... that I, uh... love him, and stuff." She then stepped back, and said more loudly, "Tell him not to get into any trouble before I get there; we stand a better chance at whoopin' some tail if we're together, right?"

Cup, glancing over his flank at them, just smiled and winked at Siddy.

Oh - that was easy enough. Obsidian simply wrote a few words to Mica, telling him that everything seems to be fine here, that she got some precious advice from a pony wiser than her to stay in their group - and as such, that they would probably be going to Manehattan soon, assuming that no disasters happened around Ponyville before their departing, and to be careful - it was probable that Amber could mess with Quartz's mind.

Then she added that Clap sends her love. And stuff.

Letter written and sent, it seemed like the only thing left to do was to head toward whatever Fate had planned for her. Cup, Clap, Gypsy and Diamond were all outside, waiting for her as they spoke amongst each other. Strange... why did it feel like something was still missing?

"Let's obtain this radio, shall we," Obsidian said as she made her way out of the post office. To be fair, she was somewhat curious about the shop itself - there could be some interesting things there. Maybe some of them could even be useful! Anything that would increase her chances for survival was welcome, after all.

Buggy Hollow was, appropriately enough, located in a house that was built within a massive fallen tree, the hollowed out trunk was all that was left, and it had a number of colorful things growing on it, as well as different bugs living in it. It looked as though the base house was built inside it, but then whomever moved in just kept adding things; a tin porch roof that looked to be the side of a billboard, windowboxes that were hollowed-out television sets, planters made of a pair of dryers, and a fountain out front that was built from what looked like several statues, as no two limbs were the same.

The sign out front wasn't hoofwritten, but constructed letters from different bits of scrap instead.

Huh - was this an average example of changeling architecture? Did they typically use nature in this way? So many questions, so little time - but to be fair, Obsidian would have to visit a few different hives to find the answers for these questions. Sadly, she didn't really have time for that... but it looked interesting - a pretty good example of a building that advertises what's inside... and Obsidian was curious to find out what else its owners had.

"Looks nice; certainly catches one's attention," she commented happily.

"They got all sorts of stuff in here, Sids!" Clap gushed, "It might look like they just dive into the garbage & salvage stuff, but I know it's gotta be more than that! Some of the stuff they come up with is, like, things I've never even known!"

Cup nodded vigorously. "Momma comes here all the time, looking for gifts for Discord; she always finds something, that much is true - so maybe this is the right place to be, hunh?"

Diamond looked around at the place, grinning. "{What an interesting building; Gypsee, do you know of any history for this particular shoppe?}"

Gypsy smiled. "{This one knows that this store has been active for almost a decade, and is known for the strange and rare things that manage to find their way into the owner's hooves. Buggy Hollow is for those who seek something strange and unusual; most often, they find it.}"

"And I hope we'll also find something strange and unusual... and, uh, a radio as well, of course." Siddy's voice didn't hold back any of her cheerfulness - even for a moment. What a strange, yet wonderful business this was! Oh, if only it would be a bit closer to home, she could gladly check their stock from time to time! She didn't exactly need anything, no... but it didn't change the fact that it was very possible to find something interesting. She trotted happily to the doors.

The shop's interior was as unusual as the outside. The entirety of the massive log had been hollowed out, but on the inside there seemed to be a layer of stained-glass that completely covered the inner walls, wherever the log was... except the floor, which was made of what appeared to be steel grating.

All around them were shelves; tall ones, short ones, big ones, small ones, some hanging from the wall, some imbedded within the wall, even some magically hovering off the floor... and every last one of them was crammed full of fascinating and wondrous stuff, some of the likes of which Siddy had never seen before.

Diamond simply stared; he was so overwhelmed by the sheer amount of strange and unusual here, he sort of overloaded a bit. Nothing serious; there was no smoke rising from his ears. He'd just need a minute.

Behind one of the taller shelves hear the back, there was what looked to be a colorful changeling seated in an office chair, reading a magazine whose front cover boasted something about exotic locations. They didn't seem to notice their new guests yet, whomever they were.

Aaaaah, perfection - a very chaotic one, but it only meant that all of them could spend a really marvellous time here, checking thing after thing in the search for anything of particular interest, whether useful or simply entertaining. In fact, Obsidian pretty much reacted the same way as Diamond, despite being far more used to the craziness of modern world than he was. It was just... a truly fascinating sight.

She hook her head clear of the wonder; she should be polite. "Good morning!" she said, smiling at the changeling in the chair. Well, they would surely find a radio here - perhaps it would also cook, dance and sing?

The changeling looked up and blinked, squinting at her for a moment before reaching over and donning a pair of spectacles. Once they were on, a smile broke out. "Well, well - looks like we have a bonafide hero in our midst! Greetings and salutations, Miss Obsidian; welcome to Buggy Hollow, home of all the stuff you need, but just don't know it yet! And how may I, Karapuss, assist you on this fine day in Ponyville?" He stood up, gave her a polite bow, and seemed quite eager to help.

Ahh, it felt good to be recognized, from time to time... especially when some jerks like Peavine kept reminding her that no, being a hero doesn't mean that everything is copacetic... or when her damned siblings were doing their utmost best to ruin her chances for any sort of long and happy life.

"I'm looking for a radio; I need a gift for my brother," she tapped her cheek in thought, "and I should get something for my sister too, but... I have no idea what she would like." No reason to possibly make Amy jealous, right?

Karapuss smiled (a toothy, dangerous-looking smile; quite nice, to Obsidian); though she'd already managed to learn that her father was a pure bastard, it still didn't change the fact that she was perhaps a bit biased towards toothy smiles. After all, she spent quite a while thinking that any sort of smile from him was a good sign. The teeth just made her more comfortable, perhaps.

He buzzed his wings enough to hover over the desk, nearly hitting his head on a hanging lamp, and landed in front of her. "Whaddya need, ma'am? We've got small radios, big radios, HUGE radios, tiny radios, radios that are loud, or soft, or randomly known to change volume for no reason... what's your hunt?"

Obsidian made a few quick calculations. She liked it when her house was peaceful and calm; her brother's room wasn't really too big, and she didn't too much left to spend.

"Something in the middle, I think; not too small, not too big... something with a clear sound, to let my brother enjoy the subtle nuances of the music. Would you possibly have one like that?"

The changeling nodded, then took wing and buzzed his way towards the eastern end of the log/store. "There's a few good ones over here, but only about half of 'em work, anyway. I'll show you which ones work, and which ones we can fix, mmkay?"

Behind the counter now was another changeling, but this one was thinner, and a bit more... purple and pink... than Karapuss, who was mostly blue and green. The pink changeling looked around at the others a bit, waved at Diamond when he waved at her (because of course, he did), then just watched for a moment while things proceeded.

One of the radios she saw was about the size of a tribal drum; big enough to look like it made some sound, yet small enough to fit in a lap.

"That one's working," Karapuss said with a grin, "but it picks up channels from all over the globe, not just here in Equestria. Don't know why, either - back's been sealed up by a previous owner, and opening it up might make the magic in it stop working."

Obviously Obsidian only wanted working radios - she didn't know if Tourmy would be able to repair it at all, and she doubted that he would appreciate receiving a broken gift as a token of friendship between siblings.

"So this radio is, umm... broken in a way that makes it work better?" Now that was a novel idea. All over from the globe, eh? To be fair, she didn't see any downside to it.

"Not broken; special," the changeling chuckled. "Everything here works, don't get me wrong - but how they work is often up for debate."

That was a good way to put it - it worked, but in a very special way. Almost like Obsidian herself, heh.

The pink one behind the counter apparently decided there wasn't much happening here, so she picked up a book from behind the counter and began to read. It had no title; it was blue and it looked at least twenty years old; maybe it was for sale too?

"Whoooooaaaaa..."

Clap made her way past them all, and made a slow beeline to a wall, where there was a picture of a rather tough-looking mare in a Wonderbolt's outfit, standing next to Karapuss, who looked no older than he currently did.

"You knew Commander Spitfire?" Dash asked with awe in her voice.

"I did indeed," Karapuss said with a measure of pride. "My hive was among the first to take up the Reformation banner, and the Wonderbolts made a show of meeting with each one, to show solidarity. You can't tell from that picture, but the entire team was there that day."

He chuckled again. "Turns out, we both enjoy rock 'n' roll - so we chatted about it for most of the meet. Great flier, she was. Too bad about her wings," he looked to Siddy. "Arthritis," he explained.

Clap still gazed at the picture. "Since Mom stepped up to take over, Spitfire's turned into a travelling mare; last I heard, she was staying in Saddle Arabia... but that was about three years back."

Karapuss smiled. "She's living in the Shettish Isles, now - but she says she's thinking about Troy or possibly Neighpon next. She still sends me letters."

Clap smiled. "Actually, I'm glad to hear that - I kinda just thought she'd... y'know..."

Karapuss nodded. "Old Wonderbolts never die; they just get crankier."

Clap gave a laugh at that. "HA! Yeah, Mom's a perfect example of that."

The changeling now looked back to Siddy. "Just a radio? You don't want to look at anything else? I mean, we have two floors of goods; are you certain you don't want other things as well?" The changeling behind the counter now glanced up at them both... then, after a moment, sighed softly and returned to her book.

The mention of Spitfire brought up the memory of Short and Whisper's lost daughter, who decided she would travel around the world as well - but with a more unknown (and possibly sadder) outcome; Obsidian assumed that her reason for not contacting her parents had to be serious. Perhaps gravely serious.

"Hm, now you mention it... I think I need a gift for my sister too... but I have no idea what she would appreciate," Obsidian mulled over as she tapped her chin. She was at a double disadvantage: she didn't know Amethyst all that well, and she also wasn't too well-informed on what gifts were even available in this day and age. She glanced over at what looked like some sort of musical instrument; maybe she could try to interest Amy in a new hobby aside from flaying and stabbing?

Clap barked a laugh. "HA! Get that so-n-so a muzzle; she might not like it, but I'm pretty sure it'll make her more likable!"

Cup, however, simply thought for a minute, then nodded to himself. "A brush. For her mane."

Clap looked sidelong at Cupcake. "A brush? Seriously?"

Cup looked at Obsidian. "Her mane's braided, but it's always unkempt-looking - and she doesn't seem like the kind of mare who takes care of her mane very often. I've been wondering if it was a family trait..." Obsidian's own mane had been dishevelled enough for him to mention when they were still just liaison and charge; maybe he had a point?

"Still think a muzzle would be better," Clap grumbled.

Heeeeeey... was he criticizing the very same mane he loved to smell and touch so much? "Well, it's a start. Everypony needs a brush," Obsidian grudgingly admitted.

Karapuss smiled. "We have those, yeah! Tennae?"

The changeling behind the counter's ears twitched their direction, and she looked up with a grin, closed her book, then rose and fluttered towards a stairway in the back, making her way... down?

"She'll be back in a bit; we have an entire CASE of brushes for sale, but we don't get much call for them, so they usually stay out of display sight."

The pinkish changeling reappeared moments later, with a well-worn case that she placed on the counter and opened up. Inside, there were a score of different brushes - and each one looked pristine clean, even if they seemed aged.

Karapuss smiled broadly. "Buy a radio, and I'll throw one of these in-"

Tennae suddenly glared at him, and he stammered out the next words: "... f-for half p-price?"

She looked at him a moment more, then glanced at Obsidian, then returned her look to Karapuss... and nodded. Decision made, she went back behind the counter and returned to her book.

Obsidian thought a brush was actually a pretty good idea... and she got a good deal, too. "Cuppy, your opinion please?"

Cupcake smiled. "Sounds good to me - and trust me, she'll like the brush."

Karapuss looked eagerly at Obsidian, as if he was silently begging her to buy something.

Clap shrugged. "Eh, I still like my idea better... but if you wanna do something nice for her, I guess you could do worse."

"Of course I want to buy her something nice, Thunderclap - she's my sister. And she doesn't try to kill me, anymore."

As it was plain to see, Obsidian's bar for accepting her siblings was set rather low. Besides, she'd purchased plenty of gifts lately; she'd gotten Diamond his phoenix, even though it was Tourmaline's gift (but her idea!)... the copies of the artwork... the letters sent along through the post... pastries and such... clothing...

She took out her poor, beleagured purse once again to pay. "I'll take this radio, then - and one of the brushes." She took a closer look at them; to be fair, she was no expert with brushes - she just hoped one would seem better than the others, and that it wouldn't make Amy throw it back at her.

Karapuss' wings suddenly spread out and shivered, and the changeling's smile grew three times its' original size.

"Splendiferous! A SALE! Okay, then... twenty bits it is! I'll ring you up, and you can pick a brush from the case - any brush - and we'll get you on your way!"

As he went to the counter, like a well-oiled machine, Tennae stood up just before Karapuss sat down. She made her way towards the back, but as she passed Siddy, she stopped and gave a tiny, cute smile.

"Thank you for shopping with us today, Miss Obsidian," she spoke in a breathy, sweet voice, before continuing into the back area.

"I'll have to visit here again," Obsidian resolved, "and next time, I'll get a more thorough look around - maybe even buy something for myself," she added. Twenty bits, hm? Sometimes, she had no clue about budgeting in Equestria, really!

After paying for a number of things lately, Obsidian discovered that she still had enough bits to cover this expense... but now, she only had about five bits left to her name. Still, the look of happiness on the changeling's muzzle was quite a sight to see. She paid Karapuss, and was rewarded with a giggle from him as he took the bits from her, giving her a hoofwritten receipt for her purchase.

"Then whenever you're ready, Buggy Hollow will be here waiting for ya! Now, one radio and one brush. Have you chosen one yet?"

Inside the case, almost all the brushes looked more or less the same... plastic or metal, pastel colors, missing bristles and tape around most of the handles, some with partial melting, some with chips missing...

Except for one.

It sat at the very back of the case, near the corner. It had a curved and elegant handle, looking almost like black marble, with only a single crack which had been glued expertly, and the bristles were in top notch shape. The finishing touch on it was a small purple stone, set into the center of the back. Among the bright, colorful but obviously-used brushes in the case, it looked like the outsider.

"That one," she pointed at the exceptional brush. A purple stone... could it be an amethyst, mayhaps? If so, it could possibly be considered the most perfect brush possible for Amy.

Damnation, who would have thought that spending money was so easy to lose track of?

Karapuss nodded, then deftly tossed it lightly in the air, catching it within a small sack before adding the radio and holding it out for Obsidian to take.

"Your business is our livelihood!" he smiled as he spoke.

Diamond came over to them both, and held up what looked like a stone bowl and a little concrete stick. "{Obsidyan... a mortar and pestle! If there are more such items here, I may be able to create potions for you!}"

Karapuss' smile faltered a bit. "Um... excuse me, miss, but what did he say?"

"He said that he likes this mortar and pestle set," Obsidian translated without even thinking. She then looked over at Cup, who was staring into a glass fishbowl filled with what looked like little plastic toy ponies.

"Erm, Cuppy... I don't think I could afford another gift, to be honest," she murmured, embarassed. It could potentially be a dangerous thing; a flat-broke hero is a hero that couldn't support her own heroic actions with enough cash.. and though she might be lucky, she wouldn't mind having at least a small 'Hero Budget' from Princess Twilight.

Cupcake slid right up next to her. "Siddy... as long as I'm around, you don't have to worry about a thing."

He reached over and took hold of Obsidian's purse, then he pulled a pouch from wherever he kept his cannon, and poured its' entire contents into it, filling her purse with his own bits.

"That good enough?" He smiled at her. "Now you can afford anything here, if you wanted to!"

Karapuss grinned at Siddy. "I'd say he's a keeper, Miss Obsidian!"

"Oh, that he is," she agreed with Karapuss. It was still a little mortifying - the fact that she'd managed to empty her purse was rather unpleasant. Her father would have surely severely punished her for a mistake like that. While she held no love for the old fool... she still would possibly prefer to just be scolded from time to time, to point the way for improvement.

"So... I suppose, how much for the mortar and pestle?" she asked with a sheepish smile.

Karapuss hovered up carefully into the air, looking towards the back for a moment... then, once satisfied that Tennae couldn't overhear, he grinned at Siddy and said, "No charge; consider it a thank you for aiding Ponyville when we needed you."

Cupcake smiled back and gave Obsidian a light side-hug. "You have no idea what that means to her... heck, to all of us, Karapuss. Thanks muchly." Gypsy gave a light bow in thanks, his tail wagging gently in the (possibly fragile) curio-filled store.

The changeling held up a hoof. "Don't mention it... no really, don't mention it; I don't want Tennae to get mad that I gave something away again!"

Being a hero had some advantages - but still, relying on the good will of others... well, it might work in Ponyville, but her siblings were apparently active within the whole of Equestria. If she was going to travel, she shouldn't get used to this sort of attention.

"Thanks, Karapuss - I really do appreciate it," Obsidian replied with a light smile on her muzzle.

The changeling gave a small yet gracious bow. "The appreciation is all mine, princess..."

There was a flash of greenish light, and Obsidian was staring back at herself! "... and please, don't be a stranger!"

The voice was spot on, and it was interesting to be able to see and hear herself like this; it was her, for all intents and purposes, and the only reason she knew better was because she was herself.

"Does my voice really sound like that?" Damnation, that mane of hers - she really should take batter care of it. Perhaps train a bit more; as a hero, she could use more muscles, maybe - the best choices for training would be Thunderclap, or even Amy....

Nah - she looked great; no changes necessary. Obsidian smiled at herself.

And she smiled back - a mirror-perfect copy - before another flash of green magic, and Karapuss was standing there once more. "Funny thing, that - everyone says that when I do that - it's not just you, ma'am."

She could believe that without any problem. Obsidian never really thought about the sound of her own voice, but this... well, this was an interesting experience. In fact, she thought she sounded rather pleasant - just not the same as she thought she would sound like in her own mind.

Diamond chirped a mellow "{thank you, bug-sir!}" as he carefully reached up and placed the bowl and stick into Siddy's right saddlebag.

The little healer then smiled brightly, and gave her a hug... well, as far up as he could reach, anyway. "{I will make many potions for you, my sister... your generosity is unbound, wild and free, and such things are a beautiful thing to see in this family line!}"

They made their way outside, after gathering a picture-gazing Thunderclap from her focus. Gypsy looked over Obsidian's shoulder, his attention on the sack. "Do you b-b-believe that S-Sister Amethyst will accept your k-kindness?"

"Yes, Gypsy... I think she just might." She sighed softly. "At least I hope so; let's go home and find out, shall we?"

The house was quiet as they came walking up to it, but the attic windowshade was fully drawn. Still, Diamond stared hard at it as soon as it was in sight, fear crawling across his features like a swarm of spiders.

"{This one shall remain with your brother outside; he will be safe, have no fear.}" Gypsy assured her. The small stallion smiled up at the diamond dog, who returned it.

Cup nodded, then leaned over to give Siddy a quick kiss on the tip of her chin. "I'll head to our room and grab my bags; I should be ready in two hops of a bunny's bottom!"

Clap looked at the house for a moment before shrugging. "Eh, I guess I do kinda owe Tourmy a thanks for watching out for me while I was cursed... or sick... I'm still not 100% clear on what happened to me, but it's not important at the mo', I guess. I'll follow ya, Sidster."

Diamond clapped his hooves as he began another game of 'The Catch' with Gypsy.

"Well, you were cursed by my brother Peridot, who wanted to destroy all sentient life in the world, save for himself and his brothers and sisters." Despite the mention that it 'wasn't important', Obsidian quickly provided an explanation.

Amy could be dealt with first... should be dealt with first - and first things first. Obsidian trotted to her room to knock politely at the attic door.

Clap shrugged again. "All I remember is my pal Obsidian brought me to her house, and wouldn't let me leave until I was well - even with my own Mom being brat-tastic about it. And that's all I need to know, Sids - you were there for me." Clap smiled kindly - a look that complimented her quite nicely.

Which quickly became a scowl when she saw where they were headed first. She flopped into a chair which protested loudly and pouted a bit as Siddy knocked.

There was the sound of thumping around for a moment, then a sharp squeak that sent shivers up her spine. There was the measured thump of hoofsteps, soon followed by the door opening slightly.

"... you? What? What do you want?" She sounded a bit impatient, as if she had little time for whatever nonsense Obsidian had to tell her.

"I've got something for you, my sister," Obsidian said with her perfected 'cheerful' voice. She took out the brush from her saddlebag and held it out for her.

"What, you have some stupi-" Then she saw the brush... and stopped. She stared at it for a long, hard moment... then her eyes slowly went to Obsidian's. "What... i-is... I don't..."

By Darkness, she was speechless.

She turned her gaze back to it, and stared at it some more. "This... what IS it?" There was still no way to tell if she liked it or not; her muzzle looked as though she were trying to figure it out, like it was a jigsaw puzzle.

"It's a brush, dear sister - I think this stone on the back suits you rather well, don't you?" Speechless Amy; It could mean that she was either going to be very happy, or at least the token value of 'happy', in her sister's case... or that Obsidian would possibly get this brush shoved into places where brushes really, really shouldn't go.

Amethyst looked at it for a moment more, then slowly reached out and picked it up with a hoof... and trned it over a bit, looking at the small stone inlaid there. She then looked up at Siddy, an unfathomable expression in her eyes.

"Uh... sure. Whatever, yeah. I guess... thanks." Holding it as if it were something she expected to burn, she shut the door and went upstairs to her dwelling space once more.

"Toldja we should've gotten her the muzzle for her stupid face," Clap smugly snarked.

Well, could be worse, could be better. Overall, Obsidian would give it a score of Amethyst/10. "She seemed to like it more than not, actually," Obsidian shrugged slightly when she returned to Clap once again. "And NO Clap, she doesn't have a stupid face. Come on; it's Tourmy's turn."

"Well, I think her face is stupid - goes with the rest of her," Clap muttered as they made their way downstairs.

All things considered, even if Amy had acted the way she did, there was one fact that told Obsidian that Cup quite possibly could've been correct: she did take it with her, after all.

Tourmy's door was open, and he glanced at them both as they reached his door. "Amy's in her room; no letters yet." He sighed, sounding supremely bored.

"Thank you, brother," Obsidian once again slipped into her 'cheerful' voice mode as she trotted closer to Tourmaline to present him his lovely, new-but-used magic radio; it would surely make his time under lock-down far more entertaining for him.

"Well?" Obsidian asked, "What do you think?"

Tourmy sat up in his hammock as he looked at what she presented to him. "Wait, what is..." He then gasped lightly. "Obsidian... is this a radio set?"

Clap grinned. "Eeyup - Siddy gotcha some musical entertainment!"

He gently picked it up and looked it over. "Gunther has one of these - but his looks more... complicated than this one does. Does it-" He turned the left knob, and there was a light click from inside the radio... but no sound. "Is... I didn't already break it, did I?"

Clap gave a sharp bark of a laugh, then came over and continued turning the same knob until music came floating out of it, filling the air with an aria. "See? You just had to turn it up!"

Tourmaline's eyes went wide as the somber melody poured from the little radio... and then, he slowly closed them, and his head began to bob to the rhythm as it continued on. "Ohhhhhh... such a wonderful sound..."

He opened his eyes again, looking at her and smiling. He then gently set the radio own on the nightstand next to his hammock, and embraced Obsidian in a warm hug. "Thank you! I love the one Gunther has, but this one certainly is better, in my opinion. Of course, I am biased; my sister gave me this radio, after all - it means something to me."

Well, she slam dunked the home run par on that serve! (Sports idioms are weird for those who don't do sports.)

Obsidian obviously returned the hug, happy that her brother seemed to be satisfied with his gift. However, she would be more inclined to expect his bias was towards his griffonfriend, not towards the sister who'd put him in an anti-magic ring and forced him to integrate with modern society against his will...

"Now, you won't get too bored - wonderful! Luckily this basement has rather thick walls, so there shouldn't be any problems with volume."

Hopefully... otherwise, he might have heard her and Cup during... uhhhh, 'things'.

Tourmy nodded, gave her a quick squeeze again, then let her go and simply sat down on his hammock, grinning at his new gift as he adjusted the volume to where they could continue to talk, yet still hear it playing. The sound was crisp and clear - possibly a bit too clear, though that may have been part of its' magic as well.

"With something like this," he said with a grin, "I doubt I'll ever complain about boredom again."

"Hey, Tourmy... uhhh, look I wanted to, y'know, say thanks for the other day - where you kept me on the couch and fed me tea?"

Tourmaline rolled his eyes, but gave a light chuckle. "Yes, I DO recall that, Thunderclap... and I'm pleased to see that Obsidian's politeness is rubbing off onto you."

Clap gave him a look at that, but Tourmy simply returned a sumg smile, unflinching... and eventually, a smile crwled across Clap's muzzle too, and the two of them laughed it off.

"Yeah, yeah, well... I really do appreciate it. I might not have thought well of ya at first, but after that stuff? You're okay, Tourmy."

He gave a half-grin. "Thunderclap Dash's approval; be still my heart."

Clap laughed. "You're a RIOT, Tourm!"

"Maybe a quiet riot," he chuckled softly.

Author's Notes:

And so, with Spike - now goes Gypsy Rover. A Messenger Spell was what I felt to be a good parallel to the same mechanic that Twilight herself used. My thought is that it was a spell like the one here - though Gypsy can't breathe fire, so I figured it would be more humouous to eat it. Nom.

So, what's bubbly & smells like onions & burnt cotton condy? I dunno, but I sure wouldn't want to eat it. Just describing the smell alone conjures a rancidity that I have no means to compare... ick.

Karapuss & Tennae are changeling names I felt would fit; they were fun to imagine, and I enjoyed giving each one a touch of their own personality, for as briefly as they're seen here. Much buggo love.

Thirty Seven: Train Travels

Okay, so gifts - check. Clap's gratitude - check. Did she miss anything? She couldn't think of anything else, to be completely fair.

"All right, Tourmy - take care of yourself, don't die out of boredom, don't get into any fights with Amy, and if a fight does start, don't burn the house down, okay?" Obsidian smirked.

Tourmaline chuckled as he put his forehooves behind his head and stretched out in the hammock again. "As long as she doesn't touch my radio, we should be fine. Thank you, my sister; your gift is very much appreciated."

Tourmaline called her sister - he MUST have loved the gift!

Cupcake took this moment to poke his head into the room. "Okay, I got everything I think we'll need, aaaaaaaaand I sent word off to Wart to meet us on the train; I thought she might wanna avoid her number one fan and all. So, you two ready to get moving?"

"I am, Cup - see you later, Tourmaline! I hope we can regale you soon with some good news about a heartwarming family reunion with Quartz... and an absolute lack of any kind of danger!" Obsidian added cheerfuly as she turned to leave the basement.

She had a knife; everything should be fine.

Leaving the house, she got the distinct impression they were being watched... and a glance back at the house revealed the attic window being slightly open, a pair of eyes watching them all as they made their way off to the station.

Diamond sidled up to her as soon as she stepped outside. "{Obsidyan, shall I be allowed to go with you, to see this mane's hat on?}"

Gypsy slowly shook his head. "{You are restricted, for now - until the Princess is certain of your intentions; it should not take long, this one thinks, for all of them to see how kind you truly are, Diamond.}"

Mane's hat on... ah, Manehattan! Sometimes Diamond's ancient manner of speech made understanding him harder than it should be, even considering that it was one of the two languages Obsidian was able to use quite fluently.

Mundy looked a bit crestfallen, but then he shook it off and looked up to Obsidian again. "{Then I shall prepare for your return, my sister, and wish you the utmost best with Quartz; remember, his style is the most important thing to him... no matter HOW it looks.}"

Clap smirked. "He sounds so serious - he tellin' you to behave yourself?"

"{Oh yes, and behave yourself, Obsidyan.}" He gave a smirk of his own as Clap looked at him, clueless as to his words, and touseled his mane playfully.

"This one will be st-staying with him, to make c-certain he remains s-safe," Gypsy spoke up... however, he too seemed to be a bit put-out, due to his responsibilities. Knowing his nature, the Diamond Dog would never give his word falsely - but his low-hanging tail gave away more than his muzzle did.

At the station, things were as bustling as usual. The ticket booth was unoccupied, as the porter was busy stowing luggage.

"Don't worry about it, my brother - I know nothing about style, so I can compliment him no matter what he'd possibly be wearing. And yes, I'll behave myself," Obsidian smiled to him and reached her hoof out to ruffle his mane, too. Strange - she'd never wanted to do this before; perhaps it was because Clap did it? Diamond's mane was soft and silky; surprisingly so, actually, and he smiled sweetly at Obsidian for it.

"So now, um... could you possibly be so kind as to deal with our tickets, Cuppy?" Trains, travelling, flitting about, here and there... she'd been far too active lately.

Clap held up a hoof. "No way, Sids - I got this. You just let ME handle that expense!" The pegasus mare strolled to the ticket booth, while Cup simply shrugged, then moseyed over to Siddy's side and gave her a quick peck on the cheek, grinning in that almost-manic way of his.

Clap returned with the tickets, and they boarded the train. There were actually a great number of ponies here today, along with a few griffons, a pair of changelings, a diamond dog alseep in the back, a young dragon with his head out the window and another creature that looked like a pony, but had a weird bone coming out of its' head.

At the terminal, Gypsy and Diamond stood there as their friends got ready to leave. "Do not w-worry, Obsidian - Diamond shall b-be in good p-paws, this one promises."

Cup and Clap both gave Gypsy a warm hug, and Diamond followed suit (though he had to practically jump to hug Clap's tall form). "{Obsidyan, please be careful; I do not want harm to come to you or your wonderful friends. Stay safe, I beseech you.}"

"Nothing to worry about, my brother - I'm always careful!" Obsidian called out. Well, at least she kept trying to be careful. Or she wanted to be careful. Or...

Okay, it may possibly be a bit more problematic than she initially thought, but she was still sure that she didn't want any harm coming to her, her fiancee or her friends. Besides, she was still hoping that her upcoming meeting with Quartz would be a good one; perhaps it wouldn't be as pleasant as it had been with Diamond, but at least she hoped he would prove to be less than completely and utterly crazed and dangerous.

"I'll do my best to return with at least as many friends as I took with me," she smiled lightly to both her brother and her canine companion. Gypsy grinned, his tail wagging slightly, and Diamond gave her another hug before they boarded for the trip. They were both waving from the station's edge as the train pulled out with a hiss, a squeal, and a chugging that grew in intensity as it began its' journey.

Cup found them a seat, sat down and looked to Obsidian as he patted the seat next to him. Clap took the bench seat across from them - the entire seat, as the large pegasus leaned back and set her forehooves across the back of the bench.

"So, Sids," Clap grinned excitedly, "you've never been to The Big Applecore, have ya? Oh I promise, you're gonna have a moment where you're overwhelmed by the size of it, trust me - just keep a level head, and you should be alright. Stick with the flow of hoof traffic, don't cross ANY street without looking - even if the light says it's okay - and be real careful of anyone who tries to chat you up."

Cupcake smiled. "Well, I like having conversations with strangers!"

Clap gave a smirk. "Yeah... until one of those folks picks your pocket."

Such a strange thing to consider... in an attempt to deal with a threat more efficiently, Mica went into Manehattan alone. Now, to keep their group together, they were heading to meet him... while Gypsy was stuck in Ponyville. They were split either way!

Big Applecore? Was it an idiom? A metaphor?

"Pick pockets, you say," Obsidian mused. The place they were headed to sounded far more busy than Ponyville, that's for sure - perhaps even more busy than her beloved Crystal Empire, that glorified (yet beautiful) city-state. "Well, in that case, I would simply go full Dark Magic on would-be-thief - don't worry," she smiled innocently.

Clap shook her head. "Nuh-uh. You can't get away with that as easily as you've been doin' in Ponyville; Manehattan News travels FAST, and you might be tossed in jail within five minutes of showing off that Dark Magic stuff!"

Cup shrugged. "Besides, you've got US here - and we won't let anyone take advantage of you! We got your back! And hey, if we find your brother quick enough, maybe we could still check out some sights before we head back, eh?"

Clap now put on a slightly worried expression. "I just really hope it's that easy..."

Obsidian gave Clap a shocked look. "Me? In jail? Well in that case, I guess I would simply take over the entire city," she chuckled quietly. "No worries - I jest. Still, the idea of catching a thief is far more pleasant than the thought of letting them escape. Let's just hope that no one will bother us."

Clap gave a light chuckle at Siddy's joke, but Cupcake quirked an eyebrow as he sat there. "Say... how long are we going to be in Manehattan? I mean, we're kinda under the impression that we'll be there and back in, what, thirty minutes or so, with commercials? What if this takes longer than that? Should we look into a hotel or something?"

Clap smiled. "Cupernicus, don't worry your little blue head about it; I'M covering the expenses for this trip, so you don't have to worry - if we need a place to sleep, we'll have one. Relax, okay? Thunderclap's on the job, here!"

There was a loud snore from the diamond dog in he back, and the weird bone-head pony gave him a flat look, but said nothing to him and just looked out of the window.

The pegasus settled back in her bench seat. "So, Sids - you got any idea where we're headed when we get there?"

"The Rockhoof Hotel," Obsidian responded immediately, "is the name of the place where Mica is staying. After meeting up with him, we search for Quartz. Afterwards, it will either be return to Ponyville, or the more probable option where everything will go completely crazy and we'll have to deal with my brother in a more enthusiastic manner. I hope we can avoid that - Quartz sounds like a nice pony, or at least not villainous."

Clap's eyes shot open when the name of the hotel was mentioned. "THE Rockhoof Hotel!? Like, the oldest and most famous hotel in all of Manehattan???" She paused a moment, then smirked. "Hunh. Guess he's got good taste after all."

She shook herself out of her aside and refocused intently on her. "Siddy, that's like the ritziest place in town! That's where a lot of elite and cultured pones stay while they're in Manehattan, and to be seen there is almost a guarantee that you'll be the talk of the entire city!"

She then blinked a bit. "Wait... Mica's there? How in the wide, wide world of Equestria is he paying for it?"

Now here was an example of one of those nice, lovely little details that Obsidian was completely unaware of which could be potentially helpful. "Perhaps he's secretly an agent in some Equestrian Secret Service, and that's how he was able to rent a room there... or maybe he met somecreature there who helped him afford it. A rich uncle? Markannus? Starswirl the Bearded? Anything is possible," she shrugged, unfazed by this little bit of trivia.

Well, there was always the possibility that Miss Maud found a very rich vein of precious stones and didn't tell anypony, hoarding it for her family and thus allowing her son to get into a place with that grand of a reputation.

Clap just sat there, looking a bit dazed as she tried to fathom how Mica Chip, son of Maud & Mudbriar, would have any means to afford such an expensive place. Meanwhile, Cup snuggled up a bit closer to Siddy, and leaned his head on her shoulder, nuzzling his snout into her mane as he sat there, warm and sweet-scented.

At the back again, the diamond dog let out a loud snore, then turned in his sleep to face the window. In the aisle across from him, the boneheaded pony sighed irritably, then shut her eyes and tried to rest... which, with another sharp snore, the bonehead's eyes opened... and she looked a touch irritated.

"Okay, so like, what do you know about this brother? Anything that could help Cup and me?" Clap inquired.

"Oh, he's a fashion designer - apparently a rather popular one. Princesses Celestia and Luna know him, and they never suspected him of... well, anything. He even donates to charity. However, my brother Peridot expects him to be rather easily mind-controlled, and as such he could be used as a pawn by my mind-controlling sister, Amber. It would be well-advised to keep something sharp with us at all times - he could try to use some fabric-based attacks, meaning we may have to cut our way to freedom."

Clap lifted an eyebrow. "A popular fashion designer? You mean a fashionisto, right? Like Eloquence? Well, in that case, you and me might get to go shopping yet!"

It was interesting; since she and Mica had shared a kiss, Clap didn't seem to even flinch at mentioning the fashionisto's name; Obsidian could still recall the first time she'd seen Thunderclap react to Elo's presence in the library... It felt like centuries ago, but no; that would have been her life before them - before her friends.

After all that had happened to her, it was obvious she wasn't the same mare she had been before... but that wasn't exactly a bad thing, was it? Before, she'd had purpose, sure - but she'd been alone; so alone, she hadn't even been aware of what 'alone' was. Now, she had her freedom, her own magic... and five friends who actually managed to show her what friendship actually was. She might still have some learning to do, but she was considerably further now.

Cupcake sighed happily from Siddy's mane. "I have small carving knives for all four of us - Mica included. Like I said, I have everything we need for this trip!"

As far as Obsidian was concerned, she'd really grown up since the old days -changed a lot, too. It's almost like the metaphor about a sailing ship - if every single plank in the ship would be replaced, would it be still the same ship? That's how she sometimes felt. But without these older experiences, she wouldn't be the same pony today - and she wouldn't appreciate her current life as much.

"That's great, Cup. Of course, I hope we won't have to use them... but, just in case, it would be better to have them without any need than to need them and not have them, right?" To be fair, Obsidian didn't have a plan; how would she go about discovering if Amber had Quartz under her influence? By Darkness, the situation with this mare was crazy. She had her right there in Ponyville... yet she had no clue what to do with her.

Behind them, the sleeping diamond dog suddenly lifted his leg in his sleep and let out a raucous fart, aimed directly at the boneheaded mare sitting across from him...

And her eyebrows caught fire.

The mare jumped up, turned to the dog, and a burst of black flame surrounded her; standing in her place was a mare of a violently different nature! Her mane was aflame, as well as her eyes, and she wore a look of extreme rage that almost put Onyx's angry-face to shame. She screamed loud enough to shake him out of his dreams and nearly onto the floor:

"IF YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE SUCH A RACKET, WHY DON'T YOU GO SLEEP AT HOME!? THIS IS A PUBLIC PLACE, AND THAT'S RUDE TO EVERYONE AROUND YOU! CONSIDER OTHERS BEFORE YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!"

The diamond dog looked close to wetting himself... but he gave a slow nod, his eyes locked on the fiery mare, trembling like a leaf in the wind. She then turned and walked out of the door, to the small platform between train cars. There was a muffled >foomp< sound, and when the door reopened, the mare from before walked in calmly, sat down in her seat, and looked over at the still-cowering diamond dog.

"I'm sorry, but... that was very rude. Excuse me." She pulled out a newspaper and began to read... but the dog got up and hustled past her seat, moving to the next car up.

Clap was also staring, but Cupcake shook his head with a grin. "Kirin. At least she was nice about it."

To be clear, anypony would get mad after being farted at - however, Obsidian hadn't expected a literal transformation into a burning, seething creature after an explosion of magic. And, to her great surprise, it wasn't Dark Magic - which she would expect from a display like that - but... Grey?

This damned, good-for-nothing Grey trickery that was actually a mix of two hardly compatible areas of magic? How very surprising. "Could you tell me more, Cup? I'm curious... very, very curious. And I don't think I remember reading about such a thing." Well, Jynx had a kirin friend, and Obsidian was going to meet her at their O&O meeting... and didn't she see one before, somewhere? Obsidian honestly couldn't recall; she must have been busy at the time. Otherwise, this was a new development for her.

Cup looked at her, then back at the bonehead. "Oh, Kirin? They're really nifty - Mom knows a few. They live on their emotions, sorta... at least, they express 'em a lot louder than other ponies. That is what happens when they get mad."

Clap gave a low whistle. "I'd say we don't make her mad, 'kay?"

It was an opportunity Obsidian wasn't going to pass up. It was probably the first time in her entire life when she could feel this kind of magic from some creature other than herself. This Kirin seemed to have gotten quite angry at the diamond dog, so she could expect this kind of behaviour might bring about the use of Dark Magic. And yet, it didn't.

Obsidian stood up and made her way to the Kirin, actually taking the same seat which had been abandoned by the diamond dog. "Good afternoon, madam. I'm Obsidian - may I take a moment of your time? I've never felt this kind of magic before, and I'm admittedly a bit curious."

The kirin looked up from her paper, cocking an eyebrow at Obsidian. "Er... well, I suppose - not like I'm going anywhere, after all. I do hope you're not bothered by my, eh... little outburst, back there. Really, I tried my best to ignore it, but some seem to think the world around them simply stops existing when they're not paying attention to it."

The mare was wearing a smart grey suit, and had a pair of glasses in her breast pocket. There was a small briefcase next to her on the seat, and she had the presence of someone who was used to acting professional... little, fiery outbursts notwithstanding. "Justice Spark; pleased to meet you."

"I'm not at all bothered - if anything, I'm amazed! I expected to sense Dark Magic, but instead I felt natural Grey Magic; I wasn't even aware that something like that existed! It isn't something you do on purpose, is it?" Obsidian took her trusty notebook from her saddlebags, along with a pen, to make notes. Now this was fascinating! A new race, and one that can apparently conjure Grey Magic naturally - with flames! So many things to learn! It was so exciting!

Justice raised the other eyebrow now, and gave Obsidian a flat look. "You're... not with the press, are you?"

Obsidian blinked. "No, I'm not - why would I be?"

Justice gave a light sigh of relief, then nodded. "My profession takes me many places, and there are a number of others who have something other than the best intentions for me. Always be aware of whom you're talking to; you never know when you're feeding information to the wrong individual."

She sat back and got comfortable. "As for those little outbursts, they're directly connected to our emotional center; we Kirin tend to wear our feelings out in the open, and that's because bottling them up produces the effect you just witnessed. Though this is the first I've heard of any 'Grey Magic' affiliations. How can you tell, if I may be so bold?"

Well, Obsidian was always aware about speaking to others... well, almost always... usually.... somewhat often. ...okay, maybe she hadn't cared about it, to be honest. Ponyville was a nice, cozy little place, and at the moment the only real trouble she'd had was because of her mouth - as in that little debacle with Mica after he felt insulted by her speech that love and friendship were worthless.

"I research it; I always thought that it was an artificial conglomeration of both Light and Dark Magics, so I'm rather surprised by this. So, feelings... out in... the open..." Obsidian made a few quick notes about bottling emotions and emotional centers. Did this mean that Kirin were able to fuel their internal magic sources with bottled emotions? Could they perhaps change into something different or less flammable? Curious. "Are those outbursts the only representation of Kirin magic, or can you utilize it in other ways as well?"

"Well," Justice began, "some of us have a means of creating magic, though usually linked to our emotional core, somehow. There've been a few Kirin with the ability to cast magic, but they tend to be few and far between... and for good reason, as emotional magic can be highly... eh, unstable, if not properly handled."

She glanced past Obsidian for a moment, then gave a small grin as she refocused on her. "I believe those two are watching us."

Both Cup and Clap were leaned out from their seats, staring at the two of them; when they were noticed, both sat back down quickly, trying to be non-chalant.

Cast magic, highly unstable... Obsidian would confirm all of this, eventually. "Yes - my friend and my fiancee. I kind of left them there to speak with you, without any warning to them... I can imagine they're somewhat curious about you."

She then smiled eagerly at the Kirin. "Where could I find a Kirin who can use magic?"

"Magical Kirin," Justice answered, "are usually found in the older villages - the ones that've stayed off the grid, for the most part. You'd have to venture a decent way to locate one, but they tend to be rather open with outsiders, so you shouldn't have an issue - once you actually find one."

The far end doorway slid open at the other end of the passenger car, and a very familiar muzzle entered; a small unicorn, no taller than a filly, with an intent look on her green-eyed muzzle. Cupcake was watching Siddy, but Clap saw her and waved at her to join them.

Wart was, for once, not wearing her guard armor - which she so dearly loved - and instead had on a saddlebag that looked as though it were made by the cheapest bagmaker in all of Equestria. The little unicorn mare saw Obsidian and the rest, and her dour demeanor faded under a small smile.

Was Twilight skimping on pay for her guards? Or perhaps Stalwart was simply choosing to hoard cash instead of spending it? Or maybe she just didn't need a better bag?

Obsidian waved cheerfully to her little friend. "Sounds like a good side-quest for later, then. I'll keep it mind..." Between world-saving adventures, it could be fun to look into.

Justice gave her a look. "Side quest? You sound as if you're going on some sort of adventure..."

She turned to her briefcase, opened it, took out a small card and closed it again. She turned back to Obsidian and gave her the card. "Eh, just in case - this is a bit of a different era than the time of the Mane Six, and villains are just as apt to go to court as heroes are."

The card read:

[JUSTICE SPARK - Attorney At Law]

It had a contact number as well, and an embossed picture of a briefcase covered in flames. "In case you should happen across a more litigious enemy," the Kirin smirked.

"My life is one, big adventure," Siddy answered Miss Spark first, "and whether I consider it lucky or not depends on my mood and the immediate probability of death," Obsidian admitted sorrowfully.

She took the offered card and inspected it with some curiosity; attorney... she wasn't really familiar with the term. Apparently, it was some sort of profession; she had no idea what that could be, except that it was something about courts and law...

Wart made her way directly over to Obsidian. "Lady Siddy - wonderful to see you again, Your Majesty. And have you made yet another friend?" Wart then gave Siddy a rare smirk. "Excelling at Princess Twilight's commands, are we?"

"Hello, Stalwart, good to see you... and in a manner of speaking, I suppose I am, though this time it's more about my magical research. But I've already learned a lot, though! Like... er..."

She turned her gaze to Justice again. "What are attorneys?" she asked with a somewhat embarrassed grin.

Justice looked at Wart; Wart looked back at her. The Kirin spoke slowly, as if trying to fathom it all. "Is she-"

"Quite serious, yes," Stalwart answered the Kirin. "She is displaced from another era and realm, and she seeks to gain wisdom from the modern world to fortify herself against its' many various hazards."

The kirin now gave Obsidian more of a thorough look. "I see... well, an attorney - also called a lawyer, in some circles - advises clients, and represents them and their legal rights in both criminal and civil cases. This can begin with imparting advice, then proceed with preparing documents and pleadings... and sometimes, ultimately, appearing in court to advocate on behalf of clients."

Wart nodded. "Yes; they are to Equestria's Court what I am to Equestria's Royalty. A respectable profession; I am Stalwart Stance, of Princess Twilight's Royal Guard."

Justice lifted an eyebrow. "Justice Spark; you must be impressive to see in a fight, if they took you in with your height... it must mean you earned that position."

Wart's little barrel swelled with pride.

Clients in criminal and civil cases, imparting advice, pleading, advocation... well then. It certainly sounded a bit more complicated than those good ol' bygone days of 'The King's Justice'. Obsidian didn't really pay attention to the issues of law - at the beginning, she'd cared a good bit about the fact that Dark Magic was discouraged, but that was back when she only knew that misusing her particular kind of magic would quite possibly sour her relations with the highest authority in the entire country.

Laws, lawyers and courts? That stuff was pure terra incognita to Obsidian.

"Oh yes - most impressive. Stalwart defended Ponyville and Twilight's Palace during the Umbral invasion. Without her, the princess' castle would have fallen."

Wart seemed to grow another inch in that moment.

Justice actually gave a full-on smile. "Seems like it's well-deserved. At least you've seen some actual action; most of mine involves paperwork. But it most certainly pays well, I can attest to that without perjury."

Clap tilted her head. "But why would you need surgery to take a test for it?"

That made Justice laugh out loud. "Your friends seem like fun, Obsidian... and you're interesting as well. You hang onto that card; if your exploits ever land you in court, feel free to give me a call."

"Oh, I surely will. Until today, I thought that problems with the law meant problems with the ruling princess, but I believe I understand a bit better now." Obsidian peeked again at the card she was holding... why was the briefcase burning? "It's simply a bit more complicated than I expected. And, of course, a thousand years ago, everything was somewhat different." Not better, of course - just different. "Though I doubt we'll get into any legal problems; I just want to meet my brother."

Justice nodded, then sat back in her seat. "If your brother lives in Manehattan, I'm sure you'll be okay. It's not a place that's easy to get used to... and I've worked cases there plenty of times. Headed there now, in fact. Which is why I pretty much assumed you were headed to the same place."

"Siddy, this mare really knows her stuff," Clap said as she also moved a few seats closer, to join in the conversation.

"So..." Justice counted to herself, "only four of you? Where's the rest of the Equestrian-famous 'Siddy Six'?" She smiled widely, and Cup giggled.

"You knew who we were the whole time?" Clap looked awed, but the kirin just shook her head.

"Not until Obsidian introduced herself; not many mares by that name, especially fewer who happen to be in the papers."

"Siddy's in the papers?" Cupcake sounded impressed.

"You all are," Justice grinned, "and I'd daresay you'll be noticed at least once or twice in Manehattan; word travels fast, and it hasn't been long enough for the memory of what happened to have faded yet."

Clap looked like she was excited at the prospect. "You mean... I'll be recognized?"

"MAYBE," Justice firmly intoned, "but not by everyone on the street, so I wouldn't go parading around like the top of the heap, so to speak. Better still to simply waltz through, have your meeting, and get home before the paparazzi catch wind of you."

Apparently, knowing such an individual would make everything easier in court. Hopefully for them, and not for Amber and her puppets. It also seemed that the ridiculous term 'The Siddy Six' was gaining more and more popularity. Eh, one name is as good as any other.

"Paparazzis are a kind of predatory bird, right?" Obsidian asked, curious why birds would catch any wind around her.

Justice smirked and said, "That's closer than you think, actually. Paparazzi are media photographers who follow and hound famous people, just to get a stray photograph or tidbit of a conversation. They're relentless, they're driven only by whatever they can get out of you, and they're horrible beings, with very few exceptions."

Cupcake nodded. "Yeah, Momma told me about when she and Auntie Twi and the others all got famous, and they couldn't get even a moment away from the paparazzi - they even scared her!"

Obsidian stared with amazement at Cupcake. "They... scared Miss Pie?" She blinked once or twice, trying to understand what she'd just heard. Was it even possible? Pinkie Pie seemed to be the least scare-able pony in the world!

"So... yeah, let's avoid these paparazzis. I mean, it would be a terrible shame if they noticed our necklaces, Cup. Not that it's a secret or anything, but I think we still have some friends that would prefer hear the news from us, and not read it from the papers."

"Well, should they present too much trouble, you're welcome to sue them for money - and again, I would be happy to help with that." Justice gave a pleasant grin.

"Wow," Cup smiled broadly, "what can't you do?"

She chuckled and blushed humbly. "A number of things... but when it comes to Law, not much."

Clap smiled. "Hey, you might've heard of who we're going to see - which one was it, Siddy?"

"Quartz," she answered. Well, if she knew anything about Obsidian, then she should already realize that a 'meeting with her brother' could be a bit more complicated than it probably should be.

She lifted an eyebrow, then Justice's muzzle grew more surprised. "You're... going to meet your brother... who I'll take it happens to be Smoky Quartz, the fashion designer? Are you serious? He's one of the current talks of the town, actually - you might be in for more paparazzi than you can handle." That brought worried looks to her friends' muzzles.

"Why is he the talk of the town?" Now it seemed like an important detail; if it was somehow connected to Amber...

"He's been doing work that the fashion world has been eating up for... oh, about two or three years now. The outfits are sturdy and reliable - but personally? I think his color choices are a bit off."

"What do you mean, 'a bit off'?" Clap asked.

Justice shrugged. "You'll see soon enough, I'm sure."

"But if he's been doing it for three years now... then why he is a currently the talk of the town? Did he do something noticible lately?" Obsidian wasn't done with asking questions - the more they learned, the better off they might be.

"Nobody ever starts famous; he had to earn that reputation on his own. And aside from some rumours, he's pretty much done it - Smoky Quartz can practically write his own ticket, as much as Manehattan loves him."

Cupcake looked puzzled. "Why would he write himself a ticket?"

Justice shook her head. "Just an expression - it means, he basically gets just about anything he asks for." She then turned back to Obsidian. "As for anything strange? It'd be hard to tell with THAT stallion..."

A shame; Obsidian had actually hoped for some juicy rumors or such - maybe that her brother got married recently or something of that nature... or that he started conquering local cities and had proclaimed himself the Dark Lord of Equestria. It would be a far more obvious sign that he was 'out of sorts' lately. "Well, I suppose I'll just have to find out when I meet him, then," she sighed deeply.

Justice nodded, then gave a thoughtful look. "Actually, from what the papers said, tonight he's having a Fashion Show at his loft - supposed to be a ritzy affair, from what I gather. If you'd want to find him quickly, that might be the place to look first."

Fashion Show, eh? Good to know; it could be an opportunity to meet him, assuming nothing bad would occur. And, if he did plan something evil, then it was quite possible he would try it out at such a social gathering - after all, he would have plenty of victims together in a single place, right?

Wart began pacing the length of the train car, walking a patrol, while Clap and Cup both moved to sit closer to Justice. "So, please... indulge me. May I ask about what it was like for you? I mean, the general talk about you says you're the daughter of Sombra, but they didn't put much else in there... anything you'd add, if you wanted folks to know about you?"

"It was... different. Getting used to the modern world was rather difficult and strange, and I had to do it kind of quickly, because... well, my siblings weren't exactly being pillars of the community," Obsidian shrugged slightly. "I got lucky."

Clap chuckled. "Yeah - lucky she had us! Like, seriously, Siddy picked up really quick from all of us, and she's practically a native by now!"

Wart lifted an eyebrow. "I... would say that Lady Siddy has acclimated well, yes. Though I believe that she helped each of us as well, Thunderclap - she is not the sole recipient of knowledge, here."

Cup just smiled at Siddy; Justice had asked HER a question, not everyone else - he was letting her continue, instead of interjecting. Justice, curious about this new information, looked to Obsidian to either confirm or deny.

"Yes - without my friends, I wouldn't even be here. I would either be dead, or perhaps would have been mewling at Sombra's hooves, waiting for a few meager scraps to fall from his table. It took me a while to realize that he was hardly the greatest pony in known history. Luckily, I realized it quickly enough to kick his plot and giftwrap him for Princess Twilight - complete with ribbon," Obsidian smiled slightly.

That surprise in his eyes... meh, it was too bad that the princess had decided to be so merciful to him; he certainly didn't deserve it.

Justice smirked. "With a ribbon, you say? You know what - I can believe it. The Mane Six had to deal with him, back a few decades, and they found it quite harrowing... to hear you simply blow off such an encounter like that, it wouldn't surprise me if you and your friends end up being Equestria's new Elements of Harmony!"

Cup, Clap and Wart all simply froze where they were... and looked as though they were thinking rather intently about the Kirin's words.

"Or, at the very least, the heroes of the day. It's been ages since anything on such a scale has happened; Umbral undead ponies, libraries ransacked, and now you're headed to The Big Applecore?" She chuckled. "Can't wait to see what comes of it."

Obsidian simply waved her hoof. "Hopefully, not too much; I just want to meet my brother, that's all. Nothing suspicious or dangerous. In fact, I might like to see if he has any available wedding dresses, but that's all."

Of course it wasn't all, but there was no reason to concern Justice with stories of mind-controlling dark unicorns and so on. And Peridot told her himself that there was a chance of Harmony's intervention. However, Obsidian was honestly more interested in other possibilities; Elements were probably nice and all, but wings? Or control over Grey Magic? Those things, in her mind, were even better!

"Wedding dresses, you say?" Justice smiled. Cupcake blushed, grinning ear to ear in that way of his. The kirin looked back and forth between them, then nodded. "Your kids are gonna be interesting, I can tell that much."

"Yeah, and I'll be the foalsitter!" Clap grinned. "I'll have the lil' tykes laughing and playing for days on end! Plus, it'll give Siddy here a moment to rest - after all, I'm pretty sure they'll make a bunch o' kiddos!"

Wart seemed to pale a smidgen at the thought; no doubt, leftover memories of her time in Onyx's Nightmare Spell. The little mare found a seat a little further up the aisle and sat down, her eyes still watchful... but an almost ill look on her muzzle, and ran a forehoof idly over her stomach with a shiver.

"But... but what if I wanna foalsit 'em?" Cup asked plainitively, to which Clap gave him a flat smirk.

"Cupster... they'll be YOUR kids; I'm sure you'll be with 'em all the time, but even YOU could use a break, every now and again!" Clap laughed.

"Interesting, you say? Oh, I wouldn't worry too much - they're just the grandfoals of both Sombra and Pinkie Pie; I'm sure everything will be perfectly fine," Obsidian smirked. Bunch of kids, eh? Well, they'll have to wait and see... surely the first one would give them a hard time, with both of his/her parents trying to figure out how foals work.

"Everything will be juuuuuuust fine." Assuming they wouldn't get slaughtered by Jade, Amber, a returning Onyx, a returning Sombra, a returning Tirek, Grogar, and so on, and so forth...

The train trip continued, and the Kirin shared a few stories with Obsidian, Thunderclap and Cupcake for quite some time. Hours seemed to fly by, and soon it was dark outside.

Cup, by this point, had fallen asleep with his muzzle pressed against the window; doubtless, anyone outside who saw it would be either utterly terrified or highly amused.

Clap had idly chatted up Justice until the Kirin realized she had some paperwork to attend to, and thanked them for the conversation before she started into her briefcase, getting to work. Her interest generator removed, Clap also fell asleep - and took up the entire bench across from Obsidian to do it.

Wart, however, had remained silent since the earlier mention of foals. Now, as the train rolled on and the car had grown quiet, she was sitting and looking out of the window, her eyes gazing far beyond what they could see, so to speak.

It was nice to make new friends - especially from interesting, unknown races that were able to naturally use Grey Magic. If only she didn't have to protect the world from her overzealous siblings once again...

Obsidian moved over and sat down closer to Stalwart, slightly worried about that silence. Of course, there was also the important detail of the little mare being the last of her friends who were still awake with her, so Obsidian could either take a nap as well or try to talk Wart's issue out of her. "Everything all right, Stalwart...?"

She blinked, and glanced sideways at Obsidian for a moment, thoughtfully, before she spoke. "I am... uncertain."

She turned her head to face her. "When Miss Justice mentioned the possibility of us... replacing the Element Bearers, I first thought 'no, that could never be true'. And yet, here I sit, wondering about exactly that. Miss Applejack," she said with a hefty sigh, "represents a broken link in the chain - one that, the more I think about it - means that the most powerful gathering of power in Equestria is... is undone."

Wart turned to look back out of the window once more. "The world maintains a balance, Lady Siddy - I have seen it more, often than not. And here we are, rushing head-and-horn first into more adventure than has been had since The Great Parasprite Flood." A guilty look crossed her features. "I worry if perhaps Miss Justice may be more correct than even she realizes. And it worries me."

"Oh, she's probably going to prove to be correct, as far as I'm concerned; my brother Peridot also told me that there's a sizable chance of Harmony's intervention. What's there to worry about?" Obsidian asked, almost flippantly.

Stalwart shut her eyes. "Plenty."

"To begin with, I've read about the kind of awful things the Mane Six had to go through, in order to conquer the foes they had to face. Trials and tribulations that pain me grievously to imagine you having to go through, Lady Siddy. Not that you wouldn't pass, no - but the suffering they could cause makes me ache for an easier life for you. For them. For us."

"Secondly, if we were to take over those positions, we might not find time for much else - each of our hobbies and separate associates would atrophy, and we might not even be able to effectively do anything but save Equestria, again and again, until we grow too old to continue doing anything but dying."

"And third..." Wart looked at Obsidian, and there was something in her eyes that didn't look like it belonged there at all - incredulous shame. "... how would Harmony ever find me worthy of such a distinct honor?"

Obsidian sighed - deeply. Now, where to begin...

"Primo, everything you just said about any trials we may face is true - but we've already gone through plenty of trials, don't you agree? It would be worth it - somepony has to protect Equestria, and we would be protecting ourselves just as much as the entire country. Besides, it will STILL be more pleasant than my old life."

"Secundo, as far as I'm concerned, the Mane Six still had plenty of time for their hobbies... maybe with the exception of the princess, but it's connected to her position as a ruler - not her position as the Element of Magic. Even as an alicorn, she was still pursuing her hobbies... at least until Celestia and Luna abdicated."

"And tertio, Warty," Obsidian smiled at her, "the Elements would have to be blind to not find you worthy." She thought about it for a moment. "Though they technically are blind - after all, they don't exactly have eyes, right? But you get the idea..."

Wart blinked at her. "No... I don't."

She turned in the seat to face away from the window, and bowed her head with her ears flattened against her skull. "I was only able to become the Royal Guard I always wanted to be because of you and Lemon Custard; were it not for those interventions, I probably never would have had even the slightest of chances. My country did not find me worthy, and only by the grace of calamity was I granted what I sought for so long."

"I could not stop Onyx from casting her dreadful Nightmare Spell, nor could I stop Peridot from infecting me with his curse, nor could I even manage to be present to possibly save Lady Ruby. I have tried with all my heart to live up to my potential..."

She shut her eyes. "Yet I fear I may fail you again. And to fail as an honest-to-goodness Element of Harmony? It might kill you... it might well kill us all. How can I be worthy of such a grand and glorious honor, when I am... just me?"

Well, it seemed that Obsidian wasn't the only pony around who was worried that her position was unjustly given to her. Perhaps it shouldn't be so surprising - even proud ponies such as Wart were surely plagued by doubt. Perhaps they had it even worse than the rest of ponykind.

"You were only able to become a Royal Guard because of your skills and your will - without them, neither I nor Lemon would change anything. We weren't the reason for your admission into the guard - we merely provided an opportunity. Your only flaw was your height; a chance to prove yourself would have happened anyway, sooner or later... and none of us were able to stop Onyx or Peridot - and yet, we won... eventually. It was hard and painful - but we did it, because we did not stop. And that means you are perfect to be an Element Bearer, because you never stop. You are not just you - you are a loyal, strong mare and a wonderful friend. Overall... you are pretty awesome, Stalwart."

Stalwart Stance was quiet for a long moment... then, quite suddenly, she actually gave a laugh that sounded pleased. "Lady Siddy... Obsidian of the GreyHeart... I thank you. I may not be certain of what others may see in me... yet they still see something, and it takes a true, true friend to point that out sometimes. You make me proud to call you my own friend - my best friend - and I hope that I am able to return at least a fraction of that to you with my own meager companionship."

She slowly leaned over and gave Obsidian a gentle hug. "And you are beyond awesome, Your Majesty."

Obsidian returned the hug, glad that she somehow managed to help Stalwart. "We are beyond awesome, Stalwart. And there's nothing that can stop us as a team."

She nodded... then looked over at Obsidian. "Should we truly become those elements, then I do hope you become our Twilight Sparkle; she stood as the heart of the Mane Six, and you've shown that capacity time and again. I, for one, would follow you into the Gates of Tartarus themselves."

She settled back against the bench and sighed. "I am glad you came into our lives, Lady Siddy - I believe we needed you as much as you needed us."

Obsidian settled herself on the bench as well. "You have before... but, as I said, another chance would have come up for you to prove your mettle, sooner or later. And the rest, well... I think it was all pretty fine before I was dug up by Princess Twilight. Meanwhile you - all of you - almost literally turned me into a different pony."

"As did you, Obsidian... as did you, unto us." Wart nestled back, and gave a stretch as she yawned.

She was quiet for another long moment, yet just as Siddy thought she might be asleep... "Lady Obsidian... does Cupcake Sprinkles ever romance you with... poetry?"

Obsidian smirked. "He sometimes says highly poetic things, but no poetry itself, no."

Wart sighed softly. "I... h-have read the book you suggested to me in the library." There was a pause. "A-and several more in the series." Another soft sigh, and then... a shy giggle?

"Oh, to hear of Mortalis' honeyed words... the manner in which he speaks makes my heart thrum faster, my knees weak, and my head hazy. So poetic... so romantic, as if there was no one else in the entirety of existence that would be as perfect as the lucky mare who became the focus of his attentions! I have latched onto every word the character speaks, and yearn for those words to be spoken unto myself by... whomever finds me worthy of their love, I suppose."

It had been less of a suggestion and more of a joke... who would ever have thought that Stalwart would enjoy them that much? While Obsidian didn't think she would hate the book, she had no idea that she would get so hooked on it. After all, when did she get the first tome - merely a few days ago? To think that she could read several books in such a short time...

"Well... Diamond speaks rather poetically about you. In Crystallian, but he does," Obsidian offered.

Wart actually sat up to glance at Obsidian. "Truly? I had merely thought him babbling away in Crystallian, yet he was saying... what, exactly? Do you recall his words about such?" This seemed to have Stalwart's attention, all right.

"That his soul is ablaze, um... something about shining like stars... and about a heart meeting the universe..." Obsidian rubbed her temple with a hoof, trying to recall. "It sounded rather poetic... at least in my opinion. Hopefully, he'll be learning Equestrian soon, so you'll be able to understand him."

Wart blinked again, clearly shocked. "He... said that? A-about me?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment... then shook her head and gave a rueful grin. "Mayhaps... I should learn Crystallian? If you would do me the honor of instructing me a bit, perhaps?"

Well, it looked as though poor Midnight would be heartbroken to find out that he wouldn't be getting together with the little mare anytime soon. "It could take a while, Warty; it's not simple, I'm afraid. I would gladly help you, though."

Wart nodded, and returned to her nestled-in position. "Then, with you as my guide, I shall learn of your language... and perhaps I shall give Diamond a bit more time to... grow on me. Such as you, yourself, did."

She sighed and rolled to face out of the window; she looked so tiny in the huge bench seat, nestled against the corner. It was hard to deny that she was a warrior... but at times like these, she was undeniably, heartwrenchingly cute.

"My mother... was not a kind mare, yet she was a just mare, and fair with my raising upon the rock farm." Wart spoke softly as she continued. "I toiled in the fields from the day I could understand directions, and though she was relentless, she always made certain I took on no more than I could handle. Even with my size, she still continued to work me as if I were... normal."

"But between my chores, and my self-taught training for the Royal Guard, and my home schooling... I had little time for even meeting others, let alone to harvest any possible meaningful friendship. Of course, the others had been around - Cupcake himself was the first one to introduce me around, with our family heritage, yet even though I was acknowledged, I'd always felt... as if I was mere ivy upon the wall, so to speak."

"Then you came. I was hesitant to accept a supposed child of Sombra, as would be any guard worth their salt, and yet... you not only held such a regal air that I couldn't help but see you as a princess, but you were also insightful and clever during our time together, and watching your evolution into whom you are today - in only about a month - has been incredible to witness."

"Your arrival has heralded what I feel to be the dawn of a new era, Lady Siddy - and though there will be trials and pain to come... I know that my friends, you chiefly among them, will be there for me, just as they trust me to be there for their sakes."

Slowly, her eyes listed to a half-lidded state, and she gave a small, satisfied sigh. "And I shall."

With all of the emotional baggage Obsidian had on her head, and with her own sad backstory of being the daughter of one of the most infamous tyrants in the known history of ponykind... she was somewhat surprised that other, normal ponies could have issues with their upbrining as well. She couldn't help but symphatize with Wart's toil, even if a solid part of it - self-training - was not forced upon her, as it had been with Siddy.

"A new dawn..." Obsidian mused under her breath. That's something that villains would possibly say - an entire, broad speech of a 'new and wonderful age', and so on. Luckily, she was pretty sure that Stalwart was no baddie. "We'll see what this new dawn will bring... and if we won't like it, we'll change it. Together."

Wart smiled gently then. "Yes. I like that, Lady Siddy... quite a bit."

The train rocked beneath them, and it wasn't long before Wart began to make a whispery sound; she was asleep, and moved her lips when she exhaled. It wasn't talking, per se... but it sounded cute, coming from the little mare.

Cupcake was nestled next to her, his soft snore mixing well with Wart's sleep whispering. Clap, though, made zero noise - but made up for it with what appeared to be a rather impressive string of drool that went from her lower lip, all the way to the floor.

Onward, to Mica... yet, without Gypsy. Was it really so difficult to bring all her friends together again, as they'd been when she'd faced down her father?

Their next villain should really strike Ponyville; that way, there would be no difficulty in gathering the team together again. Well, whatever - she should probably take a quick nap as well. Perhaps she could chit-chat a bit with Ruby again? Or investigate that mysterious last entity in her mind...

The train's rythym and quiet sounds were like a lullaby, and she slowly drifted off to sleep.

Author's Notes:

Justice was my attempt at getting Obsidian exposed to other races more - and, admittedly, I do like Kirin. As an attorney, I figured she'd probably be rather reserved normally - farting diamond dogs notwithstanding. Plus, the mental image of a flaming briefcase on her business card was nifty.

Ah, and so the idea of our heroes replacing the Elements comes up... and poor Wart feels unworthy. Demanding too much of ourselves has become commonplace in the world today - that's why we have friends to help us keep our heads and realize our worth.

Pay attention to the next chapter coming up; it starts getting deep from here on out.

Thirty Eight: A Dream(?) / Manehattan Melodies

~>-<~

The sheer cliffs were breathtaking to behold... and one Tartarus of a long way down.

Obsidian felt her stomach lurch at the sheer miles she could see beneath her; if she didn't know any better, she'd swear she was falling from the moon!

Wait... not falling; dangling.

She was tethered to some sort of rope, which was in turn tied to the pony climbing above her. They were decked out in heavy weather gear, and for good reason... everywhere she turned, Obsidian saw nothing but snow and ice. It felt like there was a blizzard whipping her mane about as if it were made of yarn, and she could even feel the occasional sting as a strand would violently whip across her muzzle, back or shoulders.

Above her, the unknown pony continued to climb. "You sure this was where the map said it would be?" The voice was young and strong... but strangely somewhat familiar, though for what reason, she couldn't quite fathom yet.

Then, she heard herself speak... yet it wasn't her voice.

"No, I'm not - but we don't have any other leads, so this is the best I can come up with! Don't worry; we're tied off, so we won't fall far if we do!" That came from her, but it wasn't her.

Was it a dream? A real, normal dream - one not filled with dead ponies? What an interesting turn. It had truly been quite some time since she'd been dreaming about anything that wasn't connected to her family. Just what was this, though? Where was she? Who were these ponies?

Or perhaps it wasn't just a simple product of her tired mind. This dream... was it some kind of memory? Ruby's? Maybe Onyx's?

No - she should identify their voices without any trouble. If she had to hazard a guess as to where she currently might be, she'd think they were somewhere around the Crystal Empire. If only she could clearly see the pony above her! She tried to force her phantom, dreamy body to look at the unknown climber above.

But from what she could tell, she was only able to experience only whatever had been experienced by whomever was sharing this... thought? Memory? Dream? Who could tell? But try as she might, the view only remained where it was, either carefully watching the rope she was climbing, or occasionally glancing out at an icy wall or a frighteningly massive expanse of snowy air, with no ground in sight.

A few more minutes of jostling and ascending, and Obsidian found herself exceedingly glad that this body she was in was as bundled up as it was; the rope itself was growing small, thorn-like icicles sideways as it stretched taut between her and her savior above.

"I still don't know if this is safe enough! If they're really able to do what all those books said they could do, they might be trapped to Tartarus and back! Why didn't you bring a blade for BOTH of us? What if we get attacked by guardian wards? Or curses, what about curses? What if we get lost in a labyrinth, and we never find them OR get home?" Her voice grew increasingly higher-pitched as she she called out; the two had to yell to clear the sound of the moaning, gusting wind all around them.

"We'll FIND them, and you'll figure out what to do from there - like you always do! Stop being so very suspicious - you cannot continue through life believing that everyone and everything is out to get you!" The laughter from above was mocking, but only a little bit; they were apparently at least somewhat familiar with each other, these two.

"Yes, well... it's kept me alive so far," she heard herself mutter under her breath.

Suddenly, she jerked to a stop. "I found something!"

There was a bit of movement above, and something else was yelled down... but the windflow was too fierce here; there was nothing to stop the arctic winds from howilng across them at that moment, ripping those words away.

Her body turned, took firm hold of the rope and like a professional climber, she shimmied her way up it surprisingly quickly. Reaching the top, Obsidian finally had a decent view of the pony she'd been trying to figure out for the past few minutes.

Which was a shame, as they wore enough clothing to obscure whoever they may have been - she couldn't even tell what pony race they were.

"WHAT did you say?" her host yelled.

"... aaaaat?" came back as almost an echo as the wind peeled back a bit.

"I SAID, WHAT. DID. YOU. SAY?"

The other pony turned and pointed at a chunk of frost-encrusted rock above where they both dangled. On a depression in the wall, there was an almost perfect circle with strange markings and glyphs, standing out from the ice with their slightly red glow. Each rune was wickedly slashed and yet eerily precise as they formed a circle that spiraled inward. In fact, there were a number of them which looked like some of her father's personal runes, which she'd occasionally seen during her training... but these looked much, much older.

"... might be a map to the cave!" the other pony - from what she could tell, a stallion - called to her as the gusts died down enough to hear.

"Where?" she asked, "WHAT map? WHAT cave?"

The other pony reached out and braced their hindlegs on the lip of the circle, then reached out to tap the place on the 'map' they were talking about...

And fell right through, as the entire circle shattered instantly while gravity carried him into an open tunnel behind it.

It was kind of funny, for all of six seconds; that's how long it took Obsidian to realize she was tethered to the fool before she followed suit, jerked bodily into the hole - smacking her head on the upper curve. They shot downward for a bit, twin screams filling the air until the aperture opened out into a massive spiral cavern.

The only light coming from above them, it seemed as though the cave was both reflecting light from glassy surfaces along the walls and ceiling, and yet drinking it in at the same time.

And the Darkness was thirsty.

There was a sharp thud from beneath her, then a loud "OOOOF!!!" as she came to a quick, yet soft stop, surrounded by some rather spongy fungi. The body she was in simply lay there after impact, panting as she fought to bring her heart back into normal beating parameters.

Well, Obsidian could safely assume this wasn't their first trip; for starters, they hadn't died yet. Hopefully they would both survive - she didn't need any more emotional distress, especially not while she was sleeping. The sensation of falling had been bad enough; she knew that it may have been just some stray dream or memory, but it still felt real. Too real.

Harmony forbid, if anything happened to her host; pain would surely be an unpleasant thing to fear from her dreams.

After a moment, her host spoke with a grunt. "Unf... that cave, I guess... are you okay? Where are you?"

There was a long, low moan from beneath her. Her host gave a light gasp, then scrambled to her hooves quickly and stepped back to reveal the other pony underneath where she'd landed, face-down in a thicket of spongy green algae, both somewhat flattened.

"... you aimed for me, didn't you?" The form on the floor's muffled voice groaned into the fluffy fungi.

Obsidian's host rolled her eyes, smiled, then reached down and helped him up. "I swear, had I gone alone, I'd have already found them and come back to get you..." her host went on, admonishing her company, but only lightly - there was no real malice in it.

"Why certainly," the other pony's voice - definitely a stallion - went on, "and you would have made that simple climb as well, yes?"

Her host went quiet and sullen, and the stallion chuckled. "Ah, the very face of reason, you are... such a fierce pout; Mister Board shall surely roll over in his bed tonight!"

"That stallion," her host spoke up, "isn't here right now, is he? Besides, if he even had an inkling of a clue we were here, we would BOTH be in a world of trouble!"

The stallion turned to face her... and was wearing a muffler and what appeared to be goggles, though of a style she'd never seen before - even in Modern Equestria. Unfortunately, not a trace of his muzzle was visible. "Chasing foal's dreams, my flank - they HAVE to be here - everything I've discovered SAID they were, so now we just have to look around..."

"Right," the other stallion began, "because they would most certainly leave them out to... t-to be... dis... cov... ered..."

She felt a light tap on her shoulder, and when her host turned, he was pointing towards the center of the cavern. There, bathed in light that was beaming in though the hole they'd made, was a rasied dias with three altars on it...

Three very familiar-looking altars. The two of them just stared for a moment.

Mister Board? That could possibly be a nice clue - Obsidian could always check for this name in the record books, or perhaps even simply ask around. Whoever this stallion was, he was apparently connected to one of her siblings, it seemed, and...

...altars.

Three of them.

No way.

Wait... if this was... and she was... then could it possibly mean that this stallion was...?

Her host moved forward first, hesitantly, as if they were afraid... then, slowly, they began to go up the small set of chiseled-out stairs, the stallion mere steps behind her. "... I... I think... this HAS to be..."

Sure enough, when she topped the stairs, there they were. Three altars, carved with strange and unknowable runes, made from a stone that was black with grey marbling. They were precisely chiseled, and their corners and edges were as sharp as if they'd been carved yesterday... yet there was an exceedingly thick layer of dust that covered them.

The host she was in stepped forward to the middle altar, and reached into a saddlebag to bring out a cloth, which she used to wipe away some of the dust. Beneath, more carved runes were now visible, though their words were a mystery to Obsidian.

"... we found them." Her host's voice slowly raised as her excitement took over. "You and I, WE found them, Sombra! This is the Umbral Altar!"

The stallion stepped up to her side, and looked over the altar's surface as well. "Can you believe it?" he said, his voice filled with awe, "All this time, they've just been sitting here, so close to the city, and yet nopony knew! Astounding..."

Her host smirked. "Sometimes, the answer is right beneath your muzzle-"

"Or, as in this case, over it," the stallion quipped, and her host gave a giggle of amusement before she went back to admiring the altar. There was not a single imperfection to be found; the altars were smooth and flawless, even to Obsidian's trained eye - these were Royal Worthy, of that there was no doubt.

The mare she was in couldn't take her eyes off the things. "One more step complete. Now that we've located the altar, we can use it to harness enough power to put the spell to the test!"

There was a sigh from the stallion, and he turned to face her again. "You still have every intention of casting that spell? I'd have thought that making such a discovery would have superceded-"

"Are you serious? As soon as I SAW these things, I started planning how to use them!"

That last presence in her mind... It seemed that somehow, Obsidian had ended up with the memories of Radiant Hope - at least, some of them. And it was quite possible that she was going to see the process of Onyx's conception... ew.

But that was hardly important - the most important things were sitting right in front of her - the altars! The cave! Next to the city! She could find them too, especially with Diamond's help...

And now, right now - she could learn more about Sombra's reasons to use them! Speak, you miserable fool! Gloat about your evil plan! Tell the world why you wanted to create twisted minds like Onyx and Amber! Explain why your mind began to rot with evil so thoroughly that you had to be put down like a mad dog, three times in a row!

Her host looked at the stallion. "I know the spell will work... it just HAS to."

The stallion looked away a bit. "But... it gives me chills, thinking of you doing... that... to yourself, spell or no."

Now her host sighed. "First of all, it's FAR cold enough to give us both chills, so stop that. Secondly, it's my body, and I shall do with it as I please. And third..." She now took on a more humble tone. "... it's STILL not quite ready yet."

Now, the host turned back to face the stallion directly, and placed a hoof on his shoulder as she looked into his goggled eyes. "I cannot do this without you - the spell, I mean; from what I figured out, it will take TWO to cast it properly... and of every single stallion in the entirety of the Crystal Empire, there is no one I would trust more for the honor of being the very first magical father in history!"

"But what if the spell goes wrong?" The stallion sounded concerned. "Nopony's ever made a child from magic alone before! And yes, you are extremely talented, but... but you're creating Life from a spell. How is that, in any sense, natural?"

She kept her eyes locked on his goggle lenses. "And if I were able to provide families a chance they may not ever have had before? What of helping to swell the populace of a caravan, once it finally settles? And what about Soul Friends like you & I?"

He chuckled nervously. "I am wholly certain there are other ways to make a foal-"

They both then looked at each other; she felt her host's heat rise just a bit as she must have been blushing. "W-well, of course there's that way... but we BOTH agree that act is messy and... I mean, you are my other half, but I couldn't see us doing-"

"YES, yes, er... 'that'. No, I could not see that, either; you are my closest friend, and that would merely feel..."

They both nodded, though neither of them finished the sentence.

"It would give a chance at Life for others," her host insisted.

Obsidian was both disguisted and intrigued at the moment; so using this spell turned out to be Radiant's idea, then? So Little Miss 'Sombra's-Only-Friend' wanted to experiment with life itself, without any concerns for morality? Then it wasn't surprising that it had seemingly backfired so badly.

And, ick - what was this whole talk about 'Soul Friends'?

They were simply strange - if they didn't want to make foals, then perhaps it would be wise to NOT make foals instead of using ancient and dangerous magic to create them?

The stallion gave another sigh. "I know, I know... but... but tell me, why do they deserve such a chance?" Her host balked a bt at that, but he continued; not angry, but a little bitter. "You are effectively making it so that neither you nor I would stand a chance at adoption - do you ever want out of that place!? We would be relegated to remaining there for the rest of our days, as every family would wanted a foal could have one, even if they were barren..."

"And what's so bad about wanting to stay with those you know, with those you care about? Is it so bad that you-"

"I have nothing... or have you forgotten that fact?"

"How can I, when you harp on it all the time!" Her host stepped back, and put a hoof to her brow in mockery. "O tempora! O mores! I am but an orphan, see my darkness within, and SHUUUUUNNNNN...."

She then dropped the act, and walked over next to him, giving him an honest-to-Darkness Thunderclap style thump on the shoulder, but gentler than the pegasus typically did. "Besides, we have to test it with something we DO know first. And I believe I have just the incantation in mind..."

She removed a small, weather-beaten and tied-together book from her robes, and held it up where the stallion could see it. "Your favorite," she smiled beatifically.

The stallion stared at her for a moment. "You mean... the 'Kayfadd Spell'? But... that only works in town; and it gets us all the scraps we could want. What would you-"

"Imagine the possibilities," she strode forward, speaking animatedly as she got excited, "especially as the Umbral Altar is supposed to amplify the effects of a spell... if we used the Kayfadd Spell..."

The stallion gave her a long look... then, with another sigh, he reached up and took his hood and scarf down, and lifted the goggles to rest on his forehead. "... then maybe we could get the same treatment every day, forever? Sounds good to me."

It was him - her father! But... he was hardly her own age! He may even have been a summer or two behind her.

He was most certainly handsome, in a dark and brooding way; his mane was black as night, his coat a pale grey, and his eyes a deep crimson color. He had a few small scars on his muzzle, and a notch missing from one ear. But he was so very young!

He gave her a slight, hesitant smile. "So, is this what you're going to cast? On me, I assume?"

She now felt her host give a smirk. "Of course, My Little Guinea Pig."

How glorious; not only were they planning to mass produce magic foals, but their first idea of trying the altars out was casting a spell on one of them. She had no idea what this 'Kayfadd spell' was, but she didn't doubt that practically any spell, when misused, could be harmful - and they wanted to test it on a living pony!

Obsidian had to face that fact - both of her 'parents' didn't seem to be too bright.

And 'orphanage'... sigh. To be fair, perhaps it was better that she didn't have any grandparents - they would probably turn out to be as dissapointing as her creators. Now, everything would be much different if she could get access to these altars...

Young Sombra looked at her a bit, his eyebrow quirked. "... you don't possibly mean right now?"

She gave a sharp bark of a laugh. "NO! Of course not! There's research to be done - better to have an idea of what might happen, first. Did you think I would-"

He grinned. She gave him a flat look in return. "... you give me so little credit."

He chuckled and shook his head. "More than you know, Hope - more than you know."

She started looking the altar over, eagerly taking in rune after rune as if they were entirely new civilizations in their own right. Her companion began to look over the rest of the room, examining the walls and celing of the chamber they were in.

Okay, so maybe they weren't completely dim... but Radiant had still turned up dead, missing or something like that. And Sombra... well, everypony knew how Sombra ended up, so it was obvious that this must have bitten them in the plot anyway. Obsidian did her best to at least try to remember the runes she was seeing. They didn't seem to be too modern - but perhaps she could find something useful about them in her books... or even Onyx's notebook, mayhaps?

Hope was so locked into examining the altar, that she completely missed something happen in her peripheral vision; something Obsidian could see as clear as a moonlight and cloudless night.

The stallion suddenly and silently jerked backwards, and he shut his eyes as he covered his muzzle with his forehooves. However, even covering his visage, something escaped from his attempt: A wisp of purple smoke. From his eyes. He seemed to be struggling with himself for a moment... then, after only mere seconds, he stood straight once more and opened his eyes - which were now fine.

Not now, he seemed to mouth to himself as he placed a hoof on his chest.

Hope gazed at the runes, duly impressed. "There are seventeen different runes depicted on this altar - unless some of them are combined, then it will be fewer - and I'm eager to see how they match up with the other two... or even if they match up at all! If we have enough, we may actually have a functioning cipher here!"

He shook his head, sighed, and came over to her, acting as though nothing had happened. "An Umbral Cipher? The Empire would be amazed, Hope... if, of course, King Crest would allow such knowledge to spread through HIS empire..." Sombra got a look of smouldering anger on his muzzle, but Hope continued undaunted.

Hope chuckled. "With the sheer, raw POWER these altars are reputed to hold, I daresay that a corrupt king is soon to be the very least of our worries, my friend."

"Good," he growled, "I'm sick of watching us all starve to death."

A corrupt king? Hmmmmm... now that she thought about it, Obsidian had never heard anything about the reigning monarchy before her father decided that slavery, cruelty and terror were his favorite hobbies. Of course she knew quite well about the history of the Empire in his aftermath... but before? Nothing.

And as for the Umbral altars being used as a cipher... after everything that Obsidian had seen about the Umbrals, it hardly seemed to be a good idea to play with their magic or their artifacts. Too bad that these two fools didn't know that yet.

And apparently they were starving to death, but Hope was planning to cast a spell which involved producing more foals. Why - to eat them? Or to watch them starve too? This was hardly a good plan!

Hope looked to the next altar... and froze as she saw her reflection in the stone that was polished so smooth. The muzzle reflected was Obsidian's.

And she saw her.

"... w-what..?" She simply stared for a moment, then slowly brought up a single hoof to her cheek, touching it carefully, as if she half-expected it not to exist.

"... Hope?" Sombra inquired.

She blinked, then quickly looked at anything but her own reflection. "Y-yes, I-... something looked... odd, was all." She began to throw herself into reading the runes on the second altar.

Was THAT a part of the memory? Or was it simply warped by Obsidian's own mind? Was it Hope's dream? Or a vision?

Honestly, it didn't matter. Right now, Obsidian simply wanted to learn more about the altars... especially since it hardly seemed that she would learn anything useful here about her creators. Obsidian continued to sulk as she watched the proceedings carefully.

Hope examined the altar a bit more... then, her eyes went back to the reflective surface, seeking answers where she couldn't find them. The reflection was no longer Obsidian; instead, it was a uncorn mare with a soft purple coat and a long, silvery mane. Her eyes were such a soft and pale blue, they were practically platinum. Anything else was covered by the cold weather gear.

Obsidian now began to notice that, as Hope was carefully examining each rune individually, Sombra kept pacing nervously and throwing glances her way, as if he were spooked.

"I hear your clopping; what ails you?" she said without looking away from the runes.

"Are you not satisfied, at least for now? I believe we should go, and return after you've finished studying these runes." He sounded a bit apprehensive.

"Eager to leave already?" Hope teased, but he shuddered and held his chest for a moment again.

"Yes, actually..." he muttered, still looking about curiously, but now with an edge of wariness.

That was when a single rune stood out on the middle altar to Obsidian; she'd seen it, carved lightly and neatly onto an item she had a familiarity with, a trinket she still had, wrapped in a silk cloth and kept in a box in her drawer, towards the back...

It had been carved into the back of Ruby's hoof mirror, she was SURE of it.

And what was more, this mare hardly looked like Obsidian - or at least she wasn't able to notice many similarities in the reflection. To be fair, it was probably a good thing - the lack of resemblance was making her father a bit less of a pervert than she'd originally thought.

It seemed that Obsidian herself had an object with an Umbral rune in her possession. On the one hoof, it was a bit scary - but on another, it was a chance to study it closer and understand it better.

Didn't Ruby say she'd split part of her own soul? That could be useful - she just had no idea how, at least for now. Maybe there was a precedent here, where she could learn to perhaps mutilate souls of the others, to force them into being good against their will?

Nah. Probably not the best of ideas.

Hope suddenly gasped. "Wait - THIS rune... I think I recognize it..."

Sombra was almost instantly behind her. "Which one?"

"This one," she pointed a hoof at the very rune Obsidian recognized "it means-"

~>O<~

"MAAAAAAAANE-hat-TAAAAAAAAAAN STATION! Last stop!" The station steward's voice rang out clearly, and Obsidian heard Clap's moan of disgust.

"Fi' mo' minz, Mooooommmm..." she mumbled in her mostly-still-alseep voice.

OF COURSE! BUT OF COURSE EVERY HARMONY-DAMNED DREAM HAS TO END AT THE MOST INTERESTING MOMENT!
THE WORLD AROUND HER WOULD APPARENTLY BE TOO BORING IF OBSIDIAN COULD SIMPLY GET THE ANSWERS TO HER QUESTIONS WITHOUT ASKING, DIGGING, SEARCHING AND AVOIDING PAINFUL DEATHS!

GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!

"Clap, wake up before I drag your plot off the train with the darkest magic possible," Obsidian growled with annoyance as she got up. It was not hard to notice that the sudden end of her dream had left her somewhat fucking aggrivated, as Flurry would put it.

Clap blearily sat up, and promptly fell right onto the floor with a solid thump. She groaned loudly, then began the process of dragging herself onto her hooves.

Wart was already awake, of course - she was positioned at the front of the car, watching everything happening from her seat. She nodded to Siddy when they made eye contact; she was always ready.

"Goooooooooood morning, love!" Cup began, "Isn't it a lovely da-" He saw her muzzle, and worry rolled across his own. "... um... day... my... sun... shine?"

The amount of sheer frustration painted on Obsidian's muzzle paled a bit when she saw Cupcake. Of course - she couldn't stay too angry at the whole world, seeing her coltfriend. Right now she was just a bit, er... cranky.

"I think Radiant Hope is the last presence in my mind, Cup - I believe I just experienced one of her memories," she said shortly and trotted towards the front to depart from the train. Not that they were good memories, of course - and couldn't that damned, dead mare wait and send her this vision when she could check out the mirror in her drawer? Oh nooooooo - she had to play these trifling games when Obsidian had an important task that saw her a LOOOOOONG way away from her home!

How utterly annoying.

Cupcake trailed after her. "Wait, what? You shouldn't just drop info like that and walk off! Wait up!" Behind them, Clap and Wart were still making their way off the train.

Manehattan Station. It was rather large, especially compared to the rather pedestrian Ponyville one. There were multi-tiered walkways, all heading to doorways leading out. There were also a number of benches, consession stand and even a few shopfronts, looking to make a quick bit.

But the sheer volume of ponies, all in one place, was overwhelming.

Still, Cup walked next to her, dipping and dodging without even looking away from his marefriend. "How? How could something like that just... I mean, it can't be that... what did you do about... I mean..."

He gave a frustrated sigh, then blinked and looked at her. "... ohhhhhhhh. I think I get it now."

The universe itself was screwing with her, she was sure of it! Just dangling a tasty piece of information in front of her, only to snatch it away, merely teasing her taste for mysteries!

... wow. This was a lot of ponies. More than in the Crystal Empire? Possibly.

Obsidian now better understood the warning about thieves - in this place, it wouldn't be as easy to deal with as it had been with Peavine. With so many ponies around, she might as well bid farewell to her purse for good.

"Then plase, by all means, explain to me what you think you 'got'. I'll gladly listen to your way of thinking," she practically ordered him as she kept looking around. With the crowds like this, it would be wise to keep Stalwart close. Maybe she should ride on one of their backs? Otherwise, she could possibly get lost... especially as Obsidian herself was staring to feel that way.

Cupcake looked at her for a moment... then, his muzzle screwed up like he was thinking hard, complete with his tongue hanging out.

"Well..." he started slowly, "what I got is that my Siddy's in need of a breakfast to help fuel her sleepy head for thinking - that's what I got right now, and I'll have more as I think it." He smiled warmly at her; he may not have known what all was bothering her, but he was willing to try to help however he could.

Clap, on the other hoof, looked terrible. "Coffee..." she grumbled as she plodded forward, her bags slung onto her back... along with Cup's and Siddy's as well. Her face looked like a thundercloud ready to storm, and her eyes were bleary and glaring directly forward.

The three of them were... wait, where was Wart?

"Have at you, vile fiend!" The yell came from behind them, and a somewhat disheveled-looking earth pony stallion gave a yelp as he leapt into the air, holding his rump.

"Keep your hooves to yourself, ruffian!" She couldn't see Wart, but she could definitely hear her...

Perhaps it wasn't a bad idea to keep track of Stalwart.... though if anypony was doing anything strange with their hooves around Wart, then they deserved whatever they got from the small mare. Of course, there was a small, yet significant chance that Stalwart, being from a place like Ponyville, could simply misinterpret the behaviour of ponies around her and give them trouble.

"Stalwart first, then breakfast and coffee. Quickly - we should gather her with us before we really will need a lawyer," Obsidian quickly suggested, diving into the crowd to find her heroic little friend.

Wart was standing at full guard, an umbrella in her magical grip, held like a sword with the point at the throat of the skeevy pony Obsidian had seen jump. "You will cease and desist, this instant!" she bellowed, sounding much bigger than she actually was.

The earth pony looked terrified of the little mare. "Yeah, no, yeah, I gots it, I gots it!"

Wart bristled. "No, you do not 'gots' it; I kept you from lifting my bitpurse - there fore, you most assuredly DO NOT 'gots' it!"

"Look, I'm stahvin' heah! I ain't had nuttin' ta eat since last Tuesday!"

Cupcake zipped up next to the pony, smiled, then pointed at the pony's coat pocket. "Then what's that?" Hanging from the pocket was what looked like the wrapper for a candy bar, half sticking out.

The earth pony's muzzle hardened. "Yeah, well YOUSE TOURISTS are alda same! Y'keep all dat grub fer yerself, an' won't-"

"Yo," Thunderclap said, holding out a stack of bits in her hoof, "go eat. And don't let me catch you buying cider, you hear me?"

The earth pony looked like he was going to say something more... but then, he just took the bits and headed down the street at a rapid pace, weaving through the hoof traffic like it wasn't even there.

Apparently, it was thievery; luckily, Stalwart was more than capable of defending herself and kept all her cash intact. They had barely left the train and already their money had been at stake - what a terrible place this city must be!

"Under my father's reign, he would lose his hoof. At least for the first offense," she mentioned while glaring at Thunderclap intensely. After her short fight with Peavine, her patience for thieves was rather thin. "Not that I applaud such a measure, of course... but why did you give him money, Clap? I'm not certain... but to me, it looks like rewarding a criminal for his bad behaviour."

Clap shrugged. "Hey, look - I've been hungry before, and I know what I'da done to eat, if I had to; he probably would've been in a bit better shape if he actually had money, so I figured he really was just hungry."

Wart turned up her snout. "If he is able to pick pockets, he is able to get an actual profession," she said haughtily.

To Obsidian, pickpocketing a bunch of teenagers could have stranded them in Manehattan; one simple act of thievery could doom an innocent pony. "Let's just find this place where Mica's staying first... er, does anypony know where it is?"

Clap gave a snark of a laugh. "HA! Just about every pony IN Manehattan knows where the Rockhoof is! Including this one! C'mon - follow me!" Clap took to the air, then actually stayed with the group as she began to fly towards where the station's exit was.

Wart seemed to be looking for a way through, but Cup simply smiled and lifted her onto his back. "Cupcake! This is humiliating! I am not a fil-"

Cup leveled his gaze at her, looking a bit annoyed that she was a bit ungrateful. "Wart, shush." The little mare glared daggers at Cup... but she shushed.

To be fair, Cup could at least ask Stalwart about it first, and only then disturb her personal space... but effects were worth the hassle, as this way not only was the little unicorn safe from getting lost, but now Cup had a well-trained warrior to protect him from thieves and other ruffians. Win-win, in Siddy's book.

Though it was one Tartarus of a time getting through the crowds, eventually the group made it out onto the sidewalk, and they saw it for all its' beauty and splendor... Manehattan. The Big Applecore. The buildings threatened to rival the Crystal Mountains themselves, as they towered over everything around them... including some of their fellow buildings.

There were lights, sounds, ponies, griffons, changelings, vehicles, construction workers drilling at the sidewalk, street vendors loudly hawking their wares, a mare on the corner playing a brass instrument while others put bits into her instrument case, a group of stallions standing on the corner in the same colored bandanas, bicycles, bells, whistles, screeches, knocking, pinging, talking, laughing...

SO. MUCH. ACTIVITY.

This place was like a beehive. How could so many creatures live in such a place without going mad? The Crystal Empire at least looked classy, but this place was merely a jungle made of concrete and steel with noise attacking them from every side! Of course, the Empire was Obsidian's homeland, so she could be a bit biased... but it was still a bit too much to handle on an empty stomach. The Grey Princess could only hope that they could get to the Rockhoof as soon as possible, to regroup, gather Mica's recon intel and make plans to find her fashionable brother.

The streets were lined with shops, businesses, eateries, cafes, stores, offices... just about any and every kind of building there could be was here - except for a palace. The city had no palace, as far as she could see. Admittedly, though, she couldn't see too far; the buildings were in the way.

The streets were filled with a few carts, but mostly there were a number of machines that rumbled and purred, with ponies inside them, steering them and cursing anyone who got in their way. There were even a few ponies on bicycles, with packages strapped to their backs, assumedly making deliveries.

Clap stayed aloft, flying at a slow pace to help guide her friends through the city. At one corner, there was a stallion with a saxophone who was playing his heart out, and listeners were tossing bits into his instrument case. As Obsidian and the others passed, he blew a quick wolf whistle sound on his sax, and Clap struck a midair pose in response. The gathered crowd laughed, and the music continued.

Then, as they came around the corner, Obsidian came face to face with her brother!

Well... not exactly.

The billboard was displayed prominently in the middle of a large roundabout area; it proclaimed tonight to be the advent of some sort of fashion show, and 'Smoky Quartz' was the headliner. His picture on the billboard was almost exactly like the one in Diamond's drawing; to her, there was no mistaking who it was.

He had on a straight face, but had a single eyebrow lifted, as if curious about whether or not you might be fancy enough to attend. There was a charisma and charm that came from the expression, and he seemed to look like a sophisticated and regal stallion.

And the building that held that billboard just happened to be The Rookhoof Hotel... and it was huge. The skyscraper itself looked to be at least forty stories tall, and loomed over Obsidian and her little group.

Ah, that dear brother of hers - he looked similar enough to make any connection between them obvious. Considering the fact that even princesses knew him was hopefully a confirmation that he wasn't dabbling into any dark arts too..

But first things first - just how DID Mica get into this rather glamourous hotel?

The doorpony saw them coming, and her bored look promptly vanished in a burst of enthusiasm. "Greetings, tourists! Welcome to The Famous Rockhoof Hotel!" she said, brightly.

Now that was a good actress. "Clap? Could you handle it, please? You know places like this... and it's your coltfriend staying here," Obsidian asked her quietly.

Clap blushed a bit at mention of a coltfriend, but she cleared her throat and landed deftly in front of the doorpone. "Hey, thanks! So, I gotta ask - you know everyone who comes through here?"

The doorpone smiled and nodded. "It takes only a moment to look over the registry, and it's my job to know who all is coming or going... so yes, I have that knowledge."

"Great, okay, so... you know there's a Mica Chip who's-"

"Oh! Mr. Chip!" The doorpone smiled sweetly. "Yes, I'm aware of him; he has a way with words, and he's quite friendly! Say, he mentioned he might have some friends visit him... I suppose that would be you lot, yes?"

"Eeyup! That's us!" Clap beamed proudly. "The Siddy Six! Well... minus one," she said with a bit of hesitation.

The doorpone nodded. "Well, if that's the case, please come inside! Check with Carter at the front kiosk; he'll make sure Mr. Chip knows you're here - and don't pay any mind to his attitude; unless you're obviously filthy rich, he'll probably come across as a bit haughty... but I swear, he knows this place like the back of his hoof."

"Thanks! Much appreciated, Miss..?"

"Carpet. Red Carpet, a pleasure to meet you," she gave a grand bow, then turned and opened the door for them. "After you, distinguished guests!"

Clap motioned for them to follow, and went inside. The lobby was enormous - larger than her father's banquet hall! There were tasteful chairs and sofas, potted plants, and even a chandelier hanging from the ceiling that brought a touch of ritzy class to the whole room.

The kiosk desk was in the rear of the spacious atruim, and at it sat what looked to be a rather dour and sallow-faced stallion with a prim perm and sharp features. He wore a fancy suit, and had a little mustache on his lip that made him look distinguished.

Clap motioned to the desk. "I got the front; your turn, Sids. I can chat with doorponies all day, but upper crust stuff never seems to work out for me."

Once upon a time, in theory, Obsidian was pretty sure she was going to own an entire Empire; did that count as being 'filthy rich'? Probably not. Would've been nice, though...

As long as this 'Carter' was only a bit haughty, she should be able to stomach him. And the size of this place was impressive... which made it even more strange that Mica had managed to find a room here. Did he have a famous cousin here, or maybe he knew some rich friends? Or perhaps Markannus was lurking somewhere nearby...

But just plain thinking wasn't going to solve anything, contrary to acting. Obsidian walked happily up to the kiosk desk. "Good morning! Mr. Carter, I presume?"

The stallion was looking over paperwork, but gave a gusty sigh as he heard her speak. "Yes, madam - I am Carter Blanche," he sounded as stuffy as a dignitary, "HEAD of The Rockhoof's Formal Staff. And, if I may ask, how may I help-"

Then he looked up... and his eyes went wide. "You're Obsidian!" he gasped in surprise, "The mare who saved Ponyville, yes? Oh, I cannot even BEGIN to tell you what a pure honor it is to meet you, madam!"

... wasn't he supposed to be haughty?

"My brother and sister were caught in Ponyville when those dreadful vile things attacked; they told me about your stand against King Sombra, and how you saved them from harm by disposing of him! Oh, I owe you so very much, madam, as they are the only family I have!" He was now smiling, ear to ear, and he stepped into place at the front kiosk.

"Now, please... allow me to assist you in whatever manner I may be capable of, as I have the training and permissions possible to see to it that your stay with us is placed as high on the Priority List as it can go." He then leaned forward a bit, speaking low. "I am eternally grateful to you - please, tell me what you need, and it shall become my driving focus."

"Well, that was easy," Clap smirked.

This kind of attitude could explain how Mica got a room here in the first place - perhaps it was a grateful staff member's way to show him their gratitude? Obsidian would love to get this kind of reaction more often, because not having to deal with the haughtiness of haughty ponies would make her attempts to stop Sombra's spawn much easier.

This way nopony would try to steal her cakes, like one particular greedy bastard of a guard.

"We're looking for Mica Chip, a stallion from our little team. We were told he had a room here," Obsidian explained quickly.

"Oh! Mr. Chip did say he was expecting company... b-b-but he didn't say it would be YOU! I shall have one of the staff see you personally to the penthouse suite where he's staying. Might you be staying with us as well?" He looked around a bit, then leaned in more closely. "If you like, I can set you up in the penthouse next to his? Would this be to your liking, madam - or would you prefer our Princess Suite? Normally, only royalty tends to use them... but I am quite certain that they wouldn't mind if you were to 'borrow' one for the extent of your stay in Manehattan?"

Obsidian quickly glanced at her friends. It seemed that she was correct - Mica was lucky enough to find a place where a top-tier pony was indebted to him. Lucky Mica... and lucky them!

"A place next door to him would be preferable, thank you. We are doing our best to stay together," she replied, relieved that everything seemed to be going fine... at least, for the moment. "We are all here together - with the exception of Gypsy, who had to stay behind. I'm not sure how long we're staying, however."

Carter nodded smartly. "Then I shall have you escorted up to the Penthouse Suites. If you have any luggage, I can have it ported to your room, and eatery service is listed next to the wall intercom, should you find yourself peckish."

He lifted a hoof into the air, and almost instantly, there were four bellhops standing in front of him. Carter motioned to Obsidian and her entourage. "THIS is a highly-esteemed guest, and I shall NOT tolerate anything less that exemplary service for her and her companions, is this clear?"

They all saluted in tandem. "We aim to please!" came from the four in unison.

"Exquisite. Now, please take Madam Obsidian and company up to Penthouse Six; I'm certain they're eager to get on with any activities they may have planned, and also inform Mr. Chip that his guests have arrived; I shall intercom ahead to tell him you are on your way, madam."

The bellhops all marched to the elevator and waited for Siddy and crew. Cupcake giggled a bit. "It's like you're famous... kinda..."

"If there is ANYTHING I can do for you during your stay, turn the intercom's dial to Q; I shall be available for any and all issues, quieries and informations." Carter gave a low bow of respect.

Penthouse... they were getting a personal penthouse!? Ha!

When Cupcake first met her, he'd once called her 'spoiled' - which had actually been contrary to everything she'd already endured in her life up to that point. In fact, she had been thoroughly annoyed that her suite was far too luxurious, which she had thought to have been a danger to her mental stability and ascetism...

In fact, there were probably slaves that had more freedom than her during her life in Empire.

...yet today, it seemed that it was time to get spoiled PROPERLY.

Even though she didn't really know what this 'penthouse' was, but she had a feeling that it would be spoil-worthy.

"Thank you kindly, Mr. Carter; I'll do my best to defend the innocent and protect Equestria in the future as well," she replied humbly... though in her head, she was simply hoping that this 'penthouse' had a nice bathtub.

The prim and proper stallion smiled beatifically at her. "Madam, I expect no less from such as yourself."

The bellhops scattered, except for one who saluted them smartly, then led the way to the elevator. It was roomy, yes - but with Obsidian, the bellhop, Cupcake, Wart (who was of little consequence) and Thunderclap (who more than made up for Wart's lacking), it was almost a bit cramped.

Reaching the top floor with a merry >ding!<, the bellhop led them out into a hallway that was tastefully dark and subdued, with lighting set into the ceiling that kept the hallway lit, yet subtly so. The carpet was thick, and it felt good on her hooves as they walked to a room door with the number '6' on it in fancy scrimshaw. The bellhop motioned to the door, bowed, and waited politely.

"Whoa... nice digs; wonder what the ROOM looks like, if gettng there is this ritzy!" Clap said as she looked around, appreciating the rich surroundings.

Ah, darkness... sweet, lovely darkness. This place kept looking better and better! And now that she thought about it, perhaps Mica could take Thunderclap into his room for this trip? Then Obsidian could (heh heh) be alone with Cup... well, as alone as they could possibly be with Stalwart around. "A much better place than my old room, that's for certain," Obsidian joked, though no one here had ever seen her quarters; only Flurry Heart had that dubious honor.

The bellhop looked at them curiously until Clap said, "So? Do we get to go in?"

The bellhop pulled out a key, unlocked the door, and held the key out to Obsidian. "Your key, madam," he said with a drawn and small voice, "and there are more available at the front deak; ask Mr. Carter, and he will arrange for more keys for the rest of you."

Clap chuckled. "Key, schmee - lemme see this place!" Typical of Clap, she darted through the door and into the room itself... and then, Obsidian heard: "HOLY SCHNIKES! Look at this place, willya!?"

Cupcake smiled, then made a sweeping gesture towards the door. "Ladies first," he said with a wink.

Stalwart nodded and grinned with approval, while the bellhop continued to stand there, waiting.

Okay, considering that Clap was still able to shout, it most likely wasn't a trap. She assumed the pegasus used to rather luxurious conditions (at least compared to Obsidian), so it was probably pretty nice. Obsidian eagerly trotted inside.

The pegasus had not been exaggerating.

The entire room was the size of Obsidian and Cupcake's entire first floor! And doors meant there was even more space available! The walls were a tasteful wood paneling, and swept in curves rather than flat; there were no corners, just circular ends of the room. The lighting was recessed into the ceiling, so it held just enough light to see comfortably. There was a sunken portion in front of a HUGE television screen, with couches that looked as though they were made for royalty. In front of them was a tasteful coffee table (also curved), and above them was an ornate ceiling fan, slowly rotating.

From here, Obsidian could also see what looked to be a complete kitchen, separated from the living room area by a bar-type table, complete with stools. There was a fridge, a dishwasher, a stove - it was a complete kitchen, right in view of the sitting area. The carpet was thin, but silky smooth under her hooves.

"You know... I'm not sure if we should needlessly hurry to look for my brother... after all, it's not as if he knows we're coming and can therefore escape, right?" Obsidian could almost FEEL the spoilful spoilfulness of spoilablilty oozing from every hyper-modern convenience.

"There's no big rush, and besides - we need to be cautious... t-take our... time..." Obsidian said with an awed voice as she started to look around in earnest. This place looked deliciously decadent - the perfect place for lazy ponies who have too much cash in their purses and like to find numerous ways to waste it.

And Obsidian absolutely loved it.

Cupcake walked in and immediately went to the kitchen. "WOWZERS! Siddy, look at this stuff! This is a top-of-the-line cookstove! And this oven? OOOOH! We have a blender here! WOW, I'm gonna make us SUCH a dinner tonight!"

Clap was seated on the couch, her forehooves behid her head. "Mom sometimes gets good suites when she travels... but THIS is CHOICE STUFF!"

Wart took a single step into the doorframe, looked around inside the room... and frowned.

"Wastefully decadent," she murmured to herself as she slipped inside, choosing to remain standing near the door as she eyeballed the entire room with slight disgust.

Author's Notes:

Imagine being the one trying to pickpocket Wart; I'd say he got off too easy, but then again, maybe Clap had a point? All the same, it could have escalated into a fight, but that would hardly be a heroic thing to do, right? Plus, the gang knows Wart can sometimes get a bit caught up in her 'passion', and usually know when to step in.

Someday, I may explain the whole 'Wart, shush' thing... but it always makes me giggle like a schoolfilly, for some reason.

I'd like to point out that the front desk pony's name is a take on the French phrase 'carte blanche' - or 'blank card'; basically an open tab. I thought it was rather clever, myself.

And so, like Celestia at a Cake Eating Competition, the plot thickens. What sort of dream/memory/thing is Obsidian having? Will there be more? Will this lead her to more answers, or is the future full of even more questions than poor Siddy already has?

Of course, no spoilers.

Thirty Nine: Clothes Minded

A wastefully decadent place... Obsidian really hoped that Quartz wouldn't ruin this day. Otherwise it was possibly going to be one of the most relaxing and decadent days in her entire life. Obviously, she'd had a few perfect days (proposing to her coltfriend tends to make a day's rating much, much higher), but today could possibly be even better!

"Being a hero is always the right thing to do... but it doesn't change fact that I love that we can get pampered by so much!" she said with a hopeful grin on her muzzle. She trotted over to Cup to see the kitchen with her own two eyes.

It was indeed a sight; everything as he claimed was here, and it was all in sleek chrome and subdued greys and blacks. The dark marble countertop held a number of appliances, and the fridge was a chilled machine, sitting at the back and waiting patiently.

"Siddy, I GOTTA use this stuff while we're here! You and Clap and Wart and Mica and-..." A look crossed his muzzle; he was missing Gypsy, too. "... but, I plan on making a feast for the ages, maybe as soon as tomorrow night! That is, uh," he paused his jubilance, "if we don't run into any Dark Magic problems."

There was a gasp from the hallway, outside the still-open door; the bellhop was still standing there, for some reason.

Poor Gypsy was really missing out on a lot of fun... poor pup. "We won't, Cup - we don't have to run into problems during every single vacation, do we?" she asked cheerfully, giving him a sweet look. She quickly turned around and trotted to the doors, to nod respectfully to their bellhop and close them.

Just before she closed the door, Clap's hoof slipped between the door and frame. "Whoa, Siddy - hang on a sec..."

She opened the door again and looked at the bellhop, who looked a bit defeated, but hope emerged reborn when they opened it again. Clap reached out with a hoof, a number of bits in it. "Here ya go; we didn't forget ya, buddy."

Joy threatened to devour his entire muzzle as he gladly took the money, tipped his hat, and headed off towards the elevator.

Clap just chuckled as she closed the door herself, then looked at Obsidian. "It's called a tip - in Manehattan, it's how folks thank people for good service, and at the Rockhoof, it's ALL good service. Plus, makes us a more priority client, if we tip well."

To be completely fair, Obsidian didn't know about this tradition, and wouldn't have any idea that they could afford tipping ponies in such a fancy place. After all, she would bet they were earning more in three months than she could earn in an entire year! Well... discounting all the bonuses she kept receiving as a savior of Equestria, of course.

"We won't be priority clients for too long, though", she took note.

Before either of them could walk away, there was another knock on the door. "Okay," Clap bristled, "I can dig being generous, but come on, now..." She went to the door and opened it, ready to give the greedy bellhop a piece of her mind - and instead, she gasped.

"Hello, neighbor," said Mica Chip from the door, the slightest of grins on his muzzle.

Clap threw her forehooves around him and hugged him tightly, which he returned. "Hey, Mica!" Cup laughed, "good to see you! LOVE the hotel; choice pick!"

"Salutations, Mica; I am glad you are well," Wart greeted him.

"Mica! I had no cluethat hotels could be this luxurious! Thank you for a valuable lesson, my friend!" Obsidian joined the chorus of greetings with a wide grin on her muzzle.

The bland grey stallion nodded, then closed the door behind him and looked to the whole group. "I have news, both good and bad, and I'm glad you're all finally-... wait... where's Gypsy?"

"Taking care of Diamond, back home," said Cup, looking eager to hear what Mica might have to say.

Mica sighed. "A shame. Well, I can still let the rest of you know what I found, and we can fill him in later. Should we get to it?"

"Awwww, C'MON," Clap whined, "we just GOT here, and we haven't even had time to get in our bags yet! Siddy, tell him - do we gotta do the Siddy Six stuff NOW?"

"Sadly, yes we do, Clap. After all, being lazy while we sit around the penthouse is not our goal, contrary to dealing with Quartz... no matter how much it saddens me," Obsidian whined a bit as well. Unfortunately, no matter how grand this place was, her sense of duty was too strong.

Mica nodded, the directed them all to the living room, where they each sat down (except for Wart, who chose to stand). Once everyone was comfortable, he began.

"To start with, don't thank me for the hotel; it turns out that a well-placed visit and chat with Eloquence was all I needed to get access to his and his mother's suites here. They have them from her travels to and from her boutique in Manehattan."

"Clever you!" Cup laughed.

Nodding, he continued. "I've listened to a lot of passing talk, read through a number of papers, and asked around as I acted like a typical tourist. I discovered that our friend Quartz is currently the hottest thing since Twilight brought the sun too close. He's got a number of fashion lines out right now, and each one is selling like crazy - which is weird, because the colors are awful; polka dot capes, plaid business suits, and so forth. But they still sell."

"He's also been doing a lot of night time shipping, it seems; after hours, I saw him make his way into the small dressmaker's factory he has here... and a truck showed up, roughly an hour later. I couldn't figure out what they were shipping, but whatever it was, it was all handled by a single pony. I never saw anyone get out of or into the truck itself. He then leaves early, then shows up for regular work at about two o'clock - like he didn't work any overtime at all. And from general talk, he's been designing and creating fashions for three years, Obsidian; no telling what's been going on before you came into the picture."

Mica lifted an eyebrow. "But he's holding a soiree tonight, to introduce his latest fashion line. It's supposedly the talk of the town."

A new fashion line? Obsidian hoped it would look better than these other 'fashion lines' Mica was talking about. "I'd like to see these awful clothes - perhaps there is something 'fishy' about them," she mused aloud... but why he would risk using magic on clothing? "Is this the first time he's made such strange color choices? Or were his old designs any better?"

Factory. Regular lifestyle. Soiree. Well, well, well... they certainly had plenty of things to do tonight, it seemed.

Mica shrugged. "From what I've found, he's always colored them like that, maybe you could ask Tourmaline if he was like that before, as well. At any rate, with the soiree tonight, I did a lot of asking around, and decided that if we wanted to know more..."

He reached into his sadlebag and produced what appeared to be six silver-ribbon-bound scrolls. "... we'd have the best chance in the flesh."

Clap's jaw nearly hit the floor. "H-h-how did you-"

"Eloquence," he smirked, "owes me for lots of Buckball bets; he was happy to oblige, especially when he heard that Siddy AND Cup were going to be here together." He now looked Siddy dead in the eye, with that tiny grin in place. "He sent your outfits to my room; you're already ready for tonight, you and Cup."

Cupcake practically hit the ceiling. "I got nice clothes from Elo!? Oh WOW! We have GOT to thank him when we get back, love!"

"At this rate, we'll have surrender our hero titles to Eloquence - seems like he's helping us with practically everything," Obsidian noted, looking at the scrolls. Buckball bets (whatever those were) couldn't possibly be worth all of this cash and effort!

She then chuckled. "Without his help, we'd have FAR more issues with investigating my brother; I'm so very pleased at this development, and I must remember to thank him later."

Clothes... sometimes, in places like Ponyville, she could forget that ponies wore clothes. Of course, she had the things she'd bought during her shopping trip with Clap ages ago, but... really, it was some kind of miracle that Rarity had managed to profit from her boutique in what was essentially a nudist village.

Mica handed out a scroll to each of them... then awkwardly looked at the scroll that had been undoubtedly meant for Gypsy.

"Y'know, if Gypsy was here," Cup slowly smiled, "I bet he'd tell us the history of why they need these little silver scrolls for invitations."

Clap grinned. "Yeah... history lessons, right?" Though she looked as if she might not have minded one so much, at this moment in time.

Wart nodded. "Then, he would sniff out the nearest food trailer, and would politely ask to stop there, fully intent on getting a treat," she lightly grinned.

Mica nodded, quiet. "I miss him."

It was actually the first time so many of them had been together directly in a while... but, as Mica had been missing last time, now the weight of their doggo companion's responsibility began to weigh on them all.

Mica cleared his throat to gather their attention again. "Well, the sooner we get through this, the sooner we can all go home together, and we'll have a group gathering - just the six of us."

"Yeah," Clap's grin widened at the thought, "The Siddy Six!"

Wart looked to the Grey Princess. "Lady Siddy, I do not believe you ever approved of that name; shall I allow it to stand, or do you wish me to remove it from every paper I can locate?"

Obsidian hadn't had too much time to properly miss Gypsy, seeing as how she'd already had her own solo adventure with him. However, she could agree that it would've been nice to bring him along with the rest. Sadly, acting as Diamond's liaison was important, and they simply couldn't leave her brother with someone who didn't speak ancient Crystallian.

As for the 'Siddy Six' thing, she'd never actually thought about it; she'd been kind of surprised by this term at the beginning, but she never gave it a second thought. "Now that I think about it, it IS rather focused on me, isn't it? We are all equally important to this team, after all..."

Wart smartly nodded. "Yes, but we would never have been close, were it not for you."

Clap started to interject... then shrugged. "Y'know? I can't argue with that."

Mica looked to her. "It took some convincing on her part, to reach me, but... gotta admit, I'm not regretting it."

Cupcake's reply was a soft sweet kiss on Obsidian's horn, then a goofy grin to everyone else as he sighed lovingly at her.

Mica nodded. "So - the soiree is in ten hours from now; go ahead and get some sleep, clean up, or whatever it is you want to do - as long as you're bck here by 7 tonight. The party isn't until 9, but we'll have to get ready and get there."

Cup nodded with excitement. "It's a fashion par-taaaaaayyyyy!!!!!"

Mica sighed. "Cup, not that kind of party; it's for show, not for fun." Cupcake looked confused.

'The Siddy Six' was a simple name, but... it could be improved, right? With the amount of Pie children or relatives the team was sporting, they could be 'The Pie Gang'... or maybe 'The Next Gen Six'... in theory, she seemed to be the central point of the team, but Cup knew them all before she even appeared here... 'The Cup Six'?

"Any ideas, anyone?" Obsidian asked, "Are we going to do something together, or split up? I'd love to to visit a bookstore or two, but I didn't think about any further plans than meeting with my dear brother."

Clap looked at Mica. "Well, unlike you two, I don't gotta fancy outfit with me of THIS caliber! I'll have to hit the stores, and I'm draggin' YOU with me, Mikey..."

She smiled sweetly and evilly at Mica, who looked her right in the eye and didn't flinch. "Looking forward to it."

Clap laughed, bear hugged Mica, then - shyly and a bit awkwardly - tried to give Mica a kiss like Cup and Siddy gave each other. Though it looked utterly cringeworthy, Mica still smiled and seemed to enjoy it.

Wart, shaking her head at the display of affection, looked to Siddy. "And I shall accompany you, Lady Siddy, for the city is dark and full of threats; I remain your guardian and protector."

"I appreciate that, Stalwart - my faithful and trusted guardian and friend," Obsidian bowed her head respectfully, though she was wearing a smile after she lifted up again. "Okay, guys - let's have some fun! I mean, maybe it's not the normal way we do things, but... pleasure first, work second!"

Clap cheered, "Shopping spreeeeeee!!!!!" She then promptly zipped out of the penthouse doorway.

Mica, still standing there, simply gave his tiny grin, waved at them all, and in a flash of blue and blonde, Clap streaked back in and gathered her coltfriend, darting right back out the door, it slamming shut from her velocity alone.

Cup laughed and clapped his hooves together. "I think they're gonna be a really active couple... not to mention, I think Clap's gonna try to make it a competition, somehow. But... would it be fun?"

"I'd say they're already an active couple," Obsidian pointed out with a smirk. After all, they had the advantage over her and Cup; one side of their relationship didn't have to figure out how to live in the Modern World first. And they probably already knew about... uhhhh, a few other things. Yeah. Snugglebu-... yeah. THOSE things.

Wart suddenly paled, her eyes going wide... then, she slowly turned to face Obsidian and Cupcake. "It... has occurred to me... that I have... not... any sort of proper outfit for such an event. Oh... oh, goodness."

"Oh, it's fine, Wart - you could just wear your Royal Guard ar-..." Oh. Wart hadn't brought her armor; she'd only had her ratty saddlebags. And now that she thought about it, a fashion show was probably not the proper place for plate armor, Royal or not. Which meant...

"We'll have to find you something - that's all there is to it," Obsidian nodded firmly.

Wart still looked a bit crestfallen, but gave a slight nod and remained at attention as Cup strolled up next to her. "I'll bet we could ask Red Carpet at the door what bookstores exist here in the big city? Maybe she could send us to a spellbook store, even?"

Wart cleared her throat. "Lady Siddy... there is also the idea that we might try to at least venture past this factory, so that we might get a lay of the land before we arrive tonight," she suggested. "Though... this does not have to be our first stop."

"We could, yes..." Obsidian quirked a grin, "but an outfit for my dear friend Stalwart is far more important, methinks - we'll have to get this issue solved first." The little knight tried not to show it, but she couldn't help but grin at her best friend's making her a priority. She stood a bit taller, and focused more on looking firm rather than concerned.

"We could also check on my brother's designs, while we're at it; maybe there is smething magical to them?" Obsidian sighed deeply; apparently, work had caught up to her anyway - even here. "Then, we could possibly take a peek at this factory Mica mentioned... and eventually, we should get some rest, too. We're going to have a busy night, so we need to be awake, alert and well-rested."

Cup grinned and nodded. "Well then, what are we waiting for! Let's take Manehattan by storm!" He posed dramatically.

Wart gave a flat look. "Or, we might consider a bus."

"I'd say that depends - how far are the places we should visit?" Truth be told, Obsidian had no idea, herself. Cupcake, being apparently new to Manehattan, wouldn't have known about buses here, to be fair. Which didn't explain how Wart knew... unless she'd travelled a lot.

Cup shrugged. "I have no idea," he intoned, a bit disheartened to relize they didn't have a clue between them.

Wart, however, smiled broadly. "Then I suppose it is fortuitous that I made a round of the lobby, and gathered some of these..."

She brought some tourist brochures from her saddlebag, spreading them on the table in the living room. There was one for the House Of Wax, one for the Statue of Friendship, and one for the Trotsonian Museum of Modern History; all three had maps of Manehattan inside them, though the one for the museum had street names as well.

"Warty!" Cup gave her a quick hug. "You are a bonafide genius!"

Wart smiled, but simply said, "I am merely glad to be of service, of course."

Statue of Friendship... Wax... wait, wax?... oooh, there was a Museum! Granted, at the moment, Obsidian was mostly concerned about procuring an outfit for Wart...

Thus, she immediately grabbed the brochure for Trotsonian Museum, studying it with the hope that there might be at least ONE single clothing shop around it. For Wart.

She was pleased to find that there were actually quite a few shops along the way - one even supposedly sponsoring the museum itself. There was a section that was labeled 'Fashion Square' which sounded promising, and it was right next to the area where her brother's clothing factory was located. This was turning out to be a cinch.

Wart and Cup both took one of the other brochures, each putting them away in a suddlebag for later perusal. "I think we should take the bus anyway; I don't think Siddy's ever been on one before!"

"I haven't; what are buses?" Obsidian inquired with a tilt of her head.

Wart began to speak, but Cup covered her mouth. "No - you should see for yourself," he grinned.

They gathered their things and made their way downstairs. After a brief chat with Red Carpet, they were directed to the Number 72 bus stop, which would take them on a route that would hit all three of the places they had maps for, plus a number of others in bewteen. Wart didn't look very pleased to be stuck riding on Cup's back for much of the trip, but she at least didn't complain about it; she was a bit busy looking around at the sights of the big city.

When they reached the stop Carpet had indicated, there were a number of ponies there, all waiting for something.

Cup smiled at her. "Y'know, it sure would be great if we only had a means of getting from place to place, without having to worry about stuff like where to park!"

Wart rolled her eyes, then looked at Siddy. "He is being a doofus, Lady Siddy; a bus is like a carriage, but it's made to carry multiple passengers at once."

"There's one!" Cup exclaimed. Whoa. The thing was long, shiny and steel. It has wheels that were neatly placed at the four corners it seemed, at it rolled smoothly to a stop in front of them, where the other ponies began to board.

Ah, so a bus was merely... oh. Well, then. Obsidian had already seen trains; compared to those monstrosities, this 'bus' was hardly impressive. "Do we require tickets, perhaps?"

Cup shook his head. "Just two bits; you'll see."

The bus was a bit crowded, but still had a few seats open. Cup dropped two bits into the metal box up front, then four more for Siddy and Wart before he got onboard proper. The bus driver was a pale orange stallion who looked completely and utterly bored.

There were only a few seats available, but Cupcake made sure to offer one to his sweetheart before he sat down. Wart seemed determined to stand on her own hooves, which left her standing next to a large, sweaty stallion who smelled like cheese - and her face was on the same level as his rear end.

Wart didn't seem to care for buses very much.

When the entire bus lurched off the corner, Obsidian felt others lean against her in the seat; this bus ride was going to be uncomfortably close. Siddy noted that it was most likely that Wart's size properly explained why she didn't seem to enjoy riding buses. If anything, she felt a bit sorry for her... and when she was feeling sorry for someone, then the entire world could burn.

"Pssst, Wart - would you prefer to sit down?" she asked in a hushed voice.

Wart looked up at her and nodded, trying to lean away from the cheesy stallion's buttocks.

Siddy did the most logical and friendly thing she could come up with - she offered her own seat to Wart. After all, she could stand with the others like an average pone; Wart seemed to be in dire danger of being cheesed on. She stood up as the bus rumbled along, and there was a warm, stuffy ball of air she drifted into that was hard to breathe... but not impossible. Plus, it didn't seem like anyone was opening a window anytime soon, so it would be a moment before any sort of comfort was available.

To be fair, Obsidian was starting to dislike buses as well.

Wart gave her a momentary glance that told Siddy the little mare was glad to have chosen her as her best friend, and actually gave a smile as she clambered up onto the seat... then moved over. "Lady Siddy, I do not take up much room; if you do not mind our flanks pressed together, I would glady move aside for you?"

Cupcake grinned, leaned over and spoke softly. "You can, uh... sit on my lap, if you like?"

Obsidian didn't see anything strange about pressing flanks together on a seat; she'd already gotten used to being touched. Though not too long a time ago, she would rather have committed murder than allow anypony to hug her. She chose Wart's option - it sounded more comfortable than sitting in Cup's lap, anyway - for both of them.

Wart skcooched over as far as she could go, and it actually wasn't too uncomfortable. The little mare wiggled herself into the seat, and gave Siddy a pert nod once she was settled.

Now that the seating wasn't such a big deal, there was some free time to look out of the windows... and oh, what a sight!

They were passing by even bigger buildings than she'd first seen! How big did Manehattan get!? But even with all the hustle and bustle, there was something majestic about the tall skyscrapers, towering over the citizens and providing them with places to live, to work and to keep things. It wasn't something she would want for the Crystal Empire, but...

Just the sight of the massive buildings alone made the trip interesting; there was no telling what else might happen.

The bus rolled along, making stops every now and again, until they reached a district with what looked like a hundred different shops - all along the main road, so they wouldn't have to go far to get back to the bus.

If they wanted to get back on the bus.

As far as Obsidian was concerned, they were going to the museum (and the shops placed next to it), and she could only hope that Cup knew when they were going to leave. The bus seemed to be fairly fast, all things concerned, and while it was obviously a fine transport for those who couldn't afford their own carriages, it had some advantages.

But by Darkness, how terribly big WAS this city? It was more akin to a hive than to any sort of cities Obsidian knew of. Who let this place grow so large, and where did they get all the citizens to fill it with?

The bus groaned onward to a number of stops in between, then they went through a momentary stall when an elderly mare wanted to argue with the driver about the price of getting onboard for a good ten minutes, before the driver simply alowed her on... and as her first action aboard the vehicle, she nearly sat on Wart.

Once they were moving again, it wasn't too long before they reached the museum district; there were a number of different kinds of ponies here, as well as two or three griffons, a dragon and a diamond dog walking together, and what looked like at least twenty colts and fillies being led by an obvious teacher-type.

All of this outside of a block of buildings that all were museums of some fashion or other. There was one or Natural History, one for Equestrian Heroes, and one for Magic. The middle museum, bordered by the other three, was the one with the more seasonal displays... and this season, according to the banners gracing the archway, was 'A Look At The Crystal Empire'. From the number of others going in and out of it, the exhibit was apparently a popular one.

A somewhat worrisome amount of mental hunger appeared in Obsidian's eyes. So much knowledge...

"I want it all," the husky, almost sensual whisper crawled out of her throat unbidden.

The act of piling off the bus was comical, at best; a number of others were headed here too, and for a moment she thought they might all just be forever stuck in the doorway, forced to sit here within this metal shell for all eternity. But eventually, they managed to disembark (though they did have to go back in for Wart), and when the bus roared away, Cup watched it for a moment, then promptly sighed.

"Yeah, so... taxis from now on." Wart seemed to emphatically agree.

The museums were right there in front of her, just within hooves' reach! "Let's see the Magic exhibit; work first, pleasure second," Obsidian proposed, still displaying that greedy look on her muzzle. Of course, in her case, museums of magic were both about the job and about the pleasure - and about her hobby, and her history, and... well, everything!

The Museum of Magic had a grand entrance hall that was quite large - which was a good thing, because the floating display was impressive; it was a number of bricks, logs, wire and a few other sundry items, all suspended in midair by magic alone - no gimmicks here. This was the real thing - and she could feel it in her horn, which meant it wasn't just real, but potent.

The magical display above their heads even had a full-sized anvil, a grand piano and what looked like some sort of engine, all hovering overhead along with cups, clipboards and a shopping cart... but none of them were going anywhere, anytime soon.

At the front kiosk was a stand for brochures, a line for the tour and a number of benches and seats for public use.

Well, this museum was only one step away from a disaster, it seemed. She was a bit curious about how they managed to put so many objects in the air like that; while telekinesis was hardly rare (not with so many unicorns around), even that one, little detail was making her exceedingly curious.

"This is gonna be a fun museum, right?" Cup asked brightly.

"Hopefully, Cup." Obsidian grinned, which faded a bit as she grew a worried look. "Er... have you ever visited a museum before? It's my first time in one, I'm afraid..."

Cup shook his head. "Nuh-uh... I was hoping you had some experience..."

Wart stepped forward, grinning. "Lady Siddy, Cup... I have expeience within a museum, and it would be an honor to lead the two of you."

Obsidian nodded as she walked to the kiosk for a brochure. They were miniature maps, and had all the sections laid out in them, neat and organized for their perusal. There were a total of five sections: ancient, modern, unicorns, spellcraft and legendary.

Ancient! Modern! Unicorns! Spellcraft! LEGENDARY! Obsidian wasn't joking when she said she wanted it all - she was going to learn as much as she possibly could about magic here, even if it would take them all day lo-

"Considering the current enthusiasm I'm feeling for this museusm, I think we should get Wart a suit for the party first - otherwise, we'd risk running out of time... and it's the most important task on our list at the moment." The realization might have been a bit of a party pooper, but Siddy was determined that her little friend would be properly attired before they did any serious looking around.

Cup looked a bit deflated. "Awwww... we gotta shop for clothes?"

Wart fidgeted a bit. "Lady Siddy, i-is it truly imp-"

"Wart," Cup began, giving her a look, "you're important, for cryin' out loud - we want you to look good too! Don't you sit there and think you're not worth it!"

The little mare did her best to hide her grin. "Well, I... suppose it is, then."

"It is important that we do this necessary shopping. Though we are surely at a loss due to Thunderclap's absence, I'm certain we shall do our best not to purchase a social blunder of an outfit," Obsidian sighed.

The shops that Red Carpet had told them about were right where she said they'd be; there were a number of clothing shops, all seeming to cater to a number of wealthy individuals, judging by the prices she could see. There were shops that looked extravagant, shops that seemed to cater to certain races, shops that sold conservative clothing and shops that had display windows filled with the equivalent of cloth garbage, in Siddy's opinion.

The shop at the end of the row had a sign that caught Obsidian's attention, however: The Warrior Princess. There was even a carving of a mare in armor with a sword on the sign.

"What about that one?" she pointed with a hoof. "Does it look like a good place to start?"

Wart looked at the sign... then gave a small smirk as she nodded. "Yes - I do believe the name of the shop does appeal to me."

Cup laughed. "Wart, you're our Warrior Princess, and you always will be." Cup grinned as he gave her a pat on the back, making the little mare smile more fully.

Making their way to the shop, Obsidian could smell the tang of forgefires from within; maybe this was an armory instead? If so, maybe they could find a suitable suit of spiffy armor to put her in?

Upon first walking in the door, she saw that the place had a number of suits of armor, yes... but there were also racks of clothing as well, each rack seeming to be arranged by color and size. The walls were lined with many different weapons and shields, all looking old and worn - but not a one with a price tag on it. The ceiling was covered in canvas strips, which gave the shop the same feel as a trading caravan tent, and it smelled faintly of old steel and fresh oil.

Behind the counter was a grey and blue earth pony stallion wearing an eyepatch, who was apparently reading a rather aged book. He didn't look up at them at all as he spoke up. "Got questions, ask 'em. No haggling. Ask if you don't see what you want."

Obsidian saw plenty of things, yet nothing that she could really understand, fashion-wise. Preparing for a battle - she understood that. Preparing for a fancy fashion gala? She was a proverbial fish out of water, in just about every possible way.

"Do you see anything that appeals to you, Wart?" she asked softly, hoping at least the little mare knew what was and wasn't acceptable at such a soiree.

Wart shrugged non-comittedly and started to look through the racks, while Cup sidled up next to her. "You wanna look around for anything here? I mean, it may be a store tailor made for Wart, but that wouldn't mean you couldn't find anything here worthwhile, too - right?"

A number of outfits here all seemed to be battle-ready, or at least tailored not to get in the way. The fabrics looked sturdy, and the colors were mostly muted earth tones; easy to maintain, difficult to wear out quickly. Whomever had put this place together had done a fine job, indeed.

"It could be useful to have something both fashionable and able to withstand a dagger in the back," Obsidian mused as she agreed with Cup... and with that, she went between the racks herself. Normally the easiest way would be putting a hauberk below her dress - though to be fair, normally she wouldn't be inclined to wear any sort of fancy dress, anyway.

Obsidian spent a few good minutes searching the racks for something that would wear well on her. Something that would accent and highlight her best traits, and appeal to her own sensibilities...

And there it was.

It was simply hanging on the rack, from a commonplace hanger, left to its' own devices among the other outfits there. It was long and sliky, and seemed to shimmer in the light as she looked at it, as if it had some sort of shiny inlay. It was a cape - a blood red cape.

"Hey, I thought they discontinued this style of jerkin - and they have it here? I'll have to let Momma know about this place... she could certainly use somewhere like this for her costumes!" Cup spoke up from the other end of the store.

Wart was nowhere to be seen, but she could hear someone searching the racks, and she hadn't seen anyone but the worker at the desk.

Obsidian approached the cape as if it could bite her. However, despite her pronounced lack of warm feelings towards her father, she still considered at least some things related to him as more or less interesting. His style was among them.

As soon as she was sure the cape wouldn't try to kill her, she looked for the price tag. "Cup, do you think I'd look good in this?"

Cupcake grinned. "I think you'd look good in honey with little bits of donut stuck to you - I'm kinda biased, Siddy. But, for what it's worth, it looks really pretty." He glanced it over, then nodded to himself. "Fancy. Smooth. And quite an eyeful... just like you, love."

The price tag wasn't too horrible,and it looked to be her size as well. What were the odds?

"That's a Feldspar original," the stallion behind the counter said, "but if you pay for it, you can say it's by Princess Twilight herself, if you want."

The name didn't tell her anything - as long as it wasn't Rarity's or Quartz's, she simply wouldn't know any prominent names in the fashion world. The only thing she cared about was that it would look so perfect on her. Hopefully she wouldn't start muttering 'cryssssstals' under her breath afterwards.

"Too bad we didn't check Elo's outfits before we left - then I'd know if it would clash or not," she said, looking the cape over appreciatively.

The stallion behind the counter looked up. "Elo? As in Eloquence, Rarity's colt?" The eye-patched stallion stood up now, giving Obsidian a wary, unfathomable look. "THAT Elo?"

Cup looked as though he was a bit surprised by the reaction, while Wart subtly took a defensive stance, ready to spring at a single word's notice.

Well, the world was a small place, it seemed. "Yes," she replied simply.

The stallion's muzzle lightened, and he gave a chuckle. "You must be from P-Ville, then? Well, any friend of that fashionisto is a friend of mine - I owe his mother for helping me out of a financial nightmare; it'd be peanuts to help out one of his friends." Now his expression eased up, and he looked as though he was more like an elderly uncle than a sour old stallion. "You need anything?"

"Yes!" Came Wart's voice from the back of the shop, "I require assistance!"

The stallion lifted an eye brow, yet rose to go back to meet with Wart.

Friendship is indeed magic. And thus, they were standing on the shoulders of the giants of the past, reaping the fruits of their hard labour, simply by the act of being their companions... amazing.

"Let's see what Stalwart needs," Obsidian said to Cup and immediately followed the other stallion towards the rear of the shop.

When the three rached the back, Wart was standing on top of a group of boxes, stacked together to almost reach the topmost shelf.

When they arrived, she pointed to the highest display shelf. "Sir! I wish to examine the article of silver, on the topmost shelf, near the back, please?"

The stallion looked at the shelf, then back at Wart. "The... article of silver?... is on THAT shelf?"

Wart nodded, and the stallion sighed and fetched a ladder. Once he did, he shimmied up it, only to pause at the top for a bit before looking back down at them all.

"How in the wide, wide world of Equestria did you see THIS all the way from where you were? Well, I'll give you this much; you have excellent taste; this is a Soapstone classic - and Soap's been deceased for almost two hundred years. I wonder if anyone else'll notice whom you're wearing..."

He clambered back down, holding a silvery piece of material in one hoof. "If you're wanting this outfit, it'll have to be tailored to fit you, miss."

"Every outfit I own requires special measurements," Wart stated, "and so this is nothing that I will lament over."

Well, it wasn't an emergency that would require their assistance. Still, how in Tartarus DID Stalwart see this cloth?
Perhaps she built the tower of boxes first, and only then she had seen it?

"Wart, do you need help with getting back down?" The teetering stack certainly didn't look too stable.

Wart then leapt up into the air, turning a somersault before she landed deftly on her hooves. "Though I appreciate the sentiment, Lady Siddy," she grinned as she began to unstack the pile, "I am well within my capabilities."

Cup grinned. "Never lacking, are you Warty?"

She now put on a full smile. "As long as you are never boring, Cupcake."

The eyepatched stallion took the silver cloth to the back, and Cup and Wart then turned to Siddy. "That cape would put a regal touch to any wardrobe, and it would certainly do you justice, Lady Siddy."

"A 'regal touch', you say?" Obsidian grinned. "That's exactly what I was thinking about." She looked over the cape; it would certainly garner her some attention, she was sure of it. "It... brings back some memories."

Cupcake reached out and felt the material with a hoof. "Oooooh! It's so silky..." He then pressed a part of it to his muzzle, and rubbed it across his cheek as he smiled. "Oh, this is nice fabric! It feels almost like water on my fur - but I'm not wet!"

"Then that settles it - I'll buy it. If I want to get my brother's attention, having a similar appearance to our creator will surely do the trick. Besides, it'll be easy to hide something under it... just in case."

Cupcake smiled. "You could probably wear that at home, too... y'know, if we... well, snuggle, I'm sure that cape would make a wonderful blanket!"

"Cup," Wart said kindly, "that might ruin the cape." Cupcake looked at the cape again, and his ears fell a bit.

"But..." She continued, "however, I am certain that type of material should not be too difficult to find, should you wish to have a blanket made from similar material."

Cup seemed to consider this for a bit. "... maybe we could get a set of sheets made from it?"

From the back, they all heard the stallion clear his throat. "Little Miss? I'll need you back here for a quick measurement!"

Wart nodded. "Should I not return by tomorrow, then be sure to make my memorial statue tall," she said with a jovial grin before heading for the back.

Cup watched her go, then smiled. "You know, Siddy - I don't ever think I've seen Stalwart smile so much, since she met you. I mean, I smile all the time, yeah... but that mare needs to smile more. Thanks for making her happy..." He leaned in. "Thanks also for making ME happy, but I can thank you in a more cuddly manner later, my princess." He gave her cheek a light kiss.

"Not too cuddly, though - while Clap can go to Mica's room, Stalwart will be staying in the same place as we do, remember," she reminded him, yet she also giggled slightly at the cheek of the suggestion.

She had to agree with Cup, though; Clap and Mica were still pretty much the same ponies they were when she'd met them. Cup was mostly the same as well, and Gypsy... well, it did seem as if he was in far better shape than when she'd met him for the first time, that's for sure - he'd needed friends too, it seemed.

But Wart? She had changed the most (well, not counting Obsidian herself - change from 'evil tyrant's spawn' to 'hero of Equestria' was considerable, after all), and it was a moment of personal pride when Siddy thought about how much good her presence had done for her little friend.

"So, do you think Gypsy could make the memorial statue?" Siddy grinned wryly. "I'm sure it would break some world record for origami making."

Cup laughed at the thought. "He'd have to use, like, a year's worth of newspapers! But I still think he'd try, though - and I bet it'd look just like her, too."

There was a sudden gasp from the back, followed by a low chuckle. "I take it that's an approval?" the stallion's voice spoke.

"... it's... beautiful..."

"Soapstone never made anything that was less than incredible - I'm surprised you found it; I thought for sure I'd sold all my Soap works already... guess it was meant to be yours."

"I..." the stoic Wart sounded as if she were mystified, "... I look like a Royal..."

Cup looked at Siddy. "Oh, now I wanna see it!"

"Little Miss? You do realize you'll still have to pay for the outfit?"

"Oh, yes of course, I would nev-"

It suddenly went deathly quiet.

"... it is a Soapstone original..."

More silence.

"... worth every bit."

Still, silence held tightly.

"One-of-a-kind, I promise you that."

Now, there was a single sound; a forlorn sigh. "... I... appreciate... your efforts, good sir. I shall... search elsewhere."

"We can do payments, if you-"

"I... no, that will be unecessary. Thank you..."

Wart came out from the back... and she looked crushed. "We shall have to continue our search at another establishment, Lady Siddy; this store, though filled with wondrous outfits, is a bit too... regal... for my own status. I should have an outfit closer to my own station, and should not presume to disguise my true standing."

She sounded the same as usual... but after knowing Wart for a bit now, Obsidian could tell the little mare was fighting herself to remain proud. Even if she couldn't afford to dress nobly.

One would think that Twilight would pay enough to her guards to afford some luxury from time to time, especially when they were heroes of Equestria as well. Obsidian wasn't going to simply let this stand. "How much do you need, Stalwart?" she asked outright.

Wart shook her head vehemently. "I cannot... not for THAT amount."

Cup quirked his eyebrows at her. "Wart... how much IS the silly thing? It can't be as bad as you're making it out to be..."

"Ahem," Eyepatch cleared his throat loudly, and pointed a hoof at the pile of silver material he'd placed on the counter.

Cup strolled over and took up the tag, looking it over. "It's not we can't afford to heAH-HOO-WHOA..."

Cup dropped the tag like it was red, scalding hot. "Uhhh..." he looked at Wart, a stunned expression on his muzzle, "y-yeah... there's other shops we can look at, s-sure." He was sweating... how bad WAS it?

Obsidian didn't know too much about finances - only enough to know that she had to pay for things. She was simply not aware of what the value of many things were - from time to time, she had a feeling that some things were too cheap or too expensive. Well, it was time to check for herself. She trotted to the counter and lifted the price tag to take a peek.

There were FIVE digits... and the first one was not a one.

Obsidian blinked. Her generosity and paycheck weren't going that far. "By Darkness."

The stallion behind the counter now leaned on it, holding himself forward as he began to speak. "Flowerpot Soapstone was always considered a bit of a dim bulb in his community, but he turned out to be extremely gifted with needle and cloth; when he began, he was making hankerchiefs and doilies... but by the time he passed away at the age of 88 summers, he had become a legend among tailors."

He eyeballed the outfit himself, again. "You know... when I first started here, Rarity's shop sold more product weekly than I'd even handle in a year. I didn't think I'd be able to survive, let alone compete. Do you know what she did?"

"Did she play Buckball until someone won?" Cup asked.

Only slightly derailed, Eyepatch continued. "Y-yeah, well... what she did do was hold her next fashion line for six whole months, just to give my store a chance to catch up and make our own name."

He looked down at Wart. "And you look like you're in the same boat, Little Miss. Trying to stand out in a world that just won't meet your goals as evenly as you do." He put a hoof to his chin. "We could work out a deal?"

"What manner of deal?" Wart asked suspiciously, leading Eyepatch to laugh.

"No worries - all above-board, so to speak. If you'd be willing to advertise my business to everyone and anyone who approaches you about that dress, then... perhaps I can work with you. I'll call it 'revenue generation', and might even be able to wrte off such a thing on my taxes!"

Wart looked as though hope were beginning to spring forth in her again. "Does... does this mean..?"

Eyepatch smiled. "It means you'll be the talk of the town after all, Little Miss. As long as you promote my shop, then I'll call myself even with Rarity or her kind gesture; no telling HOW much loss she suffered for holding back for me."

Obsidian didn't quite get it; holding fashion line production, taking an outfit worth so much and simply giving it away... it was all kind of surreal. As long as it worked in their favour though, Obsidian wasn't going to complain.

Wart stared at Eyepatch. "But... but it's so expensive..."

He chuckled. "If you saw it from all the way down there, young Miss, it was made for you. Soapstone himself would bless you and give it to you - as he never charged a single bit for any one of his works."

Cup looked at Siddy. "Wow... and I thought I was flighty!"

Eyepatch laughed at that. "He traded them to others for kindnesses; a meal here, an entertaining story there, a place to sleep, and so on. He was a big proponent of kind acts, which is part of the reason a Soapstone original is so expensive - they were made out of love, not out of profit, and many believe that's what makes them stand out so much."

Wart's smile was a thing of beauty, and she actually gave Eyepatch a salute. "I shall see to it that not a single soul will wonder where this incredible outfit came from. They shall be speaking your shoppe's name for years to come!"

He grinned. "I hope so - you make a perfect billboard, so to speak, as it's difficult NOT to notice you in that dress." Wart blushed brightly.

Eyepatch then looked over at Obsidian. "But the cape? That's my work - and I'm under no impressions of being the next big legend. 75 bits, and it's yours."

"So... you are Feldspar?" Obsidian asked with a raised eyebrow.

He chuckled. "Thrasher Feldspar, at your service, madam - how very astute of you."

Cup looked at him. "You don't look like a tailor; you look more like a retired Royal Guardpony to me."

Thrasher grinned. "That would be because I am a former memeber of Equestria's elite."

Wart was instantly at the counter again, her little head just barely peeking over it. "YOU were in the Royal Guard? Then I salute you, for I am also in their ranks!"

The gruff old stallion grinned. "I had a feeling..."

Cupcake looked to Obsidian. "Okay - Wart's outfit is taken care of, I guess... so, now what?"

Thrasher leaned back in his seat. "If you're interested, I do custom orders as well - clothing AND armor, if you feel the need for some plate mail."

Cupcake grinned. "She's always in the mood for plate mail!"

"And to answer your question, Cup - I'll buy this cape and then we can head directly back to the museum," she replied briefly. Still, it shook her a bit; this little slip of silver for Wart cost more than she'd probably ever be able to afford... even if she worked for her entire lifetime.

She was beginning to wonder if she could petition to get Eloquence sainted.

Bits were exchanged, and two packages were in Siddy's saddlebags as they left The Warrior Princess; Wart's dress and Siddy's new cape. Something inside the mare was bugging her to wear it right now, but without a proper outfit to go with it, she'd look ridiculous. Feldspar wished them well as they left, giving Wart a smirking wink as they departed.

The museum was right there in front of them, almost daring them to enter its' hallowed halls...

However, once outside again, Obsidian couldn't shake the slightly unsettling feeling she had; she could swear on her life that, for whatever reason, they were all being watched...

Cupcake simply skipped merrily along, greeting the stall vendors and sidewalk folks equally. Wart, however, got a curious look on her muzzle, and began to glance around casually... though nothing about Stalwart could be considered 'casual'.

Was there somepony else there? The question itself was silly - they were surrounded by literally hundreds of other ponies! No matter where she turned, there would be another unknown muzzle, staring back ay her. Yet she still had this nagging feeling that they were being watched. By Quartz's minions? Another side of the conflict?

Whoever this pony was, they didn't have a very hard task; it's not as if they were hiding, after all. "Let's check the ancient magic, okay? And, er... Wart..." she lowered her voice. "Do you feel that we are being followed?"

Wart's expression remained cool and casual as she replied, "Oh, without a doubt, Lady Siddy... and I am pleased to hear you feel it as well."

"Feel what?" Cup asked.

Wart simply shook her head softly. "Someone or someones are watching us, Cupcake."

He looked around - quite blatantly - and then looked back to them and shrugged. "There's a LOT of ponies here; there's probably at least twenty folks watching her, right now!"

Wart simply sighed. "Onward to ancient magics, Cup." The stallion grinned and skipped ahead, while Stalwart leaned in towards Siddy to whisper to her. "He's not dull, by any means, yet... sometimes, you just have to wonder at his naivete," she said.

"Oh, he is not dull at all - he's exceedingly bright, but he's not exactly a light bulb, so to speak; he's more like a lighthouse, not shining in every direction, but focused where it's needed most."

Obsidian sighed a bit. Still, it worked out in her favour - Cup was good at giving her a different perspective from her own. That, and she loved him... no matter how clever he was at the time.

"Anyway," Obsidian grinned, "onto the magic! I also hope we manage to make it to the Crystal Empire display, as well - I'm curious to see what it holds."

With that, the three friends made their way towards the museum's doors.

Author's Notes:

And so, Siddy gets a nice little taste of opulence, and Obsidian learns what being 'spoiled' can mean, but in a good way. I've experienced something similar, and trust me - for the humble, it feels like a guilty pleasure the entire time. Somehow, I don't see Obsidian as feeling even the least bit guilty, though. *chuckle*

Eloquence's presence in this chapter is only felt, but what a presence! Even his mother's generosity makes an appearance... and with good timing, too. That dress wasn't leaving that store, otherwise.

Yes, the store should be named Xena. That's correct.

A little side fluff, yes yes... but the museum visit might hold more for Obsidian than she realizes. Well, I'm sure she'll find out - the question is, what will it mean?

Forty: Museum Muse

The Trotsonian Museum of Magical History was rather impressive, which was no surprise - according to the brochure, it had been constructed by Princess Twilight's decree, as one of her first public acts as the formal princess of Equestria.

It was bustling with activity, and there were a number of others all around them who were just as eager to see the displays as they were themselves. It felt good, knowing that knowledge had been escalated to the point of stardom in here, and that they understood: the brighter, the better.

The sections were well-displayed and informative, and there were a number of fascinating artifacts in glass cases that looked old enough to be quite real.

Obsidian and her friends had quite a time, observing the strange and unusual things housed within; pendants and staves and books... there was even a single magical comic book on display! It was such an interesting menagerie of magic, a collection that brought out the wonder in everyone from the eldest stllions to the youngest of fillies.

The trio rolled along until they reached the Legendary section, where it was Wart who pointed out that a Sonic Rainboom was painted across the ceiling in here, and that there was another display just for the phenomenon. After that, Obsidian saw a banner advertising the main attraction in the central museum hub... and there was a picture on it of a very familiar-looking dagger... that she could feel something growing inside her.

Dread or excitement, she couldn't tell which.

Perhaps it was time to finally learn more about this dagger that had almost ended up in her stomach. All this time, she'd thought it was a mere trinket - a sharp knife, that's for sure, but merely a knife; that its' only value lie in the fact that it was dear to Amethyst. It didn't seem to be the case, though.

She walked closer, eager to find out what was so special about this single damned weapon, and of course, her friends followed.

When they entered the Crystal Empire section, Obsidian was greeted with the sight of home.

Well... an artist's rendition, expanded to fit the entrie back wall. But it was HER Crystal Empire; she even recognized some of the background; it had been painted from a rooftop near the palace, hiding from Sombra as the work of art was created. It was bleak, cold and grey - very grey. There was barely a lick of color in the entire painting, and it felt as though the streets should be lined with manacles.

More than that was the double-whammy that was set into the display at the front; the banner hadn't taken a photograph of Amethyst's dagger for the display... it was taken from a single sheet of paper.

There were five of them in all, on display in a locked and sealed container, all placed carefully so that the words could be read, though there was a good bet there weren't many tourists who could read Ancient Crystallian. Peridot's journal - or, at least, the five remaining pages that Siddy hadn't torn up. Among them was the drawing of Amethyst's dagger, along with small placards for each page, giving a basic description on it's contents.

The one next to the dagger drawing read:

[MAGICAL FOCI BLADE: Though there were a number of replicas and duplicates made of this perfect blade, the original set of six were said to have passive abilities to make magic stronger in whomever wields them. Unfortunately, the last Foci Dagger was seen over a thousand years ago, and as far as is known, not a single one still exists to this day.]

Well, they were almost accurate...

It made magic... stronger? While obviously the museum was wrong about the supposed whereabouts of this thing, the Grey Princess was certain that wielding a blade like this would be of immense use. Technically speaking, Obsidian defeated Amethyst in battle already - more than once, in fact. It was her spoil of war! Rightfully!

Perhaps Princess Twilight would let her assume ownership of it - or perhaps at least borrow the thing. Her curiosity piqued, she walked closer to the other pages, to examine their contents.

Another page had a placard that spoke of a 'description of a crowd', but when she read the ancient words printed there, it was far more than a mere description; it was a vent - an angry one - aimed at how the noise and 'sharpness' of a crowd at the Crystal Palace was causing him severe distress, and it described the pain as 'a glowing hot nail, directly to the brain'.

The third page was a list of chemical solutions and a few of their uses; stomachache, spots in eyes, liver trouble, halitosis, or even just a sterile cleaning solution.

Page four was mostly unreadable... but there was a portion she could indentify as Peridot's writng, and it seemed as though this was part of a paper based on... Father?

[... deeper into his shadow, and it has begun to make him crazed, where he even acts as though he doesn't even realize he...]

And that was all. Maddeningly frustrating.

Page five, however, was a bit different... and parts of it were clear as a proverbial bell.

[-never told us, it was not very difficult to discover where he had been going. The time away from the knife-blades of the city is wonderful, and yet... and yet... to know that this is where we were created, leaves me with a humility I believe in wholeheartedly. The Umbral Altar, located in the ruins of Greygrove, has borne the truth of what Father has been trying to accomplish all this time. And I, for one, am pleased to have located it.]

Peridot found the Umbral Altar? She might have to have a chat with him, later; if he knew about Umbral Altars and their whereabouts...

It was a stroke of luck for the entire world that he hadn't decided to go there while he was controlling Midnight... it was quite possible that he would have chosen to destroy the entire nation Equestria with one single, powerful blast. Of course, nature (meaning the surrounding landscape) would be pulverized and turned to instant ash, but he would have his silence...

And this information - every page - was simply placed here for everypony around to read? Any creature knowing enough ancient Crystallian could possibly use this knowledge for their own ill gains! Hopefully, the rest of stuff presented here was able to catch the eye more easily - that way she could feel a bit safer, knowing that nopony would pay very much attention at all to few old pages torn from an ancient diary.

Cup suddenly gasped and stepped back from a display, holding a hoof to his cheek. After a moment to catch his breath, he pointed at a work of art that was in a case, a display of ancient artwork for modern perusal...

The first thing she noticed was that it was heavily scorched down one side, and the paint had cracked and faded with time, but there was no mistaking the two individuals pictured therein: King Sombra, complete with crown, standing proud and tall... while at his side was a demure and unassuming-looking unicorn; Radiant Hope was portrayed next to him, though her part of the portrait was what held the most damage, as if purposefully destroyed only on that single side. Obsidian could barely make out her muzzle, but that platinum mane and her light lavender coat were unmistakable.

In this picture, her father looked... happy. He looked as though he were posing for a friend, and there was not a single trace of red in his horn that she could see. Maybe it was the artist's interpretation, but he looked as though he were the kind of ruler that Equestria itself would have gladly accepted.

It was labeled:

[Portrait of the New Royalty - attributed to Whistlewhite]

The part of the artwork that wasn't scorched looked almost alive, it was so well done; too bad the rest was a blackened shambles.

Whatever happened to him later had turned him into the most pathetic and cruel creature Equestria had ever known, and the mere fact that somepony had dared to paint him looking like that and didn't destroy their paints afterwards was getting Obsidian aggrivated. Perhaps it was made him furious as well - which was why the portrait looked scorched.

She scowled angrily at the artwork; she'd love to either destroy Sombra for good - or to force him to reform through making him suffer for everything he did! Make him PAY for his deeds! Then find a way to resurrect him, and do it again! Make him pay a THOUSAND times ov-

"Uh... Siddy?" Cup pointed at one of the more metallic cases, and in her reflection, she could see wisps of purple drifting lightly from the corners of her eyes. Not noticeably - not yet - but enough for her to realize what that meant.

"You okay? Is it the portrait?" He looked concerned, and was doing his best not to draw attention to them. Wart was just looking at her, waiting for a word or command to help however she could.

"Well, in case you forgot, I have a bit of a personal hatred of him," she fumed, but seeing the eye mist forced her to calm down a bit; she had no want to display any Dark Magic - at least not in public. "Let's move along to the next display... please..."

There were a number of pieces of Crystal Empire history here - even a portrait of a young Cadence and Shining Armor, with a little foal in their embrace who looked an awful lot like Flurry Heart. The title was 'The Royal Crystal Family' - and then listed the names, of which, Flur's was one of them. By Darkness, she was adorable as a foal... maybe a bit too adorable.

Otherwise, there were a few displays of local clay pottery and one on hanging plants, both as dull as could possibly be, and then...

When they rounded the corner, they were greeted with a beautiful sunset - even though it was still closer to noon!

However, once the initial shock settled down, it was simply another painting, enormous in size, that graced the back corner of this small section. Along with it, there was a placard next to the doorway leading inside the display room.

[Whistlewhite : "The Spirit of Equestria" - The legendary painter who breathed Life into every work she ever produced, her legacy was cut short when she was executed by King Sombra after his infamous Fifteenth Decree, which outlawed works of art completely, as well as those who created it.]

There were a number of different paintings here - and every last one of them looked more like a photograph than simple paint or dye. There were still lifes that looked as if they were barely able to hold still, portraits where you half-expected them to talk to you, and amazing scenes of the stars, the cliffs of Canterlot (including at least two from before the palace was built there), the Everfree Forest, and many, many more. Each one, a masterpiece.

In the center of all of this amazing artwork was a simple sketch on a piece of parchment of a mare in a long cloak, seated on a wooden stool at a canvas, in mid stroke. The mare's mane was longer than any mane Obsidian had ever seen before, spilling out of her hood and onto the floor, and though her eyes and most of the rest of her muzzle was obscured by the hood, what little could be seen of her held an expression of peace, calm and serenity.

"Whoa... look at this apple tree painting! I could reach out and just take one, it almost feels like!" Cup gushed as he looked over the artwork.

It was all beautiful, wonderful and simply breathtaking; killing this amazing artist was yet another crime on Sombra's long, long list of sins. But made Obsidian wonder... was it a mere coincidence that Diamond was also a bit of an artist? Did Sombra experiment with this artists's skills in some manner?

She would find out. She would seek out every single one of Sombra's little secrets, even if she would had to wrench it directly out of his wretched soul itself! But for now...

She walked closer to the simple sketch, curious about it and looking for its' description. Could it be the insanely foolish companion of her father, Radiant Hope? How did this single sketch survive?

Under the sketch was a small placard:

[Whistlewhite - only known portrait - artist unknown]

But that wasn't the part that reached Siddy's mind - what DID reach it was that this sketch was almost a perfect match for Diamond's own style; she'd stared at his drawing too often for her not to instantly recognize it. Equus' only known portrait of one of the greatest artists of all Equestrian history... and it was by her own brother's hoof?

Well then - yet another mystery. Curious.

If only she had a simple, portable way to communicate with her brother, as she had with Flurry - but alas, she had none. Now that she thought about it, that was yet another mistake on her part - a spell used by another princess of the Empire was extremely useful, and she should endeavor to learn about it as quickly as possible. In fact, perhaps it would be a good idea to put in a call to Flurry later...

...ooooor she could talk to her right now! With a mischievous smile, she reached to her saddlebags to get a specific bracelet and put it on her leg. Flurry, I had no idea you looked sooooooo cute as a foal!

What? Sids, that you? A beat, then, Yeah, I was a little porcelain doll, yada yada yada - not as much fun when you have to live with everyone bringing those fuckin' pictures out whenever someone shows up, so you'll understand if I don't seem all that thrilled by the prospect... but yeah, totes dorbs lil' booger, that's me!

Wart was staring at one of Whistlewhite's other works; what appeared to be a grove of blood red roses, except for a single sunflower among them.

So, what the fuck is up, beautiful? Beaten down any naughty siblngs lately or some shit like that?

Obsidian smirked. I'm busy with exactly that right now, more or less. I'm in Manehattan, to deal with one of my brothers. I'm currently looking at a display about the Crystal Empire, so I thought I'd see what you were up to. How about you, dear princess - having a nice day?

FEH, kill me now; I have etiquette classes, and Miss Interpret is a DULL FUCKING STICK IN THE MUD - she thinks she has to BORE me to death to get me to learn anything, I swear! But otherwise, it's been okay besides that, but you've GOT to come visit sometime... unless I should visit you, maybe?

Etiquette class? Well, it was no surprise; Flurry could certainly use a bit more of it, that's for sure. That wouldn't be a bad idea... though I'd like to be assured that you and Clap won't try to kill each other during my wedding.

She could almost feel the irritation over the connection as Flur bristled with the mention of Thunderclap.

Yeah, sure - just keep me away from the big blue bitch, and things'll be golden; can't promise shit if we see each other, though.

Cup now began to walk along the row of paintings, his eyes devourng the artwork of a mare who was over a thousand years gone from Equestria.

So, you're looking at the Crystal Empire display, hunh? That means you're in Manehattan? Awwww... I LOVE that place! Wish you'da told me, Sids - I know some REAL party animals out that way! Woulda made your weekend, baby!

After a moment, Flur's giggles subsided, and she focused down a bit more. So... you like the display? Mom added a bunch of stuff to it, so she said she made it cool - IS it cool, Sids? I hope so, 'cause we've actually got a bunch of cool history and stuff, y'know?

There was a pause, then... ... uh, yeah - of course you know; like, you were here before WE were. My bad.

It's... an illuminating presentation. And please don't overestimate my personal knowledge; I spent most of my time locked in the catacombs or my room - the places we saw together earlier. I didn't even know that any of my siblings ran around more freely than me - I didn't even know I HAD siblings until recently. It took me a thousand years to discover that I'm the youngest of a fairly large group of artificial ponies... but yeah, I do like it. We're currently looking through Whistlewhite's paintings. Do you possibly know when she died? Obsidian asked.

Oh yeah, I do - she's one of Mom's fave artists! You ever seen 'Portrait of an Equestrian Family?' Classic, choice artwork - might be there, even! WW used techniques that artists nowadays WISH they had, and she's considered a treaure of Equestrian history.

There was a momentary pause. Story goes, she was a friend to the monarchy, until... uh, you-know-who took over; a number of years later, she was imprisoned and executed along with several other artists. Their mass grave has a marker, just outside of town. It's in Fuller's Field; can't miss it - in fact, Fuller himself tried to sell tickets to it when it was discovered, when he was a colt. Long story short, I put an end to that shit.

It could possibly mean that either Sombra had made Diamond quite early, or they were already young adults when they were created; Whistlewhite probably wouldn't have survived too long as a prisoner. Besides, the sketched portrait showed her to be a peaceful and calm mare.

Now that she thought about it, did she remember anything about her own foalhood? Flurry, how long did Sombra rule the Crystal Empire? How many years?

There was a momentary silence, then she replied, Uhhhhhh... like, what, twenty years? Eighteen, somewhere in there? The records had all been destroyed by his decree, but a few things were recalled by some of the surviving Crystal Ponies - not to mention some of WW's art, salvaged from the very search that turned up you, come to think of it.

Well, THAT wasn't helping much. In that timeframe, she could fit both her creation as a foal AND as a teenaged (biologically and mentally) artificial creature. The fact she wasn't sure if she had ever been a foal in the first place wasn't freaking her out - but it was still an extremely concering issue, and she wanted to find the truth about this.

Obsidian grinned. It seems I will have to ask my brother about a few things if I want to find out how old I am, then. Thanks, Flur - you're helping quite a lot, actually.

Sids, check it - that's friendship for ya; it's how we roll. And glad I could lend a hoof, truth. You need me, let me know - I'm there, mare.

Cup and Wart were now both standing in front of one of Whistlewhite's paintings; it was of a simple room, nothing fancy at all about it, and it was as plain as could be, without even so much as an amenity to be seen. The placard underneath read:

[Sanctuary - by Whistlewhite - presumed to be her studio]

But it wasn't her studio... it was Obsidian's room, down to the very last detail.

Now I see a painting of my old room... wonderful. She trotted closer to make sure it really was what she thoight it was. Seeing it closer, there was absolutely no doubt about it - which meant that her father had found her to be so worthless, even her prison seemed to be merely a repurposed room.

It was uncanny, and each detail was unmistakable; it didn't look any different than the last time she'd been to see it, when she'd brought back a scroll for Gypsy. The painting was obviously done with great care and attention to detail - she almost felt as if she were back in it... and a light shudder rolled up her spine.

After having her freedom, the thought of returning to her room/cell brought foul thoughts to her head; visiting was one thing... but, to go back to living in it? She'd survive it, yes - but she'd loathe it with every fiber of her being.

Apparently Whistlewhite painted a picture of my room, plus Sombra at the very beginning of his rule, and had her own portrait drawn by my brother. Every new connection to my old life that I discover is slowly driving me CRAZY.

"That's my room," she muttered softly as she leaned towards Cup and Wart.

Wart gave a light chuckle. "Indeed, I could see your room in such a manner, Lady Siddy, as you have impressed upon us how very little you truly had, even as a princess-in-training. I could most certainly see you having your quarters in much a similar fashion."

Cup, however, just looked at her and blinked.

Obsidian looked at Cup and blinked back.

He looked back at the painting again, then at her... and slowly, he reached up and scratched his left ear with a hoof. "I... I believe you," he smiled.

Wart now turned to look at them both. "... have I missed something?"

Maybe they ALL were missing it, because she was beginning to feel a bit lost, herself. "Possibly... but I didn't mean that the room was similar to mine... I mean, this is literally a picture of my old room in the catacombs beneath the Crystal Empire... though it's a little more dusty now, obviously."

Wart blinked, looked back at the painting, then at Obsidian again. "Lady Siddy... this painting is over a thousand years old. It was painted by the master artist, Whistlewhite, and contains what is supposedly her studio... and yet, you tell me that this is your room, from your time in your father's dubious hooves?" She didn't sound as if she didn't believe her; she sounded as if she was making certain she was hearing this correctly.

"Wart," Obsidian deadpanned, "almost every pony from the Crystal Empire is over a thousand years old, remember? But yes, to answer the question - it is, indeed, my room."

Cupcake looked at her. "So... what's this mean? That you somehow have a connection to Whistlewhite? That Sombra put a master of the art to death? That we're gonna have hay bacon and biscuits tomorrow morning? I mean, I don't get it... what's it mean?"

Wart turned and looked at the painting again. "I am uncertain, myself - how can this connection help us figure anything out?"

Obsidian shrugged slightly. "It doesn't, actually - I only wanted to tell you it was my room, considering how it's the first opportunity for you two to see it."

Her two friends both looked at each other... then, back at the painting with a different perspective.

"Wow... you didn't have... anything..." Cup seemed saddened by the thought.

"Efficiency, at its' best," Wart declared, looking satified with what she saw. Indeed, they were two sides of the coin.

"Indeed... now, let's see the rest of the displays, shall we?" Perhaps she'd like this 'efficiency' more if she didn't know that Sombra simply didn't care at all about her in the first place.

The rest of the museum was quite a sight to see, but the enthusiasm had dampened a bit; it wasn't until they reached the end of the tour that things changed abruptly, as a filly of about seven summers came up to the group as they left the last exhibit hall, headed for the exit in the atrium.

"Escoose me, Miss Obsibiben," she said earnestly, "but can I hassa aubograf?"

Cup's muzzle lit up with a smile. "You want an autograph? From Miss Obsidian?"

The filly nodded her head with all her heart. She had a soft lavender coat, and a pale blue mane and tail, both in braids. Her little green eyes were wide and hopeful, and she was looking at Siddy as if she was starstruck. A mare with huge eyes ran her way over.

"Bell! Nonononono! We don't bother other-..." She got a look at them too, and a lightbulb of recognition went off behind her eyes. "Wait... you're Obsidian? You really are, aren't you?" The mare's expression brightened. "You must be here to promote the new exhibit, aren't you? I have to say, I didn't expect you to actually BE here!"

Aubograf? As always, Obsidian had some trouble with understanding the little filly's muddled speech - but luckily, Cup helped her out with translation before she hurt anyone's feelings.

"Um, yes, I'm Obsidian - but no, I'm not promoting anything. I'm just a regular guest here... it's nice to meet you two. So, what should I sign for you?" Hunh... fame seemed to have caught up with her.

Cupcake held out a marker and a balloon... a fully-inflated balloon, with no trace of where it came from. Which was typical for Cupcake Sprinkles, so it wasn't such a big deal. "I bet she'll like this signed, right-o?" Cup asked 'Bell' with a smile, and he was rewarded with an even more eager smile and nod.

"New exhibit?" Wart quirked an eyebrow. "What do you mean by... such... a... a cl-claim..." The little mare reached over slowly and poked at Obsidian's leg, then pointed at the back wall.

Hanging there was a large, boldly-colored banner:

[Coming Soon: The UMBRAL Incident - including The Obsidian Six - Tickets On Sale NOW!]

Obsidian signed the balloon, not daring to ask aloud any sort of questions about it's origins which may have had answers too terrible for her logical mind to endure. "Coming soon, eh? Too bad we probably won't be in Manehattan for that long... and come on! 'The Obsidian Six' sounds even worse than 'The Siddy Six'."

Perhaps she was a bit too reserved about it - but to be fair, she was a little dumbstruck at the sight. This museum sure worked fast, didn't they?

"Look - it's them!"
"Over there! That's Obsidian!"
"Is the exhibit already open?"
"HEY! That's Obsidian; is the museum having an event?"
"Are you here for the event?"
"Obsidian! Obsidiaaaannnnn!!!"

And just like that, they were surrounded by ponies! Each one insistent on getting her attention as the bunch of them grew steadily louder as more and more began to take notice of the erstwhile stars in their midst.

"Siddy... I don't like this..." Cupcake said, moving closer to her as he tried to watch everyone at once. She could hear Wart's voice, but couldn't see her, nor make out what she was saying.

Once again Obsidian was mortified over the fact that she couldn't teleport. She did her best to try to move closer to the wall - once again, the paranoia feeling crept up on her as if she'd be backstabbed at any moment. "Erm... eh, please calm down everypony? Please!?"

The crowd simply seemed to move closer and closer to them, and it almost felt as though the entire world was getting smaller. Cupcake looked on the verge of panic, and she'd completely lost track of Stalwart by this point. All their voices were running together, and she couldn't make out anyone's speech at all; they were going to be crushed by a wall of fans!

However, just as they got insistent enough to almost raise a panic, there was a muffled >ping!< sound, and suddenly there was a squeal of surprise as a stallion was blasted in the face, full-on, by a foamy white mist, leaving his muzzle covered in something white and powdery.

"STAND DOWN, OR FEEL MY WRATH!" Another blast, and a mare yelped as she was pasted with a bolt of white stuff from below, across her barrel... and another one held up his hooves - staring down - and moved aside.

More blasts continued, and eventually, there was Stalwart Stance... holding a fire extinguisher and blasting anyone who came too close. From the looks of her, she'd started to be trampled; there was even a muddy hoofprint that circled one of her eyes. She looked serious, as if the nozzle of the extinguisher was a leathal weapon, and slowly worked the crowds back away from Cup and Siddy. "Lady Siddy, Cupcake - are you all right?"

Somepony hurt her friend...

They almost trampled a true hero of Ponyville, who fought a entire damned army of undead umbrals by herself! Obsidian felt some emotions which, as an upstanding pony hero of Equestria herself, really shouldn't be thinking about. Obsidian's eyes blazed with purple smoke as she turned her angry scowl to the crowd.

"WHO DARES TO HARM MY FRIEND!?" she practically growled as she began to look for even the smallest sign of guilt among them.

It was at this point that a mare flanked by two stallions pushed her way through the thronged crowd at the forefront towards them, even as the rest of the gathered ponies went silent at Obsidian's rather heated question.

The mare, looking very much like a librarian (and reminding her a bit of Miss Tome) came directly to them. "Oh I am so very sorry this never happens please I've never known anything like this to have happened here you have my sincerest apologies please if you-"

"Can you get us to somewhere we can be away from all this? Pleeeeeeeeease???" Cup asked exasperatedly.

"Yes! My office should suffice; I'm the curator here, and I assure you that I've never seen such a reaction like this!" She looked down at Wart. "Please oh please Stalwart Stance please forgive them - they got excited and it got-"

"Out of hoof quickly, yes - I gathered as much," she muttered, quite obviously a bit peeved at this turn of events as well.

"The lot of you - please DISPERSE!" The curator's voice could have been some sturdy competition for a Royal Canterlot one; the gathered ponies looked considerably mollified (and a bit shameful), and they began to scatter back to the lure of the museum itself.

And that was how a simple curator saved Manehattan from a vengeful slaughter; Obsidian's eye mist slowly evaporated, though she still looked angry enough to spit nails. "Yes, an office should suffice. Let us go; I wish to examine Stalwart's wounds."

Obsidian was furious, yes - but she had no reason not to trust a friendly museum curator... though it would be rather cunning for potential attackers to force the commoners on them, then 'rescue' them from what would appear to be an assumedly grisly end. With a calming sigh for Siddy, they made their way down the hall, the two flanking stallions following along silently.

The curator's office was a bit of a museum itself; a number of interesting artifacts and photographs were framed and on display for visitors to see - too bad there were more pressing things on their minds.

Cupcake sat down in a chair and leaned forward, gripping his knees in a quick embrace and shiver, before sitting upright and turning his attentions towards Siddy and Wart. Stalwart, meanwhile, had always been tougher than she looked; aside from cleaning off the hoofprint and needing some light healing for a few bruses, there was nothing seriously damaged on the little mare... except her pride, of course.

The two stallions waited outside the door, but the curator herself entered and made her way behind her desk, pacing back and forth over a well-worn groove in the wooden floor. "Truly I do apologize, Miss Obsidian - I honestly had no clue you'd ever come anywhere around Manehattan without it being in the news... because I assure you, the display we have set for the next season? It's all a tribute to the fine work you and your friends did in Ponyville, defeating Sombra and the Umbral hordes - as well as exposing Onyx, and suffering through Ruby's, um... passing... and bringing together a fighting force that rival's Princess Twilight's Mane Six?"

She blushed a bit. "Sorry - m-my name's Dusty Gold, and I, er... well, I am a fan, which is why I set up the exhibit! We have a number of photos, and even a few mementos of the incident; i-if it would ease your mind, I'd have no problems showing you what we have?"

Wart looked at the curator with a slight scowl. "And are we so well-known that I would be trampled, just so others can approach Lady Siddy?"

The curator again blushed. "That's one of the reasons I'm trying to champion this - almost everyone in Equestria knows of Obsidian, but the rest of your six are all but hoofnotes, unfortunately. I think you all deserve better than that, so..." She let her sentence trail off meaningfully.

"That's what I said! I said, 'The Siddy Six' is FAR too focused on me!" Obsidian scoffed, still nursing her boiling anger - though currently not at anything specific. Which, to be fair, was possibly worse; right now, she felt as though she could turn and point her fury at anything, reducing it to cinders and char...

But for now, she merely walked over to Cupcake, who placed a calming hoof on her back and began to pat her reassuringly. "...but yes, I think it would be a good idea if we could see this display first," Obsidian agreed.

Dusty nodded, then began to fumble through a desk drawer, presumably for keys. "Of course - I'll take you there, right away, I promise! As soon... as I find... the keys..."

Cupcake looked gratefully at his fiancee as she gave him a reassuring nuzzle - which he frankly looked like he needed right about then. Stalwart didn't really tend to need reassurance; a target for her hooves might be in order, though.

After much fumbling, the curator finally located the keys she required, and led the way as she took them to the warehouse area, through a set of steel doors that led to some rather chilly and dank service tunnels. Dusty assured them it was to keep another 'occurrance' from happening. She led them along rows of shelves filled with boxes, crates and packages, until they reached a section marked off with orange ribbons.

"Here we are," she said as she unlocked the steel safety mesh cage latched to the front of the shelves, "photographs and such in the boxes, and 'artifacts' will be in the large crates. We don't have the display cases we need, or I'd already have it out."

Though there were a number of things laying around on the tables and shelves, the first thing that Obsdian noticed was a badly bent lance.

Gasp! "Is this my lance?" Obsidian asked with renewed interest. After Cup seemed to be okay now and Stalwart turned out to be only a bit bruised, she felt a little better... but this certainly lifted her mood a bit more!

The curator nodded, venturing to smile a bit. "Yes, we were told you were a 'miracle of Light' when you were wielded it, so we had it brought here - as it was - to be put on display. I was thinking of naming it something catchy, like the 'Lance of Light', or some such thing."

She stepped forward just a bit, her eyes searching the Grey Princess' muzzle inquisitively. "I-is it the one you know?"

"It is," Obsidian grinned as she examined the damaged armament fondly, "and the Lance of Light happens to be exactly what I called it."

Curator Gold smiled. "Well, great minds, and all... not that I can hold even a candle to the wildfire of achievements YOU'VE managed, but... well, I guess we do okay, here." She pulled out a notepad and jotted down a few quick lines, then put it away and waited for further comment... which she got, from Stalwart.

"Lo and behold, is this my helmet?" She lifted up a battered Royal Guard helmet from the pile, with crude and tattered padding peeking out from the inside.

"Indeed it is, Stalwart - we made sure we got our hooves on that, after your incredible defense of Twilight's Castle at the Northern gate! We plan to have a small mural that features the event!."

Wart visibly blushed. "O-oh," was all she said as she placed the helmet carefully back on the table, rubbing a spot of dirt from it as she did.

Cupcake suddenly burst out laughing, and held up a folded paper swan. "HA! They even got a few of Gypsy's origami critters! That's nifty!"

Obsidian saw all sorts of newspaper articles, carefully cut and preserved in frames, about the exploits of her and her friends while they were fighting to put the undead back into the ground where they belonged. Someone's photograph of the Pie Brigade making their way down the street was carefully framed and placed along with the articles.

Among the other artifacts were some broken boards from the stand Onyx had stood on (and Gypsy collapsed), a few stray feathers from Thunderclap, a broken longsword; everything here was a touchstone of those times, and even though they weren't far behind for her, it still felt like a lifetime ago to Obsidian.

"Madam Gold," Wart said as she reached a thick wooden box, about the size of a toaster, "this box is locked; what is contained inside that requires a lock?"

The curator made her way over, not saying a word and looking a bit solemn as she lifted her keyring again, selected the right key and unlocked the box. She gingerly opened it. "We found a number of these at the site of the last battle, Miss Obsidian - I thought they might make for an interesting centerpiece for an explanation of Umbral Shards."

Inside the box, nestled into cotton batting, were several chunks of what looked to be shattered black crystal, no piece bigger than a bit.

Obsidian's good mood vanished instantly. "Those are dangerous." Of course, everything Onyx did was dangerous; these little things were quite possibly no exception.

Dusty Gold nodded, then closed the box softly, and locked it back. "If it's dangerous as you'd say, then what would you like done with it?" Wart looked a bit confused... but one look at Cupcake told Obsidian he'd already figured it out, and he was with her one-hundred percent on this one.

To be completely honest, Obsidian would love to take it home and research it. If it was good enough for Onyx, then it was good enough for her, right? Of course, there was an issue with Amethyst being there... Obsidian still couldn't understand why, and she honestly felt as if couldn't really trust any Sombra's spawns; even Ruby and Diamond were a bit suspect with them being so very nicey-wicey all the time.

"Take it home. Put in a safe place. Don't leave it unguarded." Each phrase was accompanied by Obsidian's serious frown.

The curator blinked a bit, then looked at her again. "Is... is it safe to have in my home? I'd... much rater either study it, display it or turn it over to the only authority I feel should have any say in the matter... you."

This was... weird. Obviously, the chunks of black crystal were all that remained of Onyx's shard - not including the presence in her head, of course - so, in a way, it was like those little pieces of black crystal were her corpse.

Would they possibly be able to bring her back with these... and, far more importantly, would they? After all, Onyx was the villain of the piece, the heavy, the big nasty, and had threatened Obsidian and her friends multiple times. However, there was something to be said about 'second chances'; after all, Tourmaline had proven to be one of the better cases for the argument - he seemed to have integrated nicely, even got himself a griffonfriend.

But Onyx was also far more intelligent and crafty than could be safe to trust... and her plotting skills were extremely dangerous. Allowing her to live would possibly put them at odds again... and this time, Obsidian wasn't sure she could beat her a second time.

But... she was family, and Obsidian's quest to HAVE a family wouldn't feel complete without trying to help Onyx reform - possibly even in a literal sense.

"Lady Siddy? What are these?" Wart asked, eyeballing the box that contained the pieces.

The answer was simple; Obsidian had to become far, far more powerful before unleashing Onyx into the world once again.
It would be a curious challenge to try to use Sombra's spells and her sister's shards to create a new body for her. If anything, it would be a serious breakthrough for all of Equestria! Just imagine, being able to create completely new bodies for ponies all around the country...

"Oh, those are shards of a particularly nasty, dark magical crystal. Perhaps you remember it from our last battle against one rather specific, tyrannical, dumbass king..?" The Grey Princess lowered her head to look at the chunks and slivers more closely.

They held so much potential... they could give her so much knowledge, after some proper research...

Wart lifted an eyebrow. "But... Sombra didn't use any crystal shards..."

Cupcake, who had already picked up on it (and had taken the appropriate three steps back when he did) spoke up, "Yeah - he didn't. So, if these are shard chunklets, and they didn't come from Ol' Sombrero..."

The little mare's eyes flew open, and she looked at the curator with a look of deadly seriousness. "Destroy them. Do not leave even a single, solitary sliver to survive, then burn the ashes - just to be absolutely certain the deed is complete."

"Wart," Obsidian began, "I'm not sure it's possible to burn these crys-"

Wart turned to face Obsidian, heat in her stare. "Then smash them! Turn them to dust, then feed the dust to a dragon, then BURN THE DRAGON FECES!"

Of all of her friends, The Nightmare Spell cast by Onyx had stuck with Wart the most; the memory of the situation she'd been in... the utter humiliation of it... had bothered poor Stalwart ever since. Even mentioning foals made the little mare's hoof unconsciously lift to touch her belly while she did her best not to shudder.

Cupcake placed a gentle hoof on Wart's shoulder. "Wart - get a grip on yourself. It's Siddy's decision, and we should respect it... whatever she chooses."

Wart was glaring at the box, as if half-expecting Onyx to leap out of it at any moment. "It... is your decision, Lady Siddy. I simply hope you make the RIGHT one."

"She will," Cup said, looking at her with a warm grin, "because whatever she choose to do will be the right decision. I'm sure of it."

Apparently, it seemed that Stalwart held quite a grudge against Onyx. Hopefully it wouldn't stop her from possibly dating Diamond. After all, if Cupcake wasn't discouraged by the fact that Sombra would essentially be his father-in-law, then Wart shouldn't be scared of her potential sister-in-law, right?

"I need to research it, Stalwart - it could be useful. I don't really have much of an opportunity to see the results of Dark Wizardry without something trying to kill me, so it will be a nice change of pace to be able to examine it at my own leisure."

Wart stared at her for a moment... then shut her eys and sighed. "I do NOT approve of this idea, for the record - this shall turn out to be a grave mistake, mark my words."

Cup rolled his eyes. "Wart... shush."

The little mare glared at the unicorn stallion for a moment, then spun on her hooves and strode to the doorway, choosing to keep it company instead of trying to reason any further.

Cupcake walked over and gave her a quick side-hug. "She'll be okay - Wart tends to hold a grudge, but maybe if there is a way to reform... uh, her... then why can't we try the same thing on the rest of your family? I mean, Siddy, I've been kinda proud of ya lately, with this quest to try to reunite a family that wasn't very united to begin with."

He smiled. "It's noble of you to try - even if some of them will never appreciate it."

"I'm on the side of good now, so I'm trying to make good things, Cup. Besides, I really do want to research it; I hope that her pieces will be far less dangerous than the whole." Obsidian shrugged.

She would obviously not dare to dabble at all with Jade's or Amber's shards for very important reasons (like a fear of unleashing them by accident), but fragments of a shattered shard should work well enough.

"Perhaps you're right, Miss Gold - if you could, have them sent to Ponyville; I'll deal with them myself."

She nodded. "I can have them shipped there, First Class, to either the scientific wing of Twilight's Palace, or to the Friendship Academy's Library... whichever you think would be the safest place."

A tough call. The Scientific Wing was where they'd brought Diamond out of his shard, and they had plenty of security features and holding cells - including anti-magic ones - and a number of guards and scientists at all times... but, it would also have a chance to simply be seen as 'research material', and the shards might accidentally end up in an experiment.

On the other hoof, the Library was quiet and had only a few others through the office area each day, which practically guaranteed it wouldn't be bothered... however, there was also the fact that it was a LIBRARY - good for book research, but not so much for magical experimentation, as there were no anti-magic rooms or lab equipment there.

Decisions, decisions...

"At the moment, send them to the library. I'll handle it when we get back home," Obsidian waved her hoof. If anything, it would be easier to move the shards from the library to scientific wing than the other way around.

"...so, do you have any other potentially dangerous things around here?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

The curator wrote out a small note, then taped it to the box as she set it down again. "There are... well, there's one I wanted for the collection, but couldn't get the clearance for it. However, most of the rest of what I have is fairly harmless... though I do have some of the black ichor from the Umbrals in a jar, and some of the spent ammunition from the Pie Cannon Brigade-"

"I remember that," Cup said with a slight sigh, "because we kicked some serious flank, together... that aaaaaaand Mom's 'injury' spurred us on. When she 'fessed up, Blue was furious... but Lemon understood, and explained it to her. Still, Momma apologized, and we all had a big hug session... minus Blue and Lemon, of course - their choice."

The curator grinned. "Yes, Mr. Sprinkles - there were reports of hearing the cannon blasts from as far as Appleoosa! It was a glorious moment, to be certain."

"Well, I'm sure spent ammunition is safe..." Obsidian narrowed her eyes a bit as she glanced at her coltfriend. "right?"

Cup chuckled. "Should be - but I'd thoroughly check Patty's before you display 'em; if they're still active, let her know and she can disarm 'em for ya!"

The curator tilted her head. "Your sister would come all the way here, just to defuse an explosive?"

"Naaaaah," Cup grinned, "she'd come for the museum itself! Offer her a free tour, and she'll be happy to disarm those for you! I mean," he quickly corrected, "she'd do it anyway, but she'd love a tour, all the same."

Wart, still at the door, gave a passing looky-loo a cold stare, which sent him on his way again.

"Well, she did participate in the history being made in Ponyville... and will likely participate in the close future as well. She is a genius, after all," Obsidian scratched at her chin lightly in thought. If everything would go smoothly, Patty would be rescuing the world from a mad magical-technological dark magic user, soon enough.

Obsidian shrugged. "The ichor is definitely not safe, but... eh, as long as it's not used directly, it probably won't kill anypony."

The curator shook her head. "Oh, no no no... the container we have it in has been hermetically sealed; it's impossible to open, save for forcibly breaking it - which would be extremely difficult. I mean to use it in a display case... where it will sit undisturbed for a very long time, if I have my way about it. And please let Miss Patty know I would love to utilize her services..." She smiled. "In exchange for a guided tour, if she so wishes."

Cup nodded vigorously, then smiled at Obsidian. "Shouldn't we try to head back soon?"

To be fair, there were plenty of liquids that were dangerous to one's health, and yet they were available to everypony - like alcohol or gasoline.

"And yes, Cuppy; we still have plenty of things to do, I'm afraid." Saving the world, meeting her brother, checking to see if her new, beautifully red cape was making her look like a real queen...

The curator nodded as she led them back towards the front. "I am glad you stopped by - though, again, I am DEEPLY sorry for the mess earlier. Hopefully, should you choose to return, I'd be quite pleased to extend a free visit to you and your friends... and, extra security, of course."

At the front, the curator left them with the big suited stallions, who escorted them silently to the front doors; though a few onlookers did take notice of the three of them, nobody dared approach the huge muscle-bound stallions that walked with them.

Once outside, Cupcake looked over at the two of them. "I'm not really too keen on buses - maybe we should hail a-"

At that exact moment in the conversation, a yellow taxicab from the other side of the street suddenly swerved, bounced over the median, and screeeeeeched to a halt at the curb next to them.

"Hey-o!" a voice said as the passenger side window came down, "You three look in need of some big city transpo, am I right?"

Inside was a deer - a buck, to be exact, who wore a purple velour tracksuit and pitch black shades. His horns were adorned with rings and bracelet chains and even a single air freshner that looked like a pine tree.

Cup looked at Obsidian. "I didn't know deer had Pinkie Sense too!"

It was a bit concerning... Obsidian lowered her head to whisper to Stalwart. "Do you remember that feeling when we were being followed? Do you think this is a trap?" she whispered.

Wart looked to the deer for a moment. The deer looked back, smiling lazily.

After a moment, she turned back to face Siddy. "I'm not completely certain, Lady Siddy - there is little precedent for a cab driver to simply KNOW we needed a ride, yet we are not cab drivers, so I have no other context to go from. Perhaps if I could get him to talk for a while, I could-"

"Obsidian," the deer said, looking around a bit before continuing, "if you're asking Wart if I'm safe, you could ask if it would be safe to check out a few chemistry books next time, as I'm done with biology for now." The deer grinned, and tipped Obsidian a wink.

Obsidian blinked. Then blinked again. "Wha-... how... but, but..." she stuttered, truly dumbfounded.

The 'deer' grinned. "Just get in - we can chat en route."

Cupcake blinked, then it dawned on him. "Hiya, Mar-"

"SHHHHHHHH!" He glanced around furitively, then motioned at them to get in. "C'mon - I promise, the fare will be heavily discounted."

To be fair, Markannus could have struck them all dead, if he wanted to. But unless he was really working for Onyx, nudging Obsidian into re-uniting their entire family to summon back Sombra or something... she was pretty sure the changeling was safe.

Like... 90% sure. Maybe 88%? 86%?

She got in anyway; whether he killed them or not, at least it wasn't the bus.

Author's Notes:

There are a number of good things to be said about buses; you'll pardon me if they've all slipped my mind for the moment.

And so - Whistlewhite. Classic painter. Master of the form. And yet, her portrait was done in a very similar style to Diamond's drawing... any guesses? And the room/studio thing... don't worry; more will reveal itself as we go.

And yeah - a quick jaunt back to Daughter Of Sombra for some nifty trinkets. It was fun, putting together a small list of doodads from that story for this one. Hope you folks enjoyed seeing the Lance of Light again.

Onyx's shard remains; there's NO WAY those could be any bit important, right? *chuckle* Yeah, if you know me by now, you know lead-ins when you see them. };)

Forty One: Driving Goals / Another Dream(!)

Once inside, the cab shot off the corner, with an angry honk from behind them as it did. Strangely enough, even though the driving he was doing seemed difficult, Markannus didn't seem to have any issues with it - in fact, he looked as though he was more interested in talking than driving.

"So, Obsidian and crew in The Big Applecore! What are the odds, right? S'okay - word came through the radio that Ponyville's latest hero is in town, and theres a number of Paparazzi already gearing up to hunt you down, I'll bet. Even had a few ask me if I'd heard where you were - of course, I told them exactly where I'd seen you..." He chuckled. "At the Statue of Friendship."

Wart now blinked a bit. "Lady Siddy, is... i-is this someone you know?"

"Stalwart Stance: Equestria's little - and I mean little - known treasure... you ever manage to get your hooves on the next book in the Crinos series, or are you just gonna hog the old ones?"

Her muzzle lit up. "Markannus! How did you find us?"

"Blind luck," he replied, "as I just happened to see you three on the corner; that's why I turned and stopped so abruptly. Common practice in Manehattan."

The odds were, Obsidian had to admit, pretty low. Markannus was apparently quite good at following them, though... and at the moment, she really didn't know what evil motives he might have to feed them in the Crystal Empire, or give them a ride here.

Unless - again - he was working for one of her brothers or sisters.

"Paparazzi hunting us, you say? Well, I hope that this time they won't be trying to trample anypony."

"Papis are quick," Markannus said as he casually whipped the taxi around a huge cargo truck, "trampling isn't their style - you'd be more likely to find them hiding in your closet that preparing to storm your taxicab!"

There was a laminated printout in a plastic case on the rear of the backseat; there was a picture of the current facade Markannus was wearing, and the name 'Stag R. Lee' was printed underneath, along with other things that meant little to the grey princess.

"So, did you manage to deal with that thing you were working on, back in the Crystal City?" he asked, zooming around a rather angry-looking stallion who was leaning out of his car window, yelling at an ancient-looking mare in the car ahead of him. The elderly mare leaned out as well, and gave the stallion a VERY rude gesture.

"Oh, yes yes, everything worked out perfectly. We certainly nailed it... that's the correct idiom, right?... and, except for the fact that we accidentially got Flim & Flam arrested, it was a spotless operation," Obsidian admitted cheerfully.

Markannus actually glanced back at them. "Wait - you mean the whole reason the CE Authorities finally managed to capture the infamous Flim Flam Brothers was because of you???" He laughed for a moment, then looked back at Siddy in his rear view mirror.

"And yes, that's the correct idiom. Glad to hear you finally had something go your way, without much of a hitch. And don't worry about the brothers; they were bailed out the next day, though the papers wouldn't confirm who did the bailing." Chances were, it was probably Celestia herself; she had been the one to ask for their assistance, and she didn't seem the type to just let someone(s) rot in jail after getting their help. "Well, so where am I taking the lot of you? And don't worry - anyone asks, and I'll just send 'em to the statue again."

Was it her fault? They didn't exactly have much of a plan, and there was little she could have done - except for attacking guards. It would have made quite a fine story for the newspapers - 'Sombra strikes back again... sorta!' And, considering that they even GOT captured in the first place, it was hardly 'without a hitch'.

"We need to take a peek at Quartz's clothing factory; it's not too far, I believe." And there were still so many things to see in the museums...

The deer lifted an eyebrow. "Smoky Quartz? The fashion designer? Looking to storm Ponk Avenue, are you? Well, the styles are grand, sure... but even my Queen says they're a bit of an eyesore. Still, that's fashion for you - it dosn't have to make sense!"

Markannus' driving skills were quite adept; though it seemed as if the taxicab were careening through the streets at a breakneck pace, the gathered group inside barely seemed to feel the inertia at all. Turning a corner, he brought the cab to a calm, careful halt next to a building that looked like it was wedged between two other larger, more imposing buildings. It was short, squat, and had only three floors - a lot for Ponyville, but a mere dwarf among the giants of Manehattan.

"This is the production place - not very big, yeah, but that's one of the things that makes some fashions so exclusive, I guess. You heard about the gala tonight, right? Supposed to be a big affair, and he'll be there himself." He then gave a grin. "Anyone who's there'll be the talk of the town, I promise you."

As much as Obsidian knew about fashion, it was the complete and utter truth - fashion was highly illogical, especially in a society that hardly wore any clothes in the first place. However, Eloquence seemed to like the concept... Clap too. So perhaps it had some kind of strange merit she just couldn't see...

Of course, Obsidian had to admit that she did feel good in nice clothes - but still, only for very rare and special opportunities.

"Well... we are going to this gala, so I suppose we should prepare to be talked about," the Grey Princess said with a resigned sigh. Talk of the town, eh? Hopefully he only meant Ponyville; being the talk of a huge city like Manehattan would probably result in quite a headache.

Deer-kannus raised his eyebrows. "You're invited? Oh... then I suppose I'll see the lot of you there! I'm... invited as well, I guess you could say. Should prove interesting. I'll stick around for a minute, in case you folk need another trip."

"Okay then," Obsidian said as she climbed out, "let's take a look at this place."

The factory building wasn't very assuming; it only had the one door, and the windows it had were far-spaced and barred, Obsidian noticed, as well as covered. Cup looked to her with a question on his muzzle. "So... what're we looking for?"

Frankly speaking, she wasn't sure; were they here for something to lead them closer to peace in Manehattan and whole of Equestria? Possibly... she just didn't know what something like that might look like. "Do you think we might see something from the other side of building?" she said as she looked over the exterior. "Because I don't think we could learn too much from a frontal assault."

Wart looked the place over, then pondered for a moment. Cup sighed. "Well... if we can get into the building next door, then maybe we could make our way onto the roof, where I could maybe squeeze inside a vent and let us in through the roof access... if there's a roof access... o-or maybe we could try hitting the sewage system, where we might-"

Wart stepped forward and knocked, loud and staccato, on the door.

Cup balked. "WART!? What are you DOING?"

Wart smirked. "Trying the most obvious answer, Cupcake."

"I said something about a frontal assault," Obsidian muttered as she turned to Cup, "didn't I say something about a frontal assault?" And what if there was someone there? Should she just say they wanted to use their toilet or something? Perhaps apply to work there?

After a moment, there was a clicking from behind the door... then a small mare's head poked out, looking at them. She was bigger than Stalwart, but she was thin and compact - she looked almost as if she were starving, but you couldn't see her ribs; she looked healthy, just gaunt. The look was topped off with a black mane that faded to a lighter color towards the tips, and she had a soft purple coat and horn.

Her eyes, a crisp blue, lingered on Obsidian for a moment before she spoke in a soft, almost breathy voice. "... h-hello. How may I help you?"

Obsidian... kind of panicked. She never thought she was very good at lying - in fact, she actively disliked to do so. Half-truths were okay, but she was simply terrible with coming up with any sort of believable lies. "Er... good afternoon. This... is... the famous Quartz factory, isn't it?" Stalwart received a small glare from Obsidian - she could at least have let them know she was going to knock!

The mare's eyes looked... hollow. Dead. Empty. But she was reactive and aware, so it wasn't as though she were being controlled; it looked more like she was just endlessly weary of life and living it. "Yes. It is. But he isn't here; he's preparing for tonight's gala."

"Oh, that's too bad, er... I was really hoping that I could finally meet my brother- it has been a while, after all. I'd also hoped he could show us around this place, as we've heard a lot about it," the Grey Princess tried her hoof at sounding sociable to cover up the awkwardness.

The mare simply blinked. "Should I tell him you came by, then?" It was asked more like she fully expected it, instead of it being a possibility.

... why did she look familiar?

Obsidian patted her cheek in consideration. "Ah... are WE related, possibly?"

The mare stared back at her, and her features began quivering as if she were about to cry. "... no. We aren't."

With that, the mare simply closed the door, with more clicks behind it signifying the locks being turned back into place.

"Well... that helped," Cup sighed.

Wart, however, looked at Obsidian. "Lady Siddy... did you recognize her?" she asked.

"She looked oddly familiar... didn't you notice the resemblance? In fact... black mane, white tips; where have I seen that before?" Obsidian tapped her hoof in annoyance; it was going to eat her up until she figured it out.

Wart looked back at the building. "Well... whomever she was, she was quite rude."

Cupcake shrugged. "Well, she looked tired... maybe she's been working overtime? Who knows? I didn't know her, so she's not from P-Ville..."

Wart's eyes slowly widened. "Lady Siddy... do you still hold a copy of your brother's artwork?"

"I keep it with me at all times," she confirmed as she reached into her saddlebags. For a moment, she thought that Quartz may have had a daughter...

When she pulled out the print and unrolled it, the mare's face was staring right back at her... though she looked better in the drawing than she did just now.

Cup, looking over her shoulder, jumped like he'd been bitten by a bug. "Holy Hannah Barbera! THAT'S her! So... so we just met another one of your siblings?"

Wart, however, looked concerned. "And which one would this be, Lady Siddy?"

There was only one mare's name that was still on the 'to meet in the close future' list. Which by process of elimination meant that Aquamarine was probably the one burning the forest and...

Obsidian practically jumped at the doors and knocked rapidly. "Sapphire? Sapphire, is that you?"

There was no response from the other side of the door.

Both Cupcake and Stalwart now looked a bit more concerned. "Okay - now I'm getting upset; how could she tell you that you two weren't related? What kind of gall does she have!?" Uh-oh - angry Cup coming; Siddy could see it making it's way forward in his personality.

Wart, however, had a different thought. "By the look of the poor thing, she must be half-dead from work! Lady Siddy, you don't think that Quartz has done this to her?"

"I'm not sure, Wart... but it can't be good. Diamond told me a lot about her, and I frankly didn't expect to come across her in a factory, of all places." Obsidian restlessly knocked on the doors once again. "Sister? Please? I'm sorry I didn't recognize you! Sapphire!"

Cupcake began to scanned over the outside of the small building, trying to gauge what would be necesary to scale it. Wart looked at him for a moment, then turned to Obsidian. "Are we going to allow him to scale the building?"

"If a Pie can't do it, nopony can." If only she still had her full reserves of Dark Magic, along with some training in-between... though forcing their way inside would attract a considerable amount of attention. "Cup, do you think it's possible?"

"Oh, there's noplace that can keep ME out, if I want in..." Cup growled softly, almost as if he were offended by the terse interaction between his love and her erstwhile sister. Reaching behind him, he began to pull out climbing equipment: rope, grappling hook, pitons, a climbing pick, spiked boots... and heaping them into a little pile, next to him.

Wart, however, stepped over towards him and put a hoof on his foreleg. "Cupcake."

"Yeah, what?" he grumped, still focused on the rooftop.

"Should we not come back later to do this, Cup?"

"But we're here now - why shouldn't we try?" Cupcake gave her a stern look.

Wart simply pointed a hoof back at the five ponies who had stopped to watch what Cup was doing; one was even a little filly, who seemed to think it was a magic show, and she clapped with glee.

"Because we would probably be in trouble if we were witnessed doing such," Wart deadpanned.

Cup looked at the gathered ponies... then broke into a wide smile as he gathered his stuff back up, putting it away wherever he kept his cannon. "S-sorry about that, folks! Juuuuuuust looking for some spare change!"

Obsidian hoped Cup could at least get behind the building to scale it, or in some other secluded place. Who knew what Quartz was doing to Sapphire? Or what Amber was doing to them both? "We can always return later... and perhaps then, we might have another chance to speak with Sapphire." She hoped it was her dear sister - but she didn't look too snarky or angry, though; more like she was thoroughly beaten by life.

Cupcake gave the building one last glare. "Soon... sooooooon..."

They made their way back to the cab, and Deer-kannus headed from the small factory... however, Obsidian could've sworn she saw the blinds on one of the second floor windows peek open just a tad as they departed.

"Wow..." Markannus said, "moments ago, you three were kinda sunny and cheerful - now you look like you're preparing for war. I'd... ask what gives - unless it's not for my ears, of course."

"Quartz's worker didn't seem too happy... or healthy." It wasn't exactly a lie - a half-truth, at best. Sapphire, after all, did look a bit strange... Obsidian had been told she was powerful and vain - how could THAT have been the same mare?

"Markannus, my friend? Is there any other place you could think of which we might want to visit? Or perhaps we should head back and catch a quick nap before the gala?"

"Well, it IS going to be busy, I won't lie," the deer pondered for a moment, "but I know a place that sells sandwiches pretty cheap, and you won't even have to leave the cab to get one. Hungry?"

Wart looked at her friends. "I could eat a sandwich, yes... and you, Lady Siddy?"

Cupcake just sat there, stewing a bit. "I'm not hungry."

Wart gasped and blinked, then looked at Obsidian. "Lady Siddy, you should attend to your colt immediately - Cupcake does NOT sound like himself!"

Obsidian nuzzled him. "Cuppy, it will be alright. It always works out in the end, yes? But to prepare ourselves for the upcoming party, we need to be well-fed and well-rested to minimize our distractions."

He glanced over at her with his grump... but he couldn't stay mad with such a sweet nuzzle, so his smile broke loose and he nuzzled back. "You know what? You're right - let's hit the gala first-"

"And if there's something amiss," Wart added, "we can return and assess this properly, and tackle it as we deem necessary."

"Right!" Cup grinned.

Sometimes Cup was kind of easy to trigger - positively or negatively. Not that it was a bad thing, of course.

"Right. So... sandwiches, then a return to our room, where we can rest until we have to dress for the gala. Did I forget anything?"

"Yeah - have fun," Markannus offered with a grin. "You'd be doing yourself a disservice if you just see this as all business. Take it from someone who has fourteen different jobs; enjoy Life when you can."

Cup gasped, "Fourteen!?"

The changeling chuckled. "Well, not all at ONCE, Cupcake - and those are just the employed personas."

"H-how?" And to think that Obsidian had been complaining about a lack of free time...

The changeling in deer form chuckled and relaxed, sitting back in his seat as he drove. "Well, I have at least four personae for each city I visit, and those 'masks' have temp jobs, mostly - stuff that won't miss me if I don't make it. Groundskeeper, tollbooth operator, musician, housemaid, model, door-to-door salesgriffon... and cabbie, of course... just about anything with a non-standard schedule, I've either done it, or I'm doing it now."

"But why do you work so much... aren't you still in school?" Cup asked, but Wart grinned as she caught on.

"It's for your hive, isn't it?" she said, and Deer-kannus' muzzle lit up.

"Ding ding ding! Good on you, Stalwart! She's right; my queen, the glorious Queen Vaxillaria, charged a number of her best operatives to help supply the hive with monetary means - after all, Equestria has so much to offer, we have to make sure our necessities are covered... hence, I'm one of two thousand changelings who have pretty much dedicated themselves to working for the hive."

Wart smiled broadly. "I was not aware you were so diligent to your hive's needs; color me impressed, Markannus!"

He grinned. "Coming from you, Stalwart? A compliment of the highest caliber."

"Queen Vaxillaria?" Obsidian blinked, then blushed a bit. "My apologies, but I'm not aware of whom that is."

Obsidian had to admit, she was slightly embarrassed; while she'd been aware that there was a hive nearby, she never actually paid much attention to it. For the most part, her knowledge of changelings ended when Chrysalis got herself 'friendshipped' into a statue. She was also sure that there was something about a King... Thorax, or something like that, right?

"Our hive's not exactly, er... public, so to speak. I mean, Princess Twilight knows we're there, of course - but we tend to remain more underground, like our hive used to back in the days of..."

Now, a look crossed the deer's features that Obsidian had a difficult time equating to Markannus: anger.

"... her. In fact, part of the reason we stay where we are is because of her actions, making paranoia the first and foremost reaction to our kind. Personally, I'm GLAD they stripped her of her title; I wish they'd hide her horrid muzzle from the world too... but I'll take what I can get." Apparently, Chrysalis was a sore subject with Markannus; good to note for future reference, so she wouldn't hit a nerve by accident.

"I believe I understand you; I feel the same about Sombra." Of course, Sombra didn't ruin Obsidian's entire species' reputation... but she could imagine they held their former rulers in a rather dim light.

The deer-buggo gave a huff of a sigh, then shrugged it away. "Well... it's one of the main reasons we operate as we do. Plus, we've also signed an accord with Equestria, and are cleared to act as spies for the nation, should things ever come to war for any reason. So, they keep quiet about us, and we use that quiet to help them. Win-win is the best win, I say."

They went on; the sandwich stand was smaller than he'd alluded to, but he hadn't been wrong about the sandwiches. They were tasty and affordable, and the mare running the cart smiled sweetly at the deer as they purchased her wares.

Markannus dropped them off at the Rockhoof (which impressed him a bit). "Take care, and see you tonight... or maybe you won't?" he teased as he winked at them and drove off in a cloud of exhaust.

They'd seen some sights, done some recon, gathered the necessary outfits and were back inside their room with enough time to get in a quick nap - though Stalwart elected to stay awake and guard.

The bed was soft and inviting, and Cupcake snuggled in tightly with his Siddy, kissing her neck and cheek lightly. "Sleep tight," he murmured to her even as he seemed to melt against her, softly snoring moments later.

So changelings could act as spies for Equestria, eh? That could possibly explain why they kept running into Markannus so often - maybe somepony didn't trust Obsidian?

It was fine, though - she wouldn't exactly trust herself either, were the roles reversed. She even had a few troubles trusting herself anyway, so it wasn't as if she could really blame them.

She could trust Cup, though. Smiling happily and leaning into his kisses (while sneaking in a few of her own), she nestled down against her love and slowly drifted into the realm of dreams once more...

~>-<~

She was in a grand hallway, built of marbled grey stone and black oak; it was dark, but not scary - in fact, it looked far brighter in this hallway than it should have, but that was possibly due to the light sconces every eight yards.

She was in another vision/dream/memory, and was walking at a brisk pace towards the familiar doors of the Crystal Empire throne room. Upon reaching them, she pulled the doors open with her magic. Behind them was Sombra himself... though he looked a bit older than last time, and he wasn't done up in cheap climbing gear - he was wearing a crown.

"Knock knock?" her host said, indentifying her as the same mare from before: Radiant Hope.

Sombra looked up at her and grinned with surprise. "Hope! Glad you're here - I need your opinion on something, if you've got a minute?"

Obsidian felt Hope grin. "My goodness - is the most honourable King Sombra actually asking for - gasp! - HELP???"

He gave her a flat look. "Ha ha. Very funny. Now, come here and help me figure this out..."

Nodding, she closed the doors behind her and made her way to his side. "Whats the problem today?"

He sighed. "Plumbing, that's what - the system that King Crest left behind is a nightmare; how am I going to get this sorted out? Crystal ponies are getting sick and even dying over how shoddy this thing is! I can't believe he just... just let this happen to them!"

Hope placed a hoof on his shoulder. "Well, he's not in charge anymore - YOU are. And he didn't have a Soul-Friend like me to help guide him."

Sombra chuckled. "True... if he had, he might still be on the throne today. But, meh, he doesn't matter anymore; but the subjects..."

"Your subjects, Sombra."

"... yeah... yeah they are, aren't they?" He shook his head. "Yeah, but... how am I gonna FIX this for them, Hope? How can I make this supposedly simple dream come true?"

Well, look what the cat dragged in... and they were talking about the marvellous royal problem of 'plumbing'. It seemed that he'd already conquered whatever legitimate ruler was already in place, and was sitting on the throne as a usurper... and, of course, at the words most honourable, Obsidian wanted to puke. Sadly, she was not in control of this body; her illness would have to wait.

Hope's eyes wandered over the plans for a moment, yet she was no architect; they looked solid, at least. "Well... speaking of 'dreams coming true'... y'know, you still owe me that 'Creation' spell, and I've been working on it - I may have something to go with, as soon as next week."

Sombra's eyes were locked onto the plans. She waited a moment for him to reply, then cleared her throat. "Ahem."

"Hunh?" He turned to look at her, as if surprised she was still there. "Oh - sorry, Hope - this just has me grinding my teeth over how much work needs to be done. You were saying something?"

She gave a sigh, then smiled at him. "Your heart's so big, you don't even hear me."

He blinked at her, then sighed himself and stepped back from the plans, giving her his full attention. "Okay, look - see? I'm not even going to peek at it." Which is when he did exactly that, turning in an exaggerated pose to look at the plans... which made Hope give a merry little giggle.

"Very cute, Sombra. But I was talking about the Creation Spell."

He now seemed to get a bt more interested. "You finally got it?"

"I haven't run a test spell yet, but the theory's solid and Sigil and Woad have both said they can follow it... granted, they can't understand it, but they're not the Royal Court's High Magus, either."

Sombra smirked. "Hope, as long as you live, I doubt anyone will ever hold that position, save for thee. Now, as for the Creation Spell..."

At this point, Siddy wasn't sure whom she should hate more: Sombra or Hope. The only truly acceptable option was hating both of them. Whatever they were doing, for whatever selfish and greedy reasons, they were both worthy of nothing more than rotting in Tartarus forever.

"Yes yes," she spoke up, "like I was saying as I was being ignored earlier, I should have something ready to go as soon as next week!"

Sombra smiled. "Studying those altars really paid off, didn't it?"

Hope's smile... faltered... for a moment, but she continued on regardless. "Yeah... so, next week, we might could bundle up and head out to Greygrove, so we can actually give the spell a try... that is, IF you're still interested?"

He had obviously missed her momentary falter, and continued on. "I most certainly would be! Soul-Friend, lifetime companion and dearest, sweetest ally... to actually venture forth into the realm of parenthood - especially magical parenthood - sounds as if we'll have our own little dynasty!"

Hope nodded. "Eeyup - you and me and baby make three."

"Or more, maybe..?" Sombra walked up to her and leaned his head next to hers, with she meeting him halfway as the supported each other, cheek to cheek. "I mean, if it could work for one... maybe it would work for multiples?"

Hope gave a rueful chuckle. "Well, if it does, I'm glad to announce that there won't be any use for my body in this spell; it should generate a crystal that would be able to support a spell, and should create a lifeform that is equivalent to a child - it will be up to US to raise her right."

Such upstanding parents and rulers they became, right? Obsidian tried not to mentally gag as she watched these two power-hungry and selfish fools, full of high words and lowly desires...

"Her?" Sombra grinned, "Foregone conclusion, is it?"

"Oh, most certainly," she gave a puckish smile, "fillies are better than colts, don't you know? It's a proven fact..."

Sombra chuckled, then stepped back from her to look at her earnestly. "Hope... everything we've done since we came into power... it's actually working and making a difference. The Empire is no longer weak or lacking, and the people are in better shape than they've been in years, decades even. And now, we can soon add an heir to the lineup - not just for royalty, but for family."

"Now, you give me too much credit - the Kayfadd Spell was cast through the altar on YOU; that makes you the one in charge, Your Majesty."

He fixed her with a look. "Don't call me that; it feels weird hearing you say it to me - as far as I'm concerned, you might as well be considered Queen."

She felt her give a light fidget with a hoof. "You know I don't need that - as long as I have my Soul-Friend, I'm happy with whatever Life decides to let me have." There was a slight sadness to that line, but Sombra missed it, yet again - he was a bit clueless when it came to others, it seemed... that, or extremely preoccupied. "So... next week, you, me, Greygrove, a little spell..." she smiled lasciviously, but Sombra just chuckled.

"Stop making it sound so dirty! It's not like we're-..." And again, that moment of awkward silence between them; it was obvious they held deeper feelings for each other, but it seemed they valued their friendship more than anything else.

Complete... and... utter... fools. Obsidian couldn't even properly express how much she hated them both right now.

"Y-yes, so... next week, you said?" Sombra broke the silence first.

"Yes - that would be about all the time I'd need to be able to figure out the exact phrasing and how much focus to put on it. Might take yet another week, but I swear to you, I am this close to solving it!" Hope placed her hooves so very close together, they may as well have been touching.

"I never doubted you for a second," he grinned, "you've always been better at magic than I have - that's why I made you the Court Magician. Well, that, and I wouldn't want you too far from me..."

She reached up and touseled his mane, much in the same way Clap touseled Mica's. "Yes, yes, I know... without me, you'd lose your mind, wouldn't you?"

Okay really - as far as Obsidian could tell, nothing horrible would have happened if the bastard would simply bed her, instead of using magic beyond their control or comprehension to create some foal-shaped meat puppets! And for what? To avoid using her own body as the incubator? It was frankly appalling, how one mare's vanity ended up ruining an entire kingdom...

Sombra looked at her solemnly. "I don't want to think of that; you're the greatest, grandest friend I've ever had - the only friend - and I don't want to be without your help, your guidance... I'd have never even had a chance to be here, making the Kingdom great, fixing all of Crest's problems, improving the quality of Life here to rival even that other nation-"

"Equestria," she smiled, "is our neighbor; probably a good idea to keep their name in mind - especially since they have alicorns."

Sombra nodded. "Yes, I hear you... speaking of which, what do you think of the younger one? Luna, I think her name is?"

Hope smirked. "Oh-HO... perhaps, are we seeing a possible princess to woo? Are you thinking of perhaps going out on a limb and asking about her? And why not the older one?"

Sombra shook his head. "No - she comes across as a bit too... eh, 'flighty' for me? But Luna... oh, be still my heart!" He put his hooves over his barrel and sighed longingly, making Hope giggle.

"Well, I hear she's sort of a serious mare; may want to brush up on your etiquette, else you might just embarrass yourself." Hope chuckled, "After all, you and I might enjoy belching contests... but somehow, I'm afraid the subtle nuances would be lost on royalty." They both laughed at that one.

Obsidian felt a sting of satisfaction at that; Sombra's next meeting with Luna (and Celestia) ended with his banishment into ice for a thousand years.

"Sombra," she stepped close, looking eye to eye with him, "I may be better at magic, but... all the changes you've made, just within the past two years, has been incredible. Never in the history of Equus has a nation picked up and begun to thrive as much as the Crystal Kingdom has, since you were placed upon the throne."

Sombra seemed a bit embarrassed, but he continued listening as she went on.

"This nation is poised to be the central kingdom to the entire world... and it's all thanks to the diligent and caring afforts of a stallion with a heart as big as the Crystal Mountains!"

"And the efforts," he added, "of one of the most gifted and powerful unicorns I have ever known. Don't sell yourself short, Hope; you're just as import-"

He suddenly clutched at his chest, and began to cough hard and rackingly. Hope seemed to go into a calm panic, and instantly took hold of him. "Okay, this looks like an easy one, it's okay, breathe..."

His head was dipped down as he'd held himself, but looking up at her, the purple mist was practically pouring from his eyes, and Obsidian could see wisps of pure darkness, dancing over his tongue inside his mouth. "H-Hope..." he moaned as he looked like he was trying to choke back poison, or something just as foul and lethal.

Hope's horn began to glow, and her magic wrapped itself around him as she hugged him tightly. "Easy, easy, eeeeeasyyyyyy..." The two of them sat in the floor, and she stroked his mane as he struggled to bottle up whatever had come loose inside him.

Oh, wasn't this lovely? Dark Magic taking its' rightful possession, punishing a fool for his transgressions, and thanking him for his purging of Empire history. Compared to Sombra, this Crest individual was probably outright saintly.

"Breathe; can you breathe for me?" Hope asked, but the only reply she got from him was another moan. Instead, she simply continued to comfort him as her magic seemed to focus on his horn.

After a few moments, the fits seemed to subside, and he sat back against Hope, shuddering slightly as he finally gathered control. "It's... g-getting worse, Hope..."

She nodded. "I've noticed... did it... did it demand anything new, this time?"

Sombra nodded, wearily. "... The Umbra wants... s-s-slaves..."

Hope seemed to react as if she was unsurprised. "Blood, revenge, power... and now slaves on top of that? Why?"

"If I only kn-knew, Hope," he groaned, "I'd tell you..."

The two of them sat there, in the floor, and held onto each other as if their very lives depended on it. "If I didn't... h-have you," Sombra said softly, "I don't know how I'd ever stay sane..."

She should simply stab him - here and now - instead of letting this insane, cruel beast live any further. How did Sombra get in contact with the Umbrals? Why was it making demands? Speak more, you mad, filthy creature! EXPLAIN YOUR MADNESS!

"I promise you, Sombra... as soon as I have the magic of these altars mastered, the first thing we will do is excise that... that... foulness from inside you. I've watched you suffer with it for far too long, and once I get the Creation Spell cast, then I'll know how the altars work... and I can hopefully bring you peace." Sombra just nodded. "Just hold on a bit longer, alright? I can soothe you, but you have to be the one to fight it..."

"I am... trying..." he groaned painfully.

That voice...

For those three simple words, Obsidian heard the voice of her father - the one she knew and loathed - but it didn't last, as Hope's horn grew an overglow, and Sombra's muzzle slowly began to unwind its' rictus of pain.

"It's okay, it's alright, I'm here, Sombra.... shhhh shh shh shh shh shhhhh..."

Oh yes - letting a possessed pony rule, especially after showing him the Umbral Altars, surely was nothing but a perfect idea! Obsidian was fairly certain that using an untested, potentially blasphemous spell that consisted of playing with Life itself couldn't make aaaaany sort of trouble.

Obsidian fumed at the pair as Hope continued to comfort the stricken Sombra...

~>O<~

"THAT ISN'T WHAT I MEANT!"
"YOU SAID I LOOKED FAT!"
"I SAID THAT DRESS DOESN'T COVER ENOUGH OF YOU!"
"SO THERE'S TOO MUCH OF ME, HUNH?!"

The voices of Thunderclap Dash and Stalwart Stance clashed in her ears like cymbals, jarring her awake from her dream.

Author's Notes:

Sapphire: Sister or possessed tool? Only time will tell... but we'll get back to the factory later, honest. Hopefully, when there's no one around to draw a crowd, right?

FOURTEEN jobs, yeah - and you think YOU had it rough at work... but again, as he stated, they're all jobs that wouldn't think twice about a Part-Time employee only popping up every now and again, and with his shapshifting ability, he couls always just reapply if he got released. Markannus is a very busy buggo.

And another mysterious dream/memory about Hope and Sombra. Oh, honeychile - if only I could tell you everything right now, but like any good story, it's just better if you take it in, little by little; hopefully, once we reach the point where the truth is fully revealed, I hope that folks enjoy what I've been building up, here.

Forty Two: Puttin' On The Ritz

She was alone in bed, the shower was running, and through the open door Obsidian could see Mica Chip, sitting on the couch with an amused smile on his muzzle, witnessing Clap and Wart's yelling match. Both mares were in the process of getting ready; Clap was yelling from the other room, while Wart was returning the yell from the kitchen - both supposedly engaged in preparations.

Obsidian groaned, and for more than a single reason; first, she woke up with more questions than answers yet again. Second, she was yet again shoved into the head of a very specific, foolish mare - one for whom Obsidian held only contempt and hate - instead of getting to have some small-talk with her sister... or any of her dead siblings, for that matter. Third... by Darkness, did they HAVE to SHOUT SO MUCH!?

"I can imagine a few more gentle ways to wake me," she grumbled, getting up.

Clap and Stalwart were there, Mica was here, Gypsy was in Ponyville... which left only one pony able to take a shower right now... and which also meant she had no qualms about heading straight to the bathroom to at least wash her muzzle and brush her teeth... and perhaps a bit more, but that depended on Cup's willingness to cooperate.

Mica gave a light wave as he saw her rise, then she entered the bathroom. Oh... The bathroom was as grandiose as the rest of the room had been; the large walk-in tub had the curtain pulled across, and steam filled the air while she could hear her Cuppy on the other side, softly singing...

... I'll be grateful for your CHA-rity
until the bitter end...
Because I've heard that tenderness
Is what you give an ailing-glublbubluble...

Apparently, he was now washing out his own mouth.

She also had no qualms about pulling those curtains aside just a bit to sneak in beside Cup. Especially considering all the other things they'd been doing together lately.

Cup's eyes went wide as she slipped into the shower with him. "Ooooooooh! Does this mean we get to wash each other's backs?" However, he did crack a wide smile, and instantly wrap his hooves around her to pull her close for a deep, hungry kiss. With the water from the showerhead pouring down over them, it added a slippery yet sensual sensation to the act.

When he was wet, Obsidian could see the wiry muscle defined in Cup's body; his coat was fluffy enough to hide much of it, but like this? He was kinda hunky.

The kiss finished, and he stood there just staring into her eyes for a moment. "Would you like me to wash your mane for you?"

While this place was all rich, ritzy, wasteful and decadent... it simply wouldn't be half as nice without her coltfriend. Obsidian immediately felt her annoyance dissapear. It was to be expected, though - she'd already discovered that his hugs were quite calming on her second day in Equestria... or was it her third? Of course, his hugs had now gotten a rather nice upgrade in the meantime...

"It would be a pleasure for us both, so..." she purred into his ear lovingly.

He gave a light shiver and a smile, then he slid around behind her and his hooves seemed to gather her mane before he-...

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhh...

His hooves were oddly delicate, and felt like they were flowing through her mane and over her scalp. He was getting the pressure in deeply, working those gentle hooves in circles as he lovingly caressed the shampoo into each strand, then rolled circles on her head - between her ears - that made her skull feel softened.

At the same time, his body was pressed against her back, and more than once did she feel him sliiiiide along her wet body, enjoying her curves and somewhat smoothing her coat with his own. It felt deliciously naughty, and yet so loving and sensual... once again, Obsidian realized that her fate might have turned out far differently if she'd have chosen a different liaison.

Regardless of her initial meeting with him, now she found it difficult to think of not having Cupcake in her new, modern life.

"... I want to lick whipped cream off your ear," he whispered to her as he finished with her mane... and slid his hooves along her back, massaging her spine and allowing some of that previous spa-relief to return to her muscles.

Obsidian giggled like a school filly, fully enjoying the pampering she was receiving. Now, who would ever have thought it would turn out like this, a few weeks ago? She was engaged to him! And everything had happened this way only because she'd thought that a talktative liaison would be the better choice.

"Perhaps later, Cuppy... do you think we will have to leave this place quickly?" Purring was apparently set as her new default voice, for the moment.

He rolled his barrel against her, nuzzling under her chin as he did so. "I hope not - I hope we can stay here for, like, a week or so... Manehattan is just so big, and there's so many others here, and the buildings are amazing..."

He then gave her neck a light, slow lick. "Of course, seeing it with you is the best part; you make it all warm and soft inside my heart, like warm caramel - except you are sweeter than even caramel could match." If her voice was a purr, his was a rumble.

"But, if I'm right..." he slid his muzzle up the side of her neck, trailing kisses.

"... then at this very moment..." his lips nibbled softly at her ear.

"... we have..." his hooves flowed down her form like water, accenting each curve.

"... fifteen minutes before we have to leave," his voice rolled in her ear, "or else this could go a lot further than it has right now."

With the physical performance he'd given her, it was almost cruel when he separated from her to slink out of the shower, a light chuckle being all he left to console her lonely body with... but the information that they had a mere fifteen minutes sobered her quickly.

It was simply too little time to continue any of this - and if they did go a bit further, she would be a little bit too... well frankly, a bit too horny to focus properly on their mission! Besides, they had to hurry! Damnation, she hadn't even seen her outfit yet! What if her wedding necklace clashed with it? Or what if her cape didn't look as good as she first thought?

"ILoveYouCupButYouAreRightWeNeedToHurry!" she blurted all at once as she stumbled from the shower quickly.

Getting dressed would take the most time, so after properly drying, the outfit and cape were next. She took up the bundle labeled 'For Obsy', and pulled the ribbon off to open the-

Whoa...

The outfit was black with red highlights; it had a number of straps, but it was more conservative than it appeared to be... yet, with the way it was arranged, it brought a lot of attention to the wearer. Something about it looked both inviting and a bit dangerous, like a femme fatale out of a spy novel.

It blended with her colors enough for a passing glance to mistake the collar on her outfit for simply an extension of her mane; it would cause a lot of second glances, that much was certain. In the outfit that Eloquence had styled for her, she looked almost like a supervillain out of a comic book, and yet still elegant and stylish... not to mention highly flattering of her figure, and the outfit made quite a sudued show of her flank.

The cape, incredibly enough, not only fit, but it looked as though the two different pieces of clothing were incomplete without the other; she looked gorgeous... intimidating... mysterious... adventurous... and as sexy as she had ever seen herself.

Obsidian, in this outfit, was a bonafide knockout.

Behold the Dark Queen of Equestria, and despair that you will NEVER look as incredible and marvelous as her! Obsidian was amused that Eloquence apparently wanted her to look like a far better-looking and less armored version of her father... though the final touch - the cape - was her own addition. Sadly, she didn't have enough time to properly adore it; she had to put it on as quickly as possible, with her necklace as the last piece of her new outfit.

The necklace brought it all together, and sealed her vision as someone to be admired, loved, feared and respected. Someone who could conquer the world, one day... someone named Obsidian.

The fact was, the wedding necklace actually added a little touch of both love and happiness; it made the outfit go from Dark Conqueror... to Shadowy Hero.

Shadowy Hero... that seemed to feel good, thinking that of herself.

At any rate, she was fully dressed - even with the minimum of attention paid to her mane, its' unkempt appearance only seemed to add to the smoulderingly hot mare's looks; if Quartz didn't spot her in this outfit, then the poor fool had to be blind.

Hmmmm... perhaps this wedding necklace was a bit much? No matter; she preferred to keep it on. After all, they were engaged, and as such they shouldn't hide the fact.

Of course, none of that stopped her from ogling herself in the mirror. "*ahem*... heh. Ha ha ha. Ha-ha... HA ha ha... heh heh, ha-HA!" She chuckled darkly at her own reflection, testing her ability to laugh like a proper world conqueror would. "Ha-haaa! HA! HA-HAAAAAAA HA HA HA... HA-HAAAAA! HAH!"

She threw her magnificent head back and gave her best wicked villain laugh; "AAAAAAAH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAAA!!!"

As she cackled in the mirror (and YES, it sounded just right), the closet door opened, and out stepped Cupcake Sprinkles.

... in a snazzy, sporty black suit, with his mane styled back and slicked down and a neat, trim little black bowtie - looking like a suave millionaire playbuck... even more handsome than when she first laid eyes on him... and wearing his engagement necklace proudly.

"Okay, I think I'm done preening and loo-" He stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes going wide and shiny as her thirsty coltfriend drank in the sight of her.

"... buh... buh-buh... ka... puh... mah... buh..." She would have to thank Elo; he'd rendered the mighty mouth of the Pie family speechless.

Obsidian turned around... and ogled Cupcake as well. Not bad, not bad... in fact, it looked rather... yummy on him. Eloquence had done such a wonderful job; she could feel the hunger inside her for her incredible stallion's attention, and was completely certain she had 100% of it at this very moment.

She slowly approached her coltfriend - every single step, carefully planned and executed as she was doing her best not to walk too slow or too fast, with just enough hip-swaying action to each side... to make it look a bit more... interesting...

"Are you ready to take on The Big City, Pie colt?" she purred, brushing against him as she walked around him, her tail trailing along under his chin in passing.

He gave a light shiver... then, a slick smile slid across his features. He suddenly took up her left forehoof, spun her around and dipped her low, their muzzles meeting snout to snout as she felt the ends of her mane brush the floor.

"They won't stand a chance, my Dark Princess." With that, he kissed her in a manner that lit a FIRE inside her heart, as well as sparking a few other places; tonight, regardless of anything else, would be theirs.

"You CANNOT seriously be wishing to walk around looking like THAT!?"
"Oh my cloud, did you do your own makeup!? HAAAAA HA HA HA HA HA HAAA!"
"SH-SHUT UP, CLAP!"

Oh, for Darkness sake...

Obsidian frowned. "I suppose we'll have to start the night by bringing some order to our friends," she rolled her eyes as she quickly turned and made her way towards Wart and Clap, following the sounds of their verbal battle.

The scene she came upon when she left the bedroom:

Thunderclap Dash was standing in the living room. She'd had her hair done back in an amazing bun-and-braid combination, the colored roots of her mane showing beautifully, wound around the blonde of her longer strands; her tail followed suit, with a long braid tipped with a floof of a twirl. Her lips were glossed with an icy blue, and her lashes were long and luxurious.

The outfit she wore was... well... even though ponies didn't really seem to care whether or not they even wore clothing, the outfit the muscular mare had on was... ah... rather revealing and skimpy. Most certainly, it would bring her plenty of attention... yet, that kind of attention might also have stallions asking how many bits she wanted for a 'good time'. Frankly, she looked like a prostitute - but she certainly looked good as a prostitute, at least.

Was that even a compliment?

Wart was standing on the nearby couch, almost eye to eye with Clap's neck... and Stalwart Stance's dress was breathtakingly incredible. The fabric flowed and rolled across her tiny frame, accenting and even emphasizing her hips and shoulders, and was a shining chromatic silver, with a deep, blood red two-tone effect that almost seemed to flow into each other... an effect that was heightened with Wart's grey coat, even accenting the small dapples behind her ears - a cute feature of hers that most never got to see. The dress itself shimmered in the light like it was a rolling flame, burning on the little mare's body but only serving to draw that much more of the eye to her small, yet graceful figure.

... however, the makeup she wore was so thick, Obsidian could possibly make clay bricks out of it. Her cheeks were CAKED with foundation, her eyelids thick and gloppy, and her eyebrows looked closer to 'hobo clown' than 'charming party guest' - and her lips only added to that mental image.

Mica, who was holding a hoof in front of his mouth to hide his smile, was silently chuckling at their antics, then turned to look at Siddy and Cup... and his jaw dropped open as he gawked at them both.

But Obsidian was not going to suffer any more of this foolishness. She stepped into the room, eyeing both Clap and Stalwart. Mica earned a small glare too; after all, he could have stopped either of them at any time.

"Girls, come on," she tried to reason, "Clap, sweetie - I think your outfit could use a few additions. I'm sure you've bought something else during your shopping spree, right? Oh, and Stalwart, my dear... er, you should either go fully-natural when it comes to make-up, or..." She blinked at her, then looked around at the others. "Could somepony help Stalwart, please?" It was time for some honesty - these two needed help.

Cup stepped over, "I've got Wart - you fix Clap, okay dear?"

Both mares, looking ready to exchange blows, turned to possibly yell at Cupcake for his interruption... and their jaws dropped open just like Mica's had.

"Buh," said Thunderclap.
"Buh-buh," said Stalwart.

BOTH of them were staring unabashedly at Cupcake Sprinkles.

He smiled, tossed his Dark Princess a wink, then took Wart by the hoof and led her along, the little mare walking in a daze as she just stared at Cup. They headed back to the kitchen, where a pile of makeup supplies were heaped onto the countertop.

Clap turned and stared at Obsidian, after Cup left her sight. "... you two... look... incredible..." Now, the big mare's eyes were locked onto Obsidian, and the pegasus marveled at the outfit she wore. "Elo's never gonna top this," she murmured.

Well, they were apparently poised to become the stars of her brother's gala. Soon enough, the entire city of Manehattan would hear about them, and Quartz would have no choice but to realize that Obsidian was on his tail... metaphorically, at least. Not that she suspected him of really doing anything shifty - though Sapphire DID NOT look well - but better to be safe than sorry, right?

"I know, Clap, I know - I'm used to it," Obsidian replied (not so humbly). "Now, let's try to deal with this outfit of yours, shall we? Where are the rest of clothes you purchased today?"

Clap looked at her with a confused expression. "What? This IS the outfit I bought for tonight - isn't it good enough? I mean, c'mon - look at that flank!" She struck a pose that might have been an attempt to look sexy... but just cemented that image of a prostitute that much further into Obsidian's mind.

"I'm not gonna be able to keep the stallion's eyes OFF me - which works out for Mica, 'cause he'll be the target of SOOOOO much envy!" Either that, or he'd look like a pimp. A subdued pimp, in a sensible yet sharp suit, but a pimp all the same.

Obsidian had learned so much from books, yes... but the television had taught her one or two things as well.

"I don't quite think it's good enough for you," Obsidian remarked as she decided to continue being blunt. Very blunt.

"It doesn't exactly fit your style - especially for tonight's gala... it's a fashion party! We should strive for getting attention with our clothes, our fashion sense, and with the harmony between our appearances and our outfits..." Honestly, at the moment she was simply talking about things that she hoped were making sense to the pegasus - but, even with blunt being blunt, she didn't want to offend Clap. "And you, my dear, are... ahem, you're, er... clashing a bit, with your outfit."

Apparently, Siddy knew her friends quite well; Clap's expression changed to one of alarm, and she began looking over her outfit. "Clashing!? Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh SIDDY! You have got to help me fix it! I can't go out with Mica looking CLASHY!"

Change the C-L for a T-R, and well... still, the message got through, and that was what mattered. Clap almost dragged Obsidian to her suitcase, where she began to frantically paw through her other clothing, desperately trying to find something more to wear almost literally at the last minute.

Such a terrible situation, really; Obsidian - who until today was completely reliant on her friends' choice of clothing - was going to help one of those said friends with preparing for tonight's gala. And she had to do it quickly, as they were running out of time.

"Calm down, calm down," she muttered both to herself and Clap as she grabbed every outfit from the suitcase with her magic, pulling it up in an orderly fashion into the air to take a quick peek at everything she had available to her. Clap had to have something more sensible, right?

Her library sorting skills came in handy, as she separated them by color and severity (to the left, the sensible items; to the right... eh, more like what she was currently wearing). Honestly, Clap's range in clothing was rather extreme, either way - the sensible suit and pretty sun dress were miles away from the black lycra miniskirt and the form-fitting pink top.
Maybe a blend of clothing would suffice? At least, in the... eight minutes they had left?

Oh, for Harmony's sake - mixing them would be terrible. They were simply too different! She would need quite a few preparations to pull off anything worthwhile...

Obsidian started to press different dresses to Clap's barrel, trying to figure out something sensible as soon as possible. It was only a matter of math right now, really; there were a set number of clothes, which made for a finite number of combinations. She just had to choose the best among the presented options.

Clap stood there, being a good clothing horse as Siddy examined look after look... but unfortunately, with just what was presented, she was going to either look like a drab mare... or a hooker. Or... wait...

There was a quick flip of a shirt here, a swatch of a belt there, and the addition of an extra large skirt, with some rolling of the ends...

It was certainly original. The shirt and leggings from her previous outfit, combined with some of the other stuff, yet framed in one of Clap's sensible jackets and a partially rolled-up skirt made her look a bit wild... but not like she was selling her flank on the streetcorner. Obsidian didn't know if it was something she'd always been able to do, or if it was Elo's outfit that was channeling his style, or if maybe it was just the franticness of the rush to be done... but she'd done a better job of making Clap stand out, but not for the wrong reasons.

"Whoa... Siddy! Look at THIS!" She gave a twirl, letting her wings flap to lightly touch down. "I kinda look like a rock star... thanks, girl!"

She gave Obsidian one of her strong hugs - and oddly enough, Elo's outfit didn't even seem to wrinkle; it was just as crisp as before the embrace... though Siddy's lungs might need a moment to readjust. "Thank you thank you THANK you, Sids!"

One day, Clap's hugs would kill her - without realizing until it was too late. "Ghhhh... go... ask Mica if that's okay. Check his reaction," she suggested, after regaining the ability to breathe.

Thunderclap strolled outside the room, prancing a bit as she did. "Hey Mikey - check me out, babe."

Obsidian got the answer she wanted as she heard Mica's voice: "... buh."

"GREAT! You look sharp too, there... my hunka burnin' hotness." There was the sound of a kiss, then a light giggle... from Mica.

"I'm going to be the luckiest stallion there," he said, his voice soft and warm.
"You mean, after Sids and Cupper, right?"
"... you've got a point."

Well, Obsidian wasn't a stallion, as far as she was concerned. Still, she walked back into the main room as well. Now, they only had to wait for Stalwart so they could make their way to the gala.

Clap and Mica were in a warm embrace as she arrived, but quickly separated, blushes on both of their muzzles. "SO, UH yeah, uh... h-hey Sids; the look's a hit with my colt, so I'll be wearin' a Siddy Original tonight!"

Mica grinned at her. "Yes, and MY, but you look exquisite, Obsidian... quite fitting, actually."

They both smiled at her... and that's when Obsidian noticed that, even though they separated at her entrance, they were still holding hooves.

"Okay, I've worked my magic as best as I could - and after years of makeup parties with Blue and Patty, I think I've retained a good bit of my skills!" Cup marched out from the kitchen, then looked back over his shoulder. "Well? You gonna show everyone how I did?"

From behind the counter came a light whimper. "I... y-you did a fine job, Cupcake, but..."

"Wart! Come out where we can see you, girl - I wanna see how awesome you look!" Clap cheered, quite the opposite of the mockery she was using earlier.

Maybe there was something to the whole 'Obsidian as the lynchpin' theory?

Slowly, Wart made her way out from behind the counter, looking a bit ashamed as she stepped hesitantly towards the center of the room. "Eh... ta-da?"

She looked absolutely beautiful; her eyebrows were sleek and curved, her lashes long and flowing, and the pale grey accents on her cheekbones gave her an almost statuesque appearance... along with lips that looked full and delicious.

Her bright emerald eyes were glancing nervously at everyone. "Is... i-is it good?"

Instead of responding with mere words, Siddy simply sat her plot down and clapped with her front hooves. The little mare was truly an exquisite sight to behold, and they were lucky that Diamond wasn't there with them - otherwise, Wart would never again get a free moment to herself!

Stalwart Stance, a bonafide hero of Equestria, blushed hotly... which doubled as the others joined Siddy in her light applause.

"You'll be a hit, Stalwart... and you deserve to be." Mica smiled.

The little mare waved a dismissive hoof... and gave a tittering, adorable giggle... as they gathered their things to head out for the party, closing the door behind them as they left the penthouse suite.

In the elevator, Clap looked to her friends. "Okay, now - it's alright if we don't get there right on time; fashionably late, is what's preferred... so like, we should get there in enough time to look like we're the sort who belongs there."

"Sids," Clap pointed at her, "you and Cupster make your way to the buffet - 'cause there's ALWAYS a buffet - and mingle with the interesting folks there. Always be in control of the conversation, and don't let any pretty mares try to slip away with Cup."

"Warty," she pointed the hoof at the unicorn now, "you're gonna be a total success, as long as you stand somewhere you can be seen - there's almost always a stage somewhere, so find it and act like you're listening to who's playing; you'll probably get to talk a lot, but keep it simple - leaves the stallions hanging on to your every word, when ya don't say much!"

She then smiled at Mica. "My Hot Rock is gonna be at my side, and we're headed to the dance floor first - show 'em who's top dog in the spotlight! You guys get in place while we set 'em up, and that'll allow for-"

"Thunderclap Dash, why does this sound more like a planned attack than a gala event?" Wart asked curiously.

Clap's eyes narrowed, and she got a serious look. "It IS an attack... an attack on the high society of Manehattan, making 'em weak in the knees at our beauty, making 'em fall all over themselves to be near us, to generate the MOST conversation at this party about us that we possibly can..."

She now leveled that look at Obsidian... and smiled. "Our group is set to conquer this party like it's 'manifest destiny'! HA!"

No pretty mare would be able to slip away with Cup; not only because Obsidian would guard him like he was made of gold, but also because there was no way Cup would be prone to slipping away in the first place. After all, Obsidian trusted him more than herself.

Still, there was one little issue with Clap's otherwise perfect plan. "Er... Clap? What is this 'manifest destiny'?"

Clap started to speak... then stopped, scratched her head, and shrugged.

"Manifest Destiny," Mica spoke up, "was one of the reasons more warlike nations gave to justify their annexing of territory, to put it simply."

"I was just trying to get us pumped for this - c'mon!" Clap whined slightly.

Wart smirked. "I think the 'conquering' part will be of hearts tonight."

Okay, so Obsidian now knew the definition of 'Manifest Destiny'... but she still had no idea exactly what it was. A war plan? Dark Magic? Light Magic? A weapon? Come on - you can't just mention something about conquering, then leave her in dark! It was cruel!

They hailed a cab (sadly, not Markannus), and soon they were making their way out of the vehicle and onto the sidewalk outside of a rather showy and glitzy setup.

The place was lit up with spotlights which criss-crossed through the clouds that had been carefully placed for the event. The entranceway was draped with velvet curtains, and the guests, all done up in fancy (and sometimes nonsensical) outfits, were making their way in casually, smiling and occasionally waving for the throngs of onlookers crowded against the velvet ropes.

At the door was a minotaur in a suit, who was apparently checking invitations. He was huge, but he looked calm and reserved. He wore a well-tailored black suit, with pants and shades to match. Every now and again, he would lower his glasses and stare at the hopefuls, then shake his head and pont meaningfully.

So far, nobody had dared make the massive mountain of muscle irate.

Well, Obsidian considered, this minotaur was kind of... big. It was the first time Obsidian was able to see a real minotaur with her own two eyes, so she couldn't help but stare in a bit of fascination. A bipedal stance, like diamond dogs, but his paws don't seem to be able to dig so quickly... far more muscles... they would possibly make good shock troopers...

She smirked and adopted that interesting walk as she headed toward the guard. "My friends... let's conquer this party; divide et impera."

She took out her invitation, patiently waiting for the rest of her friends to join her. With everything in order, she should be able to meet with her brother at last... or at least witness the effects of his fashion empire.

The minotaur gave them a bow as they approached. "Good evening," he spoke in a cultured tone, "your invitations, if I may please?" Each one of them showed their invites, and each one got a prim nod from the massive minotaur. "Very good; please... enter, and be amazed." He gave a grand, sweeping gesture to the doors.

"Thanks, big guy!" Cup chirped as they passed him, and Clap winked at him as she slipped some bits into his breast pocket in passing.

"You're doin' a fine job tonight," she said as she left the tip there, "keep up the good work, buddy!" The minotaur raised an eyebrow... but said nothing as they went inside.

It was a grand ballroom, indeed... but every corner and harsh edge had been hidden from view with silk hangings and tapestries that gave the room the appearance of the inside of a cushion; there were a number of soft-looking round pillows, and many guests had taken to sitting on them, so it must have been okay to do so.

There was also what looked to be a full bar at the far end, and on the small vet highly visible stage was a stallion dressed in a business suit, wearing a large, paiper-mache dragon's head that had smoke rolling from its' nostrils as he worked his hooves back and forth between two turntables, the music playing being a savvy mix of modern beats and classical melodies.

For some reason, Obsidian doubted that the bits Clap slipped into the minotaur's pocket would truly be appreciated; considering the apparent cost of this place and all its' trappings, she was sure the big guy was well-paid.

As soon as they entered the room, many heads turned and many eyes settled on them all, murmured conversations becoming livelier. A number of mares and stallions gravitated towards them, attempting to remain in conversation with the other guests, yet all the while their eyes were betraying their interest.

It felt... powerful... to command so much attention and interest from these high-society types.

Ahh, yessssss... the destined queen of the Crystal Empire has arrived! Obsidian felt that was already gathering the proper attention that was worthy of her royal status-...

...okay, wait - so why did Sombra and Crest have their titles of 'King', while their country was called an 'Empire'? Not to mention how it was currently under the rule of a 'Princess'? What was the reasoning behind all this? Was Cadance merely a princess due to the ancient Equestrian traditions, which were dead-set on making every alicorn that appeared into a 'Princess of Something-Or-Other'?

Yes, this place seemed to be perfect for a little fashion gala. There were plenty of ponies, but it was different than in Ponyville when Twilight threw the surprise party for her - Obsidian's attitude, the overall mood of the location, the goal of her visit... everything was different.

"Sometimes, having a sibling can be... beneficial," Obsidian admitted with a predatory smile worthy of King Sombra.

The crowds were filled with stallions and mares, all decked out and dressed to the utmost, but most of the eyes were on Obsidian and her entourage... and in this case, it probably was an entourage.

The center stage was shining with lights and steam-effects, and the music ground and thumped in the background as they all made their way toward the center of the room. Clap turned to look at them, then chuckled.

"We have got to be the sexiest folks here - so, we gonna go with my plan?" She seemed to really want to... but was, of course, looking to Obsidian for approval.

"Yeah, Clap - as long a we stay close, we should be both safe and useful to split up. If we notice anything dangerous, then we'll have to group up again," Obsidian nodded. "Be careful, all of you; hopefully, this will stay a fun night."

Honestly, what was the worst thing that could happen, here at a fashion show?

"So, Cuppy... let's see if there are any non-alcoholic beverages available at the bar," she grinned as Obsidian nodded to where she saw ponies drinking from fancy glasses.

Cup smiled, and offered a forehoof. "Then, shall we, milady?"

The group separated; Clap and Mica strolled to the dance floor, both of them giving each other looks that Siddy could almost see sparks jumping between.

Wart, looking a bit nervous, walked over to the stage and attempted to lean in a non-chalant manner against one of the podiums - which gave a wobble, threatening to fall over. Wart quickly righted it and decided not to do that again, choosing instead to simply stand there, looking like proverbial bait, waiting for the wolves.

Cup sniffed at the air once or twice, then smiled as he led her towards an area that, sure enough, had a long buffet table, filled with little foodstuffs... as well as a few mares carrying snacks on trays. Cupcake lightly snagged a few chunks of cheese and, after downing a couple, offered some to Siddy.

Obsidian smiled but nodded towards the bar; that was her original goal, wasn't it? She hadn't really had much of an opportunity to eat or drink anything since she took her nap, after all; she could use a little something light to snack on.

For once, all of her etiquette lessons would pay off - in fact, she'd almost forgotten those lessons completely. It had hardly been the most useful skill in her Equestrian life; they didn't teach how to kill zombies, and they weren't really important as a librarian. Now, however, she felt a calm wash over her - the smooth calm of knowing that she was in control, and that she had the proper knowledge on how to deal with this situation.

The bartender was a rather sultry-looking mare with a grey coat and a jet black mane and tail, wearing a tight-fitting and revealing outfit, whose eyes practically devoured Cupcake as the two of them stepped close. "Well, hel-lo, handsome," she purred, "you look plenty thirsty... It'd be my pleasure to get you something tasty, if you're interested?"

Siddy didn't need practice at social functions to know the mare was lusting for her stallion; she felt it, in her heart... and for the first time, Obsidian was the recipient of a little green-eyed monster who poked juuuuuuuust a bit at her.

Cupcake smiled at the mare, though it was a smile that told her he was operating on auto-pilot where the bartender was concerned. "Um, yeah - can you do virgin cherry smoothies?"

The mare smirked. "Oh, I can do a lot, honey; you might be surprised."

"Right then! Two virgin cherry smoothies, and can you add those little umbrellas, too?" The smile he gave the mare was one of his big grins - he was probably completely unaware of her flirtatious lines, though it didnt seem to deter her much, as she gave him a half-lidded stare and smile.

"You got it, sweetflanks - comin' right up." She then turned to work the magic that bartenders usually did... except her flank seemed to swing slowly and deliciously as she worked, to the beat of the music, in a rhythm that would have made almost any other stallion utterly hypnotized by her swaying rump.

Of course, Cup paid no attention. "So, love - what do you think of the whole she-bang here?"

Of course, being jealous didn't really make any sense, considering that Cupcake was completely and utterly oblivious to any flirtation attempts, and Obsidian was well aware that she was better than any mare that might try to seduce her wonderful coltfriend.

"Oh, it's quite interesting - bigger than anything we've attented in Ponyville, I'd daresay. I can hardly wait to meet my brother," Obsidian replied with a very carefully relaxed voice, though she was doing her best to take a look around - all the while, pretending not to care about her surroundings.

"Two virgin cherry smoothies, hot stuff," the bartender purred as she presented them with two tall glasses filled with a sweet-smelling concoction. "Now, if there's anything else you'd like a taste of, just ask." she smirked.

Cup took the drinks and gave one to Obsidian as he smiled back at the bartender. "Thankies!" The mare simply gave him a wink in response, but Cup was too busy grabbing straws for him to have caught it.

This place, the sounds, the lights, the mingling... it was all as grandiose as Obsidian had ever experienced, but she was never more in her element than now. She was cool, she was collected, she was calm... and as long as the bartender didn't push the issue much further, Obsidian would stay that way.

It wasn't long before a caterer mare in a fancy outfit walked by with a trayful of sweet-smelling snacks... a tray which got Cup's attention.

"That scent... I know that scent..." He got up and, in a surprisingly somewhat subdued manner, he began to sniff at the air, following the mare with the tray as she made her way towards the back.

Cup glanced back at Obsidian. "I swear to you, I KNOW that scent, and my sniffer never lies when it comes to food!" For some reason, she could totally believe it.

"I never said it didn't," Obsidian said somewhat defensively as she had no reason to doubt it - not a single one. If he told her he had a super-sense that let him see sweets with only the power of his mind, she would believe him too. "Who's that? Another relative of yours, perhaps?"

Cup followed the mare - a unicorn, she noted - to the back hall, where she slipped behind one of the tapestries and into a service door... with a sneaky Cupcake Sprinkles hot on her tail! He caught the door just before it closed, and looked back at Obsidian.

"Okay, you've got my back here, right? I say we go see what we can see in the back areas - I KNOW that scent, and I'm not giving up 'til I FIND it!" he grinned mischeviously.

Obsidian could always just go back to the party, maybe go hang out with Wart, perhaps strike up a conversation with someone else... or, as per usual for her fiance, she could stick with him and probably find herself on some sort of adventure before too long... and she'd made that choice when she kissed him for the first time, didn't she?

Obsidian sighed a bit, but didn't complain. "Could you at least tell me about what we are looking for?"

He grinned as he snuck in the door, then held it for her while she followed suit. "When I was a foal, I had all sorts of sweet treats, but there was only ONE TIME I ever experienced the most delicious, most divine Carrot Cake I'd ever know in my entire existence as a pony... and, I swear to you, THAT was IT! Almost like a I was a foal again, myself!" He continued to sniff about, now a bit more physically, until he began to make his way down a side hall.

The area wasn't made for public consumption; the walls were drab, the floor was dreary tile, and the lights buzzed overhead with a drone that felt like it was trying to push its' way through her skull. However, it wasn't dirty or cluttered; it was clean and neat as a pin, even if not very showy.

Rounding another corner, the two of them came across a group of similarly-dressed caterers, all standing in a semi-circle, facing someone Obsidian couldn't quite see. The mare Cup had been following walked over to another table, where a similar-looking pegasus was busily cooking at a portable stove, stocking up all sorts of treats.

Including what looked like a huge Carrot Cake, among the other foodstuffs on the nearby table.

The unicorn set the tray down, then wiped the sweat from her forehead with a hoof. "Whew! There's gotta be, like, at least three hundred folks out there! See, that's what I meant by 'getting our names out there'; after a party like this, there won't be a single soul in all of Manehattan who won't know our names!"

"Yeah, sis," the pegasus spoke back to her, "but how many of our business cards have you passed out yet?"

The mare gave the pegasus a flat stare. "Pass them out. Really. With as much as I've been hoofing it back and forth across the floor, taking orders, returning compliments, asking if anyone needs refills and managing what we've already got out there, tell me how I'm supposed to have even five seconds to give out a business card, eh!? Don't get on my case about passing out business cards when I didn't know we were supposed to!"

The stallion sighed loudly and dramatically. "What are business cards FOR, dummy? Were you waiting for permission to advertise???" Cup was staring at the two of them... hard.

Obsidian very, veeeeeery carefully put her hoof on Cup's back. To be fair, she really thought he was looking for somepony, not for something - perhaps one of his mother's baking friends? Somepony from his family? There were plenty of options...

But the fact that he was looking for a cake - a delicious cake - worried her a bit. "Love, er... why are you staring that hard?" Which was yet another thing that was spiking her anxiety at the moment.

"Because," he muttered, "I think I know them..." He stepped forward, slicking his mane back with a hoof before approaching the two caterers.

"Excuse me," he began, in a mock-regal voice, "but might I inquire as to the origins of that cake you're sporting there?"

The unicorn turned, trying her best to seem professional, to look at Cup with a slight sigh. "Sir, thank you for the compliment, but I must direct all questions to the guardstaff, as we're a little understaaaAAAAAAAAH!"

The mare's entire being seemed to almost jolt awake, and she kept looking Cup over as if she'd never noticed he had a blue coat before. "Sweet Twilight's Crown! Is that you, Cupcake Sprinkles!?"

The look of shock and happiness blossomed on her muzzle, and she turned to her brother. "Hey look - it's CUPCAKE!"

The pegasus looked up from his stove, and a twin sunny smile broke across his features too. "Cupcake Sprinkles, oh my word!" The two of them came around and locked Cup in an embrace between the two of them.

"WOWZERS!" Cup exclaimed, "I never thought I'd see YOU TWO here!"

For a moment, Obsidian was worried that they'd just met some random sworn enemies of the Pie family, and she would possibly have to steal this cake and brainwash those two into believing that sky was made of gummy bears, just to give them enough time to escape.

Obsidian stepped forward, only slightly disoriented. After all, it was Cup; around him, she should always expect the most unexpected things. "Cuppy, who...?"

He turned and gasped, then directed both siblings to the sight of Obsidian. "Siddy, this is Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake - they're the foals of Mr. and Mrs. Cake, the ones who built Sugarcube Corner!"

"Yeah, and I hope it's still standing, with YOUR appetite!" Pumpkin laughed.

"Pound, Pumpkin - I wanna introduce you to Obsidian, Dark Princess of the Crystal Empire, Hero of Ponyville... and my wonderful fiancee!"

Both of the Cake twins went wide-eyed. "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!"

Pound stepped forward first. "You managed to score a stallion like Cupcake? Let me tell you, you won the happiness lottery on that call!"

Pumpkin gave a slight bow. "Good to meet ya! I'm glad to see that Cuppers grew up to have some taste - other than food, of course!"

The half-circle of caterers all chuckled at some joke she didn't hear; were they being entertained between work shifts?

Now that Cupcake had mentioned their names, Obsidian remembered hearing about them - owners of Sugarcube Corner, working there and so on. She didn't think she'd ever heard any real details though, so some bits of Ponyville History were completely new to her.

"A pleasure to meet you two," Obsidian gave a slight bow, "and yes, we're both quite happy with each other... though I had to get used to it first," she shyly admitted.

Pound laughed. "I'll BETCHA ya did, there! Cupper's always been a little... rambunctious?... spirited?..."

"A little insane," Pumpkin finished with a smile, "so we understand ya there - but his heart's as good as gold, and twice as precious, don'tcha know?"

Cup's grin put them all to shame. "Pound and Pumpkin here used to foalsit me; they're the ones who helped me learn how to have fun with cooking!"

Pumpkin shot her brother a knowing glance. "And we taught him the comedic value of a sack of flour, too!"

All three of them laughed heartily at that; they seemed like old friends, and even though it was a warm moment, she couldn't help but feel like a proverbial fifth hoof. However, before it became a burden on her mind, Obsidian caught a quick snippet of conversaton from the caterers gathered behind her.

"... you said more chocolate? By Darkness, you would think so many reed-thin mares wouldn't be putting such a strain on our cocoa reserves..."

By Darkness?

Obsidian was a bit hesitant to ask about sacks of flour; luckily, it seemed that she didn't have to, as something else got her attention. Perhaps ruining the warm, friendly mood here... but also perhaps bringing them a bit closer to fulfilling the real goal of this mission. And their original goal was not at all connected to any carrot cakes or to walking around and feeling beautiful in this perfect, wonderful dress... sadly...

"Pardon me, but... do you happen to know who I heard, just now? That voice that was just speaking about cocoa," she asked Pound and Pumpkin.

The two of them looked at each other and Pumpkin shrugged. Pound then gently took wing, giving a quick glance as he flapped once or twice - then his eyes went wide, and he swiftly landed, giving a nervous look at his sister.

"The BOSS is here," is all he said, as he went back to his stove and began cooking with a fervor.

Pumpkin grimaced. "Good to see you again, Cuppie, but we'll have to catch up another time - we're at work right now!" She blanched a bit, then grabbed up another round of treats and refilled her tray as deftly as a knife-thrower making a public demonstration.

"Sorry, Cup - but catch one of us before you leave, and we'll give you our- WAIT!" She scrambled over to Obsidian and gave her a small card with letters printed on it. "Our business card! Just get in touch when you can, okay?" She smiled, gave Cup a quick peck on the cheek as she passed him, and returned out towards the ballroom.

Cup blinked at Obsidian. "... the 'Boss'? Wouldn't that mean..."

"Oh my shades and shadows..." The voice was surprised and stunned, but still rich, regal and cultured - even in shock. The stallion it belonged to made his way out from the semi-circle of employees, all of whom went back to work as he did.

"May I possibly take a guess and state that you simply must be Obsidian, yes?"

Author's Notes:

Thunderclap Dash is funny to use as a clueless humor node. Not to say she's dumb - not at all - but I tried to justify the reason for the blonde in her mane. *chuckle* Seriously though, everyone makes mistakes - Clap's are just more fun, in my opinion.

For some reason, when I consider the sound someone makes when they're taken completely by surprise by something attractive, I always come up with some variant of 'buh'. Why? I dunno - because it sounds funny? And after what had happened all the way back towards the beginning of this story - after the girls got their spa treatments - I felt that a little bit of payback was in order.

Yes - Wart and Clap's fighting was influenced by similar moments from the show, usually between AJ, Dash or Rares in some combination of two of them. I actually found their back-and-forth quite amusing... especially the coining of the phrase, oh my cloud.

Another cameo - TWO, even! I figured they'd be following in similar hoofsteps to their parents, and since it was mentioned that the Cakes had moved to Manehattan... well, I just figured it'd be a good time for another couple of canon characters to show up. (A pair of siblings that are LESS notorious and LESS alicorn-y than the others presented so far.)

Forty Three: Introducing Quartz

He looked almost exactly like the drawing Diamond had made of him; he even had the same monocle! However, the drawing had been in simple charcoal, and hadn't prepared her for... for...

The suit he wore was an exquisitely crafted, double-breasted number with smooth seams, excellent cut and second-to-none design. It was a stunning masterpiece of the loom, an artwork worthy of hanging in any international gallery. It was also neon purple, with tangerine trim and a baby blue lining. With mint green stripes. And sequins that lined his lapels.

The tailoring outshined even Eloquence's work... but the colors made it resemble a garden of vomit.

Of course, there was a simple explanation for these colors - perhaps Quartz was colorblind? Or maybe it was just a fashion issue, as if the unruly clashing of colors was done especially to attract attention or... or...

By Darkness! Obsidian had hoped that their meeting would happen within the circumstances she chose, instead of being forced into a family reunion in a room smelling like carrot cake! It did smell delicious, though, Cup was right about that. Maybe they should ask Pound and Pumpkin to cater their wedding...

"Yes, you are correct, dear brother; I'm pleased to finally meet you in the horseflesh. Princess Celestia spoke quite highly of you." She bowed her head politely, even though she was still a bit wary. Hopefully they could avoid a battle... especially as it would be a shame to sully or damage her outfit.

Quartz smiled, and the effect was like watching the sun rise with your heart; the room seemed to light up at this simple gesture... and he returned her bow. "And I am also exquisitely charmed to finally lay eyes on my 'secret sister', after all this time and all these long years... and to be honest, I'm absolutely flattered that you would find my little get-together to be important enough to wear an Eloquence Original to it; I thank you most kindly for the compliment, intended or otherwise."

He then focused his attention on Cupcake. "And I believe that this handsome fellow would be the much-lauded Cupcake Sprinkles, am I correct? Of Pie fame, and a known contributor to the, eh, Siddy Six, was it? A pleasure to meet you as well, good sir." And he bowed to Cup.

Cupcake, not exactly sure what to do, gave a slight bow in return. "Um... yes. Hi."

Quartz smiled and looked at Obsidian again. "Strange; he was never purported to be a stallion of few words - or is this an exaggeration? I mean, they have to sell papers, I get that, but..." He was smirking just a bit.

Could it be that Obsidian might actually be having a meeting with a sibling... that WOULDN'T be violent or tearful? The fact that they weren't already trying to kill each other meant that this meeting was far, far better than her first encounter with Tourmy... or Amy, for that matter.

"Oh, he's just impressed, methinks - we didn't expect to just bump into you accidentially, dear brother of mine. You look precisely like Diamond pictured you, though... so I feel actually a bit embarrassed we didn't recognize you a moment sooner." She relaxed a bit. It... it wasn't going badly - at least, not yet. And if it did, they shouldn't have too many issues with finding something sharp around a kitchen.

The stallion's eyebrows lifted. "Diamond? Shades of night, you've found his drawings? I thought Onyx had burned that; if it's the one I recall, I do remember him doing quite an excellent rendition of me... of course, practically all renditions of me are a slice of perfection!"

He gave a light laugh that seemed to bring a carefree feeling with it. "And don't feel disheartened by not recognizing me sooner - often, I try to oversee as much as I can during a bash like this. Leaving it in the hooves of others can, er, complicate things, so I simply forego that and see to it myself. Granted, a bit more work, but... well, quality matters to me."

He seemed quite genuine, and the smile he held seemed as if it were for no one else but the gathered few here. "So, since 'hanging out' in the kitchen isn't exactly seen as classy, shall we go to my private balcony to chat? Get to know each other, as it were? After all, I have so many, many questions for you... if you don't mind my picking your brain, that is?"

"As long as that won't be literal; that would be more Amethyst's taste, of course," Obsidian mused. "Let's go, then."

Damnation, she should really find a way to make more bracelets like the ones she had with Flurry! It would have been pretty handy to just contact Stalwart and tell her that they'd met Quartz already, and he didn't seem to be dangerous.

Cup looked back and forth between them, then shrugged and fell into step next to Obsidian, as the three of them walked out through the service tunnel, and back into the party through the same door they'd come in from.

"Yes, Amethyst!" Quartz laughed, "The eternally angry sibling. Honestly, you would think that after such a LONG nap, the mare would be a bit calmer by now. Still, such as she is, she's also among the better fighters in our dysfunctional little family; I'm actually glad she was given a chance... the poor thing would look terrible in granite!"

Better? Then Amy wasn't the best? A concerning idea, that was for sure. However, with each passing moment, she was warming up to Quartz. He seemed to be well-liked, quite charming, and his private area was safe from surprise attacks... well, not attacking him at first sight was apparently a good idea.

Chuckling, he led them through throngs of ponies who seemed to all want to speak with Quartz, yet he gave a few wrods to each, and sent them away pleased. Not a one of them was upset after having heard from him. Was this some form of magic?

Near the far end, they came to a set of velvet ropes, and a suited (yet rather intimidating) griffon stood guard. His face was dour, but lit up when he laid eyes on Quartz. "Sir - enjoying the party?" he spoke kindly.

"Yes, Gordon; everything's under control, and you've got the cushiest job in the whole place." Quartz then gave a concerned look. "You haven't been standing the entire time, have you?"

Gordon laughed. "No sir - got my stool off to the side for now. But much appreciated, Mr. Quartz; thanks for thinking of me."

"But of course! If you're less tired on your feet, you'll be better prepared in case there IS an emergency... common sense, is all." Quartz lifted a hoof for emphasis. "Plus, it never hurts to make sure one's staff are doing well. The mark of a good leader is the condition of those under his banner, after all!"

The griffon moved the velvet rope, and the three of them, 'ladies first', headed upstairs to a more subdued and private area, though still within full view of the stage and open to the public. Which meant no 'hidden attacks while away from public'; signs kept getting better and better...

He offered them a chair, then sat down himself. "Now, welcome to my little soiree, my dear sister."

"Thank you, my brother," Obsidian returned kindly. "Now, I assume you are up-to-date with the recent events in Ponyville, yes?"

He chuckled warmly. "Not that it could be helped; word of your victory has spread throughout the entire continent - and even beyond, truthfully! For about two weeks, The Siddy Six were the talk of the town; I'm surprised you haven't encountered any fans or paparazzi yet!"

"Uhhh... we kinda did," Cup spoke up, "but it wasn't, um... a nice experience, let's say."

Quartz looked stunned. "Really!? How absolutely appalling! I'd have thought for certain that you lot would be treated with the utmost respect! Well, on behalf of Manehattan, I apologize profusely for the actions of my fellow Applecorians."

He gave a low bow, then straightened up and sighed. "A shame, by the way... about poor Onyx; she was harsh, but... I do not believe she deserved THAT, honestly speaking. Still give me shudders, just thinking about it." And as if conjured, Quartz shuddered in his loud suit.

While Obsidian could have reassured him that Onyx was already feeling better... she decided to keep her mouth shut about it, at least for now. While Quartz was quite likable, he was still Sombra's son and Onyx's brother; nopony with a family like that could be completely trusted.

"We also lost Ruby, sadly," she said with a soft, pained voice.

He looked up at her swiftly. "Ruby..?" He sat back in his chair and rasied a hoof to his forehead. "No... no, not..."

Tears began to flow down his cheeks, his visage one of a quiet, sad dignity. "Poor Ruby - such a bright spot among the lot of us, she was so kind, even when we didn't deserve it. Granted, Diamond was the kindest of us all, but Ruby had been our heart. Well... I always saw her as such... oh, poor, poor Ruby..."

Cup now leaned forward and placed a hoof on Quartz's shoulder. "Yeah, it... it was hard on a few of us..." He then looked at Siddy curiously; he also knew about the siblings in her head, but he was following her lead and keeping quiet about it, bless him.

Granted, he could be faking his behaviour - she had no idea why he would, but it was a possibility, right? Though his tears did look quite authentic... and it was rather hard to start crying on the spot.

"On another hoof - we found brother Diamond, he seems to like modern Equestria quite a lot", she added to try to cheer him up. Fascinating - he didn't know about Ruby's fate? Perhaps he didn't know too much about Onyx's team; otherwise, he would surely have noticed that somepony wasn't walking around Ponyville anymore, doing friendship stuff...

Quartz sniffled a bit, then removed a garishly bright yellow hankerchief with brown trim from his pocket - it looked like a flat banana - and dabbed at his eyes daintily with it.

"Ohh... oh, my... wait, you.. you say you've found Diamond? A-and he's out of his shard form? How could-..." He stopped, dabbed at his eyes once more and put the gaudy hankerchief away. "... of course; I'll bet 'twas your magic that freed him, eh? As according to Perry himself, only an alicorn or a shard-born can release another shard, so it would make perfect sense."

He shook his head slowly. "By Darkness, there's so much more that I don't even know about, isn't there? And here I've been, for the past three years, making a name for myself among the scrapers of the sky, a busy little flower amongst a garden of redwoods..."

With those colors, he was most certainly the most noticeable flower, that much was clear.

"But still, it sounds as if my life has been a picnic in the glade, compared to what you have had to deal with, dear sister! Please, might you kindly regale me with what you've been up to since helping to make our most honourable father into a most honourable garden gnome?"

Alicorn or shard-born... it was starting to make sense that Amber was trying so hard to brainwash her fellow siblings, then - it was the easiest option. She couldn't really hope to get Twilight's help, especially as she was still packed into this nice, little coffin that Flim & Flam had prepared for her shard. Still, it wouldn't hurt to inform Twilight that shards weren't that easy to set free.

And, hah... garden gnome.

"Oh, not too much; Peridot possessed an alicorn and attempted to kill almost every pony on the planet, with the exception of his siblings. We're doing our best to make Amethyst feel like a bit more welcome in Ponyville... though at the moment, nothing really seems to be working. Oh, and I've gotten engaged, too." Doubtless, he would have noticed their necklaces anyway.

He stared a moment, then sighed. "That... actually isn't as hard to believe as one might think, knowing Perry as I did; he was always in pain, always muttering about how others around him were so loud... even in absolute quiet. Maybe I never truly understood that pain, but I most certainly saw its' effects on him."

At news of Amy's fate, Quartz gave a smirk. "Give that mare something to hunt, kill and gut, and you'll have a smiling Amethyst in no time flat; she wasn't made for the foppishness of court, no - she was styling herself to be father's next warlord, of course. Though, to have that title solidly, she would have had to face off against Aquamarine..."

He then sighed softly, his expression turning somber. "... poor Aqua. If only he'd have made it back to the Empire before father's curse took hold, we might know where to find him today. Alas, his shard was outside, in the snow, when we were all shunted forth in time. Now... well, history would know more than I do, I'm afraid."

Then, he realized what she'd finished with, and his merry smile returned... with reinforcements. "Darkness preserve! You're engaged to wed? HUZZAH and congratulatons! I do hope you remember to invite me among your guests; I'd be honored to attend such a thing!"

At his 'huzzah', Siddy lightly tapped her own necklace and then pointed to Cup's matching one; it should be enough for Quartz to realize that they weren't matching without good reason.

He smiled. "It's strange, really... you were the worst kept secret among the rest of us, you know? Father never acknowledged that you existed, but we all found out about you, in our own ways..." he sighed, "some more painful than others," then grinned again, "but we couldn't FIND you, as much as some of us searched our little hearts out for you. Ruby was one of them, you know - as were Diamond and Opal... and, admittedly, myself..."

He looked her over appreciatively. "Wherever he had hidden you, it was well-done. Reminds me of us trying to find Whistlewhite's quarters..."

"Now, it's funny that you say that, actually... for my entire early life, I was sure that I was an only child. Oh, and from certain discoveries I've made, he did indeed put me in Whistlewhite's old quarters," she admitted.

"HA!" he laughed, "Of course he would have! We never found her room either, so naturally, he would use it again - it makes perfect sense!"

He chuckled a bit at this, then looked over at them both with a smile. "The two of you seem to be quite a charming couple; not only do I finally get to meet my lost sister, but I also get to meet my future brother-in-law! I DO apologize, Mister Sprinkles, if I am dominating the conversation... if you wish to speak, by all means, do so!"

Cup smiled at his Siddy. "A-actually... Siddy's been waiting to meet you for, like, a long time, so... I'm okay with just listening to you two talk!"

Quartz glanced to Obsidian with an approving smirk. "I think I'm beginning to see why he was chosen; how thoughtful of you, sir. My thanks to your deferral."

Cup just grinned, especially at his Dark Princess.

"Well then, with that under our collective belts, might I ask what brings you to The Big Applecore, as they call it? The sights? The sounds? The adventure?"

"Oh, it was all about you, dear brother of mine; thanks to Diamond's picture, I discovered that I had yet another sibling, and I simply had to come here and meet you, muzzle to muzzle. When I found about this gala, I prepared for it with a bit of Eloquence's help... and now, here I am."

She gave him her the most charming smile. "The cape was my own idea, though."

"As well as those utterly lovely necklaces you two are sporting, no doubt?" He looked her outft over again. "Ah, I do so love a decent cape; brings out the general in all of us, does it not? Plus, if you chose it yourself, I daresay you might be some competition for me someday!"

He leaned in conspiritorially close. "Don't think for a second that means I'll go easy on you, milday; you'll have to earn it!"

He winked, smirking as he sat back again. "But to know that you actually converse with Eloquence on a personal basis? I must say, legacy fashionistos are hard to come by, and that stallion proves that style knows no gender or bias! Honestly, he's been courted by Manehattan for quite some time now, yet he only shows for his mother's Fall Fashion lineup - and then, only to sell her outfits."

He gave Siddy a warm grin. "Unless, of course, a kind and caring sibling might be willing to drop my name to him, possibly for the purpose of a collaboration, of sorts?" He then gave a wry chuckle. "Not that I'm wanting to use you for such things; honestly, I'm simply pleased to meet you at last. The Lost Child of Sombra."

His smile dimmed, but stayed put. "Whistle would have truly doted over you, I'm sure... after all, you do resemble the works I've seen of our mother, just a bit."

Small-talk, fashion-talk, compliments, jokes... everything paled in comparison and fell away like sand when he dropped one, simple word.

"... M... M-Mother?" Obsidian practically whispered, her eyes zeroing in on Quartz's own.

His small smile became a bit tight, yet still stayed put. "Yes... I'm afraid I never actually got to meet her, as she was gone before the first of us came into existence... but Whistlewhite knew her well. To hear that mare speak so highly of someone..."

"Radiant Hope was father's most trusted ally and confidant. She was instrumental in helping to depose the callous King Crest, who had allowed his kingdom to fall to shambles... and though it was Father who was placed upon the throne, it was Mother who held the Empire's heart."

"She became the Grand Magus of his court, and was the one who arbitrated disputes, who dealt with magical dilemmas and generally took care of directly interacting with the subjects, while Father was the planner and financier who was rebuilding the kingdom itself."

"Whistlewhite herself owed her living to Hope, as she'd taken the poor, homeless mare in after seeing one of her incredible artworks. She was a close friend to both Mother AND Father, and was responsible for ALL of the many paintings that used to grace the walls of the Crystal Palace..."

Now, the smile slipped away, replaced not by a frown, but by an utterly hollow look that was strangely worse.

"Then... Hope just... vanished. Something to do with magic, and the Umbral Altars... but Father would never say. Once she vanished, I surmise that he created each of us in turn to either replace her or perhaps even find her. But I suppose each of us were disappointments, in some fashion or another, and the more of us he created, the worse he became... until the day he finally snapped, and allowed the darkness within him to take control."

He closed his eyes. "And Onyx saw it all. She was the first of us created, and was with him for each of our own creations, from what I gather; she acted as she did because she saw, firsthoof, what Father was doing to himself... and chose to remain loyal to him, no matter what. A choice... she paid for with her life."

He sighed grandly. "As did Whistlewhite, with her own choices."

There were too many things Obsidian still didn't know, but she was sure of one thing - more evil had been spawned from Sombra and Hope's dangerous tomfoolery with ancient magics than good. By all means, they could have been saints before they started this whole child-making-enslaving-torturing business... but eventually, their legacy turned out to consist only of pain and terror. And for that, she wasn't ever going to forgive them.

At the moment however, she was mostly trying to keep a straight face - and mentioning Onyx didn't help.

"So nopony really knows what happened to her..." she muttered. It seemed that she'd apparently learned a bit more than the rest of her siblings through Hope's memories that were stuck in her head, burdening her with their foolishness which was already over a thousand years in the past.

"No... except for Father, and... well," Quartz shrugged, making the colors of his suit battle each other for a moment, "nothing ever came from that end."

The conversation went quiet for a moment, until Cupcake, hunkered down low with only the top of his head and his eyes poking up over the edge of the table, looked at the fashion designer and spoke in a soft, awe-filled voice. "Who was Whistlewhite to you?"

Quartz looked over at him and chuckled. Sitting up, he tried to shrug off his sad feelings. "Whistlewhite practically raised many of us; she acted as our nanny, so to speak, and she's the one who tried to teach us things Father wouldn't. It's because of her that some of us know what friendship really is, you see... she never lied, never spoke ill of anyone, and always seemed to bring a stability and harmony to her surroundings. She was... truly magical..."

He then looked at Cup. "And you, sir - I can see why my darling sister wants to have you all to herself; you're quite a funny fellow, Mr. Sprinkles!"

Cup blushed and sat back down. "I'm just lucky she picked me, that's all - the luckiest stallion in the world!"

Quartz seemed to grin a bit more at that. "Well, I'd daresay you aren't the only lucky one involved, I'd wager?" He shot a smirk at Obsidian.

Nanny, stability, friendship... Quartz may have been enamoured by the artist, but at least in the cases of Amy and Onyx, she'd failed miserably. "We are both quite lucky - in fact, I would possibly even call it destiny, considering how many things had to work out in our favour to make it happen..."

She sat a bit more comfortably. "You mentioned that sister Opal was one of those who was looking for me too, dear brother?"

"Well, in the younger days, she did... Opal was quite a diligent sort. She never did like to leave questions unanswered... almost as much as she liked sweets." He chuckled. "That mare was crazy about candies! Father never allowed them, of course, but that didn't stop Whistle from making sure we got to taste some... well, those of us who liked her, anyway."

He shook his head. "Ah, yes... Opal, our genius little tinkerhoof," he sighed... but Obsidian could tell something bothered him on that subject; Quartz was too expressive for his own good. "Well, it was like a treasure hunt, you see? The Search For The Lost Sister! It was quite the adventure, and even though we didn't really expect to find you... well, it's something that helped some of us bond. All in the name of searching for you, my sister. To think, even with everything between us, you were there among us in spirit - we even spoke about what we thought you'd look like..."

He smirked. "Diamond wins that bet, I'd say; he said you would be the most beautiful mare the Empire had ever seen, and that you would be more powerful than even Father was... and that you would be the best of us all." He sighed happily. "I'm glad to discover my littlest brother was right."

Obsidian scoffed slightly. Yeah, yeah, beautiful, powerful... of course, it would be nice to have this power show itself more often. Perhaps coupled with a bit of inherent wisdom and knowledge about spells, too? Her beauty was also a bit overestimated ...though obviously, she was more concerned about this little strange reaction to Opal. What did Quartz know?

"Thanks for the compliment." More powerful, eh? If that would be the case, she should have been able to trash his sorry ass without any help. "So, dear brother... you said you have some questions as well?" She had to ask him about a few more things... but that could hold for later.

He looked up, grinning flawlessly. "Indeed I do, my sister - I certainly hope they don't bore you, of course; they are somewhat pedestrian."

Cup blinked. "Your questions walk?"

Quartz gave a light, airy chuckle. "No, no, Mr. Sprinkles! It means the questions will be very average and commonplace - at least, to her they might seem that way."

"Oh," Cup simply wasn't expecting a direct answer, "well, that... makes sense."

"At any rate, I wanted to ask you about a number of things, such as how you got to Modern Equestria in the first place... or how did you manage to meet the rest of your 'Siddy Six'? How did you discover our siblings, and how, by shades of night, did you actually manage to best Father?" Quartz looked like he most certainly had more... but he wanted to know directly from the source, and possibly not second- or third-hoof.

"Well, I was found by Princess Twilight in Whistlewhite's room during her exploration of Sombra's catacombs. She took me to Equestria, where I was informed that everything had changed quite a bit and well," she thought about the next part of the question, "... the rest just happened, really. I met Cup, my liaison, then I met two random ponies who were interested what I was doing in the Rarity Suite. Then, I met a very short pony who really liked royalty, and a diamond dog who knew a lot about history and really liked making origami. Suddenly, boom - we were all friends."

Quartz gave a chuckle. "It may sound light to you, but do keep in mind that the rest of us were mostly busy bringing Onyx's plan to fruition; we didn't have time for such things as friendships..." He grinned. "Though I, myself, am not exactly easy to hide, as I'm sure you've witnessed. Ah, the price of being talented..."

He shook his head. "Anyhow, it sounds as if you managed to have quite an adventure, nearly straight off the bat! And... did I hear you correctly? A diamond dog... folding origami? I daresay that sounds as though your canine companion is quite talented! I believe the press called him, 'Gypsy'?"

He looked up, thinking. "As well as Thunderclap Dash, Mica Chip, Mr. Sprinkles of course, and... Stalwart? Stalwart Stand?"

"Stalwart Stance," she corrected him. "And if I may be so bold, what was your role in Onyx's plan, brother?"

"My role?" he asked, a bit of concern crossing his features for a moment. "Well... you see, my dear sister, the lot of us, for the most part, have already been loose from our crystal prisons for about four years, total. As was such, it took roughly a year for Onyx to organize and prepare a plan for Father's return; each of us that she had tabs on was to participate in different ways..."

He now sat up a bit straighter. "Myself, I happen to be an expert in defensive spells - foremost being Armor Spells and enchantments. Should her plan have succeeded, it would have been my job to not only fabricate outfits for the gathered slaves, but to enchant the suits so they could take a LOT of punishment; Onyx believed that Equestria would be an excellent place to mine for valuable gemstones and rescources for the Empire."

He closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm actually relieved that her work was put to an end... it may have been wonderful for some of us, but the entire rest of Equus was going to suffer. And frankly? I rather like it here."

He gestured with his hooves animatedly as he spoke. "Ponies here aren't like in the Empire we know - they don't FEAR us, nor are they listless and sullen from grinding slavery, nor is it expected of us to constantly command and monitor anyone!"

Cup smiled; he apparently liked Quartz too.

"Though it takes a bit more work to live in Equestria... I daresay that it's completely worth every bead of sweat, to live in such a vibrant and alive world as this one. To have the mere option to have friends. To be able to choose so many things..."

Four years... a year of planning... so he didn't have any further role in Onyx's plan before it failed spectacularly? Good for him; considering that Celestia herself didn't seem to have a clue about his Dark heritage, Obsidian could easily believe that Quartz was honest with her about that.

"I was a bit disoriented at the beginning about having so many choices and options; fortunately, Onyx helped me to choose my allegiances correctly," she smiled a bit. Of course, her 'help' had consisted mainly of trying to kill her and her friends - and it was hard to support a side that tries to send you straight to Tartarus. "And I have to agree: ponies without chains and collars seem to be far more happy and interesting. Even better, the slaveless economy is actually better than one based on forced labor!"

"I concur - and I cannot tell you how good it feels to hear you saying such; I admit, I was a bit hesitant at first, as I was uncertain where you would stand on such a thing as slavery... though the wise bet was on NO, but better safe than sorry, eh?" Quartz shook his magnificent head. "Onyx... had a plan for everything, it seemed; she expected and correctly predicted a number of events, and she had full confidence that things would work out to her end. She..."

Quartz gave Obsidian a bit of a worried look. "I feel I must ask if you know what her plans for you were - if you don't know, I can always enlighten you..."

"Enlighten me, then, dear brother; I'm always happy to learn something more about my late sister," Obsidian smiled to him... which, considering the topic of their discussion, looked a bit creepy. Perhaps it would be better if he didn't find out about Onyx renting office space in her head just yet.

He nodded. "Well, her plan was to push poor Ruby until she decided to go rogue - as she was the one Onyx deducted would be the most likely - and then allow her to fill the Light Amulet, and lull her into a false sense of security... then, well..." He looked at her gravely. "It was her idea to locate you, then dupe you into hunting down Ruby to retireve the Light Amulet, and bring it to her. At which point, she would have ressurrected Father... and, well, she wasn't very forthcoming as to what would become of you then... my apologies, if this isn't enough information - but I figure, with Onyx gone, I can pretty much tell you whatever I want to, without fear of retaliation from her and her Nightmare Spell."

He shuddered. "Be glad you've not experienced that one."

Cup lifted a hoof. "A-actually..."

Quartz's eyes widened... then he looked pained. "Oh, shades and shadows... I am so sorry to hear that."

"Well, it almost went exactly how you said, except that instead of Ruby filling the Light Amulet, I did it. Ruby was killed by Amy," Obsidian admitted, "and we all became targets of Onyx's Nightmare Spell - which was hardly a pleasant experience."

The fashion designer closed his eyes and grimaced. "Amethyst... that makes sense, but she was never muderous of us before... why did she kill her? I don't understand that - Onyx was always a bit protective of us, especially around Father. Why would she..?"

Obsidian waved her hoof. "Oh, it was an accident - she was trying to kill me, but Ruby got in the way."

Quartz now looked pained. "I'll bet she regrets that... not that she'd ever say so, but Amy hides herself very well; it's how she survived Father's ruthless and brutal training. Amethyst had it rough, as she was put through so much for Father's training regimens... but she refused to cry in front of us."

He now looked at Obsidian earnestly. "I know it sounds exceedingly strange... but our little 'family' has more heart than most would recognize; we simply have little experience on how to live with others in peace. I dare not think of how we ALL would have ended up, were it not for Whistle and Slug..."

"Who's Slug?" Cup asked directly.

"Father's unfortunate Court Jester; he was the one who tried to teach us what laughter was, and how to make a joke in the first place. For example, 'what do you call a slave after ten hours of torture?' A three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle!"

He gave a polite chuckle, but Cupcake just blanched a bit, then turned to his fiancee. "Sounds like something you'd say..."

Obsidian couldn't help herself but laugh heartiliy at the joke. Jigsaw puzzle! Now it was clever, eh? A bit grim, though...

"*ahem* Well, we are trying to reach to Amy... a bit. It's not exactly easy, but I think we are making steady - if slow - progress."

Quartz gave a curious look. "Really? I daresay you'll have you work cut out for you, with that one... but I stll wish you luck, of course - though I do hope, for all your sakes, that she's had her pet dagger taken from her. It's a Foci Blade, and she can concentrate her already formidable magical abilities through it - and she's absolutely lethal with it in her possession."

He pondered for a moment. "Still... 'twould be easier than trying to reach, say, Onyx, Aquamarine, or even-"

He suddenly stopped, shutting his eyes for a moment and clearing his throat before looking at them again. "Sorry, sorry - so much talking and so little to drink!" He motioned to the side, and a server made his way over to them.

Quartz smiled at the stallion. "Good Evening, Herb - may we please get a bottle of Fitzrow '87, please? And three glasses," he smiled, "my family and I are thirsty."

The server (Herb, apparently) smiled back. "Yessir, Mr. Quartz! Gimme two shakes of a lamb's tail, and I'll be right back!"

Herb went off with purpose in mind, while Quartz simply sat back in his chair and smiled at them. "Now... I've been doing quite a bit of the talking, so far - perhaps you have further questions?"

"Yes, actually - we are still looking for some of our siblings, so perhaps you could tell me something about Opal and Sapphire?" He didn't mention somepony; after the word 'even', he'd been planning to mention somepony... but instead, he stopped. Considering Obsidian's gathered knowledge of her brothers and sisters, there weren't too many names that would fit there...

"Opal? Well, she's been doing rather well for herself; she was going to be Father's inventor, but in lieu of his return, she also began making mining machinery. And if I'VE got a bevy of bits to my name, then that mare is loaded; she's made a fortune on her devices - enough to afford her own candy factory, in fact!"

Cupcake began to drool unconsciously.

"She's a bit, eh, eccentric... she's normally sweet as can be, but when she feels nervous or pressured, she can... change a bit. That side of her can be irrational and paranoid... not to mention deadly. Were I you, I would endeavor to make certain she feels calm and relaxed when you speak to her - as long as her eyes are blue, it's good for you... but if her eyes turn red," he spoke seriously, "you'll end up dead."

Okay, so don't make Opal nervous - or at least strike first before she had an opportunity to start a slaughter. Considering that Obsidian really didn't want to end up dead, it was probably a good plan. She didn't hold too much hope about that, though - by now, Obsidian had already learned from multiple experiences that if something can go wrong, it usually did go wrong.

Quartz then seemed to look a bit uncomfortable. "As for Sapphire? Well... she... she's dedicated, shall we say? She's not the kind who... uhm... well, she's difficult to explain."

Cup shot Siddy a light glance; he could tell something was off, too.

"Sapphie has always been a bit, er... 'odd', shall we say?... but in this Modern World we've been shunted into? She... hasn't adjusted well." Worry crept into his features. "Though she was quite into the idea at first... after a year passed, she seemed to become listless and spent much of her time just... well, existing; not socializing, not learning, just... doing what she was told. Now, it's two years after even that - and I'm a bit afraid to think of what she may be feeling now..."

"Listless..." Obsidian repeated after Quartz. "So I take it that's why she stays in your factory all the time?"

Quartz visibly blanched. "... well, if-"

"Fillies and gentlecolts," an announcer spoke up, "Manehattan Gallery Studios welcomes you to the event, where the stars are about to be outshined..."

"Ah!" Quartz sat up, looking quite relieved at having the interruption, "and so, the show begins. Unfortunately, this is where we have to part company for a bit, my dear sister, Mr. Sprinkles... I'll be needed back stage to make sure everything is going smoothly, not to mention afterwards as there will most likely be a number of well-to-dos who simply must get a picture with yours truly - of course, who can blame them, eh?"

He stood up, took Obsidian's hoof gently in his own and pressed it to his forehead in reverence as he gave a deep bow. "Please, feel free to stay here for the show - best seats in the house, I guarantee you that, and whatever you wish to eat or drink - and do give Herb my condolences, would you? I'll let Gordon know you're cleared for here... as well as your other three friends, should they wish to observe as well. We shall speak later - especially as I'm sure word will get around about you, and I'll know where you're at in no time."

Assuming, of course, that Mr. Herb didn't have orders to kill them right after his return, Obsidian was ready to provide Quartz's apology for sending him to fetch some beverages and then leaving before his return. Obsidian also really appreciated allowing them to stay in the balcony-booth; it was a nice little alcove with a clear view to the events below.

Although Quartz seemed as if he'd been a bit too relieved that he would have to leave them right now, though... what was he hiding? "Thank you, my brother. We'll wait for Mr. Herb, then go to gather our friends together..."

Hmmmm... so he knew that they'd left one of their group in Ponyville... interesting...

Quartz's grin became all charm and suaveness once again. "Absolutely - nothing but the best for my long sought-after, legendary and rather well-mannered sister and her beau. Adieu, aloha and ciao, my dears."

With that, he made his way downstairs and towards the back, pausing long enough to have a few quick words with Gordon, who looked back at Siddy and Cup and nodded, apparently informed of what was up.

Cup watched him go, then turned to her. "I'm kinda torn; I like him - a LOT, actually - but he's hiding something. Something he doesn't wanna talk about with us; it's not just being in public, I think."

Author's Notes:

And so - another sibling enters the proverbial ring. Though, unlike most of her other family members, Quartz seems to be quite the socialite, and doesn't seem to even be capable of causing harm... yet, he's STILL one of the Shards of Sombra; not a one of which is ever so simple as their outward appearances.

Speaking of appearances... yes, his horrible, loud color schemes are funny at best, or simply nausea-inducing at worst. Is it something about fashion itself? Is it some sort of horribly-encoded subconscious message to go forth and destroy all ponies? Is he colorblind?

And a bit more confirmation with what Siddy was told about Opal - along with a nice little nursery rhyme about how to tell the two instances apart. For all intents and purposes, Siddy & co. may have their hooves full with that one.

And with as much as he seemed to enjoy Obsidian's presence, there's still that feeling that Quartz was hiding something... and knowing our heroine, whatever it is won't stay hidden for long. WHAT is he hiding?

Eeyup, that's right - no spoilers.

Forty Four: The Game Is Ahoof

'Rather well-mannered?' Obsidian was doing her very best all the time... except for that bit of laughter about the 3-D puzzle joke, but that didn't count.

"Of course he's hiding something; I'm hiding something from him, as well. We just need to find what it may be, and then decide if it makes him less trustworthy or not." Obsidian then shrugged slightly. "At any rate, I say we wait for Herb to return, watch the show for a moment, then try to find Clap, Mica and Wart.

She gave a light grin. "Honestly, Cuppy? I think I like this place..."

Cupcake looked around a bit. "It's... kinda weird, to me; I mean, it feels like a party, but it's so... reserved and stuff. There's no balloons, no confetti... I mean, music, yeah, but-"

It was at that moment, as if summoned, that the music started up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOtz5wH0EnI

"Behold! The collection, the revolution, the armada of fashion, that is... SMOKY... QUARTZ..."

The curtains at the back of the stage parted, and a lovely Earth Pony mare came slinking out, walking as if she were trying to seduce every stallion in the room at the same time. She wore a stunning suit/dress that had severe lines, but seemed to frame the mare's muzzle perfectly, and brought out a number of shadowy angles in her features, making them stand out for admiration.

Of course, the dress itself was a puce color that showcased sharp magenta zebra-like stripes, trimmed in a burnt orange and with a purple-and-green polka dotted sash, topped with a bright pink and gold bonnet which obscured one eye.

As models were paraded out one by one, the styles got more and more advanced and skillful... and yet the colors seemed to get more and more obnoxious and clashy with each one. They were magnificently made... but an eyesore to anyone who wasn't colorblind.

Herb finally did show up with the bottle, and profusely apologized for taking so long. He was distraught that he'd missed his boss, but he served a glass to Siddy and Cup all the same, and left the bottle chilling in ice at the table. Cup tried his and made a face... then, he looked around secretively, pulled a peppermint disk from his pocket, unwrapped it and dropped it into his drink, swirling it around a bit before drinking some more and nodding to himself.

Obsidian was more and more inclined to believe that her brother was simply colorblind, but then what was with ponies buying his clothes? Was his name so famous around Manehattan that they ignored the fact that each one looked like the physical representation of a headache?

Or perhaps... he wouldn't risk actually using Dark Magic on them, would he? Especially considering that he was known by Celestia. Obsidian carefully tried her drink as well, while her eyes kept searching for her three other friends. The sooner they could get back together, the better.

The wine was somewhat bitter, but had a pleasant aftertaste. Cup seemed to enjoy his more with candy in it... but then again, he was Cupcake Sprinkles; candy might not do the same for her.

As the show continued, she eventually saw both Mica and Clap, near the stage. Clap seemed excited, and paid close attention to each outfit that was displayed... meanwhile, Mica waited for Clap to turn away from him before his facial expression turned sour, looking at the eyesores as they were paraded across the stage.

Scanning the crowd, she couldn't seem to locate Wart... of course, with her small stature, she wouldn't be easy to spot, even from above, in such a thick crowd.

"Cup, do you possibly see Stalwart anywhere?" she asked carefully. This drink... tasted a bit strange; it wasn't normal juice, was it? Obsidian had never tasted alcohol before, and only now she was starting to suspect that this beverage could contain this mysterious yet infamous poison.

Cup looked out among the crowd, scanning it tightly for any sign of the mighty mini-warrior. "I don't see her... I mean, she might be in the crowd, but Siddy, she's so little..."

Now Cup was beginning to look worried. "Should I go look for her down there? I think maybe one of us should - it'd be awful if she got stepped on or kicked by accident. But... we'd HEAR her if she did, right? Remember the subway?"

"Both of us should, Cup. We would certainly be able to hear if anything happened to her, so I think we simply can't see her. Let's go down and hope that she'll come across us," Obsidian sighed slightly. Okay, splitting up without pairing Stalwart with somepony bigger than she was might have been a mistake...

The two of them headed down to the floor, where Gordon nodded and moved the velvet rope aside. But as they passed him, Cup turned to the griffon guard. "Hey, Gordon? I wanna ask - have you seen a Shettish warrior dressed as a beautiful mare anywhere around here?"

Gordon looked at him with a cocked eyebrow. "What's a Shettish warrior?"

"Wart is! She's like, miniature-sized, but she kicks more flank than most of the royal Guard combined!" He paused, then smiled sheepishly as he realized Gordon needed a better description. "Uh, grey coat, dapples behind her ears, green eyes, about filly-sized, white mane?"

Gordon thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Nope - haven't seen anyone with that description. Sorry."

Cup sighed. "Well, that didn't work. C'mon - let's get Mica and Clap, too."

To be fair, Obsidian didn't think her friends would move around so much; she'd simply assumed they would take specific posts and stick to them - hopefully nopony had kidnapped Stalwart when they weren't looking. All they could do at the moment was look around - and she'd start with going straight to Clap and Mica. Perhaps THEY had seen her?

At stageside as they approached, Mica saw them coming and faced them as they got close enough for conversation. "Please tell me we're leaving now?" He said in an uncharacteristic whine.

"Not yet - we can't find Wart." Mica's expression grew concerned, but the words made Clap turn swiftly away from the models onstage she was watching.

"Wait - what was that about Wart?" she asked directly.

Cup looked worried. "We can't find her, Clap - and with the reason we're here, she might be in trouble."

Mica shook his head. "Not good. Wart can handle physical altercations, yes... but if Dark Magic's involved, it might be more than she can deal with. We need to sweep the club, working our way from front to back, and ask if anyone's seen her."

"Mikey, Mikey, Mikey... I'm a pegasus, duh! I can just fly over the crowds and see if I spot her!"

"And attract the attention of everyone here - in the middle of Quartz's show," Mica added.

Clap shrugged, then turned to Obsidian. "Well? Hoof sweep, or fly-over?"

"Hoof sweep," Obsidian admitted. It was the only logical decision, as ruining Quartz's show would only attract lots of unwanted attention and would make looking for Wart that much harder. "Let's split up - we can meet later near the stairs to the private area."

So, Quartz was not a fighter and he was with them the entire time. Wart could possibly be able to deal with any non-dark-magical danger without too many issues, right? They shouldn't be too worried about her, should they..?

Clap looked over at Cupcake. "Yo - you're with me; Mica, you go with Sids."

Mica lifted an eyebrow. "Why the switch?"

"Because," Clap smirked at Obsidian, "can't have you staring at my flank while we're supposed to be searching; double for you and Siddy, Cuppie. I've seen you staring at her..." Cup blushed, and moved over with Thunderclap.

Mica shrugged. "If it works for you, so be it. But your flanks are magnificent, Clap."

Thunderclap Dash both smiled and blushed. "Eh-heh-heh... y-you big tease..." Though Clap sounded unsure and awkward, it was an attempt to be 'cool' about their relationship... instead of just denying and hiding it. Then, it occurred to Clap exactly what he'd said, and her pride took over.

"Heh... you better believe it." She gave a flex, and Obsidian could prctically hear the straps on her outfit straining... but thankfully, nothing gave out, and she and Cup walked back to the front end to begin their sweep.

Mica looked at her. "Okay, fearless leader... lead the way."

For some odd reason, Obsidian felt that Mica was mocking her with this 'ferless leader' phrase. And to be fair, at the moment Clap was the one acting more like a leader right now, all things considered.

"Let's start from the other end of the room - oh, and if you should see either Pumpkin or Pound Cake, we should ask them about Stalwart as well." Damnation, how hard it was to NOT get lost?

They made their way to the back end of the room, and the search began in earnest. A number of ponies (and other assorted races) were chatting things up, having drinks, or observing the stage show. But the diminuitive dynamo was nowhere to be seen.

Mica even checked under tables... with apologies to those who looked shocked at his behaviour. Of course, he didn't care if they were mortified or not - Mica was searching for his friend, and he had obviously had enough of this soiree's pompousity from the moment he came through the doors. Honestly, Obsidian realized he simply wasn't going to play their social games when his friend was missing.

There was no sign that Wart had even been here at the party in the first place; it was s if she hadn't existed. There seemed to be no clue as to where she'd gone to... until, after a few more minutes of searching, Obsidian saw a suited guardpony talking to one of the Cakes (Pumpkin, was it?), and he held his hoof out at exactly Wart's height.

"Mica... here," she pointed out. She didn't want to waste any time - Obsidian immediately followed this lead, trotting quickly to the guardpony. Even if it was a mere coincidence, it was the only possible sign of Stalwart's whereabouts she'd found since the beginning of their search.

As they aproached, the guard turned to face them as well. He was a unicorn, and though he wore a suit and shades, there was something about his personality that said 'Lemon Custard' in the back of Siddy's mind.

"You there! You were part of the entourage that included a rather short mare, yes?" Pumpkin, who was standing behind the stallion, looked at Siddy and Mica questioningly. "Well, your guest has disappeared in the backstage area - and we do not allow that. So, if you would be so kind," he said pointedly, "then would you please accompany me to locate her immediately? We're not the kind to press charges... but if she's anywhere near the outfits, we will... because THOSE are Trade Secrets we cannot allow to have compromised."

Mica lifted an eyebrow. "No concern for a mare who may be in trouble? Just the clothing?"

The guard gave Mica a slight glare. "Of course, I hope she isn't injured... but I know what I was paid to do, sir. And I'm currently doing it."

"If Stalwart got anywhere near my brother's outfits, then she probably just got lost," Obsidian said with as much diginity as she could muster. Why would Wart leave the main ballroom, though? And asking the guests and help how to find a lost mare was hardly doing what he was paid for. "But... disappeared? And nopony stopped her?" she asked skeptically.

The unicorn glared. "She snuck in... NOT at my post, for your information... and there were a few of us who tried to stop her... yet she was..."

"Impossible to catch?" Mica quirked an eyebrow.

"YES! It's been like trying to catch lightning in a bottle! And she's made fools of some of our staff - though no actual injuries, lucky you... but that doesn't mean we've been slacking, no." He pointed a hoof at Obsidian. "When the camera feed showed us the lot of you coming in together, I was sent to either locate someone who had seen her or YOU, specifically."

Pumpkin suddenly gave a light start, then reached into a pocket and pulled out a small note, which she read... then, her eyes widened, and she looked up at Siddy and began to gesture wildly, out of sight of the security pony.

"Now... are we going to go locate your friend?" Pumpkin pointed at the note frantically, but when the guard tuned back to her, she instantly went still and professional again. "And you... thank you for your help, now please excuse me..."

Mica stepped over to the guard. "Here - allow me to go with you to find her, while Miss Obsidian gathers the others; I'm sure we'll find her easily, between the two of us."

The guard looked at Mica for a moment, then shrugged. "As long as ONE of you comes with me, then I suppose that will do - and yes, gathering your entourage might be best... in case you all should have to leave." He spoke pointedly, indicating that they might just get thrown out for this offense.

Mica went to go with the guard, but he cut his eyes at Pumpkin as he passed Obsidian... he was no fool, and was apparently plnning on keeping the guard occupied while Siddy asked about whatever had gotten the caterer so spooked.

But... if they had to leave? Come now, to have this night ended like that would make Obsidian sore and spiteful. Hopefully they could avoid such a fate, as she had no intentions of spoiling this evening.

As soon as Mica left with the guard, Obsidian approached Pumpkin. What was it? A note from Stalwart?

Pumpkin watched Mica and the guard walk out of earshot, then turned to Obsidian. "Pound sent me an IM, saying Wart found him, and he's hiding her... and he says she keeps saying she has to tell you what she found. I dunno what's going on, but we used to foalsit Wart, too - if she's actually hiding from someone, then something's up. That filly doesn't hide from ANYTHING without good reason!"

So the manure had finally hit the fan - or at least, Obsidian believed that's what ponies in Equestria said in such situations, yes? At least such a petite mare had plenty of opportunity to hide. "Okay, so where is she?"

Well, for a moment, she'd actually hoped that her meeting with Quartz would end painlessly. Wishful thinking, right?

Pumpkin looked around a bit, then motioned for her to follow. She led her to one of the bars, and deftly lifted an apron and a towel from behind the counter with her magic. She then turned and held them out to Obsidian. "Here - put this on and drape that towel over one foreleg; I'll get you back there."

The earth pony mare guarding the nearest backdoor was watching the stage; she was only a doorstop, honestly... but a fierce-looking doorstop.

The towel would surely clash with her dress... but Obsidian quickly followed her orders, disguising herself loosely as a caterer. In a fancy dress. Apron in place, Pumpkin then led Obsidian towards the guarded door. As they stepped up, Pumpkin stood between the mare and the princess, motioning casually over her shoulder.

"Me an' the newbie need to grab the next round of trays," she said simply. The guardmare gave Siddy only the quickest of glances; her attention was on the horrific fashions, and the apron seemed to be enough for her to wave them through, holding the door for them, even.

Once inside, Pumpkin began to trot towards where they'd first met. In the room, Pound was still at the table, making and baking as he went... but seeming like he was purposely going slowly while he was doting over pats of cookie dough on a baking tray.

When he saw them, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Pound, where's-"

He answered Pumpkin's question by flipping open the oven door with a wing - and hiding inside the unlit oven was Stalwart Stance, looking grim as she caught sight of Obsidian. "Lady Siddy!" she spoke softly, but firmly, "I have news to relay... but we must exit this place, as I believe I have been noted to have been eavesdropping on a stallion I believe to be your brother!"

"Yes, you most certainly were, Stalwart - I'm not sure if it was my brother you'd found though, as Cup and I just spent quite a while talking with him." Hopefully it was just a misunderstanding; Quartz was hiding something, that much was obvious... but what would make Wart hide like this? Especially in this fancy dress of hers? IN AN OVEN?

Pound looked at them both. "Stally, if you're really in the fire, then maybe we can get you two out - I can deliver some rubbish to the dumpster out back, and if you don't mind being stuffed in a clean garbage bag, then I can smuggle you out that way."

Pumpkin nodded. "Meanwhile, I can get you back out to the party, where you can gather Cupcake and leave, then go around to the back and let her out."

Wart looked down at her gorgeous dress, then back up at the twins. "... in the garbage?" It was almost a whine - which was unheard of from the tiny mare.

Pound rolled his eyes. "In a CLEAN, FRESH bag, silly - no way I'm ruining an outfit THAT nice."

"Just go with it - we don't have any better ideas, I've never tried smuggling live ponies before, and well... don't worry Stalwart. It'll be clean, after all..." Obsidian offered a grin a an apology.

Wart sighed, resigned. "At your command, Your Majesty... bag me up, then." Pound nodded, and got to work retrieving a bag, while Pumpkin led Obsidian to another side door.

"Look, I dunno what's going on... but if you've got both Cup AND Wart on your side? You can't lose." She opened the door. "Now, g'wan and head out - and don't forget to call us for the wedding catering! We could use the big break!"

"Of course - especially if you will make this Carrot Cake of yours; Cup seems to be pretty crazy about it," Obsidian admitted while trotting alongside Pumpkin.

She smiled as Obsidian went out the door. "Mom's Carrot Cake? HA! You bet your fur!"

Now Siddy just had to ditch this apron, find her friends, and figure out what in Tartarus was going on with Quartz.

The show on the dance floor was wrapping up; guests were milling about, enjoying the atmosphere and chatting idly. It didn't take her long to come across Cup and Clap, and Mica had apparently disengaged himself from the guard he'd been with, as he was busy looking around the bar for Wart.

"Sids! You find her?" Clap asked as she made her way to them... and damnation, but Cupcake STILL looked fine in that suit... If he was a cake, she would simply stare at him for hours instead of eating him - though sooner or later, she would compliment feasting her eyes with more... carnal desires...

Obsidian nodded. "She awaits us outside - let's meet with her, quickly."

Clap nodded, then motioned to Mica, who came directly over. "Found her?" he asked.

"Yeah - Siddy says she's outside; let's get out of this stuffy place!" Cupcake nodded, then looked at Obsidian again... and looked... "I'm sorry we didn't get to dance, love - maybe we could at home before we go to bed tonight?" he suggested.

Taking a few minutes to make their way through the crowd, the lot of them made their way out through the back... but as they rounded the corner, there was a moment of shock: There was a garbage truck there, and it was just finishing setting the dumpster back down. There was a grinding sound coming from where it had dumped the garbage in...

OH SHIT! SHE SHOULDN'T BE IN THE GARBAGE LIKE THIS! WHO WOULD PUT A REAL PONY IN A GARBAGE CAN?! SHE WOULD SURELY FREE HERSELF, RIGHT?!

Panicked - PANICKED - Obsidian rushed forward. "STOP! WAIT!"

The truck's engine rumbled, and as it began to roll away, Obsidian heard the sound of garbage inside being crushed, including many, many sounds that might have been bones snapping... at least, to her imagination, that's what it sounded like. The truck shifted gears, and her friends all stared at her as it began to pull away, heading for the main street.

"Obsidian, what's..?" Mica began, confused.

Obsidian pointed at the truck, at the empty dumpster, then at the truck again. "I think... that Stalwart... may be dead..."

"WHAT!?!?" came from the group as a whole.

Clap was off like a shot, and was at the truck's door before he could pull into traffic. "STOP NOW, THERE'S A MARE IN THE BACK! STOP!" The driver, completely taken by surprise, stared at her for a moment, before looking down at his console... and turning white with fear.

Mica galloped to the rear of the truck, and turning with a measured stance, he bucked the back door - which bent at a weird angle and opened up a flood of crushed garbage that buried him completely in a single second.

Cup fell to his knees and began to wail. "Wart! WART! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

If Stalwart wasn't actually dead, then Mica just ruined his suit for nothing. In fact, Obsidian - shocked and terrified out of her wits - quickly trotted over to help him get out of the mess with her magic. Suffocating in garbage would be an awful way to die.

Mica's head popped up as she grabbed his hoof and brought him to the surface, where he gasped a thank you as he stood up. His suit was officially ruined... as was his coat, mane and tail as well. There were yellow mustard stains all over his legs, a smear of what looked like grape jelly in his mane, and his face was covered with coffee grounds. He didn't even stop; Mica turned and instantly began to go through the refuse, looking for any signs of life.

Meanwhile, Clap had started yelling at the truck driver.

"DON'T YA GOT ANY WAYS OF TELLING IF SOMETHING'S ALIVE BACK THERE!?"
"How da heck wood I know, y'crazy peg? Y'act like I pudder in dere! Whaz she doin' in da garbage anyhoo?"
"IF SHE'S DEAD, I'LL SEE TO IT THEY PUT YOU UNDER THE JAIL!"
"FER WAT, AN ACCIDENT!?"

Cupcake was sobbing hysterically, but still managed to make his way over to the pile of garbage to begin helping with the grim search, his eyes pools of sorrow as he shuffled through the edges of the sea of trash.

Wait. Doors. Something. It couldn't be like this! It was a mistake! Obsidian ran to the rear doors of the club itself, hoping beyond hope that there'd at least be some evidence there to confirm that this had NOT happened!

Reaching the area, she skidded to a halt. Over by the doorway was a single, small bag of garbage, left completely on its' own and outside of the dumpster... and it was squirming.

Obsidian's face went solid still. "She's here - she's over here, everyone. Now, we just need to gather ourselves," she looked behind her at the driver, "and, umm... help this brave stallion with the mess we've made. I am SO sorry, sir - our friend met up with some rather unpleasant ponies and... er... ended up in a garbage bag. We were scared that she'd gotten... c-crushed."

FUCK, what a relief.

The driver honestly looked as relieved as Obsidian herself did. Mica, Clap and Cup all made their way over to Obsidian, all staring at the squirming sack.

Suddenly, a flash of green magic tore a hole in the side, and Stalwart Stance poked her head out and took a deep breath. "By Twilight's Crown, I never wish to go through such a humiliating experi-"

Cupcake, tears rolling down his cheeks, picked up Wart and practically crushed her to his barrel. "WART! WARTYWARTYWARTY YOU'RE ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!!!"

Wart's eyes practically bugged out of her head when he hugged her, but she gave Obsidian a questioning glance. "What... happened... Lady... Siddy?"

Obsidian held up a hoof to cease her questions, only staring seriously in complete silence as she waited for Cupcake to finish... then, she pulled Wart to her in the most bonecrushing hug she could muster out of her unicorn body.

"WHOOOOF!" she remarked as Siddy held her tightly. "It... is... good... to... see... you... as... well..." she gasped out.

However, when Thunderclap came forward with a quavering bottom lip to do the same, Wart's eyes widened in fear. "NO NO, PLEASE! J-J-JUST A HOOFSHAKE, A HOOFSHAKE!!!"

"We thought the garbage truck had picked you up, and then crushed you," Obsidian explained blandly, too overwhelmed with relief to use fancy words at the moment.

Wart looked at her, then at the truck... and her jaw fell open at the massive pile of garbage, heaped in the alleyway. "You... you thought..." she muttered, then she looked at all the gathered friends around her, and actually blushed. "Your concern for me is... flattering. Thank you all, so very ki-"

"EY! Youse folks made a mess heah," the garbage truck driver looked at them disapprovingly, "but, eh... I kin offer ta clean it all up by m'self... fer da right price, dat is."

The gathered ponies all turned to look at the driver, an earth pony, with matching glares of suspicion in their eyes. The driver quickly put his hooves up defensively. "Whoa, whoa, WHOA dere... all I want's an autygraph from allayaz! My lil' filly LOVES da Siddy Six, an' I'll be da best dad in da woild if I bring'er home somethin' like dat!"

Obsidian gave a tiny sigh. "Well... we don't have Gypsy with us, so it won't be a complete set, but we'll gladly sign something for your little one; it's the least we can do after making such a mess. Does anyone have some paper available, as well as something to write with?" she said, looking around at the rest of them.

Gypsy would have had some paper available, Obsidian idly thought, the light twinge of missing the diamond dog briefly poking its head up.

Mica walked up and removed a perfectly clean flyer for the party they'd just left from his back, turning it over to the blank side. "Will this do?"

Thunderclap gave the driver a sheepish grin. "Eh, uhhh... about that yelling..." she said as she shamedly rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof, the universal sign for mortification.

The driver brought up his hooves again. "Say n'moah - I'm jus' glad dere ain't no crushed body in m'truck! DAT woulda got me inta LOTSA trouble... plus, I ain't no killah. B'sides, my lil' filly would nevah forgive me if I killed one o' yaz like dat. So's, no harm done, dere - I get it."

Clap smiled with relief, as Cupcake (still sniffling a little, but smiling now) pulled out a fancy-looking marker. "So - who do we make this out to?"

"Cocoa Creme - dat's my lil' filly!" The driver's barrel swelled proudly, showing his love for his daughter.

Obsidian sighed quietly; it had ended well, the only victim of tragedy being Mica's poor suit. "Cup, you have experience with foals and families - could you write a nice little 'best regards' note to her? We'll all sign it."

Cup nodded, wrote 'To Cocoa Creme, from your friendly neighborhood Siddy Six!', and they each signed it afterwards, presenting it to the smiling driver as he began to grab a shovel from the backseat of the truck cab. "Tanks, dere - youse go do whatevah ya doin', arrite? Dis ain't m'first cleanup, yo - don'cha worry 'bout me."

With a few waves (and at least two more apologies), they departed from the scene, Mica hanging back a few steps to spare the rest of them his new cologne: eau de garbage.

"Lady Siddy, shall I speak now, or shall we go elsewhere first for more security?" Wart asked as they made their way along the sidewalk.

"The sooner we know, the better, Wart. Especially as the only 'elsewhere' we could go is back to our penthouse... though I rather think that Mica would appreciate a shower right about now." Who would think he could just buck the garbage truck open like that?

"...unless, of course, we will need to stop baddies here and now," Obsidian rolled her eyes.

Wart sighed. "I'm afraid that may be the case, Lady Siddy - I spotted someone who matched the picture on your brother's sketch, and I followed him into the back area. He met with the mare we'd seen at the factory - Sapphire, I believe you said - and he told her that 'we have to move the last batch tonight; Obsidian can't find out, or her plans will be for nothing'."

"Whose plans?" Cupcake asked, but Wart just shook her head.

"I have no idea, as he didn't speak any names... but if he's going to move this 'batch' he was speaking of, then we should get to the factory - and quickly, as he left through the back with her once he was done talking. For all we know, they may be there RIGHT NOW!" Wart looked ready to go at the drop of a hoof.

Obsidian groaned quietly; but of course Quartz had to be plotting something. It was too much to ask for a brother without a Dark Secret, obviously (Diamond didn't count; he was pardoned by grace of cuteness). Perhaps she could simply beat him into submission? After all, Onyx had called him 'harmless', and he didn't seem all that violent...

"Let's go, then, and quickly. Does anypony see Markannus, by any chance? He always seems to be around when he's needed..." Obsidian glanced around with a touch of hope that SOMEthing would go as planned tonight.

Alas, there was only a limousine nearby that was softly piping jazz music into the street. However, as they kept walking, the limo's horn honked, and the driver stepped out and addressed them. "E-excuse me, please, Miss Obsidian? My client has asked me to invite you to join him, should you be so inclined."

Cup looked at Obsidian. "Do we know anybody who's rich?"

Clap simply grinned. "Yeah, hey Sids, a limo would be WAY cool!"

Mica looked down at his suit, then back at them all. "I... may have to get an alternate ride home; I'm not sure any of you would wish to be crammed into a vehicle with me and my wonderful new scent."

"And Mica... well, that would be actually a good idea, methinks. If we have to sneak around or anything like that, you would... eh, give away our position. And we know plenty of rich ponies, Cup," Obsidian mused. However, she was sure none of them would be expected in Manehattan.

"May I ask who your client is?" The easiest way would be asking the driver outright, of course.

"Mister Blue Note, madam - he says he knows you?" the driver answered promptly.

Cup grinned. "Hey, yeah... he bought us lunch in Crystal City, remember?" Well, how pleasant - apparently he really WAS around when you needed him!

Mica sighed, nodded, then turned to Thunderclap. "I'm sorry we didn't get to-"

She suddenly grabbed him by the sides of his muzzle and planted a deep, hard kiss on his lips, blushing furiously as she finished. "Go back and shower, Mikey," she said smoothly, "and we'll talk later, 'kay?"

"Bzrububuh," he said as he turned and began to walk down the street in a daze, a soft grin on his filthy muzzle.

Clap smiled, then wiped the coffee grounds from around her mouth and looked to Obsidian, not even bothering to acknowledge her own bright blush. "Well? We goin'?"

"We goin'," Obsidian confirmed. Say... what if Markannus wasn't a single changeling, but a more like a functional position? Like a police officer, or a nurse? That could explain how he could seem to be everywhere at the same time...

When they got in, they saw Blue Note sitting there... and someone else as well: the saucy bartender who was flirting with Cupcake was seated next to him, holding a glass of something bubbly and watching with bemusement as they all piled in.

Clap was a bit of a squeeze, but seated next to Wart, they had enough room for everyone.

"Well, well, well," she purred, "I stand corrected; they are quite a bunch of characters. Especially this one," she smiled at Cup again, causing him to smile back and give a little wave.

"So," Blue started, "any particular reason that Mica was wearing what looked like fine garbage? Or is that one of Quartz's newest styles I'm seeing?"

Obsidian gave the bartender a glare - completely involuntarily, of course. While she could more or less ignore her while she was just serving drinks, at the moment she was now a bit more annoying, and still seemed to have her eyes on Cupcake, even though she SHOULD be serving drinks, and-

... damnation. She had been seeing her only as a tool, whose use didn't extend past getting something to drink. If she would have considered her to be an actual pony, she might have gotten more jealous, earlier. It was a bad sign - Sombra's legacy of having 'tools' wasn't lost on her, and Obsidian had to make sure not to fall into that mindset as well.

"It's... a long story... but it ends with how we thought Wart got crushed in the back of a garbage truck. Anyway, if you could possibly do us a small favor, we'd appreciate a quick trip to Quartz's factory... er, please?" Obsidian finished with a hopeful smile.

Blue raised an eyebrow, but the bartender mare sat forward. "Crushed? My my, the plot thickens... and it sounds as if you're on the brink of an adventure, too." She turned to face Blue-kannus, "Remember when I used to adventure like that? Just find a trail and follow it, and damn the consequences!"

Blue sighed. "Yes, I do - I also seem to recall that you suffered your fair share of injuries, and made a small hoofful of enemies while you were at it."

The mare waved a dismissive hoof. "Ah, Markannus - ever alert for anything that might bring harm to the hive..."

Blue sighed again. "Or to you, Your Majesty."

Wait... what?

"Wait. Waaaaiiiiit... what?" Clap said.

"Is my brother so dangerous that his actions required attendance from a changeling queen?" This couldn't be good - not by any means...

The mare laughed rather brightly. "No, no, no... Markannus simply brought me along; I use the bartender disguise to get close to others without them giving me the 'high-and-mighty' treatment; it gets old after a while. I'd rather have the chance to meet cuties like you," she smiled at Cup, "up close and personal."

Cup still looked to be in a bit of shock from the revelation; as par for the course, the saucy little come-hither bit was totally lost on the unicorn.

"So, wait - you're a queen?" Clap said, ever attentive for the pickup.

"I know I don't look the part; a moment, if you please..." A band of energy rolled from her hooves up, and the sleazily-dressed bartender mare became a tall and shapely Changeling Queen.

Her tan carapace had a number of what looked like swirls and whorls in it, which gave her an exotic appearance, even for a changeling. She had a long and luxurious orange mane, vibrant citrine eyes with a matching yellow band around her middle, and the strange holes in her legs had metallic trinkets suspended in the middle of them by gold filigree thread, all of which would lazily spin at even the softest breeze. This visage was topped off by her cute yellow freckles that seemed to spot around her muzzle and neck.

"I am Queen Vaxillaria, head of the Vax Hive and mother to thousands of children; it's a true pleasure to meet the Siddy Six at last... well, four of you, anyway," she smirked, wrinkling her pretty, pert snout at them in a playful gesture.

"Your MAJESTY!" Wart bowed low.

"Whoa! A real changeling QUEEN!" Clap remarked. "Now THAT is stylish!"

"Wowzers," Cup observed, "you completely fooled us!"

She chuckled softly, as if regarding them all as adorable. "No surprise there, my little sweetheart - I've been doing so for quite a long time now, so I think I may know a thing or two about it."

"Quartz's factory? Again?" Markannus asked, "Is there something going down tonight?"

As far as Obsidian was concerned, she could be Princess Twilight Fucking Sparkle, and she would still be primarily concerned that she was showing FAR too much interest in her stallion! "...yes. Apparently, Quartz and Sapphire are plotting something - probably on Amber's behalf. Whatever it is, it can't be good."

Markannus nodded, then turned and gave directions to the driver via intercom, while Queen Vaxillaria lifted her eyebrows in surprise, but with an undertone of excitement that she almost completely covered... almost. "Oh - well then, since you'll be going into a possibly dangerous situation, I suppose that backup would be a good idea, yes? I insist that we put our hooves in with you and help you deal with... well, with whatever has to be dealt with!"

Blue gave her a flat look for a moment... then groaned. "Your Majesty..."

"Tut tut, not another word," she smiled at him, "we're going to help the Siddy Six, whether you like it or not, Markie. Just settle yourself with the idea, because I've made up my mind, and I've counted to three."

Again, an uneasy groan escaped Blue's lips. "As... a-as you wish, Your Majesty." Though, to be honest, Markannus didn't exactly seem like he wanted to follow those orders, yet he was bound to his duty, which was whatever the queen wanted - including, apparently, 'adventure'.

"Now, who is this 'Amber', and what sort of plan is she making?" the queen asked, her eyes practically dancing as she looked to Siddy for a reply.

So... you mean she was there merely by accident? Only to have fun, and not to do any important, world-or-hive-saving activities? And then, apparently, treating Cup so salaciously... yet with no deep-seated, sinister goal in mind, like making Obsidian turn Dark out of sheer jealousy? It... it didn't make sense... could it REALLY be possible?

"Well, Amber is my mind-controlling sister; she is currently bound in a warded container and sealed within a crystal shard... but even in this form, she has access to the minds of her siblings, which she can use to communicate with them, read their minds or even control them. We've come to Manehattan to investigate whether or not my brother, Quartz, is under her influence... but even after a rather pleasant first meeting, it seems that he's already under her proverbial spell. Her plan is probably focused on getting free from her imprisonment, I'd wager."

Vaxillaria clapped her hooves together excitedly. "Ooooooh! Intrigue! I absolutely LOVE drama of this caliber!"

Stalwart looked to the queen. "Your Majesty, I am not entirely certain one should be excited for the possible issues Lady Obsidian's siblings may cause... please forgive my rudeness, yet I can't help but wonder why you seem so cavalier about this situation?"

Vax smiled widely. "Oh, it's been FAR too many years since I was allowed to have any real excitement," she said as she shot a withering look at Blue, who sighed and with a flash, became Markannus once more. A good thing, too - Obsidian was starting to forget what he really looked like.

"Naturally, safety taken in regards to you is thrown out the window in the face of fun, Your Majesty?" he said with a slight snark, but she simply smirked back at him.

"Well, then I suppose we'll get to see if you've been keeping up with your training then, shall we?" She winked at the group... though mostly at Cupcake, who still (thankfully) seemed completely oblivious to her attempts to gain his attention.

If she kept up with this flirty behaviour, the bug queen would sooner or later find herself on Obsidian's list of her Least Liked Royals - and number one on this list got turned into a pigeon toilet recently.

"Quartz also has my other sister, Sapphire, working with him. She apparently has power over the elements, as she can manipulate them as she wants - or even fly. She looked rather haggard when we last saw her." Damnation, Sapphie - why did you get the best power?

Vax looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded to herself. "Very well, then - if they're not expecting you, then we should take this silently; if you'd like, I might be able to try to fake my way in the door - unless your family can detect Changeling Queens?"

"More like they'd NOT sense whomever they were expecting, Your Majesty," Makannus answered, "because they have a rapport, remember?"

Vax sighed, then smiled again. "Unless I'm a mailmare!" Markannus facehoofed.

Clap looked out the window. "Well, make your decisions, everybody - we're here."

The limo stopped, and the driver got out to open the door for them all. Markannus stepped out first, then offered a hoof to Queen Vax as she stepped out onto the sidewalk. The others followed suit, and soon they were standing at the front again, but now it was FAR darker, there were no ponies in sight through this industrial area, and the sounds of the city felt distant, though they were merely a block away from a main road.

"None of them should be able to detect a changeling queen, as far as I'm aware," Obsidian went on. "Now, Quartz has mainly defensive magics, and Sapphire has elemental ones - so I doubt either of them would know any magic allowing them to detect any sort of ruse. At least that's my best guess, at any rate."

Obsidian thought about the possibilities. Honestly, she merely wanted to break right inside, consequences be damned. But now...

Could the Queen get through by turning into a King Sombra? No - nopony would believe it.

Well, what about Onyx? 'No, you damned fool, of course I'm not dead! Do you think I'd let this pathetic worm defeat me in any possible scenario?' That could be more believable.

Or possibly Amethyst, who had the advantage of being actually alive.

She turned to Vax, doing an incredible job of not letting the little green-eyed monster in her heart show on her muzzle.
"...do you happen to know of my sister Onyx? How she looked and behaved? Permament scowl, smugness out the flank, a constant feeling that she's the only pony in the world with a brain..."

The changeling queen laughed low and sultry. "Oh, you mean the one who caused all the undead troubles? Yes, my scouts brought back enough information for me to possibly..."

There was a wave of green light that rolled across her body, from hooves to head, and when it finished...

"... look like this?"

For a moment, Obsidian's brain paused; she hadn't seen Onyx in the waking world like this since the Umbral Incident, and yet, here she was right in front of them all. The blood red and stylized mane and tail, the haughty expression, those piercing eyes, the velvety-black coat with the bloody-looking red hooves...

"WHOA! Geez, that's realistic!" Clap exclaimed.

Cupcake walked a circle around her. "Wow... that's uncanny! You did a perfect job of it! You even sound like her!"

Wart took a wary step back; a bit too real for her liking, it seemed.

Now there was a face Obsidian didn't want to meet with too soon... in fact, while she was fine enough with Onyx sitting harmlessly in her head (as long as she didn't find any way to escape or, Darkness forbid, control her), meeting her face-to-face like this brought up some bad memories.

Obsidian couldn't help but frown, but continued on unabated. "Let's hope that Mica won't return before you change back... your majesty... as explaining what's actually going on here might take a while. Anyway, yes - that's Onyx, in her entire punchable, smug glory. I think that it might be enough to get you inside, at the very least. A few random bits of lore, like the fact that Onyx used something called a 'Nightmare Spell' on her siblings, yet she kept a drawing from our brother - a drawing she claimed to have destroyed. Details such as these could possibly make it even more realistic, if pressed for proof."

Vaxyx nodded, but when she spoke, the all-too familiar voice sent shivers down Obsidian's spine. "So, all I'd have to do is keep whoever's inside busy, while you and the others make their way in? Or am I to bluff my own way inside, then open a door for you?"

Markannus sighed a resolved sigh, then a roll of light went down his carapace as well, ending with...

The full-bore gaze of rage and spite wasn't there, but Markus was almost a perfect copy of Amethyst; he even got the little scars and sharp canines right.

"Okay, will this work for backup?" Markathyst said, in an eerily perfect imitation of not just her voice, but her frustrated attitude, too - though Obsidian doubted that part was much of an act.

Okay. That was a bit much. "As far as I'm concerned, we could split into two teams. In fact, I think that it would be possible for you to claim that I've decided to come to the Dark side, and that everythingI've done so far was a part of Onyx's frustratingly unknowable Master Plan. For that matter, it most certainly could be! After all, Sombra did return and if I joined Onyx's side, it would mean that she now has a mole in the ranks of Equestrians. This way we could gather more data from them! During all of this, Cup, Clap and Stalwart could sneak in - perhaps with Markannus letting them in after things get going?"

It could be dangerous, of course... which reminded Siddy... "Also, do you have anything sharp at hoof? I've been carrying a knife with myself at all times, as my brother advised me to; apparently, Quartz can use fabric-based attacks or something of the sort. Amethyst had a Foci Blade too, with which she killed Ruby; I think he might expect her to have some kind of sharp tool or melee weapon."

Vaxyx chuckled, bringing back memories of the Black Pool and her first meeting with Onyx herself, where she revealed her truth from the lie of Miss Tome. "Obsidian, I can mould myself to be anything I wish to be - I doubt he'll be able to restrain me for very long." Of course, the thought of such visibly made Markathyst wince.

Obsidian couldn't really help herself but wince - the queen was simply too good as Onyx. If Markannus started saying something about killing, murdering, torturing or otherwise hurting others, it would definitely be too much for her nerves to handle.

"Ummm... love?" Cup stepped forward. "Are you sure about this? I'm... I'm kinda scared for you; don't get hurt, okay? Please?"

Clap looked up, then grinned. "Hey Sids - I can take Wart with me up to the rooftop; if you can get up there and open the roof access door, we can get in without any trouble at all!"

Wart, though nervous over the prospect of flying, nodded her agreement. "Indeed, Lady Siddy, as it shall also keep us from being discovered by any ground forces that may lie here in wait."

Cup looked at them all, then shrugged. "Well, uhhhh... m-maybe you've come back with a prisoner? Like, for instance, me?"

"Cup, love, trust me, I don't want to get hurt," she reassured him, "but why would you be a prisoner in this instance, though? If I was so heartless as to work with Onyx, I would most likely keep you as a pet. Dragging you around in the role of prisoner would hardly work; it would be easier if I could make your eyes glow green, though," she mused, "and Onyx would probably refer to Wart as a 'vest', since she threatened to make her into one."

Wart visibly scowled at that, but Vaxyx smiled a wicked, exceedingly Onyx-like smile. "Alright, so... we go in, announce ourselves properly, fool them into compliance, then we let the other two inside, and we find out what's going on. Will we have to capture Quartz? He's a rather dapper fellow; I'd honestly hate to have to harm him."

"We need to find out what's going on. It's possible we may have to restrain him for his own good, if he's under Amber's influence. And, Cup," Obsidian looked at her love with worry on her muzzle, "do you really think you'll be able to handle this? After all, all of us - including myself - might have to talk about some very unpleasant things to fool Quartz or Amber."

Cupcake looked at her for a moment... then gave an uncharacteristically small grin. "Well... I know you really love me, so I can handle it; I have not a single little fear in my heart - we're doing this for Equestria, after all."

Wart and Clap looked a bit skeptical... until Cupcake reached up with his hooves and messed up his mane, then hung his head and took an almost swaying stance, as if he were on his last legs. "... w-will THIS d-do, Master?" he said in a reedy, almost groaning voice.

Clap gave a low whistle. "That's... actually pretty friggin' good there, Cupperino." Wart just nodded, staring and looking a bit worried.

"MISTRESS!" Obsidian growled furiously at Cupcake, taking on a muzzle with the coldest possible glare all over it. "How many times I have to repeat that before your worthless, empty brain will finally remember? It's not that hard, you foul little-"

She stopped, her expression convinced as she shook her head. "I think we'll be able to do that without too many problems... though I'll have to treat you extra nice afterwards, Cuppy - and I'm sorry, in advance. I'm going to feel bad for what I may say to you, I just know it."

At least she hoped so; the only other alternative she could see was that she might like it - and THAT would be worrying.

Cup looked up through his disheveled mane at her and winked. "As you command... Mistress."

Vaxyx gave a low, sultry chuckle herself. "And here I thought I was a master of disguise... and you aren't even a changeling... you're just full of surprises, aren't you, sweetheart?"

Hearing Onyx's voice calling Cup 'sweetheart' had to be one of the most unsettling things Obsidian had ever heard.

Markathyst rolled his/her eyes and took the lead, followed by Vaxyx, with Cup taking a position behind and to the left of Obsidian. Clap grabbed up Wart and took off into the air, a tiny 'eep!' escaping from the tiny mare as they went airborne.

Approaching the door, Obsidian noticed something rather odd... it was ajar, just slightly; not locked or even closed. Just... open.

Markathyst frowned. "I already don't like this."

Author's Notes:

So, Queen Vax - the thought was to have her come across as kind of slutty, yet to have it revealed that she's simply lonely. That, and she doesn't get out much, as her position as queen keeps her busy a lot of the time. One of those characters who miiiiiight be a bit creepy, but there's a reason for it that makes them likeable.

Wart vs. Garbage Truck was fun for me, as it was merely an idea at the time which became a funny scene to work out. Wungiel actually had Siddy spring on the poor little mare after Cup's hug - and I loved it. I'm glad I kept the scene in the story, instead of removing it for simplicity's sake.

And so, onward to wat might possibly be going on here... and a possible confrontation with Obsidian's brother. I guess the question would be, should Siddy believe the hype, or is she possibly walking into something more than she's ready to deal with?

In case the video link breaks, the song for the fashion show is "Murder My Heart" by KMFDM.

Forty Five: Confrontation Situation

To be fair, Obsidian didn't like this situation either. Either Sapphire and Quartz had already escaped this place, or they didn't care at all whether or not they would be visited by anypony. In both cases, the open door meant they had reason for concern...

Though being called 'sweetheart' by somepony like Onyx was obviously reason for concern as well.

"Hopefully my siblings are still here," she mused aloud while reaching with her magic to open the doors.

The large door creaked open, making the others wince a bit. Inside was a massive storage room... and nothing else. Well, nothing important; there were cardboard panels taped over the windows, and a box of junk mail sitting underneath the mail slot - otherwise, the place was barren... and looked to have been so for quite some time.

However, there were two sets of noises that were coming from two separate ends of the building; one sounded like shifting and dragging, coming from the left, while the other was a steady, rythmic sort of rattling, from the far right.

Vexyx's horn gave a glow (which, Obsidian noticed, was the wrong magic color for her disguise), and her ears grew longer - like a donkey's - and she tilted her head to listen. And it had the bonus to Siddy of making Onyx look like a jackass; she'd have to remember that one.

"The one on the right is a sewing machine; I'd know that sound anywhere - the other one, I have no clue... but I can only make out ONE set of hoofprints."

Markathyst spoke low. "What do you suggest, Your Majesty?"

She smirked at Obsidian. "Well, I'd say the expert here would be the one to ask, wouldn't you?"

To be fair, she more or less expected the queen to be more of an expert than her. "Let's check the unidentified sound first. Does anypony see the stairs to the rooftop?"

With a quick look around, the back wall had a double doorway that led to a t-shaped hall. The dragging sounds had stopped, and a metal rattling echoed to them from the left hall. To the right, the sound of sewing chugged along continuously.

There was a sign that looked as if it had been there since before the Crystal Empire had come back:

[<- WAREHOUSE]

[<- SHIPPING]

[PRODUCTION ->]

[OFFICE ->]

[STAIRS ->]

To the left, she assumed, was Sapphire, who was quite possibly dragging something - all alone. To the right however, was probably Quartz - or some kind of enchanted sewing machine, possibly? Whatever it was, it wasn't stopping its work, even for a moment. "Cupcake, dear? Take care of the stairs, and don't make any unnecessary noise - I still hope that we'll be able to chit-chat with my siblings without any unecessary discord between us. Onyx, Amethyst - let's check the left side."

Cup nodded, then reached behind him and pulled out what looked like... bunny slippers? Yes, bunny slippers; he then proceeded to put them on his hooves, and then he began to creep along the path to the right... oh! He wasn't making a sound - that's what he was doing. 100% pure Cupcake.

Of course, it simply proved he was the perfect choice for the job - he was able to pull off anything, no matter what she asked him for, no matter where, no matter when. Prepared for everything... she only wished she could say the same about herself.

Obsidian and company took the path to the left, inching carefully down the corridor until there was the thick, smoky rumble of a truck's engine - a BIG truck, from the sound of it - coming from that direction. Vaxyx charged forward, with Markathyst right behind her, headed for the far end quickly.

When Onyx and Amethyst darted forward, Obsidian had no real choice but to follow after them - especially as she had some bad feelings about this truck and its possible load.

Arriving in the Warehouse, they saw a place where there was enough room to stack crates up to three stories high... yet currently, there was only one crate sitting there, closed up and nailed shut. The windows here were also taped over with cardboard, but there were sigils written on the backs of them - Crystallian sigils. They looked to be magic seals, which would mean that every window covered would be well-nigh impenetrable; nothing short of an alicorn's magic blast would break them. It worked well as a theft deterrent, but the power level was a bit much for mundane clothing... wasn't it?

However, of the three loading docks available, one of them had its' roll-up door open - outside, there looked to be a rather snazzy-looking black luxury sedan parked by the back fence...and a squat cargo truck driving away.

Markathyst flashed, and Markannus remained. Taking wing, he yelled back, "Guard the queen with your LIFE, Obsidian!" and took off after the truck, taking care to try to stay in its' blind spot as he did. Vaxyx raised a hoof in protest, but said nothing as he was quite quick.

Turning, she glanced at the crate, then at Obsidian. "He'll catch up to that truck, I'm sure of it - but can he deal with whomever's driv-"

"ON IT!" came a familiar voice from above, yelled through a vent, and they saw the vectors left behind as Thunderclap darted off the rooftop, following Markannus and the truck.

She had to admit, the changeling was rather skilled when it came to art of deception and disguises... but could he keep a hold on the the unknown driver? Hopefully it was Quartz and not Sapphire - she could be outright deadly, as far as Obsidian was concerned. However, concerning said driver, there was very little she could do right now. And to be fair, she had a momentary thought that they might take this luxury sedan to use in the chase. Luckily, neither Markannus or Thunderclap had the same idea; it WAS a crime to steal vehicles, after all - Flurry Heart had taught her that... unintentionally.

"CLAP... WAIT!" Wart's voice called out, but as if someone had called a race, she was already gone. "DAMNATION, Clap! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO... Cupcake!" Well, he'd made it to the roof; at least poor Wart wouldn't be stuck up there...

Vaxyx lifted an eyebrow, eerily imitating Onyx's own skeptical look as she turned to Siddy. "Okay... I won't mention your loose cannon if you won't mention mine."

"Loose cannons? I don't see any loose cannons. Do you have a loose cannon?" she replied with as bland and neutral of a voice as she could.

"Well since we can't do much more here - to the sewing machines, then. Clap will catch the truck, there's no doubt about that... though hopefully, she'll do so without pulling another Sonic Rainboom."

Vaxyx nodded, then followed along with her as the two of them made their way back down the hall, arriving at the place where the source of the sewing machine noises were coming from.

It was an office-sized room with a cardboarded-and-sigil-covered window with a very old and well-worn industrial loom nestled at the back wall, chugging along rapidly as the stallion standing at it was working faster than a pony safely should.

Quartz wasn't missing a single stitch, though - his hooves were lightning quick and deft as he continuously ran the machine loom, stitching together what looked like the seams of a shadow. The garment was black as pitch, and gave off no reflected light... but there was a faint, random sparkle every now and again, as if something magical was alive in the darkness of it.

Quartz himself looked exhausted; his suit, loud as it had been, was hanging open with his fancy collar sticking out to his right, and one of his spats were missing. His mane was limp, sweat was rolling down his muzzle, he was panting like a dog after a mile's run... and there was a yellow-orangish light that seemed to glow in his eyes, with no pupils visible at all.

So Quartz was able to make a suit that didn't hurt the eyes, eh? Too bad he had to imbue it with Dark Magic, and was doing so under Amber's mental influence!

"Quartz! Wake up! Fight it off!" She decided to scrap the element of surprise in exchange for playing it fair. She tugged at his hoof with her magic, trying to lead him away from his task.

His hoof pulled away from his work... and the glow vanished, instantly. However, Quartz himself remained... and he looked much less trendy and fashionable than he had just earlier - he appeared to have aged twenty years, figuratively, since she and Cup last saw him.

Cupcake skidded to a halt behind Siddy and Vaxyx, stopping short of impacting the queen's flank. He stared at Quartz, and asked in alarm, "What happened to him?"

"What happened, Mister Sprinkles," Quartz spoke in a weary and resigned voice, "was that my charming sister Obsidian has proven to be a bit too smart... and our other sister isn't happy about that. Not one bit."

He sighed as his horn suddenly lit up with Dark Magic, and the suit itself leapt off the table and stood up, facing them with an empty hood as it took an offensive stance. "Obsidian, I... I am so very sorry; you cannot imagine how much I've pleaded for your well being... but I've been told I am to dispatch with you. I really, truly wish it was not so..."

She saw his eyes tear up a bit as a sword, a sleek and fancy rapier, slid out from the back of his suit and raised in a duelist's salute. "For what it's worth... I am glad to have had at least one chance to speak with you, to learn about you, and to meet you - you're even more than we thought you would ever be."

The suit thing he'd been working on stepped forward, lunging at Vax while she dropped her apparently useless disguise as Cupcake moved to stand between Obsidian and the suit's progress. "We've got the suit - you deal with Quartz!" he spoke over his flank as he began to charge in towards the criminal clothing.

Her brother stood there for a moment, looking miserable but determined. "Have you a blade to accept my challenge?" he said, his voice firm but his expression pained.

The manure had just hit the fan, and Obsidian could only hope that she'd be able to minimalize the damage. There were so many things that could go wrong at this moment, and no matter how much she'd try, there was simply no damned way that it would end without at least a few new problems. The universe just hated her too much for that.

Her blade was rather lacking; it was just a knife - a simple, miserable carving knife from her own kitchen. So instead of drawing it at all, she channeled magic into her horn and cast one of the lesser spells she'd learned not-so-long ago, in her utmost best attempt to waterboard her brother.

The closest source of water was a half-empty bottle of it, sitting on the counter nearby; it would have to do. It wasn't much of a waterboard, but it was an effective enough means to catch him by surprise when a tendril of water leapt from the bottle and slapped him squarely in the eyes.

He stumbled back, surprised enough to topple over onto the floor... though the sword he held was still in his magical grip, lying on the floor as he swiped his hoof across his eyes.

"ACKGH!" he sputtered, then began to chuckle. "Shame on me for leaving myself open, eh? Well-played! Very well, then..."

His horn gave its' boiling green aura again, and Obsidian suddenly felt her cape fly up and completely cover her head, bunching up around her muzzle and mouth to cut off her oxygen! "... fair is fair, my sweet sister!"

It turned out that capes had a few tactical disadvantages, and Obsidian was learning a painful lesson about it. Who would think that she would ever regret putting this thing on? She should at least have taken it off before approaching him...

Damnation, where was Wart? After all, somepony had to defend the changeling queen! Obsidian, as quickly as possible, grabbed the knife she was holding onto under her cape and slashed at the knot that was holding it up. With nothing connecting the cape with her body, she could try to force it off her muzzle with her own horn.

There was a snap as it gave way, and it only took a single blast of magic to free herself from the cape - and luckily, it looked like she'd cut only the clasp; the rest of the magnificent cape wasn't damaged, thankfully. However, she wondered if she had the same luck coming to her physical form, as the first thing in her vision was the edge of the rapier going under her sightline, the tip of the blade pressing oh-so-lightly on her neck.

But there was no death blow; instead, Quartz looked into her eyes intently, and spoke in a low and firm voice. "Do... you have... a blade?" he asked.

It had been a while since she was this close to death. "A... a k-kitchen knife," she replied carefully. Come on - she had a damned RAPIER pressed to her neck!

He lifted an eyebrow, and his horn gave a glow. His magic enveloped all of her, for only a moment, as it focused on her knife and pulled it from her outfit slowly, hovering it over to himself and regarding it for a moment. He then took three steps back... and turned his own blade around, offering her the hilt even as he took up the kitchen knife in his own grip.

"Then here... I at least want this to be a fair fight. Besides, I'm eager to see what my sister can do." Something in his eyes was seemingly speaking to her... they looked like a gaze of iron - which was only a helmet's faceplate over a weariness and resignation that wanted only release.

"Please," he asked smoothly as he gave a short bow, "as a last request?"

Did he train in fencing as well? She really didn't want to have to kill him, but the fact that he switched her knife for his rapier probably meant that he was either VERY bold, VERY skilled...

Or that he wanted her to kill him instead. The last option would obviously be the worst one, because Obsidian had no intention of becoming a murderer again; even if Peridot was feeling much better, it was quite a terrible weight put on her heart.

She took up the blade in her magic and took a defensive position. "Call off your suit - I don't want it to hurt the queen or Cup during our fair duel," she asked, watching him carefully.

His eyes never left hers... but now, his smile became a bit more natural. "Fear not; it's an annoyance to them, at best - fair play for you and I."

"GEPH IPH OPH MIIIIII!" came muffled from behind her in Cupcake's voice, and the sound of magic blasts sounded off from Queen Vaxillaria... but she didn't think it would be even a BIT safe to take her eyes off her brother - even for a second.

"They'll be busy, but that's all - I like Mister Sprinkles, and I think you quite do too; you have my word, on my honour, that they will be scuffed, but fine." The smile then turned feral. "Now... engarde!" He swiftly dipped to his left, but the kitchen knife came at her from the right, purposely trying to confuse her approach.

Fencing for unicorns was a bit different than the other tribes; as long as a blade was held by magic, it didn't have to follow the movements of the body, just the magical grip. She had to be mindful of his potential range - and of course, any attempt by either of them to simply lurch forward would be too dangerous for either side.

She just had to survive and find a way to take him down - hopefully in a non-lethal manner. She deflected the strike more to his right in an attempt to disrupt his hold on it, her blade quickly striking to his other side immediately after.

He feinted, dodging back as he deflected in turn with the simple kitchen knife. "My, but you're quick!" he chirped (?) as he rolled to the other side, his small blade fending off any blows coming at him. There was now a bit more energy in his manner, a bit more fire in his eyes.

He waited until he was squared off with her again before he took a quick jab at her with the knife, close enough to cut - but only the handle bopped her side, a quick knob of ouch on her left shoulder.

"Ha! A point for me!" Quartz smiled as he then swooped in for another grand swipe.

Okay, so perhaps it wasn't exactly a death wish to trade a rapier for a kitchen knife. He was quite quick and, all things considered, she should be dead already... twice, at least. She had the advantage of having a longer weapon, so in theory she should have a much better chance to strike her opponent...

So how did HE get a point?

Obsidian growled angrily, feeling a marked increase in her frustration. He was good, and she hadn't trained her fencing skills in a good while... in fact it seemed that her fighting skills had atrophied since she first appeared in Equestria. Foolish mare! She didn't know any immediately useful battle spells... hadn't trained in fencing... even jogging with Clap didn't work! She was only getting more fat and lazy, a-and she was no good to anyp-... no.

Calm down. Focus. "Onyx didn't happen to mention you being a swordmaster," she mused aloud, calming her breath and taking up a proper stance once more.

He gave a light chuckle. "Swordmaster? My dear, I am unmatched with a sword; with a kitchen knife? Only sliiiiiighty worse." He grinned at her with only a touch of snark in his expression.

From behind, she could hear Cup and Queen Vax struggling with the suit, and it occurred to Obsidian that Quartz was not only dueling with her, but he was also being enough of a challenge with his magical manipulation to control the piece of clothing as well, as it had no animation of its' own.

Truly, there was a depth to her brother's skill, no doubt. How far was she in over her head?

Quartz made an almost casual thrust in her direction, his eyes never leaving the battle.

'Just a harmless suit maker'. 'Can use defense magic'. 'Prissy boy'... trusting Onyx's opinions were always a bad idea, it seemed.

"Onyx called you a mistake," Obsidian mentioned while she swiftly made to deflect his blow, barely managing to do so. "She is a rather terrible judge of character, isn't she?"

His blow deflected, Quartz then whipped the small knife sideways and struck the empty water bottle, sending it flying at her and using the distraction to lunge inward... to playfully poke her right on the tip of her snout with the blunt end again.

Quartz gave a light shrug. "Onyx had only ONE GOAL in her mind; reviving Father. She was certain he would make everything better... because she was the first, and she was loyal. That didn't leave much room for me, having come quite so late in the program, so to speak."

He made a showy flourish with the knife... then stumbled a bit, catching himself against the wall. Despite his obvious enjoyment of the moment, he was still weak and somewhat winded from when he'd been working at such a breakneck pace - and Obsidian reckoned those bags under his eyes had been there all along; he'd covered it with makeup, which was now obvious as his sweat began to remove it.

"Now, guard UP, head DOWN; watch the hoofwork, not my horn..." Was... was he instructing her?

Obsidian really didn't know what sort of game he was playing at - if he really wanted to, she'd be already bleeding out on the floor.

"We could achieve so much together, my brother," she tried. At least he didn't seem to follow in Peridot's hoofsteps with plans that were outright suicidal and/or genocidal. "I always leave room for my siblings in my life... or at least I'm trying to."

She decided to follow his fencing tips; it couldn't make her situation much worse.

He circled, and she saw that his hooves were moving in almost a swaying pattern; he was light on them because he never stopped moving. "Alright, now - you have to make a move at some point; we cannot keep this up forever. And, as much as I would love to climb over to your side of the fence... I'm afraid that, so long as I am a tool, you and I shall be at odds."

He then gave her a very odd look as he slowly started to spin the small knife in mid-air, making it difficult to tell where or how it would come at her from. "But... were you to win out, well... IF I'm alive to see it happen, I'd be most honored if we could chat more, you and I; que sera sera, I suppose."

The knife began to spin faster and faster within his magical grip. "Come now; if you don't attack, I shall be forced to make you wish you had." The words were a bit taunting... but she could tell he had no real want to harm her.

Simply a tool, eh? Well, he would survive, either way - even if she managed to put the rapier's point through his brain. Not that it was any sort of pleasant thought... but to defeat him, she had to attack him.

She struck, feigning a slash from her right side, only to quickly move the rapier to the left, striking directly at his horn in an attempt to end this battle quickly and decisively, even if it cost her brother his magic.

The horn, she missed - but his suit, she tore the collar off of, narrowly missing his neck. He rolled to one side, looking a bit surprised... then he smiled, and even gave a light laugh.

"Good, good - improvising is a marvelous strategy when you're facing a superior opponent! Now, what else can-"

A metal grating suddenly dropped from above them all and slammed down onto his head, sending him to the floor like a sack of potatoes and making him drop the knife.

Standing on top of the grating was a very smug-looking Stalwart Stance. She leaned down to bring her lips to Quartz's ear and spoke softly and sweetly, like she was telling him goodnight after tucking him in.

"Have at you... vile fiend," she smirked.

The instant the unicorn went down, so did the suit; a good thing too, because it had wrapped itself around both Cupcake and Queen Vax, and they were both smooshed together in the wrap of the suit itself. Very, very closely smooshed together.

"My apologies for my late arrival, Lady Siddy," Wart said, "but I felt that sneaking upon him from above would be a grate idea."

Cup howled laughter from where he was still bundled up with the flirty changeling queen... who, by the look on her muzzle, was most certainly enjoying the closeness.

One very smug smol pone - that's exactly what Obsidian needed right now. While Quartz seemed to enjoy their little repartee - which in a way was a very strange bonding moment - it was better to end it quickly and decisively.

Grate... heh.

Obsidian moved towards the wrapped up pair. "Stalwart, help me unbundle these two without damaging the suit; I'd like to take a closer look at it later." Cutting it off them would separate the salacious queen from her coltfriend, but Obsidian could survive a little bit of jealousy... for now.

Wart's magic enveloped the two, and she carefully worked them free from their cloth prison. As she did, Vaxillaria tried to use the opportunity to give Cupcake a bit of a nuzzle... but ultimately, one he didn't even notice, as Cup's eyes were on Siddy and Wart. Mostly Siddy.

The queen didn't look like she much cared either, frankly... though after a moment, she seemed to realize he wasn't reacting to her advances from right next to him. The light look of hurt in her eyes vanished quickly as she put on another sultry smirk - but it was one that seemed a little less energetic than before.

As the two of them were finally separated, Cupcake made his way over to Quartz and carefully tied his hooves together with the cord from the sewing machine after he bit it free from its' machinery and improvised.

While Cupcake was tying Quartz down, Obsidian took a moment to bundle up the magical suit as well - she didn't care so much if it got creased or anything, but she just wanted to be sure that it would be packed into a more or less round shape and surrounded with enough cord to prevent it from being 'activated' once again.

It was at the point where the police cars were showing up outside, sirens blaring, when Thunderclap Dash flapped her way back into the parking lot... carrying a limp Markannus. As soon as the queen saw him, she gasped and lost all interest in Cupcake. "Markannus! What-" she began, but Clap cut her off.

"He's fine - just out cold. Literally." She gently set him down, where Vax began to dote over him like a mother, her horn glowing as she healed his wounds.

Clap turned to Obsidian. "You shoulda seen it, Sids! She made the ground shoot up at us, and threw fireballs at us, and even shot a bolt of lightning at me! AT ME! She zapped Markus, but I managed to buck the truck off the road."

She then scowled. "But when I checked the front cab, she was already gone. Sorry, Siddy - but we still stopped the truck, right?"

Siddy's heart stopped for a beat when Clap appeared with a broken-looking Markannus, but it seemed that his queen was taking proper care of him, which was good, as she did like Markannus... but was even better since it pulled Vax's attention away from her coltfriend.

However, now they possibly had a bigger problem. "You know, I'm a bit worried about the police, considering that this time we didn't act right in front of an authority figure such as Princess Twilight; they may arrest US for all of this..."

Cup looked concerned, but Wart spoke up. "Lady Siddy, if you wish, I shall deal with the authorities when they enter; we can have Quartz locked up in the jailhouse for now, and possibly have him transferred to Twilight's dungeon once we leave Manehattan."

Cup looked over at Vaxillaria, who was caressing Markus' muzzle with a hoof, and sighed. "I hope he'll be okay," he said softly, "'cause he's kinda nifty to find in other towns - he's like a walking Find 'Em Puzzle."

Clap walked over to the two of them; she looked a bit bedraggled herself, as she was a bit dirty and had a tear in one of her sleeves... but then again, with the getup she was wearing, it just added more style to her.

Cup glanced back towards the police lights out front. "Should we stay here for this? I mean, I dunno - I've never really done this before; should we?"

"Are you sure that they'll be ready to jail him immediately, Stalwart? And that we won't end up in jail instead of him?" Obsidian was a bit skeptical; Fate itself put a laywer on her path to Manehattan - and considering how so many things lately seemed to have a deeper meaning, she was afraid that it might be the case here.

"Whatever will happen to us, running from the police is hardly a good move, Cup. We could also ask for medical help for Markannus," Obsidian admitted, a bit resigned to whatever Fate awaited them all. Maybe Harmony itself would aid them now? A sudden blessing or something? Friendship lasers?

When the doors opened, a number of stallions and mares in blue uniforms came inside, horns glowing or weapon-like devices in their hooves, pointing them all over... but not at Obsidian, Cup, Clap and Wart.

The lovely Queen Vaxillaria was nowhere to be seen; instead, there was what looked to be a homeless mare, scampering away with a shopping cart that looked suspiciously full of unconscious changeling...

"Miss Obsidian, I presume?" said one of the officers, "We were sent this way by a stallion by the name of Mica Chip - you know him?"

"Yes, we know him", Obsidian confirmed, a bit relieved that no weapon was pointed at them at the moment. Hopefully it would stay like that.

The officer nodded. "He told us quite the story, about what was seemingly something sinister going on with Smoky Quartz... and from the looks of this place, he may have been right."

"He's always right," Cup said, "'cause he's never been a liar."

The officer nodded, then walked calmly over to Quartz's prone and unconscious form. "Well, he's right because we got a tip-off tonight about a number of illicit shipments that have been 'approved' by Celestia, of all ponies... forgeries, of course... and it just so happened that some of them led right to Mister Quartz's front door, so to speak." He looked up at them. "In other words, we have a lot of questions for Mister Quartz when he wakes up."

He motioned to two of the other lingering cops, who came over to Quartz's prone form, shackled his horn, and began to untie him from the electrical cord to get the hoofcuffs on him.

"Now, if the lot of you wouldn't mind," the officer said, "I think we should take this downtown, to the station. Yourselves included."

"Is it that easy to forge princess Celestia's approval?" Obsidian complained. At this rate, everything shady in the entirety of Equestria could be signed falsely by Celestia. At some point, her siblings could probably forge a royal pardon for King Sombra, as the 'true and only ruler of the Crystal Empire' - and some fucking idiot would release him!

"Well, then - downtown it is." Obsidian nodded. "And please, be gentle with my brother; I think he might have been influenced by some manner of spell or mind control..."

She sighed - there was simply no point in prolonging the possible outcome. However, she took up the knife from the warehouse floor as she passed it; they still needed it in the kitchen, after all.

=[ Two Hours Later ]=

The door to the interrogation room opened, and Captain Cold Case walked in and sat down in front of Obsidian, Cupcake, Stalwart and Thunderclap. The four of them had been spoken with, quite politely, and had given their own versions of what had happened.

"Okay," she said with a sigh, "we've got Quartz booked, so he's not going anywhere; you four have checked out, and we have no reason to stop you from leaving - although, from some reports we got in earlier tonight, there might have been something else to deal with..." she pointedly looked at Wart, who looked away innocently. "But you're a hero of Ponyville, and I don't want to be seen as a heel for keeping you any longer than we have. Hopefully, the judge should be available for his case in about, oh... two weeks, more or less."

Captain Case then looked at Obsidian. "He's requested to see you before you leave, though - it's your call, ma'am. He's been shackled, so he's no threat... but if you don't want to see him, i'll make sure he at least knows that you & I spoke."

All things considered, it could have gone worse - far worse. In fact, Obsidian had fully expected that it was bound to be a disaster that would leave them stranded in Manehattan for quite a long time. She was actually surprised that it went so smoothly.

"Of course, I want to see my brother," she replied. Damnation, she didn't expect that the 'fashion party' would end like that; her fight with Quartz and her worrying that the police would decide to detain them all didn't help... but she still had enough energy to meet with him.

Case nodded, then looked to the others. "The rest of you will have to stay put for now; only one visitor. Sorry." The rest looked fine with not being a party to Obsidian and her brother.

Case led the way to the holding cells, and brought her to cell #12; she tapped on the window, then looked back at Obsidian. "I'll give you ten minutes; after that, you'll have to see him wherever he's transferred to." That said, she walked outside of the room, closing the door behind her.

"I suppose," Quartz's voice drifted out from the open slot-window, "this means I'm no longer invited to the wedding? Oh, I hope not; I was looking forward to it."

"You're still on the guest list, brother - don't you worry," Obsidian reassured him. Ten minutes? In this dreadful room? Unless his clothes were made of authentic, self-cured pony skin, she hardly knew why they were being so harsh towards him with such quarters. "How do you feel? I hope that the strike didn't hurt you too much."

He gave a soft chuckle. "Frankly, I had no idea what hit me until I was told - your small friend. She must be something to see in battle, as I heard she's a Royal Guard... my skull is still ringing slightly, but I believe I will... w-will live..."

The last word sounded a bit choked up... possibly because he obviously hadn't expected to win to begin with... nor, apparently, to survive.

"Oh, you'll live - if sister Amy survived a knife in her back, then a single, gentle slap with a piece of steel obviously wouldn't kill you," Obsidian once again assured him as she trotted closer to the open slot window. "I'm sure that soon enough you will join Amy, Tourmy and Diamond and myself in Ponyville... and possibly Ruby and Onyx as well."

Inside the window, she could see him seated on a wooden bench. He had a shackle on his magnificent horn, his outfit was a disheveled mess, and he had his hooves cuffed together, a small chain allowing him some form of short movement.

But... he was smiling.

"Oh, I daresay the authorities shall have a bit of sport with me first; after all, it was my own hoofdiwork which forged Her Majesty's signature. Which is quite an offense, I've heard. So I may be here for longer than you know... but truly? I was willing to just DIE, so that you could continue on, dearest Obsidian. But once again, you surpassed all expectations and stalled me until your miniature war machine landed on my face."

"Well, at least you didn't participate in a zombie invasion that killed one of the elements of Harmony and brought back one of the most loathsome villains in known history. I'm sure that a good word put towards Celestia and claiming that you were influenced by Amber will help your case immensely." So she'd been right about him being willing to die...

"So, if you didn't want to kill me, then why didn't you simply stop fighting at all?" she asked curiously.

"Because-..." He stopped, then looked around a bit and leaned in as close as he could to the window. "Obsidian, I was afraid that if I didn't make at least a show of trying to attack you, Amber would have taken control and she would have made me see you as a manticore or such - I'd have been compelled to attack you WITHOUT mercy, if I didn't at least play along with her plan a bit."

"Listen to me - the cells in here have all manner of barriers, so I believe I'm actually safe from her eavesdropping on me, as she was doing all night long at the party; if you have ANY questions to ask, now would be the time to ask them, because I may not be able to later, should Amber find me first."

Amber had been monitoring him at the party? Then, did that mean she'd heard the rest of what they'd said, as well? "And for the record, I would much rather gallivant with you and your Siddy Six than spend my days and nights sewing like a madpone without mercy."

"Do you possibly know which barriers are keeping her from eavesdropping? We have her shard, so if we could isolate her..." It could be the best thing ever, to deal with a problem as easily as that.

Quartz looked up sharply. "You have her bucking shard!?!? Obsidian, you have to stop her - you have no idea, the cruelty of Amber and how much she revels in it; she makes Onyx look SOFT, by comparison." A sobering thought. "I'm not sure what they have here, but I can't feel her in my head for the first time in THREE YEARS... and it's such a relief not to have to overthink everything before I speak!"

He gave a great gust of a sigh, then spoke up. "Onyx's plan? Amber's STILL carrying it out - in fact, she's been making us work quintuple time, since Onyx herself died. I still don't know what it all is - only Amber and Onyx herself ever knew - but I know what MY part was."

Quartz looked at her seriously through the slot. "Those suits I was making? They absorb magic and negate it - specifically Light Magic. It nullifies and protects the wearer from any harm that might come from a source powered by Light, and effectively makes each such attack useless."

His voice then took on the weariest sound she'd ever heard in her life. "And I've been making them, almost non-stop, for the past two years. I was allowed to sleep for six hours, and two hours for eating and listening to her orders for the day. Because of this, I am reluctant to tell you that there are over three million suits like this... and the only one who knows where they're being taken is Sapphire."

He sighed. "Poor, poor Sapphire..."

Obsidian groaned. Light Magic - but of course, they had to nullify Light Magic. That kind of spell-making that didn't explicitly require its' user to poison his own mind and soul with darkness. Oh yes, it was making a lot of sense. And three million suits... three million... by Darkness.

"I'm glad to hear you'll be able to get some rest, brother. Now praytell, would you be able to make some suits for us? The Siddy Six? If we're going to have to fight against three million Umbrals immune to light magic, we could use every possible advantage we can get."

She simply had to learn the spell Flurry had put into the bracelets! In fact, she still had it on, didn't she? Flurry? Hearest thou my voice still?

There was no reply from Flur; perhaps she was asleep, or maybe showering, or a million other possible things...

... or, of course, she may have been murdered. But she wasn't trying to think about that just yet. Or at all. If she could help it.

She almost could.

"Suits? For-... wait, may I..." He actually gave a full-on laugh; it sounded hearty and melodious, not to mention like it was a sound Quartz had missed. "You wish for me to design hero costumes for your entourage? Truly? I... I believe that is both a ridiculous request AND one I would be delighted to do!"

A slight jingle came from inside his cell. "As soon as they decide to allow me to, of course."

"Yes, design our costumes! Design them carefully, since as soon as we stop Amber's evil plan, I believe we'll become even more famous. Then obviously, we'll start writing books and drawing comics about our adventures. We shall become rich!" Obsidian joked as she smiled at him.

It was rather ironic that he would be able to finally rest only after being imprisoned - but, eh, it was better than nothing. "Is there anything else you'd like to tell me, brother? Because I'm not sure what else I could ask about... except perhaps about Radiant Hope..."

"Hope..." he nodded. "Well, I will state that Amber has Opal working about as hard as I am, but I have not a clue as to what; I haven't actually seen her in over a year, by this point. And I do miss her dearly; if you can stomach Lapo, then Opal's quite a sweet and thoughful mare."

He sighed again. "Lapo is what we called Opal when she flipped her internal switch to 'defense' mode; Opal is a sweetheart, brilliant and goofy... but when she feels threatened, her eyes turn red - THAT is Lapo, and it's also a sign that something terrible is about to happen."

Quartz's voice continued. "Rest assured - BOTH sides are Opal, but she uses Lapo as a mask to hide herself behind. Please don't take too much offense with her when she gets like that; it was the only way she could deal with Father's pressures on her..."

After a slight pause, he added, "And Sapphire has been working harder than BOTH myself and Opal put together, now that Amethyst and Tourmaline are no longer with us... though Amber wants to get her hooves on them BADLY." He then groaned. "And if what you say is true, she'll be after Diamond as well. Lovely. Obsidian, I..."

There was a pause. "... I'm so terribly sorry for all I've done to you tonight. For what I've done to Equestria, for it IS a grand place. I may not deserve your kindness here, but... but for what it's worth, I shall do my utmost best to never cross that line again."

"Please, forgive me sister," he said softly.

"There's nothing wrong that I could forgive you, brother; you were mind-controlled, and yet you managed to stay in control long enough for us to stop you. To me, you are a hero," Obsidian said solemnly, "and I will do my best to free you - as soon as I can put a stop to Amber."

Not that she had idea how to do so, except grinding her shard into dust. "Later on, I'd also like to order a magical suit to make interacting with Jade easier, but uh... that's a task for later."

"Your inner beauty rivals even that of your outer one, my sister. Thank you so very kindly, and I do hope that this will be over with, soon... I can hardly wait to get to know my Lost Sister more personally."

"TIME," called the guardpone, and she came and looked in on the prisoner. "If you're ready now, we'll bring you something to eat and some water, Mister Quartz."

"Yes, I believe a good, simple meal will do wonders for me, thank you. Goodbye, Obsidian - and goddesspeed."

The guardmare led her out to the waiting area, where her friends were gathered. "Don't worry, hon," she said as they walked, "Mister Q's a known philanthropist and has a number of rich friends; he's not just gonna disappear into the system somewhere, I promise you."

"I shall see you later, my brother - I can hardly wait to meet with you again." Obsidian nodded to him and left. Perhaps she could contact Justice Spark to help him out? Though it ironically might make things worse... since as long as he was in that prison cell, he was apparently free of Amber's influence.

"I hope so. He really is a hero; he was doing his best to stop the mind control he was under." Obsidian then gave the guardmare a curious look. "By the way, do you know where I could request information about the details of this prison? I really need to find out what sorts of wards they put in the walls..."

She chuckled. "Sorry - one of the force's most delicate secrets is what protections we have woven in to the concrete when we make these cells; can't have the bad guys preparing for an escape, now can we? Besides, we replace a single wall each year, to make sure no one figures it out."

Cup and Wart stood up as Siddy arrived, while Clap was snoring in her seat, leaning on a considerably cleaner Mica Chip. "Sorry I sent the 'party crashers'," Mica said, "but it seemed like the right thing to do; I did give you a twenty minute window first, though."

"Is he okay? Is he mad?" Cup asked.

Apparently, she would have to ask Princess Twilight directly to request this knowledge, it seemed. It could potentially save all of Equestria... just as Mica saved them, it seemed. Without his help they would have had to deal with Quartz unconscious. "Don't worry, Mica - it was the right choice. The police did help us - and no, Cup, he's completely sane, actually. He was simply under the influence of mind control. As soon as we stop Amber, he'll be able to join us at our wedding,"

Siddy then made a concerned face. "I forgot to ask him if he's colorblind, though... I mean, have you seen his suits?"

Mica rolled his eyes. "How could you miss them?"

Cupcake shrugged, "I liked the suits... but even Momma would've found something less..."

"Mentally screaming within your eyeballs?" Wart offered, making Mica and Cup giggle.

"Yeah - less THAT." Clap came closer. "So, okay, we won this round, yay us - so what's next on the list?"

"The incident within the woods, and then Opal, I believe?" Wart spoke up.

"Next on the list? Sleep, souvenirs for Gypsy, Diamond, Amy and Tourmy, and then Opal. I want to face her army of Dark-Magic-fueled technological golems as soon as possible."

Clap nodded, satisfied with that answer. "Yeah... sleep sounds like a plan and a half."

The group of them made their way outside; Mica had already hailed a cab, so there was little wait before they were on their way. The cabbie was a simple unicorn; it wasn't Markannus... and the thought of what condition the changeling was in hung in the air, but nobody brought it up.

Reaching the Rockhoof, they all got out and separated; Clap and Mica headed to his room, while Wart followed her and Cupcake to theirs.

They made their way in, too tired to really say very much. It had been a long day, what with the museum trip, the party and then the ordeal at the factory; Obsidian's hooves ached with overstimulation, and Cup groaned too as he flopped down onto the bed... then he sat up and looked at it again.

"Wow... that's soft," he remarked, then turned to face her with a bit of a sultry smile. "So, I guess it's time for-"

"Sleep, yes Cupcake," Wart interrupted as she slid in next to him, between the stallion and Obsidian.

Cup turned and looked at her. "Wart, you can't just-"

"Cupcake..." she gave a snarky grin, "... shush."

Cup looked at her, then at Siddy... then smiled, shrugged and nestled down into the soft bed, actually putting a foreleg around the tiny mare before inviting his Dark Princess to the other side, so they could frame the Royal Guardmare. By Darkness, it was almost as if they would be cradling a foal...

She had promised Cup something extra-nice, which obviously meant their 'relationship activities'... but she forgot about Wart. And to be fair, she didn't think the little unicorn would get straight into bed with them. And not even on the side, but between them. In fact, Siddy was a bit uncomfortable about the idea...

Whoa... this bed really was soft.

She hesitantly followed Cup's invitation, though it occurred to her that she'd never slept with anypony besides her coltfriend...

Wart was seemingly determined not to allow them a moment alone to do... uh, whatever they were gonna do. Totally innocent things. But the little mare just settled herself right between them... and did she have a tiny, smug smile there? Well, if she did, it only served to make her look cute as she slept softly and soundly. Surrounded by friends.

... the little spoilsport.

Author's Notes:

So their disguises didn't really work in the first place; you know how it goes... sometimes the magic works, and sometimes it doesn't. This was just one of those cases where it didn't.

Yes - a swordsmaster. Honestly, with all the advice to the contrary, I simply couldn't let him be some sort of pushover; it was far too tempting to make him more dangerous than implied, so I went with it. Honestly, it adds a bit more class to the stallion, in my opinion, that he knows his way around a rapier.

Wart saves the day again - in the most smug way possible. I enjoyed writing that part out; I always like writing for Wart, and getting to show her smol smug expression was a grand moment in the tale, and I felt it was jut as appropriate as her dealing with Tourmaline, back in Daughter.

Forty Six: Best Laid Plans

~>-<~

She was standing at the edge of Ponyville, which looked bright and happy, even if it was completely barren of life. She could make out the familiar shapes of Sugarcube Corner, the Carousel Boutique, and even her own house from here, all awash in a light dusting of pink.

It would probably be quite a long time before she and Cup would get another chance to 'test' so soft and luxurious a bed; this time, the smugness of a certain smol pone was a bit less appreciated than before. At least this time, she didn't have to accompany her father and his foolish marefriend.

"THERE YOU ARE!" Ruby's forehooves wrapped around Obsidian from behind, and she was pulled into a dainty yet excited hug. "What's been the story out there? Where have you been? I was worried it was another spell like last time," a flicker of panic passed through her eyes, but only fleetingly, "but I wasn't feeling weak like before, so I figured you just haven't been sleeping much lately or something!" She gave her another light hug, then stepped back to look at her.

"RUBY!" Obsidian cheered happily, wrapping her own forelegs around her favourite sister and returning said hug. "It wasn't by choice, believe me! Instead of visiting with you, I've been re-living Radiant Hope's memories of Sombra."

"You... wait, y-you saw WHAT?" Ruby gasped as her eyes flew wide open. "Obsidian - you were seeing her memories!? But that's FANTASTIC!"

Ruby suddenly sat down, intent on getting the full story. "No one ever figured out what happened to her! This is a chance to find out! I mean, it was one of the biggest mysteries of the Crystal Empire, and even Peri couldn't figure it out - and you know how smart he is!"

She patted the ground next to her. "C'mon! TALK! Please!"

"Oh, I didn't find out too much from their silly escapades," Obsidian waved a hoof dismissively, "only when they found the Umbral Altars hidden in the frozen mountains of the Crystal Empire, close to the City, and started to blasphemously plan on creating life with their use. They were also discussing something about King Crest - whoever he was - and some sort of 'Kayfadd' spell... oh, and apparently, Sombra unsurprisingly had some sort of issue with Dark Magic, and something kept demanding sacrifices of him."

Well... that wasn't too much... right?

Ruby listened intently, taking in all the information, then looked as though she was thinking it over carefully. "Okay, I have to take this in order - you do remember I was a researcher, right? This stuff is part of what I was looking for! The Umbral Altar is one of the most powerful Umbral artifacts there is - I mean, waaaaaay powerful - and it's what helped make all of us... if you know the actual location of it, then why didn't you mention the city? It should've been right there!"

"King Crest? Oh, HIM." Ruby's expression uncharacteristically soured, making her resemble her Dark Ruby look a bit more. "Crest was the king in charge of the Crystal Empire while Father was growing up; he was run through with corruption, and his subjects were poor, sick and miserable. When Father first took over, it was considered a miracle; the subjects loved him and his advisor, and many improvements were made that brought up the quality of life for them."

"Crest," she growled, "got what he deserved, thanks to Father and Hope."

"But... Kayfadd?" She scratched her mane. "I've never heard of a Kayfadd Spell; maybe Peri knows what it means? Maybe even Onyx, but... well, ask at your own risk, y'know?"

"And... demanding sacrifices?" Ruby looked worried at that one. "Father was plagued with darkness, and I later came to realize that it was Umbral Magic, but... I don't know about the 'sacrifices' part; that's news to me."

"At least, I assume it was about sacrifices; it demanded, hmmm... oh - blood, power and slaves. That's as far as I could say... and.. wait, what city? I mentioned the Crystal Empire, I thought." Obsidian shrugged slightly... unless Ruby didn't mean the City, as in the Crystal capital - but something else. "I'll need to ask Peridot, then; he's a touch more reliable than our dear sister," she sighed.

"The Umbral City! Don't tell me you didn't see it? Don't tell me it wasn't there!" She looked dumbfounded for a moment, then closed her eyes and blushed. "Oh... you might not know about that, I guess."

She cleared her throat. "The Umbral City is the ancient capital of the Umbral Empire; it was supposed to be big enough to be a kingdom unto itself, and it was filled with all sorts of magical myths and legends. Supposedly, when the first ponies came across it, they were awed by its' size and wonders... but it was the seventh generation of Umbrals who attacked the whole of Equus, and when the pegasi traced them back to their home... it was The Umbral City."

"All I know are legends, but the Umbral Altars were supposed to be standing at the gates to the city... i-it should've been obvious... I'm totally at a loss, sis." She then huffed a sigh, and leaned her head on Obsidian's shoulder. "It's weird. I've always been happy to be useful, but it just sort of feels like... like I'm not really pulling my weight. But stuff like this, Hope's memories? THIS, I can definitely sink my teeth into; I can do this part, with ease."

She then rolled her eyes to look at Obsidian. "Y'know... it feels strange to miss sunshine?"

Obsidian put her hoof on Ruby's shoulder. "Dearest sister of mine, rest assured - I will do my utmost best to bring you back to us. You will be able to enjoy sunshine once again, I promise."

Ruby smiled and placed her hoof over Obsidian's. "Thanks; I needed that."

As long Ruby could believe it, Obsidian could believe it as well. She had so many things to do, so many mysteries to unravel - but this task seemed to be a very interesting case of research and exploration. Nothing like trying to stop the evil, twisted plot by Onyx, and being carried out by Amber.

"But to answer your question, no," Siddy shrugged, "I didn't see any gates to any sort of city. If they were there, Hope either didn't notice them, or they were hidden from sight."

After a moment's thought, Ruby nodded. "Well... okay. I can't exactly research much here, as I only have access to what YOU'VE studied... but maybe I can go over some of the things you already know and see if maybe I can figure out something you missed..."

She then looked at her sister. "Oh, and no - there's no book with all your secret thoughts or anything; it's all knowledge reference material - spellcasting, mathematics, music lyrics, Cupcake's baking pantry ingredients... that sort of thing. It limits me, but it still doesn't completely stop me." The libraries in this metaphysical Ponyville were only what she knew already?

"Oh, I meant to ask - how's the Sibling Search coming along?" Ruby asked brightly.

Well, Peridot seemed to be content with reading her metaphysical library books.... though she was a bit worried about what he could have found already. Cupcake's ingredients, eh? Well, hopefully it wasn't anyhing too immodest. Her knowledge of such things was quickly increasing in aspects she didn't even dream about during her old days.

"I've met Sapphire, but she escaped... Quartz was put in prison, though I'm not worried about that so much; he said he's protected from Amber's influence there, and that she was trying to grind him to dust with the amount of work he had to do for her. This way, I'm sure he will finally be able to rest from all that labor."

Ruby slowly looked as though a chill were working its' way up her spine. "Oh... oh, no..."

She turned to look at Obsidian. "Ummmm... sis? It just occurred to me that, when I was alive, I was working for Onyx to help get her plan going, and she never told any of us the full plan... but she did share it with Amber... which means..." she looked more and more worried, "Onyx's plan is still going. Oh, this is NOT good, not at all - Onyx cut her plans short, due to you showing up early... but what if Amber has been doing it all since then?"

She stood up. "Obsidian, we need to find out that plan. If we don't, then it's possible that Amber might succeed where Onyx failed... which would mean that, unfortunately, there's someone you're gonna have to convince to give up the plan..."

She wasn't serious.

"I'm serious, Obsidian; you have to talk to Onyx."

Damnation, she was.

"Convince Onyx... to give up her plan. Onyx. Convince her. My dear, sweet, lovely sister of mine... there are many things I can do, and even more that I can't - but I don't think that convincing Onyx to do anything is anywhere in the first category."

So Amber was realizing Onyx's plan, without a body, while she was locked away in a rune-covered case at Twilight's castle. Well, as soon as the Manehattan police FINALLY reveal what they put into their walls, Amber will rot inside her shard form until the end of the world.

Ruby gave her a flat look. "Right - and not trying at all has so much better of a chance to work. Gotcha."

Sighing, she began to pace. "Well, all that means is we're still stuck at Square One, which is getting hit with things AS they happen, instead of before. I swear, it feels like they're always one hoof ahead of me - dammit, I wish I could just ask her myself! But... okay, if we're not asking Onyx, then all that's left is to piece together what she's doing from scratch. So, I know that her ultimate plan was to bring father back, so we have that. We also know she was going to have an Umbral army waiting for him, so we have THAT, too. We also also know that it was in her designs to have something more ready, but that part was always where she got shifty..."

"We also know that sister Opal is making something using her rather big and powerful industrial company, and that brother Quartz was preparing millions of suits that could block completely Light Magic, and... a-and... okay, okay! I'll talk with her," Obsidian moaned quietly in annoyance.

"I'll tear it from her mind, if I'll have to. " It would be far easier if she could simply absorb Onyx...

Ruby took this new information in carefully. "Well... I'm not sure what the suits mean... but I'll ponder it over. Maybe she's planning on using Slave Helmets to-"

She suddenly jumped like she'd been popped with a spark of electricity. "AMETHYST! Siddy, if Amber gets a hold on Amy, she might have a way to use her Slave Helmets for herself... and that might be what the suits are for? Either way, Amy may be a target; you might have to be careful on her behalf."

"Isn't Amy the most resistant of us against mind control? She said she'd been learning for a long time how to resist against it..." Obsidian pondered aloud.

Ruby winced. "She did - it was father's intent to break her of being controlled, so she could never have it done to herself. But that's why Amber probably can't just take her over, so I bet she may have a plan in mind to deal with that.
And wait - Sapphire? You say she escaped? Crap. Well, we'll have to see if we can't locate her at some point, I guess. But poor Saffi..."

Then she looked concerned. "Quartz said he was 'safe' in jail? Maybe so... but as much as I know both Onyx AND Amber to be planners, there's probably something in place to handle that possibility - I just don't know what it could be yet, is all."

"We'll figure it out... I hope. I mean, can you imagine Onyx's plan falling apart because of putting proper security measures around Amber?" Obsidian shook her head. If only the police would tell them what they needed to know immediately! But perhaps there could be another way? Maybe they would simply release Quartz - and instead put Amber's shard in his cell. That way, she'd be cut off from the entire world.

"Anything else you want to discuss before I go to our family's diabolical mastermind, dear sister?" Obsidian asked.

Ruby looked at her for a moment... then threw her forelegs around her and hugged her tightly. "Yes; I want to discuss the fact that my Best Little Sister Friend Forever is the most incredible, determined and hard-working mare I've ever-"

The colors abuptly shifted to a purplish hue, and Ruby was gone. Instead, she was standing outside - where else? - the library doors. And sure enough, inside she could hear a familiar click-clacking of typewriter keys.

Miss Tome was in.

Oh, Ruby - it was a bit too much praise. Obsidian herself knew quite a few more determined and hard-working ponies - Onyx included, unfortunately. And right now, she had no other choice but to walk straight into her den. Siddy sighed deeply, and opened the door to enter.

The library was as solemn and quiet as the first day she'd strolled into it - moreso, because there were only two ponies in it. She was one of them...

And, seated at a desk and typing away, was the other. Same spectacles. Same light brown mane pulled back into a respectable bun. Same frill-less and sensible suit. But there was something different this time... Miss Tome's eyes were the same shade of violet as Onyx's; of everything, it was the only part of the real Onyx who showed through the disguise.

"Ah," she said as Obsidian got close, "I was wondering when you'd show up, though I doubt you're here to pay the fine on that book you borrowed."

Considering that the first time she strolled there was in Cup's company, it really wasn't that strange that it was more calm in here. To be fair, Obsidian would pretty much prefer to be in the company of her coltfriend, if only because she was strolling into decidedly hostile territory. "I work in the library myself now, Onyx - and I returned all the books I've borrowed," she protested the baseless accusation, "unless you mean your books? The ones about Dark Magic? THOSE are not borrowed - they are the proper spoils of war. Or an inheritance, if you prefer."

Onyx glanced up with those severe violet eyes, her expression remaining aloof. "Well, as I rarely see you unless you want something, I suppose it would be best to simply cut to the chase here. I've gotten the impression you've made a few discoveries in the world of the living, and now you've come to speak to the dead. How quaint."

She suddenly stopped typing, sighed, crossed her forelegs and sat back in the chair, gazing at Obsidian... but not with scorn or hate. More with curiosity, to be honest.

"So then - what do you want? I'd say my time is important and short, but..." she gestured around her at the silent library, "I don't really have anything better to do."

"Unless I want something? Oh my dear sister, trust me - I would visit you a bit more often, but I didn't know you'd made this bit of my mind your home until recently, and after I learned about it, I stopped dreaming about this place in lieu of other dreams." It was enough to make Obsidian slightly defensive; she hated treating ponies as tools, and her own sister was basically accusing of her doing exactly that. "...but," she sighed, "you are at least partially correct. I wanted to ask what you had planned for Sapphire and Opal - particularly Opal. Quartz is - thank Darkness - safe, but I would prefer Amber not rampaging around Equestria in the near future."

Onyx regarded her for a long moment before speaking. "So... you've discovered Quartz, have you? And he's singing like a songbird - what a surprise. You see, THIS is why I broke my plan into pieces and only gave out certain parts to certain siblings... so that a goody-goody like you couldn't find out everything at once."

She smirked at her own intelligence, then continued. "Amber, I take it, is bringing things along nicely then, yes? I take it you've discovered the suits, and oh what could they possibly mean?"

She pressed a hoof to her forhead in a fit of mock dramatics. "But hark! I shall ask mine sister, whom has no brains whatsoever, and therefore shall tell me all I need to know to bury her Swan Song, once and for all!"

She then placed her hooves back in the crossed position, with a scowl to accompany it. "Sorry, but no - I've worked FAR too hard at making this plan happen... and to have the chance to see it come true from beyond the grave through your eyes as you see your world come tumbling down around you?"

Now, she smiled. "I wouldn't miss this front row seat for the world."

"I will admit, you've made these puzzles of yours quite frustrating," Obsidian said as she stepped closer to the desk, leveling a close look at her sister.

Actually, considering that Onyx's physical body got splattered after Sombra's return, she technically HAD no brains.

"Why are you so set on ending the modern world? Did you dislike it so much when you were still breathing? Honestly, I don't think you like watching others suffer as much as you imply; if you were that heartless, you would have destroyed Diamond's picture as you claimed you did, and you wouldn't give a damn about any of your siblings," Obsidian tried to guess.

This caused Onyx to blink in surprise for a moment. Then, slowly, she sat forward and uncrossed her hooves, looking at her with almost a hurt expression. "Obsidian... it was always as it was; it was for Father."

She shut her eyes tightly and put a hoof to her forehead, as if she were having a headache. "If I had been able to let everything run its' proper course, Father would have had the power to defeat the alicorn usurpers, the army to conquer Equestria with, and US to act as his advisors and strategists... for crying out loud, Amethyst wanted to be his WARLORD!"

With a frustrated grunt, she dropped her hoof and glared at Obsidian. "But you were discovered. Woken up FAR too early in my plans. And I panicked... I just tried to come up with a plan that bypassed most of my original idea, and went straight for the main goal..."

Now, she sat back and looked a bit deflated, as if the realization was finally coming home to her. "... and that was my mistake. I rushed into things, trying to hurry before you had a chance to set my plans on fire... and..." Now, her entire muzzle fell. "... and... and I was just a shell for him. A warm body, meant for nothing further."

She suddenly let out a shriek of anger and frustration loud enough to echo through the library and back twice before it stopped. "I did what he wanted, damnation! I was the LOYAL one! I saw all the PAIN and SUFFERING he went through to make us! ALL of us! EVEN YOU!"

She was standing on the desk, having unknowingly clambered onto it in her fury. Her breathing was hard and almost wheezing, and she looked either one hair's breadth of either destroying the entire building... or weeping uncontrollably.

But THAT was a rather strange thought which appeared in Obsidian's mind - could Onyx, or possibly any of the entities in her head, hurt her in any way? As far as she was currently concerned, it didn't seem to be possible - if it was, Onyx surely would have struck before Obsidian had even realized that Ruby lived in her head. Besides, for her it was merely a dream.

And it was something to remember, too - when Onyx started panicking, she couldn't think straight.

"My dear, dear sister," Obsidian decided to risk it; she trotted forward in an attempt to give Onyx a warm hug. "Everypony makes mistakes - the fact that you panicked doesn't mean I don't consider you to be one of the most dangerous creatures in the world... even when you're trapped inside my head."

Onyx flinched - unsure of Obsidian's intent - then simply stood there as her sister gave her a hug. She felt rigid, as if she was expecting the hoofstrike to come at any moment. Obsidian idly wondered if this was the first actual hug Onyx had ever gotten.

When Obsidian stepped back from the embrace, Onyx took a step back as well, and eyed her warily.

"Look, what's your deal?" she said in an exasperated tone, "You've managed to turn Tourmaline to your side, you're handling Amethyst marvelously, you're the greatest thing to Ruby since spiked manacles, and you've even managed to free Diamond, gather Jade and Amber AND NOW, you're hugging me? What gives!? Why aren't you imagining me in a torture chamber, being flayed endlessly while you demand answers to your questions? It worked for Father, but you seem to be the embodiment of everything he-"

She stopped... then cracked a wicked grin as she pointed a hoof at Obsidian. "You... you had me monologuing! I was just rattling off details I KNOW you'd love to have, and you just led me into it with one single embrace. Well played, Obsidian... well played."

She sat back down at the desk, straightened her glasses and began to sort through her paperwork as if she were right back in the same library again. "So, is this where you give up on me and simply curse my name, or shall it be the more Equestrian 'sympathetic' approach? Well - which predictable reaction will you give me today, dear sister?"

For a moment, she'd almost gotten through to her... at least, it had felt like it. Obsidian knew that Onyx was trying to trick her into a false sense of security; telling her that she 'handles Amethyst marvelously' simply had to be a lie - a pretty shameless one, to a boot.

Despite that, at least some of her exasperation sounded genuine... in fact, The Grey Princess managed to surprise herself a well; she didn't expect to be hugging this particular sister today. It wouldn't be at all surprising that Onyx hadn't expected it either.

"You know, sister... acts of good are not always wise, and acts of evil are not always foolish. Regardless, I'm trying to be good nonetheless." Hmmm... not bad. Maybe she should remember those words too - as maybe her catchphrase or something? "Besides, you seemed to need a hug... but still, you could stand to finish your last sentence. Everything he, what, hated? Everything he was not? Come now, sister - it sounded interesting!"

Onyx looked at her for a long, long moment. "... everything he gave up. For us. For her." The last was said with a nasty sneer that seemed to imply that she was not a fan of whomever she was speaking about.

"Obsidian," Onyx spoke as if she was tired of talking, "my only goal has always been father's glorious return... and nothing else really mattered to me. Even if he DID just use my body to reincarnate himself, I was his to use. Can't you see that? Each of us, created as vessels and gifted with portions of his power to combat the world around us. To unite ALL nations under a single flag. To bring back the Umbral Empire, in it's full and powerful glory."

Now, she gave Siddy a casual look. "... and all it took was one stupid alicorn princess and her proclivity for touching things with her magic, and now I'm dead - but my Tartarus is being stuck here with no hope of ever escaping the taunting, teasing fact that I was defeated by my own rash impulses... and you."

She went back to typing. "You want to know about Opal's part of the plan? Go ask her yourself - I'm sure she'd LOVE to tell you all about how your intervention could potentially ruin countless days of work from her, and how it could possibly spell the end of her little company, even before father has a chance to dd it to his glory."

She smiled as she typed. "Yes, tell her all of that... and see if she'll fall for your words like I almost did."

Again, no matter how much Onyx tried to make herself out to be the heartless villain, there was the fact of the fate of Diamond's drawing; she might have been putting on a sour attitude... but if she'd been truly without a heart, Obsidian would have been screwed, trying to find her other siblings.

It didn't make sense... but the first pieces of the Onyx puzzle were at least somewhat visible now; if she wanted to win over one of her greatest enemies, she'd have to work at it more... but imagine the potential if she succeeded...

"Why couldn't we unite the world under the flag of an Empire that didn't like making books about torture or flaying ponies alive so much? I'm sure that we - as a family - could easily claim one of these countries and use it as a base to increase our influence and power, bit by bit. Even now, I'm making contacts at the highest echelons of both the Equestrian and Imperial governments, while Opal and Quartz apparently have the capability to manufacture an army on their own. And I consider slave helmets to be mostly useless, since slave soldiers lack true tactical flexibility; however, they could be used to make prisoners of war do something useful instead of rot in cells all day, and of course Amber would probably be an effective Head of Intelligence and Counterintelligence..."

Obsidian coughed awkwardly. "Not that I'm actually plannig anything... i-it was just, you know, a mental exercise. But still, why bother with the Umbral Empire? How closely are they really connected to us? Would they-..."

It dawned on her. "They're... not as gone as everypony thinks, are they?"

Onyx now wore a look that was unlike anything she'd seen yet... blatant surprise. It even took her a moment to gather her words before she spoke. "Oh, their bodies are gone, make no mistake... but no, THEY are far from 'gone' - just sleeping, so to speak. There are names of legends among them - such as Grogar, Brae, Hydea - which have struck fear into the hearts of Equus for long and long..."

She now looked... proud? "THIS is our heritage, Obsidian - power, limitless in scope and measure, and the Darkness that holds it. The Umbra lived inside father, and it craved the return of the Umbral Empire... and, once he realized the truth of it, so did he. Obsidian, he wouldn't have needed the Crystal Empire anymore because all of Equus was to be his kingdom!"

She sighed. "He paid for us to live, so that we might support his rule. Granted, towards the end, he wasn't... thinking properly sometimes..." Did Onyx just admit their father was flawed? Maybe Obsidian WAS reaching her, after all? "... but as I watched him create the others, I knew I had to be the leader he needed me to be. And when I awoke to find myself in this world-gone-crazy, the modern Equestrian world... I knew I had to bring him the glory he deserved."

"Honestly, sister... he didn't look too happy about The Umbra living inside him," Obsidian corrected Onyx a bit. "He and Hope had planned to rid him of it, as soon as possible. Well... at least, at the beginning... oh, but I'll be happy to learn all I possibly can about Umbrals; Brae and Hydea, you say?" Grogar's name was a bit more well-known, thanks to the stunt Discord had pulled off, concerning the Terrible Trio.

Obsidian shrugged. "I'm just trying to understand a bit better, sister. Would these Umbrals require new bodies? Possession of existing ones, or perhaps the creation of new, artificial ones?"

Onyx now seemed to have a bit of interest in the conversation... and oddly enough, her expression changed from her usual sour look to one closer to the last look she'd seen on the living Onyx's muzzle... Hope.

"Umbrals themselves are only 'alive' in the sense of their undead corpses - and no mere pony body would be able to hold them for long. No, they would require a full and complete ressurrection - something that The Umbra was trying to prepare father for, I believe."

She stood up, and began to pace as she kept eye contact with Obsidian. "Father never knew that I had seen him speaking with The Umbra - multiple times - and though I never heard any sort of voice in return, I could overhear what father was saying to it... and he wanted the whole thing finished! He said he wanted it over with!"

She stopped, then glanced over at her desk. "Grogar is in the more recent history books as a fraudulent avatar of Discord... but the real deal himself? Legends say he was magnificent in his Darkness, and that he was one of the greatest leaders of the Umbral Empire, along with his second in command, War General Brae. They nearly had all of Equestria under their hooves... if they hadn't been stopped by ponies, of course."

She sighed. "Obsidian, answer me truthfully - do you want to see father's return? Would you stand behind an Umbral Empire? If father returned again... would you fight him, or welcome him?"

Wait... wasn't Grogar a ram? Did it mean that Umbrals possibly had other races in their service or ranks? Were the legends wrong? Or perhaps they simply appeared to be something aside from themselves? She hadn't learned anything new about the other one - Hydea - but she could find out more about that subject later... and perhaps a little chat with Peridot or Gypsy wouldn't hurt, either.

"Truthfully? At the moment, I'm content with our current situation. The only Umbrals I've actually seen for myself were the undead monsters you summoned, and I still haven't learned anything that would make me wish for their return - or at least to wish for it more than the realization of any of my own plans."

Well, she asked for honesty, right? Besides, Obsidian DID have her own plans too, and the horrible return of murderous beasts from the past would most certainly interrupt all of them... including the one about making a happy family with her Cupcake.

Onyx seemed to be unsure of how to react to that at first... then, a cold and bitter glare seemed to win out, and settled into her features. "So. I suppose that simply means I was right to mistrust you. I thought you might balk at such a thing... which is what made me decide to use you to get the Darkheart amulets filled quicker, instead of trying to approach you to join us."

Smiling without a trace of humor, she leaned against the table, eyeing her sister. "You've been in the light for too long, Obsidian... and when the Darkness finally DOES come? You'll be powerless to stop it."

She then returned to her seat, smiling in a rather mean-spirited way. "And DO enjoy the rest of my marvelous plan - because you'll see the fruits of it very soon, I promise you tha-"

~>O<~

"... you were right; they look adorable, together like that." Mica's voice spoke softly.

"That absolute IDIOT!" Obsidian growled without opening her eyes. Damn it! Just damn it all! How was she supposed to earn Onyx's trust if she kept failing to convince her to join them? Tourmaline had literally tried to kill her... Amethyst attacked her and her friends... and at the first opportunity, Onyx siphoned away her magic and ordered Amy to kill her!

One could think that blasted mare would have learned something from her defeat - after all, she had ended up dead only because Onyx wanted to use Obsidian as a pawn and made her stand on the Equestrian side! At the beginning, Obsidian would gladly have helped them with their plans... well, most of them, as even back then she'd considered mass murder, torture and such to be exceedingly wasteful.

"Whoa - that was rude, Sids! He was just-" Clap began, but Mica's voice cut hers off.

"Clap, she may have been dreaming again," the earth pony deadpanned.

"Oh... uhhh, mornin', Siddy!" Clap tried to recover, "I'd ask if you slept good, but from the looks of it, you three had one heckuva night!"

"And I had no idea you three were so very cute together...." Mica said, the amusement in his voice quite obvious.

Obsidian opened her eyes and rapidly sat up; right - no last night snuggles with Cup, a frustrating end of her discussion with Onyx, and the apparent doom of all of Equestria. Wonderful. It was no surprise that she was not at all in a good mood, and that she was glaring at the entire world as if she wanted to challenge it to a duel to death.

Clap and Mica were standing at the edge of their bed, looming over them. As for her sleeping companions, Cupcake was rolled onto one side, his foreleg stretched across Wart's tiny (and quite adorable) sleeping form to wrap his hoof in Obsidian's mane. Wart, meanwhile, had nestled herself against Siddy's belly, so her sitting up had the effect of rolling Wart against Cup, who smiled and snuggled her in his sleep.

"... zzzzz... so shoft, my Dark Prinzezzzzzz..." the blue unicorn mumbled softly.

Wart let out a tiny sigh, and settled next to Obsidian's coltfiend, looking peaceful and content.

Which just seemed to add to her irritation, for some reason. "I talked with Onyx; we need to prepare for war," Obsidian growled.

That got Wart's eyes open, and she sat bolt upright. "Lady Siddy, I heard talk of WAR... what has happened?"

Mica held up a hoof. "Good morning, Wart - but I think we should wait for Cup to wake up before we start this conversation."

"What conversation?" Cup asked, awake and looking curiously at Mica.

Mica, unruffled, answered. "The one where Obsidian apparently believes we're bound for war... and good morning to you too, Cupcake."

Cup stretched, yawned, rubbed his eyes... then, as the words settled in, he looked at Obsidian with a bit of shock. "War? Just because we stopped Quartz?" he asked, sounding incredulous.

"No," Obsidian went on, "but because Quartz prepared three million suits that can block Light Magic, and apparently sister Opal was preparing something as well. Amber is the only pony other than Onyx who knew the full plan for restoring Sombra, and she was using her mind-control powers to force Quartz, Sapphire and Opal to work for her."

Strange thing that she didn't try to mind-control Obsidian after her awakening, she thought.

She hopped off the bed, looking for her jewelry allowing her to contact Flurry Heart. Princess Cadance surely had some means to contact Princess Twilight - that way, they could try to stop Amber as quickly as possible using knowledge about the runes on the walls of Manehattan's prison... they couldn't refuse a princess' order, right?

She found the bracelet easily, yet when she put it on, it was already running.

... HOO, SIDDEEEE... what the fuck? I keep this thing on, and she calls me all the time - yet when I call her... hel-LOOOO-OOOOOOO???

Hello, Obsidian answered with a sheepish chuckle, sorry, I've been sleeping. Hello, sunshine.

Shit, Sids, I was about to just give up! 'Bout TIME you picked up! She groused only a moment, then she took on an excited tone. Hey, guess what - I'm here! TA-DAAAA! You asked me to come by P-Ville sometime, and I'm at the station right now, girl! So, how long before I should expect you here to pick me up?

Oh. Umm, well. Hunh. You rememberer, sunshine, that I was calling you from Manehattan yesterday, right?

AAAAANNNNNDDDD??? I mean, it's not like you were gonna stay for a week, am I right? There was a pause. ... a-am I right?

No, it just means that I won't be able to pick you up for a while yet... however, it IS a good thing you're here; I'd like to ask you to contact Princess Twilight for me, please. It's yet another matter connected with Sombra's Hellish Spawn, as you can imagine. Perhaps Obsidian was still a little bit cranky and annoyed.

Whoa - not another Peridot! Fuck, Sids, is your family half-fuckin'-yak or somethin'? They just don't quit, do they? SHIT. Well, fuck, I can always stick around for a bit; Mom knows I'm here, and I can stop by Auntie Twily's to let her know whassup.

Mica looked at her for a moment, then nodded and headed to his own room. Meanwhile, Clap and Wart went to gather their own things together. However, Cup simply sat next to her and waited, smiling as he just watched her. Kinda creepy... but cute, in a way.

No, this time we're not dealing with some harmless bookworm like Peridot. Okay, calling Peri 'harmless' was a bit of an abuse of the word, but Flurry had to know that the stakes were THAT high.

"Love, could you get our things, please? We need get back to Ponyville as soon as possible," she said aloud to her stallion. Cup gave her a salute, then a quick peck on the cheek as he got up and started humming softly, getting everything ready to go.

'Harmless bookworm'? Celestia roast my cunt with a blowtorch, that fuckin' NASTY, hunh? You think I oughtta tell anyone else while I'm running around town playing messenger mare? It was a little snark back at her, but nothing angry about it - just Flur's way of being Flur.

Not really, dear - just tell Princess Twilight that something included in the walls of the prison in Manehattan are able to block Amber's influence, so I hope that copying their safety measures and putting them around her shard - as soon as possible - could stop the entire invasion.

That shard... the one we got out of the tunnels? THAT Amber? Fuck, if you want, I'll go smash it myself for ya! Right now, even!

Cup finished packing, then made his way to the bathroom and shut the door.

We could end the whole damned thing right now, Sids! Just give me the go, PLEASE give me the go!

It's not that easy, Flur... or do you want to risk another nasty case of alicorn possession?

Oh, FUCK that - I'm taking some dynamite; I ain't touching that fuckin' thing!

First, are you sure explosives would even work? Second, are you sure it would destroy the shard without destroying that little coffin we put it into long enough to allow her to possess everypony around her? Third, I'd prefer to explore the idea of putting warded walls around her before we seriously plan to murder my sister.

Frankly, she'd been planning to do it as well... but in her case, the situation was a bit different; she knew where her siblings kept ending up.

Murder... That stopped Flurry's tirade cold; if Obsidian recalled correctly, the mare had taken her own personal vow of Pacifism. And despite anything Flur said, she could still recall how the young alicorn refused to simply blast PeriNight directly, if she could help it.

Yeah, okay; go to Aunt Twily's, tell her she needs to build Ward Walls around Amber and Jade, then sit on my sweet ass and wait for you to get home. Right. Fuuuuuuuuuun. SO glad I stopped by, Siddo - tons o' fun.

If it works, then it would mean you've helped to save the world from the invasion of few million of magic-resistant beasts, Flurry.

"Siddy? Love? We're packed and ready... you can stop staring at the wall, now." Cupcake grinned, then shyly added, "U-unless you're not done staring at the wall yet, then you can go ahead and stare at the wall a bit more..."

Yeah, okay - I'll get the word to Aunt Twi - you go save the world. Again. Without me. She mentally chuckled. Go be the bitch Equestria needs right now.

"I was talking with Flurry, Cup." I'll see you later, Flurry - hopefully I won't need to save the world as much as the last two times. You wouldn't believe how long I was sore after the Umbral invasion... "...But you're right - let's go; I can talk with her on the way home. Just, umm... pay attention to me, okay, love? I wouldn't want to wander off because I was too busy gossiping with her."

Cup grinned. "You're asking me like I don't do that already?"

They all met in the hall with the subdued lighting; someday, she may have to try to return here - to fully get to experience this city without rush or deadlines or the threat of annihilation over her head. Red Carpet wished them well as they left, and the taxi ride to the station was quiet... even Thunderclap was just looking out of the window.

"... I hope Markannus is okay," Mica said softly. The others nodded in full agreement.

She was missing so many interesting things, all because of this world-saving business! They didn't even have any time to get souvenirs! What a shame.

"He will be, I'm certain. He's tough - and if it were otherwise, the queen would most likely have stayed with us and called help instead of sneaking away," Obsidian mused as they rode to the station. If the ruler of his changeling hive was so sure that Markannus would survive that she'd decided it would be safe to sneak away, then he would most likely survive. Simple enough.

It was somber for a moment, then Clap gave a large sigh and turned to the others. "Hey... when we get back, we gotta go see Gypper - this whole trip, I keep feeling like he' should BE here with us, y'know? Like, I even turned to say something to him yesterday... and he wasn't even here!"

"Yes," Mica added, "I think we should go see Gypsy when we have the chance. Together."

"I miss hearing about all the cool stuff he knows - like histories and such; Gypsy knows the best stories!" Cup added.

"Indeed, such a noble creature with such a vast intellect... most certainly my favorite canine," Wart added, with a grin. He may not have been there... but talking about him certainly seemed to help the previously glum mood.

"Gypsy is absolutely the best," Obsidian smiled softly, "and we will meet with him soon... and hopefully, we won't part ways for quite some time." As far as she was concerned, her siblings were preparing something very big, and Peridot had advised her to keep the group together. There would be the small problem with Diamond obviously, but that was something that they would have to deal with later.

Manehattan was such a nice place; Obsidian really regretted that she didn't have the time to be as decadent as she'd originally wanted to be.

At the station, the lot of them made their way towards the platform and found the proper train; the schedule said it would still be another fifteen minutes, so there was a bit of time to kill. And it just so happened that there was most certainly a gift shop here; it was a bit tourist-y and such, but that's what souveniers were for, right? Tourist types? Or perhaps, diamond dogs who couldn't come along with them?

The shop wasn't lost on Thunderclap, as she smiled and turned to the group. "Yo, if we got a minute, I wanna find something in there for Gypsy - anyone else?"

"For Gypsy, yes... and Amy, Tourmy.... and - why not - for Diamond, too. He would be thrilled to learn how big this city truly is." They would have to be quick, though - Obsidian doubted they could afford doing anything else other than a simple 'grab the first nice-looking gift and run to the train'.

Wandering into the gift shop, the group fanned out to find whatever they could for the folks on their minds. The place was full of kitschy little things; all decorative, nothing really useful... though the thermometers, calendars and potato chip clips all tried hard to convince customers they were.

Clap found a table lamp that was shaped like the Statue of Friendship, Mica bought a scenic picture book of the city itself, and Cupcake purchased an entire set of postcards which showed the museums they'd gone to. Wart managed to find the most useful gift - a new set of markers, all the way at the back of one of the bottom shelves.

Each of these gifts was bought with their diamond dog companion in mind; his absence was palpable... just like Mica's had been when she was dealing with Peridot. It was strange, but before she'd woken up in this world of the future, she never would have considered missing anyone other than her father...

Now? It felt as though she were charging into battle wearing an incomplete suit of armor.

Apparently, nopony was thinking about Amy or Tourmy... meanwhile Gypsy would be swimming in souvenirs. Obsidian couldn't accept that - even if she had to buy them gifts herself. She picked up and purchased something called a 'snowglobe', a pack of those museum postcards... and maybe a calendar for Diamond? And she still had to find something for Gypsy; she couldn't be the only one without gift for him!

With a bit of searching, Obsidian came across an actual book about the history of Manehattan, complete with pictures and reference guides; surely, he'd like this, right? It was about history, and he loved that subject - she had not failed in her quest!

Looking up, Obsidian was suddenly blinded by a flash of light, right in front of her face! There was a shifting sound, and a shelf fell over next to her, where a unicorn stallion wearing a suit was levitating a camera which was pointed at her.

"Obsidian, the Manehattan Tribune here, would LOVE a personal interview, if you've got the time..."

From behind Clap and Mica, another one popped out of a rack of clothing, and another camera flash went off. "Lazlow Press here, would you be willing to give me an exclusive on your story of why you're here?"

Cupcake went pale. "... th-they found us... paparazzi..." was all he could say in a thin, strained voice.

Wart took a defensive stance as another one leaned over with a microphone in hoof, pointing it dirctly at the miniscule mare. "Equestrian News Network; tell us, Miss Stance, in your own words - what does Miss Obsidian mean to you, and how often does your group gather? And when? And where?"

Yet another one, this one a mare, swung down towards them from the AC vents across the ceiling. "Channel 42, Appleloosa - mind if we take, say, six dozen or so pictures for a montage of your time in Manehattan? It's for the morning show, so the sooner, the better!"

Other voices (and resulting reporters) began to try to draw her attention:

"Miss Obsidian! Can we get a candid shot of you? It has to look natural, so we should only take about two hours to set it up..."
"Mister Cupcake! Mind if we have an interview? I only have a few hundred questions..."
"Thunderclap Dash and Obsidian; just friends, or something more..? Inquiring minds want to know!"

...oh no - invaders! And apparently ones with stupid questions and stupider cameras! While normally Obsidian didn't have a bad opinion about journalists in general, that stance was quickly changing... after all, this was the first time they'd ever swarmed her.

"...eh, we are in a bit of a hurry; we just want to finish buying some souvenirs and then we're going straight to the train. I'm afraid you're out of luck today, gentlecolts and gentlefillies..." Damnation!

Obsidian's response was civilized, calm and respectful... and they didn't seem to hear her at all. Her speaking up only caused a sudden circle of microphones to seemingly appear out of nowhere around her, boxing her in as a flood of words came at her. Questions, undoubtedly, but so many and so rapidly that she couldn't even understand them.

Now, the paparazzi were begining to swarm the little gift shop; this was starting to make the incident in the museum look like a warm-up, in comparison. There were FAR too many, and they were coming in MUCH too fast! Mica stood right next to Clap, and the two of them made their way over to where Cup and Siddy were standing. Wart, meanwhile, had climbed one of the shelves, and was making her own way over towards the group, diligently dodging questions and deflecting statements.

What in the world did they want!? Why were they wasting her time like this!? What was the meaning of this degradation of media!? Obsidian would have loved to step back from the situation - but even then, a paparazzi was already standing behind her! She pressed her ears against her skull as she started to look around for a way out.

Wart leapt from the top shelf and landed amongst her friends. "Lady Siddy, there's too many! We must make good our escape, before they overwhelm us!"

Even Thunderclap Dash, who would normally love being the center of attention, looked as though she was mere seconds from just taking off straight through the roof. "Siddy... we gotta get out of here!"

Cupcake was now steadily murmuring, "...it's not like last time... it's NOT like last time... it's not like last time..."

Mica looked over at her, then pointed with a hoof towards the side of the place, where there was an emergency exit which looked clear enough to get out of. If only they could make it...

"... it's not like last time... it's not like last time... it's WORSE than last time..." Cup's voice began to pitch higher and higher as his panic rose.

"... ews, can we get an exclusive intervi..." "... pcake's love children, born in scand..." "... ather abuse you, or dress you up in..." "... cess Twilight REALLY say to you when..." "... dvice to all the Crystal Ponies out the..." "... ike the dragon? Is there ging to be a lawsu..." "... lejack is still alive, somewhere in Las Pega..." "... Tome, the librarian, was actually a changel..." "... HUGE Dark Crystal, but you had to destro..." "... idnight Star's secret lover, and he chased y..." "... eige on Twilight's Castle, but you and your frie..." "... ou and your friends, tell us about how much..." "... ments of Harmony? Because if that's true, the..." "... pinion of the state of Zebrica at the momen..." "... stal Empire is legally yours, so is this goi..." "... aybe a few nice pictures for the fellas back ho..."

... and the questions just kept coming!

Granted, as far as Obsidian was concerned, some of the questions were interesting; she would love read about them in the newspaper - if it was about A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PONY! She grabbed Cup's hoof and started to drag him towards the emergency exit.

What in Tartarus was wrong with journalists and fans? When did they become such a threat to her way of life like this?

Mica, Clap and Wart all followed... as did every reporter in the place. The five of them came barreling out of the gift shop, headed forward - no telling where yet - at a breakneck pace, doing their best to keep ahead of the flood. Behind them, it was almost like a cloud of questions with hooves (and horns, and occasionally wings) was trying to charge them down, a dull roar of noise and words that galloped behind them. The station's other guests all watched in varying degrees of interest as the two groups stormed their way down the platform.

They wouldn't possibly risk following them on the train, would they? Obsidian and company already knew which one they were bound for; now they only had to get on board in one piece!

Getting there seemed like there were more and more groups of paparazzi that were joining the ruckus; where were they all coming from!? Before long, there was a veritable army following them!

Clap had Wart, and was flying to keep away from the crowds; Mica just ran like his tail was ablaze, and Cupcake kept yelling about how it was worse this time far worse than he'd ever seen it before.

Soon, they found themelves headed right for the correct train... but there was no way they would make it without being followed by the whole ball of reporters - and if it was bad enough running from them, imagine what it would be like having to survive a train trip with them!

But, as they reached the right platform, Obsidian caught some movement from the roof of the train car they were running towards...

Atop the passenger car, an equine form stood up; it looked like a mare, clad all in purple, her face masked beneath a wide-brimmed purple hat.

The figure moved suddenly, and several small plastic purple spheres went flying through the air, right towards Siddy's group... and past them, and into the mob of paparazzi swiftly closing in on them.

There was a >POOF< sound, and a dark yellow cloud blossomed out from the center of the reporter storm, rolling through the crowd quickly. The entire gaggle of paparazzi, almost as one, began to wretch, heave and actually vomit as they were surrounded by the funky cloud.

"Ohhhhhh..."
"EWWW! WHAT IN- urrrrrrgchk!"
"WHAT is that SMELL!?"
"Poison! POISON!!! Rrrrrraugh..."
"HUGURRRRKCK!"
"YUUUUUUUURGH!"
"OOOOOOOOAUGH..."
"My eyes! MY EYEEEEEES!"
"Oh, the equinity! THE EQUINITYYYYYYY!!!"

Obsidian and her group got to the train just as the conductor called for an 'all aboard', and the paparazzi were STILL heaving their guts up as the train pulled away from the platform, one or two hooves outstretched towards them, begging for them not to go.

And so - thankfully, they were safe... but who had saved them?

As far as Obsidian could guess, it was most likely Markannus... or, she hoped so; it would mean that he'd already recovered, right! However, first things first - and right now, the firstest thing was getting home to Ponyville.

Fame hurt.

The train was headed back to Ponyville, and all her friends were onboard... and, most importantly, the paparazzi were not.

"Hey Wart," Clap spoke up, "I dunno what you did back there, but whatever it was, it was real effective!"

Wart blinked at her. "I assure you, Clap - that was not my doing."

Clap gave her a skeptical look that slowly turned to confusion. She then looked at Mica, who shook his head. "Cupster? Did YOU do something?"

Cupcake was hugging Siddy tightly, shaking just a bit. "N-n-no, not me. I thought you did..."

She then turned to Obsidian. "Well, Sids, I guess it was you, then - how'd you do that?"

"It wasn't me, either - I'll bet it was Markannus, as he always helps us when we don't expect it," Obsidian shrugged, panting quite heavily. Damnable journalists... although, could she earn some bits through them? They could possibly pay her for an interview... then, at least something good would come out of it. She could've bought gifts for everypony, then!

"It was a mare... in purple... with a big hat, which was also purple." Well, normally Markannus tended to use less... direct methods to help them. Maybe this was some sort of change he'd experienced?

At the description, Clap blinked and just stared back at her. "Hunh?" She looked to the others. "Wearing purple, big hat, cape? Does that sound like anyone we know..?"

Mica simply shrugged his shoulders, and Cupcake shook his head... but Stalwart Stance's eyes lit up, and she walked over to Obsidian with a wide-eyed, incredulous stare.

"Lady Siddy... the description you've given is one that matches someone from Equestian history. Someone who was unafraid to help others in need, and who did it without the need for fame and fortune." She smirked. "You're describing Mare Do Well!"

Mica and Clap looked at each other, but Cupcake suddenly smiled, his fear forgotten as the name hit him like a speeding bobsled. "Mare Do Well!? REALLY! Oh WOW, that's incredible; you really saw her?" But then, his face grew puzzled. "... wait... what? The last time anyone saw Mare Do Well was actually a good bit before The Terrible Trio showed up; should she be running around like this at her age?"

Mica now put a hoof to his chin. "Wait... you know, Cup, I think I have heard your mother speak about a 'Mare Do Well' before; wasn't that something the Element Bearers did, back during their own time?"

Wart grinned and nodded. "Mare Do Well was the foil to Rainbow Dash's ego; Clap's mother had become insufferable with her bragging, but Mare Do Well stepped into the picture and did the same things - but without the need for recognition. I recall that it seemed to be about Miss Dash learning a lesson... but I don't believe I ever heard of what happened to her."

Clap just shrugged. "Well, this is the first I've heard of it."

Mica lifted a bemused eyebrow. "Considering who your mother is, it doesn't surprise me in the least, Clap."

So a superhero that had appeared some time before Tirek and company tried to take over Equestria last time had apparently saved them from the horrible fate of the rabid journalists. "So in other words, we still have no idea who helped us."

Cupcake shrugged. Mica shook his head. Clap looked clueless.

Wart just gave a small, proud grin. "Mayhaps the acts you have done, Lady Siddy, have spurred others to follow in a hero's hoofprints!"

Mica lifted an eyebrow. "Perhaps... but that would also possibly mean that, whoever she is, she's still on the train."

Cupcake's eyes sparkled. "Does that mean... we could try to discover who Mare Do Well really is???"

"Why do you assume she's onboard, Mica? If she is a unicorn, she could simply teleport herself away. If she's a pegasus, she could fly off easily. If it was Markannus... well, then he's probably on the train somewhere, I agree," she shrugged once again. They seemed to be more excited about this little strangeness than she was. "...and, Wart - I assume you mean the acts WE have done, yes?"

Mica shrugged. "Chances are, you're right. It was just a thought."

Cupcake looked a bit crestfallen. "Awwww... well, there goes the fun of looking for her. But that's okay, I guess; we might see her again, and we can ask her then, I'll bet!"

Mica rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Sure, Cup... sure. She might not TELL us, but we can always ask."

The train ride back was a calm moment, for once; the gang talked about what they'd done while they were out. Mica and Clap had gone to the Statue of Friendship, where Clap had gotten into an argument with a straw dog vendor, and it had ended up with her buying straw dogs for the entire tour group. Mica had come across Pound Cake during their trip, and he also had one of the business cards; apparently, he and Clap had also been watched by the twins in their younger years, and they all knew each other well enough.

Cup told them about their museum follies, and Wart filled in what had happened to them with meeting Markannus, then spoke about her own adventures in evading the security at the party. Apparently, though they were good at their jobs, they'd never had to deal with the likes of a well-trained Royal Guardpony before, though the little mare did applaud them for their tenacity.

Arriving at the station, they disembarked and found themselves in quiet, cheery Ponyville once more. After the hustle and bustle of the Big Applecore, it felt good to be back where things were simpler and more laid back.

And, because of bracelets, Flur was waiting for them when they arrived. "Heya, Sids! I spoke to Auntie Twily already, and she said she'd have a list of runes for you as soon as she can - am I The Shit, or what?"

She looked at the group, and greeted them all. "Mikey!"
"Hey, Flurry."
"Stalwart, yo yo yoooo, what's up with you?"
"I am well, Princess, and I thank you for your concern."
"CUP! 'SUP?"
"Hiya, Flur!"

Then, she looked at Thunderclap, and ALL of the good-nature in her expression promptly vanished. "... you."

Clap pointedly didn't even look in her direction. "You," she snarked back.

Flur then turned back to Obsidian, her expression instantly returning to its' previous cheer. "So - 'sup bee-yatch?"

Author's Notes:

My apologies for how long this took; between surviving COVID-19, recovering and then a convention... I had a LOT to do recently, and just found little bits of time. That, plus the chapter ballooned from around 7k words to 10k words - and I SWEAR all I was doing was my typical editing! Should be back on track now, though - no worries.

Onyx is still Daddy's Little Filly, and is holding out against Obsidian's attempts at friendshipping her... but there are little phrases and tells that say Siddy's efforts are showing some sort of progress. No character (except the OCCASIONAL villain) is ever an island, and maybe all this friendly fluff IS having an effect on stone-cold Onyx... only time will tell.

The questions merely hinted at by the paparazzi were fun to come up with, and would most certainly make for interesting reacions... IF the gang were interested in hearing them in the first place. Still, total blast to be so very random.

And YES, you read it correctly; MDW confirmed. Now the question is, who has donned the mantle? Oh, stay tuned for this one folks - it's gonna be a rollercoaster!

Forty Seven: Hot Embers & Cold Comfort

Ponyville, in many ways, was simply better than Manehattan... and not just for the lack of crazy journalists. It was so nice and cozy - ah, it was good to be home.

"Hey hey, Flur! It's nice to see you a... gain..." Obsidian's voice trailed off as she saw the reactions between Flurry and Clap.

Fuck.

"A... number of rabid journalists tried to destroy us," she tried on the rebound, "So, how have you been, Flur?"

Ignoring Thunderclap, Flurry Heart grinned at Obsidian. "Lemme guess... paparazzi? Yeah, they're a pain; try being born as an alicorn - they wouldn't leave us alone until Dad dealt with them head-on, and even after that, Mom had to make a decree stating that paparazzi had to stay outside of a hundred paces from me, on threat of a severe fine. Shit like that, yknow?"

"Yeah, world's ugliest alicorn is a heckuva headline," Clap muttered, juuuuuust loud enough to hear.

"But fuck those asshats, yo - we got better things to talk about, right? All sorts of fun stuff must have happened to you in Manehattan - despite being stuck with the big, blue loser - so you'd better believe I wanna hear all about it, Sids! And you kept talking about Whistlewhite, so I brought a book Mom had about her with me!"

She levitated out an old-looking book, titled 'Harmonious Heart: The Amazing Artwork of Whistlewhite', and gave it to her. "Just get it back to me when you're done with it; no big rush, 'cause Mom's practically wore it out already."

"Like, I dunno, the way you've already worn out your welcome?" Clap uttered quietly.

"Oh, and I saw Gypsy and your brother Diamond - and fuck me sideways, he's so fuckin' cute! Is he, like, a child or something? I mean, he's smarter than the blue bitch, but that's not hard; he's so well read, and polite! And he introduced me to Pancho - so cuuuuuuuuute! I kinda wish more of your family was like him - that little guy's such a sweetie!"

Okay, this was getting ridiculous. "Girls, if I can get along just fine with a pony who, during our first meeting, nearly crushed my ribs with a spell - while trying to kill me. Can't you two just, you know, settle your differences in a more peaceful manner?" Oh, a book! Books were GREAT.

Cup shook his head frantically, "No, don't point it-"

"Well, that depends..." Clap started, "if the stupid cow feels like apologizing for having to deal with her presence..."

"Oh-ho-HO!" Flur instantly replied, "Got yourself some BIG WORDS there, y'fuckin' retard; you sure you can use those without adult supervision?"

"... out," Cup finished flatly, the expression he wore saying this was exactly the situation he'd been trying to avoid.

"Well, at least I'm not hanging onto my Mom's frilly petticoats, whining about how you're SO put upon, spending their money and sitting around the palace all day... oh, your life is SOOOO rough!" Clap bristled.

"Hey, it's better than being the product of a Dad who you don't even know, having to stand forever in the shadow of what your fuckin' Mom did for Equestria!"
"I made a Sonic Rainboom, turdbrain! Let's see you do something as impressive as THAT!"
"Oh, I can - let me squeeze out this fuckin' fart, Shitheap!"
"You do, and I'll kick it right back up your fat flank!"
"Look who's calling who fat, you fuckin' cake-cramming bitch!"
"STUPID LITTLE JERK!"
"FUCKING ASS-CLOWN!"
"BRAT!"
"COCKSUCKER!"
"IDIOT!"
"FUCKFACE!"

"E-NOUGH!" came a new voice, though it was one Obsidian knew.

Lemon Custard was standing there behind them... in full Royal Guard armor, flanked by five other guards, all outfitted for bear. "I would much appreciate the two of you knocking it off, NOW," he spoke with authority, which made both the pegasus and the alicorn back down and look at him with a touch of shame in their expressions.

By this point, Obsidian knew that she'd have to get them to act at least neutral to each other - though from the display she witnessed, it might mean killing them both, putting them together in a single grave and using necromancy to raise them as a single horrific, unholy chimera. Thankfully, before she explored the idea much further, Lemon came along and made short work of their bickering.

"There... considerably better," he said, then turned to look at the others, "Obsidian, Mica... hello, Cup."

"Hiya, Big Brother! What's the occasion? OOH! Is it Nightmare Night yet?" the blue unicorn said eagerly, hope writ large in his eyes.

"Cup," Lemon sighed, "that's over nine months from now."

"Oh, um... so, no - I dunno; what's with the armor?" Cup asked.

Lemon fixed them all with a serious look. "We are headed to a location where there have been reports of a fire, as well as some explosions - supposedly it's not terribly serious, but Princess Twilight says we need to make certain that no one gets harmed from this problem."

He turned to the other guards. "Right - board the train, stay together, talk to no one, am I clear?" They all saluted as one. Lemon nodded, and they went to the train in formation. He then looked back at Obsidian. "And the lot of you - coming back from a trip, are we?"

Obsidian paled. "Wait... it wouldn't happen to be Mount Arris you're headed for, would it?" she asked with a grave look on her muzzle.

Lemon nodded. "Near there, yes - part of the wooded area has had a plume of smoke coming from it for a few days. The smoke has since ceased, but when the local fire department went to investigate, they were treated to a number of violent explosions. No one was injured, but they were scared sufficiently enough to ask for the princess' help."

The mustard yellow unicorn looked down at his armor. "I haven't worn this in at least two years; it still fits well, of course, but... admittedly, I'm not exactly eager to test its' integrity. But hopefully, this is something easy to handle, and we should be home by tonight."

Lemon looked at Obsidian meaningfully. "We're being sent as a deterrent to more trouble, but... should we find the source to be a threat to the locals, we... may have to escalate to aggression. I sincerely hope it doesn't come to that... but, I am duty-bound."

He turned to head to the train, but looked back at them for a moment. "I would say to wish me luck... but luck holds no candle to skill. Until next time," he saluted them before getting onboard the train with his troops.

"Siddy," Mica spoke up instantly, "is he headed where I think he's headed?"

"Yes - STRAIGHT towards another shard," Obsidian facehoofed - hard. Ouch. "Lemon, wait!" she called out. lifting a hoof to try to get his attention.

The stallion stopped in mid-step, almost on the train. "What? Goodbyes, I understand, but this had best be good, Obsidian; I AM on duty." He didn't look angry, just preoccupied.

"The source of the problem you seek... is probably my last brother," she informed him plainly.

Lemon's eyes went wide. "Your last..." he facehoofed, "Obsidian, why haven't you reported this already? If this IS another one of your siblings, we may have to bring an entire unit! Possibly MORE, if he's anything like Tourmaline was!"

He stepped off the train and looked at her gravely. "I don't have the time to dally for long, so anything you suggest or could advise me of would be much appreciated. I will do my utmost best to keep him from harm, if it is indeed your brother, but understand that we have been summoned by Her Majesty Princess Twilight to deal with this situation - and I cannot go back on it now."

Lemon took a deep breath, and looked at her solemnly. "What can you offer?"

Obsidian had to think carefully about the question; actually, what did she know about him? Not too much, to be absolutely fair... and yes, she probably should have reported it already, but come on - she'd been a very busy mare, as of late. She felt like she was working almost non-stop to cease the malevolent plans of her brothers, her sisters, King Sombra and even a possessed Midnight from destroying the world!

"His name is Aquamarine; Onyx described him as being brutal, cruel and rather skilled with offensive spells - especially explosive ones. A very angry stallion, umm... he supposedly likes woodcarving, too. Diamond and Tourmy said he supposedly isn't quite as sinister as Amethyst, and he apparently wasn't within the Empire's borders when it disappeared. Which means he spent the entire thousand years as a shard, lost and buried somewhere in the ice and snow... and frankly, I... well, I'm not sure what could it mean for his mental health." She reached into her saddlebag and brought out the picture, to show the grim unicorn Aqua's portrait.

Lemon listened intently as Obsidian spoke, taking in every detail with utmost faith in her words as his eyes shrewdly committed the stern visage to memory. When she finished speaking, he breathed a long, weary sigh... then cleared his throat. "Obsidian, you would have a much better chance to deal with this problem than we would, or at least you have more at stake here... so listen closely to me, and understand that you and I NEVER had this conversation, once I'm finished speaking these words."

He shut his eyes, and his voice was barely above a hoarse whisper. "Even though civilians becoming involved in Royal affairs is considered unsafe, and revealing direct information to civilians in an attempt to bring them into unsafe conditions is considered highly treasonous... I want you to come to assist us in dealing with this issue."

He now opened his eyes and fixed her with an iron stare. "I will take my unit to Clearwater, which is due northeast of Arris; arrive there and seek a guide to what they call Ditch's Grove - you'll get a few looks, but someone will approach you for enough bits."

He looked around from right where he was; his eyes never stopped scanning anyone nearby for eavesdroppers, though he remained facing her. "We shall wait for you for exactly twenty-four hours; then, with or without you, I will take my guards in to deal with the situation directly. And whatever results from that situation, we shall see."

He then gave Obsidian a look she hadn't seen from him before, and she didn't like the look of it on his muzzle: Fear. "... please be there."

With that, the conductor blew the whistle, and Lemon stepped onto the train, looking back only once at her with solemn eyes before he joined the others. He began to speak to them, and though she couldn't hear what he was saying, she knew he was warning them about Aquamarine by the looks on their faces. The train's doors closed, and it began to chug away slowly.

Obsidian didn't really consider herself a civilian - after all, she wasn't just a princess of the Crystal Empire, but also one of the newest heroes of Equestria who'd saved the entire country (hah, the entire world!) twice already. If anything, she was as involved in Royal Affairs as... well, probably as much as Lemon himself was. To be fair, she would have preferred to be able to gather more direct information - a few times, it would have saved her plenty of annoyance.

But this was serious, if the expression on Lemon Custard's muzzle was any indicator. Luckily, Obsidian hadn't planned to look into anything too important in Ponyville, right? "You heard him, ponies; we need to get to Mount Arris - and the sooner, the better. Flurry, I'm afraid we won't be able to spend as much time together in Ponyville as you'd probably hoped for..."

Flurry's face fell. "Well, fuck... that bites. Still, I mean, I'm not in any rush to get back, so... I can wait a bit longer, I guess. Especially if you take Blunderfat with you."

Clap bristled again, but all she said was, "Fine. FINE." She then took off, like it was a race she hadn't even called, headed unmistakably in the direction of Siddy's house. Mica sighed, shook his head, and with an 'I've got this' look to Siddy, he trotted along after her, taking his own time to get where he was going. Cupcake and Stalwart waited for Obsidian, of course.

"Is it okay that I'm worried about Lemmy?" Cup asked innocently, seeming a bit afraid himself.

"Of course, Cup - in fact, I'm worried about him as well - we don't know very much about brother Aquamarine, after all," Obsidian had to admit. How would being a shard affect somepony during a thousand years of sleep? She didn't notice it passing when she was interred in crystal - in fact, she didn't have any idea that she'd been turned into a crystal shard until she was told so...

But Amber was able to use her powers in this form; what if Aquamarine had been conscious, in a way, the whole time? A terrifying thought. "Let's go to the castle first - perhaps Princess Twilight will be able to help us prepare a bit." Siddy turned to the alicorn. "Flurry? Do you know if Princess Luna is still in Ponyville?"

Flur gave her a look. "Auntie Lulu was here? I mean, I know she was here in, like, dreams and stuff, but-"

"No time to postulate," Wart said as she galloped ahead a bit, "as we must endeavor to reach our next destination quickly!"
Cup shrugged, and went to catch up to her. Flur, with a single flap, was airborne; it was hard not to be jealous of an alicorn, but Flur's presence was so much more than she even seemed to know. Maybe she would make a good ruler, someday.

Obsidian had no reason to argue with Stalwart, especially as it seemed that Luna had already left, so there was nopony to warn that her 'armada of batponies' should be mobilized as soon as possible. Apparently, she'd have to stop by post office later. Wasting no more time, she ran after Wart.

The lot of them reached the palace, where there were a number of ponies all waiting in line; it seemed Princess Twilight was holding Court at the moment. But, as they were observing the ponies standing there, Obsidian heard a familiar voice and dialect from the direction of the gardens...

"{Oh! Such a tragedy! Poor, poor Father...}"

... oh, what fresh Tartarus was this? Just WONDERFUL; didn't she already have a conversation with Princess Twilight about moving Sombra's stony visage to a better location? Her kind brother was strong, forgiving and apparently didn't even hold half of Obsidian's grudge against the pathetic fool; there was no telling what he might possibly be 'moved' to do on the foul tyrant's behalf.

But hey - at least she'd quickly located Diamond. She immediately made her way into the gardens, the rest of her friends in tow.

Twilight's Royal Gardens were, as always, a sight to behold. So many rare and wondrous flowers and trees that seemed to grow in harmony with everything else here; ivy crept its' way up the walls of the palace, while row after row of beautiful flora were all well-trimmed and colorful, ready for presentation.

The statue of The Terrible Trio sat at the far edge of one of the inner gardens, as it was a section that was surronded in greenery and offered very little in the way of 'distant' scenery; perhaps it had been chosen for them out of spite, as there wasn't much to look at in this particular area - including them.

However, Obsidian eventually came to Sombra's statue; he had been placed in a closed alcove, where sunlight didn't get to very often. Around the base, she could already see the beginnings of what looked to be mushrooms growing...

And there, seated on the ground, was Diamond. He looked absolutely heartbroken, small rivers flowing from his eyes as he just stared at the statue in frank disbelief. He had Pancho in his embrace, and squeezed the little stuffed phoenix on occasion as he sat and mourned his lost father. Nearby was Gypsy, standing close with a single paw resting atop Diamond's head; when Obsidian made her way out to them, Gypsy sniffed the air, and his tail was wagging slightly before he even turned to look at her.

Wonderful. They simply had to put him in plain sight, where anypony could see him - despite the knowledge that his damned TOOLS were running around, spreading chaos and misery! Because, of course, it's such a great idea for an alicorn to brag... alternatively, he could have been executed, sent packing into Tartarus or even - who knows - spirited away to the Moon. It wouldn't be the first time, after all...

Obsidian quietly approached the two, and Gypsy gave the small stallion a gentle pat before stepping closer to Obsidian - giving the little guy some space.

"H-hello, friend," he said softly as he gave her a light hug, "this one h-hopes your trip was s-s-successful?"

Obsidian happily returned the hug - damnation, it was good to see him again! All things considered, they really should try to stay together in the future; after all, the last time they'd fought as a team... well, the results were right in front of her.

"Yes, my dear friend - everything's clear in Manehattan," she smiled at him, "even though we ran into one or two unexpected problems... but that's a topic for later."

Gypsy nodded. "As long as e-everyone is safe, th-then it was a g-good trip."

He turned and smiled even more broadly as Cup and Wart joined them, catching up to Siddy. Cupcake also gave the diamond dog a hug, and he and Wart exchanged salutes amidst grins.

"Heya, Gypsy - we really missed you! We even picked up some stuff as presents to give ya! We saw so much there! We went to the museum, though we almost got swamped, but the curator saved us, and we saw all sorts of neat stuff, and we even saw a painting of Siddy's room in the Whistlewhite display, and-"

"Whistlewhite? The art-t-tist?" Gypsy's eyes went wide. "This o-one is a great fan of hers; it was 'Nightbloom' which first helped a young p-pup to want to cr-create art, as it w-was so beautiful... w-was it there on d-d-display?"

"If 'Nightbloom' was on display, we didn't notice it - sorry," Obsidian admitted. While they had seen a number of her artworks, she hadn't really paid enough attention; if anything, she'd been far more curious about the painting of her own room and Diamond's apparent hoof in Whistlewhite's only existing portrait.

Cup thought for a moment, his tongue poking out as he thought hard about it. "I... don't remember... but it sounds really neat! We also got to meet Quartz, and he was really nice - even when Siddy had to fight him, he didn't hurt her!"

"Yes," Wart spoke up, "he conducted himself like a true gentlecolt... however, in the end, I made short work of him. He now resides within the jailhouse, where he shall no doubt serve his time; he seemed to be the honourable sort, and I feel he would not attempt to escape from his punishment."

Gypsy grinned. "It s-seems as if each of y-you had q-q-quite a time, yes?"

Cupcake's smile turned a bit emotional. "It would've been better with you there, Gypper."

Those words made the diamond dog blush a bit, but he held up a paw. "Th-this one still insists that a g-g-good time was h-had by all. He appreciates your k-kind words, th-though." Still, even with his admittance, his tail was wagging a bit more.

He then looked over to Diamond. "Your b-brother has been well - he has d-d-discovered television, yet he s-says it is boring; we h-have managed t-to walk alm-most all over town, and he has enj-joyed such... and then, we f-found..." He gestured to her father's statue, and shrugged while looking at Diamond.

"Th-this one felt he n-needed a moment - p-perhaps two," he said shyly.

"Honestly, I'd hoped that Princess Twilight would have moved it already. I mean, we already have enough trouble with Amber; I don't think we need to just leave his statue out in plain sight." The look on her muzzle got a bit more sour; last time she'd wanted to talk to the purple alicorn, Luna had explained that Princess Twilight was very busy, ruling over an entire nation - but she would have already lost that nation twice, if not for Obsidian! If she was that level of busy, then she should get more help, more advisors! Something!

Gypsy grinned. "P-P-Princess Twilight is a b-bit ahead of you there," he turned to Wart, "if you p-please, Stalwart; c-could you levitate a l-leaf to the alc-cove?"

Wart, with a curious look, took up a stray leaf with her green magic, and floated it to the statue... however, as soon as it reached the edges of the alcove, the glow vanished, and the leaf floated harmlessly to the ground.

Wart grinned. "There is an anti-magic field in play?" she asked, to which Gypsy nodded.

"Yes - this one d-discovered this tod-day, when Diamond attempted to pl-place a flower behind his f-father's ear. The alcove its-self is enchanted to rep-pel magic, so that the o-only way to move it would be physically." The diamond dog chuckled a bit. "And th-this one believes your f-father has put on a b-bit of weight, lately."

Obsidian didn't seem to be as happy about it as Wart or Gypsy was - not. At. All. "Oh, I'm certain it would stop them for quite a long time, that Diamond is the only physically strong sibling in my family, and that the machines that Opal is busily making for industrial purposes won't be able to move it... oh! OR that this alcove is sturdy enough to resist any sort of attacks that could possibly destroy it, thereby dispelling the anti-magical field..."

Okay, maybe that was a little tiny bit too snarky. The trio of her friends all seemed to notice it, too; they looked a bit awkward, not quite able to speak after such a comment.

"{... would it be for long and long, though it feels as though 'twere only yesterday, and so I have seen your legacy, left behind to spread and grow, even as you once wished to. And yet, though the madness overtook you, still I sought to understand your pain... but it was such that I could not comprehend, I could not understand, what shadows clawed at your soul. Would I have known a cure, I would have most certainly...}" Diamond's voice was clear and soft, and he seemed to be speaking to the statue directly.

Feh. As far as Obsidian was concerned, the best cure would be a spear jabbed straight into his rotten heart.

"How long have you been standing here already?" she whispered sidelong to Gypsy.

Gypsy whispered back, "We've been here f-for about an hour; this one b-b-believes your brother needed such."

Cupcake looked at Sombra's statue and gave a slight shudder. "I'm actually not to keen on just... y'know... leaving him out here like this; it's just too tempting a target."

Wart now put on a look of complete seriousness. "Cupcake, the statuary is a safe place for these villains; tell me, if things are so vulnerable here, then why have none of Chrysalis' changelings been here to abscond with her statue?"

She looked at Obsidian. "I can understand a healthy paranoia, Lady Siddy... but please, do not insult the very institution I labor for; we have plans and contingencies in place, should ANY of the statues here be put into jeopardy." She seemed to swell a bit with pride. "Unless an intruder simply plans to take a sledgehammer to it, I would say your father is in careful and able hooves."

Obsidian smirked. "So you say that a sledgehammer would work well enough?" She quickly sobered, though. "And I can only hazard a guess, but it seems that Chrysalis' changelings are not nearly as capable as Sombra's spawn."

Wart gave her a somewhat chilly glare, but Cup simply looked on at Diamond. "He... he really sounds like he cares a LOT about his father... I mean, I don't know what he's saying, but he sounds so sincere about it. Like he's speaking directly to him."

Diamond did look awfully adorable, sitting ever-so-calmly at the base of Sombra's statue, quietly speaking to him... it almost looked as though he were praying. But now, the little stallon turned his head, and saw all those present. "{Obsidyan... h-hello. And Cupcakes, and-}"

His eyes suddenly shot wide open and he stood up quickly, wiping at his muzzle to rid himself of tears before standing at his full (miniscule) height and putting on a strong expression. "{And Stalwaat! Oh, such an honor to not only have discovered my father today, but to share space with the lovliest mare in history as well?}"

He looked at Obsidian, traces of tears still slightly visible. "{Today is a good day! Greetings, my dear sister - I have found Father, as you can see - I am glad he is unharmed, and I have dusted him off a bit.}"

Obsidian was quite aware of how much he cared about Sombra - and it was starting to worry her. Somepony whose concern for this stone-coated monster could get some exceedingly foolish ideas - such as releasing him. As long as Diamond's mercy was shown by little things like cleaning the statue of this undeserving beast, it would be all right; the dark bastard surely had a ulterior motive for having such a naive and trusting stalion nearby - probably a part of his master plan or something.

"{Good morning, brother; as you can see, we're back from our trip to Manehattan. We had a few small problems, but we've made it home in one piece, and met Sapphire and Quartz, as well.}" She went straight on to the important things, not wasting any time; perhaps she was simply in a hurry to get to Lemon as soon as possible... or it MAY have been the unsettling presence of Sombra's statue that was annoying her just a little too much. "{We are leaving soon to try to locate Aquamarine... however, I am afraid we would need to take Gypsy with us for this escapade, Diamond.}"

The short stallion nodded. "{I am glad that you got to meet them both; Quartz is quite the aristocrat, yes? He is so very polite, and quite fun to chat with... and Sapphire? How is she? The last time I saw her was when she was making a pendant for Father, just last wee-...}"

Obsidian knew that look well; the look of someone who was thinking of a recent event... that had happened centuries ago. For what it was worth, he took it well, only sighing slightly before continuing.

"{... a-and finding Aqua? Are you certain you are ready for him? He is a BIG one, as he stood taller than even our own Father was; the only one of us who stood taller was Jade. I would be very cautious, and would make certain I had some anti-magic barriers prepared, just in case.}"

He glanced back over at the statue, then looked at Obsidian. "{Do... do you ever visit him, Obsidyan? I am certain he gets lonely, and so I visited him for a while.}"

Obsidian clenched her teeth and counted to ten: One, two, three, four, five...

"{Sapphire was... unwell. She did not look good at all, and Quartz told us that she has been behaving strangely. Worse than that, she managed to escape us, and she knows where the anti-magical suits Quartz had been preparing are located - they worked together, under Amber's mind control. Quartz is currently in prison, but he seemed relieved to be separated from Amber's control - something in the prison wards seems to be able to keep Amber at bay, so he can finally get some rest."

"And no, Diamond - I'm not sure if I am ready for Aquamarine, but..." she sighed, "he needs to be found, and if no one else is stepping forward to do so, then I am obligated for the betterment of our family, yes?}" she shrugged slightly with a little resignation.

Anti-magic barriers? Maybe they could find something along the way... and the only answer to Mundy's question about visiting Sombra was pretending that she didn't hear it.

Her smaller brother nodded as she spoke... then cocked his head a bit. "{Sister... what ails you? It does bother me that Sister Sapphire sounds unwell; maybe, should we find her, I can attempt to clarify her aura, or perhaps heal her body... if Princess Twilight will allow me the chance to use my healing for her, of course. Or maybe something happened with Quartz? He wasn't rude or mean, was he? Because that does not sound like the Quartz I used to know...}"

He then glanced at the statue again, then back at her. "{Do... do you worry for Father too, perhaps?}"

Obsidian ignored that one, too. "{Well, Sapphire escaped, so it would be a good guess that she is probably helping Amber to prepare some kind of army to invade Equestria, alongside Opal because, of course, nothing says 'the world is doomed' like an army of anti-magical, mechanical menaces.}"

Obsidian sighed deeply, rubbing her temple with a forehoof. "{And honestly, I'd say that bothers me quite a lot. The last time Equestria was invaded by Dark things, the results were not pretty... and took a lot of work to repair.}" Not to mention a few sorrowful funerals. "{I just hope that putting some of these particular runes around Amber's casing will help contain her, at least a little better... to give us some time to prepare for a true, but cautious release for her - and we could help Jade as well. Learn more about the clues I have gathered... such as, for example, the Kayfadd Spell...}"

Obsidian lifted an eyebrow and turned a slightly hopeful gaze onto her brother. "{Perhaps you have heard of it, brother?}"

Diamond narrowed his eyes for some reason, then leaned in and looked very closely at her for a moment, seemingly on the verge of saying something... then, he blinked. "{Yyyyyyyyes... I see.}"

He looked back at Sombra's statue again, and spoke softly. "{Perhaps Opal might be capable of such things, but Sapphire... she's never been one to complain, as long as she had Father's instruction. Though, I cannot say I can guess how she feels right now... oh, poor Saffi; she must be heartbroken over everything we have all been through, and Father cannot be there for her any longer.}" He looked down. "{But... there were many times Father could not be there for us.}"

Then, a strange thing happened; Diamond actually scowled. "{... but IT was.}"

The look seemed as if it were almost a blasphemy upon a muzzle she had never known to see actual hatred on. It was an expression that didn't belong on Diamond... and the effect it had was shocking, as it made him resemble their father far more than his usual appearance ever did.

"{And were I able to, I would REMOVE it, I would wipe the stain from the face of Equestria!!!... and yet... and yet...}" He sighed wearily, and the vile look drained away from his muzzle, settling into a look of tired resignation. "{... and yet, I feel as though I must go back to my room now. I shall send Gypsee forthwith, when I am no longer needing my liaison to accompany me. I do hope we get to spend some time together when you return, sister..."}

He then paused, turned and gave her a quizzical look. "{Kayfadd? No... no, I don't recall any spell like that - may I ask, where did you find it, and what does it do?}"

IT, eh? No doubt, Diamond was referring to The Umbra. "{Radiant Hope had mentioned it when they were examining the Umbral Altars. None of them bothered to mention a word of what it was about, so it could be anything at all - from a nose-cleaning spell to a terrifying and world-rending enchantment. Whatever it was, they apparently wanted to test it at the Altar.}" She felt that she obviously didn't need to explain who 'they' were.

Diamond's eyes flashed an alarmed look. "{The Umbral Altar? That is NOT a safe or pleasant magic to deal with! Father used it to create all of us, yes... but the cost was far, FAR greater than he ever imagined.}"

He looked again to the statue, his sight focused on the muzzle of the stone-covered tyrant. "{And yet, now look at where his sacrifices are; he is regaled as a horrific monster, and his life's good deeds overshadowed by his last few years of madness. Because IT tricked him, fooled him, into believing lies... lies which took Father from us more and more, until-}"

"What'cha talkin' about?" Cupcake whispered as he slowly slid closer to the two of them as Wart regaled Gypsy of how she handled the crowds at the museum with a trusty fire extinguisher.

Diamond looked the blue unicorn, then at the grey one. "{Would Cupcakes possibly be of any help, and if so, should we add him to our conversation?}"

"{Cupcake is always helpful, Diamond - often, more helpful than I am.}" While perhaps it was a bit of an overestimation, she believed it because Cupcake wasn't related to Sombra in any way. "Cuppy, we're talking about the Umbral entity which apparently possessed Sombra, and about the spell that he and Hope wanted to use to test the Dark-Magic Infused altars - the same ones where he created all of us," she rolled out to him, giving him the quick run-over. Er... runner-up? Run-down, mayhaps?

Cupcake blinked a bit... then he lifted an eyebrow. "Uhm... well, that sounds like all sorts of history-stuff - and we just got back to our group historian! Maybe we could ask Gypsy about it; I'm sure he'd be happy to help, especially after missing out on the Manehattan trip!"

Diamond looked over at Gypsy for a moment, then turned to Obsidian with his ears flattened against his head. "{I... a-am sorry that I kept him from your company, sister; I can remain in my wonderful room for a while, should you need him back?}"

Offering to hole up in his room, so he wouldn't keep her group of friends separated... how was HE one of SOMBRA'S creations!? Knowing how things typically went for Obsidian, it was probably by accident.

"My brother, I am deeply sorry that we need to take him with us; we need him to save Equestria.}" She pressed her ears to her skull as well; despite all the anger she felt at the mere presence of the monster that dared to create them for his own amusement... she simply couldn't maintain such an attitude for too long in Diamond's bright and gentle presence.

Mundy nodded. "{I understand, dearest sister Obsidyan; I am happy to be of even the smallest help, even if it only means staying out of your way.}"

He then smiled at her sweetly. "{I love and trust you, sister; I know you will win against the darkness of the soul.}"

And again, he cast his eyes to that damnable statue! "{Darkness in the heart and mind are not always evil; sometimes, they are simply misunderstood.}"

With that, he went to Gypsy and tugged on his hoodie; the diamond dog turned and they spoke for a moment... then, her brother bowed and said something romantic and prosaic to Wart (who looked clueless, but listened anyway), and then he and Gypsy walked back over to Obsidian.

"Diamond says that he w-w-wishes to ret-turn to his room; this one sh-shall take him there, and meet you at y-your house, if it is okay?" Diamond just smiled at her, though there was obviously something else on his mind. Then again, everyone kept forgetting that he was technically older than Obsidian; his intellect went far deeper than he usually showed.

Well, in Obsidian's opinion, any sort of misunderstanding ended a number of fatalities and Dark Magical experiments ago. Right now, the only understanding she could give Sombra would be long, sharp and deadly - and that was assuming she could get her hooves on a sword and name it 'Understanding'.

"Yes, Gypsy, it's okay." She gave him a brave, if tired smile. "I'd like to meet with the Princess and send a letter along to Luna - but afterwards, I will go straight home to meet you."

The diamond dog nodded. "Then this o-one shall meeee-... shall meeeeeee-"

His eyes bugged out, and Gypsy suddenly grabbed his stomach and let out an enormous belch... and a dark blue ribbon-tied scroll dropped from his maw and hit the floor.

Wart stared.
Diamond stared.
Gypsy stared.
Cupcake clapped his hooves together. "Cool trick, Gypsy! OOH! Can you make a pool floaty next?"

The diamond dog gave Cup a... weird look... then he looked up at Obsidian. "M-m-message for you, yes?" He seemed a bit nonplussed, but the fact it had happened at all was maybe a bit of a surprise for him. Then again... how would she feel, had she just burped up a scroll?

The bracelet Obsidian had gotten from Flurry worked far better... and considering the level of awkward discomfort her poor canine friend had to suffer, the Post Office would even be a better option. Obsidian - wearing the best poker-face in all of Equestria - picked up the scroll in her magic to check its' contents.

Thankfully, there was not a trace of diamond dog slobber on it; it was dry and clean. The ribbon, sure enough, had the familiar half-moon symbol on it, and when she opened it, Obsidian told herself that she just had to study caligraphy with Luna sometime - her penmanship was exquisite!

[To Obsidian, The Living Shard]

... cute.

[We have received word of your recent exploits in Manehattan, and we are assiting with whatever may be necessary; I have negotiated a lawsmith for your brother's upcoming trial - a kirin professional with a history of winning her cases. When this comes to pass, my sister and I shall speak up on his behalf, and we shall recommend THEE as a liaison unto him.]

She had a feeling she knew who this 'lawsmith' was.

[We have also received information about the contents of a crate discovered at the warehouse - and it greatly disturbs us. We await word of when - IF - our forces shall be necessary. May Harmony guide us from that moment, if at all possible.]

[~ Luna]

She, Obsidian, as Quartz's liaison? As far as she was concerned, he was far better integrated into Modern Equestria than she was - except for his color-blindness, of course.

Kirin, yes... she simply had to visit their village, but she had no time to do so. She never had time for anything she wanted in her life, apparently. "Well, now we don't need to go to the Post Office; Princess Luna has already been informed of what's going on, and is acting on our behalf. This means we just need to chat with Princess Twilight..."

Cupcake looked back towards the direction of the train station; he was thinking about his brother, and even though he though nobody was looking, Obsidian saw the look of deep worry and dread that crossed the usually chipper unicorn's muzzle. However, it was gone in a flash as he turned back to them. "Okay, but we have GOT to go home first; we don't need to carry our luggage around town."

"And I," Wart spoke up, "shall meet you there, as well - I must check in with the Royal Guard, to ensure that they know of my unavailability, due to saving Equestria." She smirked at Obsidian. "Again."

"You know, I don't even remember the last time I worked in the library... or attended any of my classes in Friendship School..." Well... she thought that, after defeating Onyx, she would be able to spend her time learning about friendship and magic. Plotting her plans of plottery and plotness. Perhaps discovering more about her friends.

Not running around like crazy, looking for evil (or semi-evil) crystal unicorns created by a monstrous tyrant.

Wart sighed. "Such is the life of an adventurer, Lady Siddy - I expect Daring Do has many of the same woes." With that, and a quick salute, Wart was off towards the palace itself, headed for the guard barracks to check in.

Cupcake walked close to her as they left together. "Love?" he asked carefully, "I don't understand the Crystal-talk you and Diamond do... but I can read expressions like cookbooks; he's upset over something, isn't he? And I think you were too, but... well, if you need to talk about it, you know I'm here. I won't press."

He gave her a light nuzzle against her neck, still walking. "I'm just worried... about a number of things, really - and you are the priority on all my lists - just so you know. So... Diamond? Is he... okay?"

"Diamond is okay, and so am I. At worst, I'm growing quite tired of the fact that apparently my siblings are constantly trying to destroy the world, they've been planing for it longer than I've lived in the modern age, and they all have some manner of powerful and dangerous abilities that make it impossible for me to stand against them without worrying that we will all die horribly... and that the only thing that can save us is the intervention of Harmony."

So perhaps it wasn't okay per se... and while having Harmony on their side was nice, Obsidian would pretty much prefer to have some solid firepower as well. "Oh... I forgot to give Diamond his calendar. I'll get it to him and catch up to you in a moment, okay?"

He stopped, then nodded... but his eyes stayed on hers. "Okay... you know the path, I guess. But I'm gonna walk reeeeeeal slow, okay?"

Cupcake - her Cupcake - smiled at her sweetly and headed down the path... one step at a time, like he was trying to avoid cracks in the pavement. In fact, after a moment's watching, she realized that was exactly what he was doing, amusing himself.

She loved him so much... and regretted she couldn't show that any better than she was already doing. Rushing to her brother, Obsidian practically ran after Diamond. Her gallop was uninterrupted, save for a few ponies who watched her in passing.

She came upon Gypsy and Diamond, both walking side by side, almost to the door of the Rainbow Suite. "{Your sister approaches,}" Gypsy said aloud, turning to greet her with a grin and a light wagging.

"{Wait... sister?}" Diamond said, and looked over his flank at her quickly... then breathed a sigh of relief. {Obsidyan? Is all well?}

"{I simply forgot to give you this gift from Manehattan,}" Obsidian grabbed the calendar from her saddlebags and gently placed it on Diamond's snout, playfully. "{I thought you might like it. Now, please excuse me; we've got a lot to do.
Gypsy, will you join me, friend?}" she turned around.

Diamond stared, cross-eyed, at the calendar deposited on his muzzle, then grinned. "{Thank you ever so kindly, Obsidyan!
I shall learn what is the kalyndar, and then I shall appreciate it that much more!}"

Gypsy nodded, and the two of them wavd to a now enthusiastic Diamond as they headed back to her house. "One feels he m-must ask... a-a-are you okay, Obsidian? All of this act-tivity, one wonders if y-you have time to b-breathe..."

It was nice of him to ask. "I'm currently overdosing on family drama, but hopefully it will all end soon enough." She just needed these runes from Manehattan prison...

Gypsy nodded, then simply sighed. "Life is n-never set at the pace one w-w-wishes to run at... but is that not what m-makes Life so interesting to exp-perience?" He smiled softly as they walked along. "It is the hope of th-this one th-that you may experience peace, a-and love, and family... but one m-must invest faith that s-such things will come, for them t-to ever have a ch-chance."

Well, Obsidian could use a bit less of an interesting experience. After all, she had such an unusual life that she didn't realize that talking with her dead siblings is NOT normal. Well... speaking to passed family members wasn't that rare, actually - it was having a dialogue with them that made it weird. "If we don't die first, we will most certainly experience peace, family and so on... hopefully," Obsidian answered grimly.

Arriving at the house, she found Clap already there, seated on the peak of the roof and visibly pouting. Mica was standing on the ground, leaned against her home and looking... well, like Mica. The basement lights were out, windows cracked, blinds down - and what sounded like music from inside; the attic light was on, window open, curtains parted.

"She'll be fine. She's..." he gave a slight sigh, and Obsidian felt a stange sense of deja-vu, for some reason, "... she'll be fine. Give her some space, and we can let her know what's up when she's able to hear us over the anger in her head."

Well, it wasn't a pigeon, that was for sure... unless they'd grown bigger and bluer since she'd last seen one. And damnation, Mica said it in the same way that Clap had when she'd talked with an irate Mica in that restaurant, that 'Mica would be okay'.

"Well, I suppose I'll check on Tourmy; hopefully nothing strange or terrifying happened to him when we were out." Obsidian gave Clap one last glance before heading indoors.

Inside, everything was just fine; no fires, no Umbral prayer circles, no bodies... and the basement door was open, allowing a lovely symphonic melody to waft up from Tourmaline's room below; it was a very pretty, soothing aria that seemed to float on every note.

Cupcake was in the kitchen; she heard him making up food, as per his usual habit when he was upset or worried. Gypsy stayed outside with Mica, chatting idly with him about the Manehattan trip.

Heading downstairs, she found Tourmaline lying back in his hammock, one hoof in the air, waving in time to the music as he enjoyed it. When she entered, her hoofsteps got his attention, and he grinned at her. "Ah, and so, the sister returns. The house is still in one piece, your mail's on your bed, and Amethyst hasn't made a peep, the whole time you've been out."

He glanced at the radio. "As you can see, I am loving your gift; hope the trip was fruitful, as far as Quartz went?"

Ah - home, sweet home. Perhaps the penthouse in Manehattan looked fancier, but THIS was her home and there was simply no better place to be - even if it was a little crowded. Tourmy seemed to be rather well; no attempts to kill her on sight - a good sign.

"Hello, brother. Quartz is in prison, so I'd say yes - very fruitful. I've even gotten you a souvenir," she removed the snowglobe from her saddlebag and gave it to him.

He lifted an eyebrow. "Prison? Well, certainly a step up from how Peridot ended up, that much is certain..." he then glanced up at her with a light wince. "Sorry."

He took the snowglobe and looked at it for a bit... then grinned. "It's only a glass orb, filled with water and trinkets... but the fact that you got it for me makes it worth hanging onto; I have a space on a shelf that's been dying for something like this. Thanks again... though nothing will ever top the radio, sorry." He was actually rather sweet when he grinned; far better than the wild grimace he had when he'd been attacking her.

Of course, now Peridot felt better than ever, and Quartz was relieved that he was no longer controlled by Amber - apparently, the average sibling trying to destroy the world was patently miserable, it seemed. "Peri didn't like being among the living so much," Obsidian noticed as she trotted to her room to check the mail, yet paused at the doorway. "Amy really sat in her room the entire time? Are you sure she's, you know... alive?"

Tourmaline shrugged. "She hasn't tried to murder me while you were gone; I figured, why jinx it? Besides, it's been, what, one day? Now, if she doesn't show up for breakfast again tomorrow... then there might be a problem." He rolled his eyes. "Besides, where would she go? She doesn't like to go out much, she has zero friends, and she can't leave town with that ring around her horn; I understand, and wouldn't want to be bugged about it, either."

With a light shrug (and a feeling of unease), Siddy made her way upstairs to their room to check her mail. She found two letters and a small box waiting for her on the bed. Obsidian checked the envelopes first.

The first envelope was addressed to 'The Bisdieam Ladey':

[Deer Bisidieam Ladey, my nam is Ivy Blossom, and i wannit to thank you for savimng my daddy from the Umbnderals, they were gona got him, but you came in and saved Ponyvill and saved him to, yor so nise for saving him from those bad things!]

It continued on for the entire front of the page, and half of the back. The filly's father had apparently been one of countless civilians she'd saved that day from the wrath of the Umbrals, and the sweetheart had written her a thank you letter for her kind act.

But wait, she wasn't a deer? Ah, wait - it was written by a child. At first, Obsidian thought it was some kind of code, or perhaps somepony had decided to include their accent (ACCENTS!) in their writing, but she quickly realized the truth of the matter. It was... actually pretty nice. It even felt a bit better than the big party that Princess Twilight threw for her.

The second one was a letter of notice, for Diamond's status as a 'currently liaisoned prisoner-in-absentia' by Stonewall Peavine; according to what she could make out from the Legalese, it would mean he was essentially doing his labors and chores as a punishment, and therefore was not eligible to be paid for anything he did for the stuck-up little jerk.

She scowled at the second letter. Perhaps contacting a certain kirin lawyer about this injustice would be a good idea? For now, she put both letters down on a side table and reached for the small package that was brought in along with them.

The box was about the size of a lunchpail; it had no return address, but it was shipped through the Silver Shores Mail Service and addressed to her, specifically. But she was no fool; a quick magical examination of the box's possible magical content revealed nothing magical at all.

Inside, however, was something magical... so to speak: It was a hoof-crocheted scarf, thick and fuzzy, that was of a lovely shade of violet. With it came a small note:

[Thank you for stopping by to visit us; we very much enjoyed your company. I made this for you, just because I was thinking about you. Stay safe, and trust your heart. ~With Love, Whisper Winds]

Oh dear, oh my, OH WOW! Obsidian read the note again, then a third time; in a middle of this whole possible 'yet-another-end-of-the-world' issue, she'd almost forgotten about the kind pair. It didn't help that she didn't exactly have time to think about things like that... she was doing everything she could, but she still had a feeling that she was forgetting far too many things, and dealing with the ones she could remember too slowly.

It didn't stop her from instantly wrapping the lovingly-made scarf around her neck.

In the kitchen, she heard the oven open and it was only seconds before the scent of chocolate chip cookies struck her senses like a speeding train. Cup's cookies were the stuff of legends... though he could still learn a thing or two from Celestia.

She heard a rough bump above her; Amy was apparently awake and home. She also heard the front door open, Mica chatting amicably with Clap, who he managed to talk down from the roof. There wasn't any reply on the pegasus' end, which felt weird because the mare was usually a talker. Of course, now Obsidian had seen, firsthoof, how bad the feelings were between her and Flurry Heart.

Maybe they just needed to save the world with her; it helped Siddy bond with her friends, so it stood to reason it might work for them too, right? After all, nothing that Obsidian had heard about the bad blood between them didn't sound serious enough to let it mess with their daily lives... or at least it didn't mess with their saving of the world.

"Well, I'll have to reply to this mail at some point - though it could take a while. And first things first, after all," Obsidian sighed a bit. At the moment, the firstest thing of all were Cupcake's cookies, small-talking with Amy and then - of course - saving Equestria! Or at least Lemon.

She ventured back to the top of the stairs and called down. "Do you possibly need anything, dear brother of mine?"

Tourmaline's chuckle came back upstairs before he answered. "Truthfully? I've never felt so need-free in my entire life; nobody forcing any screaming fits on me, no one calling me stupid - except for Amy - and nobody putting me through any Nightmare Spells... and now, I get to lie here in a hammock after the yardwork is done, and listen to music until I fall asleep.
I don't think I actually need anything, sis - I've already got it all."

Awwww... he'd called her 'sis'!

It was good to know he'd found himself in the same happy state in this Modern Equestria as she had - except he wasn't saving the world. Lucky him. Though it wasn't like he COULD, with his magic blocked. Obsidian made her way down only far enough to reach his doorway, grinning lightly. "Well, if you ask me, I'd say you still need something, bro..."

Her grin became a full smile, and she held out her forelegs to him. "Hug?"

Tourmaline, the brother she'd first met when he duped her into following him outside of town to murder her, smiled broadly as he made his way over to her and embraced Obsidian, squeezing her firmly. "You know..? I'm actually quite glad that little pepperpot busted my ribs; you're worth getting to know. And, for what it's worth, I'm sorry... for everything I did, I'm sorry. You... you mean something to me, and in our family? That's unique - and I like it."

HA! And to think - only a few weeks ago, he'd tried to turn her entire skeleton into bone jelly.

"Get used to it," she smirked, ignoring an opportunity to remind him that he had started the whole issue with the ribs and the breaking. "Hopefully your relations with everypony in our family will look like that, soon enough."

Tourmaline's grin faltered as he looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "I actually hope so - I don't know what it is, but you are the catalyst that's giving us all another chance - Myself, Amethyst, Diamond... possibly Quartz, too. If not for you, we wouldn't have had even the slightest chance to discover what an actual life was like."

Again, he looked up and sighed. "Amethyst... may take some time. But, even though I used to want her dead... I actually hope she comes around, and we get to... well, at the very least, talk. She's had it rough - rougher than many of us did - but she's got a strength of soul that just won't stop going. Maybe someday, that strength will be on our side."

"Well... if you say it can be so, then it will surely happen." And until then, Obsidian was going to try to be content that Amy was alive, because she strongly suspected that being alive was far more interesting than being dead.

Except for Peridot, of course.

"I'll go straight to her, right now... in fact, I got her a souvenir too." Obsidian simply hoped they wouldn't be thrown back in her muzzle. In response, Tourmaline gave her a light wave as he settled back into his hammock again, sighing as he listened to his music.

As she made her way into the kitchen, she noticed hat every available surface had cookie trays; there had to have been at least a dozen dozen cookies! All fresh-baked and delicious-looking... Cupcake himself smiled at her as she passed through to get to the attic door. "Just a few things for the trip!" he quipped.

And there she was, at the attic door. Postcards? Ready. Door? Present. Cookies... later. Obsidian knocked.

It was quiet for a moment, then hoofsteps descended. After a moment of silence, the door cracked just a bit. Amethyst's eye peeked out at her. "You're not Tourmaline. Good. "

She now opened the door fully; she looked a bit tired, like she'd been doing more of her secret training. Otherwise, it was still the same Amethyst. Same braids. Same ring around her horn as her brother's.

"... yeah? What is it?"

... but not quite the same attitude. Her voice wasn't mean or snarky; she was genuinely asking what she wanted.

"Good morning sister!" Obsidian chirped happily. "I've returned from our Manehattan trip, and I got you a bit of a souvenir! Sadly, it's nothing particularly special - but that's only because someponies did everything they could to stop me from spending too much time in the shop."

She grabbed the postcards from her saddlebags to give them to Amy when... hmm. Now that she thought about it...

"Can I come in?" Obsidian dared to ask.

Amethyst looked at her with a carefully neutral expression, blinked, then raised an eyebrow... and stepped back from the door. "Okay, but... you shut up about anything you see, you got it?"

That sounded more like her... but it was still not angry enough. Was she sick?

Well, as long as she didn't have a pile of bodies in the corner, Obsidian was happy to comply. "Okay." She stepped into the stairwell.

Now that she thought about it, this was the most unknown place in her entire house... which was weird, considering that it was her house. Amethyst led the way up the stairs. Whe she came out of the stairwell...

The attic was barren and grey; the walls were still plaster, the ceiling showing exposed rafters and no color had been given to make this room any bit cheerful. There was no furniture save for a workbench, a single folding chair that was rust-caked, and - most noticably - a lovely white dresser with purple scrimshaw, in the center of the back wall and looking completely out of place. There were thick, dark grey curtains on the windows, a slightly open closet door, and a worn and used-looking saddlebag in the corner, hanging from one of the rafters.

Otherwise, the entire attic was spotlessly clean; not a speck of dust to be seen. And Obsidian saw no bed.

Obsidian looked around, rather dumbfounded. What was this alien place? She'd expected a more-or-less normal room, perhaps with some things to make it look more, er... Amethyst'y... but instead, she saw... well, nothing.

She had duly promised to shut up about anything she saw; she didn't promise to shut up about everything she didn't see. "You didn't get any furniture when you got here?"

Amethyst was uncharacteristically demure, and she shuffled her hooves a bit, not looking at Siddy. "It gets in the way. It's... i-it's hard to keep clean. And besides, this... reminds me of my room. Back then."

She almost looked ashamed of the barren room... or herself; it was hard to tell.

Okay, the first part made sense - Obsidian herself didn't appreciate any of the furniture in the suites where she was put either, and with the mindset Amy usually had, she would probably have gotten rid of almost everything as well.

However, the second part was far more interesting; she'd never really thought about their living conditions. There was Peri with his Fortress of Forbidden Science... but that was about all.

"I kind of disliked modern beds as well, to begin with... but I eventually got used to them." Especially with a Cupcake to snuggle. "What was your room like, sister? I'm sure we could think about the problem together and come up with something easy to clean..."

And more room-like; damnation, this place looked like a prison cell!

"It..." Amy stepped past Obsidian to the rusty chair and carefully sat down; it was positioned for her to look out of the window.

"It was a cell... in father's prison. The stairs are something different in here - back then, it used to be three walls and... bars. The cot was gone, but... I had a blanket. And a big wad of cotton. Those made a good bed."

She looked towards Obsidian, but still her eyes didn't quite meet up. She grew a scowl, but it wasn't aimed at her sister. "Father always said that if I wanted to learn how to survive, I had to have practice at what surviving would be like. Winter was cold, Summer was hot, and the rain would get in through the window-hole sometimes... but it was MY room, and it meant a lot to me. Some nights, father didn't lock the door... and I got to explore the Crystal Palace on my own... well..." she huffed a grunt, "as alone as I could get with the others all crowding me, all the time."

She now looked down at the floor again. "And when the snake crept into the window one night and bit me, I learned how to hide while I slept." She stood up and went to the closet, pulling the door open wide enough to see inside. Hanging there were two items - a ratty-looking grey cloak, and a wall mirror suspended from the clothing rack by some twine. On the top shelf was a thin blanket, with what looked like a ball of pillow-stuffing in the corner.

"This is... my bed," she said, now looking at the closet... but not at Obsidian.

Okay, as far as Siddy could tell, there was nothing in Amy's old room worth remembering. It didn't sound worse than her old room... but it didn't sound any better, either. While Obsidian had at least had a bed, and with her room being in catacombs and so on, there was no rain. Granted, she couldn't just up and leave at anytime; she was almost always locked in there, mostly only coming out for training. Oh, and no snakes.

It would be utterly ridiculous to make anything new based on their old situation. "Um, well... youuuu... are right. It does look easy to clean," she had to admit - even if only because she had not even the slighest idea what else she could say. "Though it, er... doesn't look too comfortable, does it?"

Amy gave a half-hearted shrug. "It's dark, I have a door I can close, and it's off the floor - isn't that what 'comfortable' is?"

Well, no - it wasn't. Comfortable was comfortable.... and simply 'having a door' was hardly a sign of comfort in current times. Perhaps back in the old days, it would have been good enough - but at the moment, they were living in a totally different society, so they had to make comparisions between their pasts and the average state of the world around them.

And in no way could sleeping in a closet could be considered comfortable.

Amethyst sighed, then finally looked up at Obsidian, eye to eye. "Okay, you got the tour - now what did you want?" Even though she was trying to sound angry, she still came across as 'soft' - especially for Amy.

"Ah, well... I just wanted to give you these postcards," Obsidian levitated the little souvenirs to Amy. "It isn't too much, I know, but I thought that the photos on them looked quite nice - especially as this place is wildly different from Ponyville! I also met brother Quartz, by the way; I thought you might be interested."

She took the postcards from Obsidian, glancing at them before she put them down... but then she stopped and looked at them some more.

"... I didn't-..." she stopped and tried again, "... I mean, I wasn't expecting anything. These..." She looked them over again.

"These are... nice." Amy said the word 'nice' without sarcasm? Was this a changeling spy in disguise? Was it Markannus, maybe?

"... thank you." ... and thanking her!?

Obsidian remembered her first morning in Equestria, as she woke up in a bit less of a murderous mood and had behaved so non-threateningly that Cupcake thought she might have been Markannus. And then, he insulted her mane. ...ironic, now that she thought about it; it was now one of his favorite things about her, from what she could tell. "You're welcome, sis; I thought maybe you could put them on a desk or... a-above a bed, but..." She looked around once again. "I don't see too many places where they could fit... oh! Except maybe on top of your dresser?"

Amethyst's eyes widened, just a touch. "They'll be... where I can see them, if I lay them on top of it, yeah." She very gingerly and pointedly put the postcards, all face up and separate, on top of the frilly white dresser, in a room with zero decoration other than said piece of furniture.

When she finished placing them, she turned to face her sister - noticeably standing between Siddy and the white dresser now. "Is that it?" She asked, eyeing Obsidian suspiciously.

"Well... er, yes. Aren't you even curious about my meeting with Quartz?" Why was this dresser so important? Obsidian had already gotten over Amy's terrible living conditions, and right now she was more curious as to why this one, specific thing was the only piece of furniture in the entire room... and the fact that Amy apparently didn't want her to get too close to it was only making her more curious.

Amethyst looked at her for a moment, and Obsidian swore she was about to say something completely different... yet instead, her expression changed and she said, "Quartz... so you found him; bet he was surprised to see you, wasn't he? Acted all charming and stuff? Dressed like a painter's tray threw up on him?" THAT sounded like Amy! "Yeah. He and I never really saw eye to eye on much; a lot more of a talker than a fighter - unless he's got a sword; then you're dead."

"That's a perfect description of his outfits, yes. I did survive a short duel with him, but only because he didn't want to kill me - otherwise you'd all be attending my funeral right now," Obsidian shrugged slightly, a bit resigned. The fact that she'd almost gotten killed and had survived only because her attacker preferred her to stay alive, was... a bit disconcerting, to say the least; other dangers wouldn't treat her so kindly. "Why does he dress like that, though? Is he colorblind?"

Amethyst gave a mirthless chuckle. "I always thought so - not that he ever listened to us... which kinda made him seem like an ass, but he had that charm of his. I'm glad our family didn't practice inbreeding, or we wouldn't have stood a chance against him."

She then rolled her eyes and sighed, shaking her head before changing the subject. "So, now you're done with the chore, and you've come back home to sit and let Cookie-Puss make you fat, right?"

Obsidian gave a halfhearted shrug. "Well, I would... except that I think we've found Aquamarine, and I'm going to investigate that lead soon."

When she mentioned that name, Amethyst's eyes flew open. "Wait - they found him!? He wasn't with us when father prepared us for the invasion; he'd pissed him off royally, and father threw his shard out of the window, into the snow." She mumbled the next words, but Obsidian's keen ear caught it. "Never thought I'd ever see him again..."

She then looked up at her. "Where? Where did they find him?"

Okaaaaay... the abrupt change in Amy's attitude was worrisome. "Mount Arris - we aren't completely sure, but that's why I need to go and investigate. Was he a decent sort?" So he annoyed Sombra, did he? Obsidian felt a pang of sympathy.

Amethyst looked up at her with a grim expression. "He was my greatest rival, in terms of fighting and survival skills." She now grew a strange, distant look as she spoke. "Aqua was almost the biggest out of all of us - even Jade just barely crested being eye-to-eye with him. He was hot-headed and quick to hold a grudge, and he was obnoxiously good at taking pain."

"He was my greatest rival... and if he's still alive? Hopefully, a thousand years in the snow cooled his temper - if not, then I may have to expect company..." the mare brooded.

Wait - was he trying to kill her too, like Tourmaline was? How many siblings wanted to murder Amethyst!? "So I may have a few problems in dealing with him, I assume?"

Amy looked at her firmly. "If he's angry, yes - yes you will. Aqua is normally looking for a fight all the time anyway; if he's already raging by the time you get there, you might have a hard fight on your hooves..."

She stared hard, making sure her next point hit home with Obsidian. "He's a Berserker."

Obsidian just stared. Of course, it wouldn't be easy; after all, he WAS the pony described by Onyx to be 'brutal' - miiiiiiight be a wee bit problematic. "Well, hopefully I'll survive the encounter with a complete of limbs."

Amethyst's stare turned angry. "Do you even know what that means, stupid? It means he could KILL you without a second thought! When he's raging, he doesn't see anything but what he has to destroy next - he attacked father on the battlefield! Just because he was approached before he was finished raging - that was why he was sealed in his shard, that's why father threw him out of the window, and that's what you and anyone with you should expect from him! No mercy, NO rest, NO quarter given!"

Amy stepped back a few paces and grit her teeth for a moment... then took a DEEP breath, let it out in a gusty sigh, and looked at Obsidian with serious intent. "DO NOT be fucking flippant about this one, Obsidian - or someone's gonna bleed for it."

She then turned and went to her closet and, using the door's frame to climb up, slunk onto the top shelf and curled up with her head resting on the cotton wadding.

"If I wasn't wearing this stupid ring, I'd go instead of you, and you'd shut up about it because I know what to expect... but I am, so I can't, and you probably won't, because you don't. Just..."

She sighed, reached out and, using a tied piece of rope, she pulled the closet door closed.

"... just don't die, stupid," came the muffled words, from Amy to her.

Author's Notes:

Flur & Clap. Someday, if enough folks really want to know, I'll go into detail about what happened between the two of them... but frankly, it's better as a background element, in my opinion. This story isn't about THEM, after all.

Yes - Lemon, afraid. Given the track record Obsidian's siblings already have, I can't say I blame him.

Diamond sure loves Sombra... and it seems he knows a bit more than he's truly letting on. Surely Obsidian will ask her miniscule brother more about this as things progress, right? There's GOT to be more than that to his strange mood shift...

And so - more about Amy, and a glance into where she actually lives and sleeps. Not very encouraging, is it? Plus, a bit of a glance into her past as well, and a taste of what things were like for someone other than our heroine.

Forty Eight: Minus One... And Plus One

While Obsidian held no love for Sombra (quite the contrary, actually), she flinched at the idea of attacking him on the battlefield. It wasn't surprising that Aquamarine was treated that harshly - though it still wasn't as severe a punishnent as Jade's. One would expect that an attack would be punished more cruelly than a thief... and it explained quite well why he could possibly be destroying forests.

It seemed that a pleasant talk and a hug exchange, like with Quartz, was out of question.

"I'll do my best to survive, sister. Thanks for your advice; I appreciate it." It was by far the most friendly and peaceful talk she'd ever had with her sister. "Amy? One last question, if I may?"

There was silence from the closet for a moment, then... "What?"

"I'm having a number of strange dreams lately, and... well, do you know what happened with Radiant Hope?" She tried to push her luck.

When no response came, Obsidian thought her luck finally ran out with her sister... but before she turned away, the closet door opened a crack, a pair of almost luminescient green eyes looked out at her, and Amethyst's surprisingly quiet voice drifted to her ears.

"She was Father's only friend... only REAL friend. What they had was love, but it wasn't a... kissy kind of love; it was more like what you... keep projecting onto others, like the midget and the mutt... like you keep trying to project onto me."

The eyes blinked. "She and father had an argument... and she decided to use the Umbral Altar without his help. He... found her, but she was gone; I don't know what that means, but it's what he wrote. He then tried to... recreate her, I think... but I don't know how that went, because he stopped writing in it after that entry."

Using the Umbral Altar without his help... he'd tried to recreate her... never wrote about the results... and now, Obsidian herself was having, what? Flashabcks, memories... and she supposedly resembled Hope quite a bit... and had no recollection of her foalhood...

"... did... did he possibly mention me in his diary anywhere?" Obsidian had to fight to keep her voice from wavering. "Or was I created after he stopped writing in it?"

"All of us were created after that, Obsidian... chances are, we're his failures." There was an awkward silence for a moment, then...

"At least, I know that I am, anyway. You? You have a chance to succeed. So go do it. Just don't... don't be stupid."

The closet door shut. Firmly.

Obsidian turned around, made her way to the stairs and left pondering deeply about the thoughts swimming in her skull. Recreate...

All of them were created after Hope was already gone; Obsidian, up to this point, had kind of assumed that Hope had died after her creations, and somehow was stored in her memories. But what if... could she check somehow? Some kind of test she could run to discover the truth that eluded her so maddeningly?

Unfortunately, Hope was an orphan, more or less - there was nopony else on Hope's side to compare herself to. Comparisions with her siblings could be risky (they were artificial), so there was no guarantee that normal tests would detect that they were any sort of bloodline-linked family...

Did Obsidian occupy the body of a dead pony?

The question hung heavy on her mind as she made her way back into the kitchen, where Cupcake was busily packing what looked like an enormous backpack that was fit to split with cookies... and there were still more trays sitting about.

"Okay, we have cookies! LOTS of cookies! Lemon likes cookies, so he'll like these as soon as we get them to him, and he'll be safe and happy and glad to see us, and we'll deal with Aquamarine like we did with Quartz, and we'll all be happy and cookie-filled, right!?" The smile on his muzzle looked broad, bordering on manic... and somwhat haphazardly plastered on; maybe Obsidian wasn't the only one having a mini-crisis...

He looked stressed as Tartarus - Obsidian had no other choice, really. She trotted her way over to him and hugged him tightly. "We'll be going soon, Cup; don't worry - Lemon will get our help. I promise."

Cup looked at her... and his fake smile melted, a look of worry and nervousness crossing his features. "Thanks, love - I'm kinda freaking out here, as the farthest away Lemmy's ever gone before was to Canterlot, and that was only for guard training; this is farther, and a completely different situation."

He then looked at her, and smiled - for real. "Well, do you know anything more about Aqua? Maybe if I learn more about him, I'll calm down a bit more, right?"

...she kind of doubted he would. "Aqua is... not nice; Lemon will need us. We should get to Princess Twilight - we may need a favor here."

Cup didn't seem to relax from the information... but he sighed, then looked at his fiancee with determination in his eyes. "Well now that we have Gypsy back, we'll be okay; as long as we're all together, we-"

"FUDGE BARS!" came Clap's voice from the living room.

Cup looked up. "That's a Thunderclap-brand swear word; something's up."

It looked as if she wouldn't have time to propose going for some quick snuggles. "Let's see what's going on."

Out in the living room, Mica was reading over a scroll, while Clap was pacing by wing, looking irritated. "I swear, someone's doing it on PURPOSE! It's like, we're not allowed to be together!"

At the open door was a Royal Guardpony, a stallion, who was wearing armor and looking as calm and collected as any of the guards.

Mica sighed, apparently finishing the scroll. He then turned and, seeing Siddy and Cup, he elaborated. "The scroll is from Wart; because of the short notice at which Lemon had to leave, she's been reassigned to cover for the shifts of those who accompanied him. She won't be coming with us for this one, I'm afraid."

"Why can't we all just get together, ya know? We kick massive amounts of flank when we're all together - and it feels like Fate or Destiny or whatever you wanna call it is LAUGHING at us!" Clap huffed.

Oh, come on! "Let's go speak with Princess Twilight; this is a serious issue, and it would behoove her to let us strike at Aquamarine with our full firepower... and we'll need it." He was a berserker - they needed their brave little champion!

Cup nodded, Mica shrugged and Clap gave a cheer. "YES! Princess Twilight'll let her come along, I just know it!"

===[Twenty Minutes Later]===

"I'm truly sorry, Obsidian," Twilight said earnestly, "but with so much going on with your siblings - Manehattan, the other shards, Midnight's possession - I have to be certain that I have all posts covered, here and in Ponyville. Plus, I've doubled up the guards posted at the Umbral Cavern, so none of them can get to the Black Pool again."

She sighed. "Stalwart is one of the best fighters we have, and I'm afraid I just can't spare her. I know she's your friend - and believe me, I know it's important to you to have your friends close - but we need her right now; she's a capable and strong defender - and with Lemon Custard and the others gone to deal with this fire problem, I need defenders here."

She gave a slightly hopeful look. "When this is done with, I'd be glad to give her some time off, if you still need her for other things... but she chose to become a Royal Guard, and she needs to fulfil that duty now."

Obsidian had to admit it made sense; Ponyville was an important place, a seat of power, and the princess had to take care of her home and subjects and so on. It absolutely did NOT change the fact they needed her.

"Princess, Aquamarine is supposedly the most violent of all my siblings - he even attacked Sombra himself when he approached him too hastily. We don't need Stalwart simply because she's one of the greatest warriors I know... we need her because together, we are more than a sum of our powers. We defeated Sombra as a team, after all." She tried her luck.

Twilight sighed again. "I understand, Obsidian - probably better than you know - but I'm down to almost a skeleton crew for my palace alone; removing Stalwart from the lineup leaves a hole in the castle's defenses that I can't fill." She closed her eyes. "I am sorry, but on this subject, I must remain firm; Stalwart Stance remains here, to do her sworn duty, until Lemon and the rest return."

It was an awkward moment for a few seconds, then Twilight stood up from the throne. "I... kind of hope that wasn't the only reason you came by to see me today. After all, I hear a number of things went weird in Manehattan for you - a disturbance at a museum, a description of a mare who distinctly sounds like Stalwart sought by security, and the incident at the factory... and now, reports coming in that Mare Do Well has somehow returned." She narrowed her eyes a touch. "A subject I have to ask a good friend of mine about."

She then looked back at Siddy calmly. "Whatever happened with all of that, it started something... I don't know what yet, but I feel like something in the balance of Harmony is shifting, and it's been feeling that way since I accidentally brought you out of your shard state. Change is coming," she said cryptically, "I just don't know what changes to expect."

Oh... oh, right. "About Manehattan... well, I'd hoped to report our actions there as well - especially to mention that it's possible we might be invaded once again."

Twilight nodded. "I expected to hear as much... I take it this is the work of yet another of your plentiful siblings?"

"Amber is continuing Onyx's plans - the original ones, without my early awakening interrupting everything. That's why I asked Flurry to immediately seek information about the Manehattan prison's security measures, as Quartz mentioned she couldn't influence him here; I'm hoping it will stop any attempts at control over the rest of us. Quartz has already prepared a massive number of anti-magical suits..."

Twilight listened as she spoke, then shook her head slowly. "So, Onyx's legacy is still up and running, is it? And Amber... you mean the other shard you brought? HA! If that's the trouble, then I'll just have another Cell Ward created, but just for her - it should take a few days, but we can have the shard placed in a hermetically and magically sealed container to prevent any more issues."

She now gave a slight grin. "At least there was ONE problem that could be solved... but I can't say I believe that Amber is the only threat; according to what you've told me before, there are still a couple of your siblings unaccounted for. They need to be found at once, so we can discover who the main culprit is."

"As far as I am aware, there are only Aquamarine and Opal left to see to. We are preparing to go and investigate our lead on Aquamarine, and afterwards we will likely move on to dealing with Opal. Amber seems to be rather ambitious and cunning - sounds like the possible main culprit to me."

Twilight nodded. "All right, since you're handling the matter, I can make sure your trip is paid for - under the condition that you're going to handle these problems directly. Tickets can be arranged to take you directly to Cincineighti, where Pola Industrial's main headquartes is, after this current situation in Clearwater is dealt with. Once you finish with Opal, I'll arrange for you to get a ticket home, and we can discuss what to do from there together."

She then strolled over to her throne and sat with a heavy sigh. "Granted, this is exciting and all - most we've had in years - but some days, don't you just want to crawl back into bed and nap until the problem goes away?" she chuckled wryly.

"Oh yes," Obsidian replied without batting an eye, "but I'm afraid it would be possible that I would wake up in a terribly different Equestria, so there's no other choice but to press on. On the subject of other things... might Diamond accompany us to Aquamarine's investigation? Oh, and, er... I'd like to ask if it would be possible for Tourmy and... A-Amy... to get their magic back?" Maybe she could slip this by her?

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Well... let's discuss this, shall we? Let's begin with Diamond: As far as I've seen, he's an absolute sweetheart and seems to want to spread smiles wherever he goes. Even the ponies I have observing him like him - and they're a hard bunch to win over. Plus, with the fact that he's a healer to consider... I will agree to your request to take him along with you, but I shall hold his liaison responsible for any mischief he may cause."

"Tourmaline... the one who's friends with Gunther Gadfly, yes? I seem to recall that he was the first of your siblings to show his muzzle... and that was when he attacked you. He was punished for this crime by being ringed, as we weren't sure if he could be trusted with his magic back. However, he has shown a great deal of growth and change since Onyx's defeat, and seems to have a few of my Royal Guards as friends. Though I'm still not 100% certain of him yet, he's shown to be doing a fine job of coming around; I shall allow the ring to be removed from his horn, but you will monitor him to make sure he doesn't slip back into his old habits again."

"And Amethyst." She sighed. "On that one, we will have to agree to disagree, Obsidian. She is a proud murderer, she put the lives of Mica, Gypsy AND Lemon at risk, as well as your own life, and she killed your sister Ruby. Frankly, that already stacks a lot against her... but my observers have said she's been doing a lot of physical training lately, as if she's keeping herself keyed up. Which could mean she expects to be released from her punishment soon. That, and the fact that she's been managing to evade my observers at every turn..."

She gave Siddy a firm look. "Amethyst is still a threat, in my eyes, and I don't feel safe allowing her to have her magic back just yet; if she goes through some major changes - noticable ones - I'll reconsider. Until then... I'm sorry Obsidian, but I cannot allow her to be free AND cast magic."

Well, at least she tried; to be fair, she didn't expect that this request would be granted - but she didn't want to play favourites, especially as both Tourmy and Amy had treated her rather roughly in the past... but it wasn't exactly their fault. It wasn't really even Onyx's fault... all the real blame rested the wicked shoulders of the stallion that once claimed the throne of the Crystal Empire. Besides, Amy deserved at least a gesture of trust to show her that Obsidian cared for her.

But hey, two out of three wasn't bad - especially as Diamond should be quite useful; considering the danger posed by Aquamarine, his healing skills would be invaluable.

"Well, I'm glad to hear such, princess. We would probably need to put wards around Amber before we release Tourmy's magic, though - there's a risk that she could try to take him over immediately. As soon as she's neutralized, there'll be no need to worry about that anymore." Of course, even if everything went perfectly, Obsidian still would have to figure out what to do with Amber. Evil or not - Onyx's side or not - they were STILL siblings. "I'd like to know the official status of Amy's dagger, as well - I've recently discovered that it's a powerful artifact... and I think it could be potentially useful."

Twilight nodded. "Yes, the Foci Blade - it is, indeed, a powerful artifact; right now, a number of my top researchers are examining it closely, trying to discover if it's a spell we can emulate. We won't be issuing Foci Blades to the entire Royal Guard, but we can see if the spell might have other applications we could use in less harmful ways." She gave a wave of her hoof. "I will make sure to hold Tourmaline's release until after Amber's shard is in a safer place... trust me, I don't want THAT to be mistaken, either."

With that said, she gave Obsidian a light bow. "I do hope you're successful - the last thing Equestria needs right now is another Umbral Incident."

That was nice and all, but what the princess seemed not to understand was the fact that it could be worse than that - this time, her siblings had ample time to prepare something a little better than a bunch of half-rotten undead corpses.

"I'll do whatever I can, princess, you have my word. But, er... I have one last question, if I may?" This time she was visibly more apprehensive; asking about the possibility that she possessed the body of a long lost mare was... rather strange.

Twilight raised an eyebrow, but nodded.

"I have been told I look considerably like Radiant Hope, a mare whose fate and whereabouts are unknown. Amethyst told me that something happened to her, and that Sombra effectively tried to recreate her. I've also started to have some rather strange dreams lately - dreams with Hope's memories - while I don't truly recall very much at all about my earliest years..." Obsidian tapped her hoof against the floor, a bit anxious. "Is there any spell that could possibly check to see if I occupy the restored body of a long-lost mare who apparently died while dabbling in Umbral Magic?"

Twilight looked at her for a moment as if she had lobsters crawling out of her ears. "You... wait, are you saying that you think you might be Radiant Hope? Really? It... I mean, I studied Sombra's history, but the fate of Radiant Hope was always one of the Crystal Empire's greatest mysteries; it would be incredible if you turned out to be her the entire time!"

Well DUH, it would be incredible... but Obsidian wasn't sure how she should feel about it, though. It would solve at least some of the mysteries that surrounded her own origins though, so she at least thought that it could end well for her. Unless of course, it turned out that Radiant Hope was also planning to return, supressing Siddy's personality and so on. She remembered her reaction when she'd heard the possibility for the first time - when she discovered that she was essentially her father's backup plan.

Twilight's horn lit up, and several books popped into existence around her head; she opened their covers and scanned the contents, making Siddy's library trick look like parlour magic in comparison as books flashed away, replaced with more flashing in - but never more than six present at one time. "I... don't seem to... see a spell... that could test... for something like that... but I can ask my researchers if they might be able to locate one, and we can possibly have it ready for when you get back."

"I initially hoped it would be possible to check blood relations between myself and my siblings... but I don't know of any way to do so. Besides, considering the fact that we're technically artificial creations, I'm not even sure it would work - or if it's even possible," Obsidian shrugged sligthly, a bit disappointed that the world-famous Element of Magic didn't know the answers to her problems. Even if she outright dismissed it and provided a good reason why it was impossible, she would feel that much more confident. Well, it was good enough for now.

"Thank you, princess," Obsidian bowed deeply.

She looked at Obsidian and sighed. "What I know for a fact is this; you have gone to great lengths to deal with these other shards, and have cared about their well-being enough to put yourself at risk for their benefit. To me, that makes you a family - because that's love, Obsidian... and REAL families, no matter how scattered or strange, have love."

She now smiled. "And last I checked, tools don't love, either... or was Luna wrong?"

"... best sister ever..." Ruby.
"... really glad I got to know you..." Tourmaline.
"... a pleasure to finally meet you..." Quartz.
"... thank you for your kindness..." Peridot.
"... just don't die..." Amethyst.
"{... you are so wonderful, Obsidyan...}" Diamond.
"... fair enough..." Onyx.
"... ỳ̳̟o͇̭͠ṷ̵̼ ̬̝͜a͍̮͠r͙͔͎e͈͈̻ ̸͓͈ṯ̨̹ẖ̵̫e͕̝͢ li͖ģ̺h̨ͅt̝̖̥..." Jade.

... all of them, shards of her past, yet pieces of her future as well. Was Twilight right? Were they a family already?
Well, that wasn't an issue to Obsidian; she cared about them, so they were her family - even if some of them resisted it rather actively AHEM Amy and Onyx...

She had wanted to test their blood bonds... but she really had no idea how such a thing would work for artificial ponies. Figuratively speaking, there was no reason why even a single drop of Sombra's blood would run through the veins of any of his creations, right?

"Oh no, Luna wasn't wrong - I hope to plan a wedding at a time when Equestria won't be under the oppressive risk of invasion," she quickly assured the purple princess.

Twilight smiled. "Well, I know of at least ONE pink earth pony mare who would burst out in excited giggles over that one."

She stood and gave a decisive nod. "I shall order the plans from Sacred Rune's workshop shortly; with another casting of Cell Wards on a proper container, we'll have nothing else to worry about from Amber. And I can send word to Cincineighti that you'll be coming to deal with a problem; the local police will be on your side. Once I finish those things... I'll see if I can't find a Tracing Spell for you - or maybe I can make one from scratch!" She seemed excited at the prospect.

"Good luck, Obsidian... and be careful." With that, her horn gave a flash... and she was gone.

Well, Miss Pinkie had more than one reason to be excited about Obsidian's planned wedding, didn't she? Damnation, and she really wished she could learn teleportation herself; sadly, she had so many things to do and so little time.

She felt woefully underprepared for her siblings... but right now, she had other things to do. She couldn't get anything accomplished by standing in an empty room, so she turned and left. There was one almost-brother-in-law waiting for rescue, and one shard-born brother waiting for somepony to force him to adhere to the Modern Equestria of today.

Outside in the waiting chambers sat all her friends... minus one. "Didja ask about Wart?" Clap flapped forward, too nervous to stay on her hooves.

"W-was it good n-news?" Gypsy's ears perked up.

"Relax, everyone," Mica kept his head, then turned to Obsidian. "What's the word on things?"

"Unfortunately, Wart stays," Obsidian said with a rather resigned voice; there was simply no arguing this matter. The princess didn't have to send Lemon to deal with this!

"I've gotten permission to take Diamond with us, though." Hopefully, they'd be able to face Opal as a united group without anypony having to stay in Ponyville.

Thunderclap's muzzle fell. "Awwwwww! But... b-but they can't tear apart The Siddy Six! They just can't!"

Mica sighed, disappointment writ small on his muzzle. "Well, it looks as though they just did, Clap. More's the pity, as it would have been a good fight to watch..."

"And Wart woulda kicked his sorry flank all the way back here," Clap sighed.

"Look - maybe, after everything that's happened, she could use a break, right?" Cup tried a different angle. "I mean, she had to suffer Peridot's Dream Curse-"

"So did I!" Clap interjected.

"Yes, you did, Clap," Mica finished, picking up on what Cupcake was saying, "but you got to sleep it off when it was over; Wart went back on duty, then accompanied you to Manehattan, where she got stepped on and almost trampled, then having to not only attend a party in a dress, but spying on Quartz - which was useful information - and then back here..."

As it dawned on Thunderclap, a look of slow shock settled in. "... where she's having to take on someone else's shift, to cover for the ones who'll be helping us... whoa."

Mica looked at her, but not unkindly. "I would rather she go too... but if this gives her a chance to recover from all we've done lately, then she'll be good to go when we need her most."

Cup grinned. "Our little Paladin."

"Her n-name is so very app-p-propriate," Gypsy added meekly.

Clap gave a grump sound, then looked at everyone. "Well, we're not getting there any quicker... might as well get a move on."

Feelings were low as they left the waiting chambers; maybe outdoors would be a nice change of scenery?

Obsidian felt there was no need to tell them about the allowed return of Tourmy's magic, or her own doubts about her origins. The fact that Wart wasn't going with them truly saddened Obsidian, but there was nothing she could do about it - and besides, maybe the little one DID deserve some relaxation... assuming she'd be able to relax while her friends were fighting off Aquamarine.

"I'd like to go find Lemon as soon as possible; is there anyone here who doesn't want to go with us to Clearwater today?"
It had been a lot of train-riding lately, but it had to be done to get to where they needed to be.

Thunderclap looked over at Cupcake and gave a rare gentle smile. "What, and leave Cupster all jittery over his big brother? I'd rather get right to it, so we can all see Lemon's sour muzzle again. Right, Cuppie?"

Cupcake Sprinkles had tears of gratitude standing in his eyes. "Thanks, Clapperino... thanks, you guys... I r-really, reeeeeeally love all of you so much..."

Mica nodded. "That's what friends are for, Cup." Gypsy simply gave a nod and a smile to add.

"Let's say we meet in one hour at the train station then, okay? In the meantime, let's eat something, prepare our bags, relax a bit while we wait. Dear Gypsy, could you possibly inform Diamond that he is allowed to accompany us to see a bit more of the world?" Obsidian smiled inwardly as she arranged things - she already had a few plans of her own for how to pass the time...

Gypsy, wagging his tail, seemed to light up. "This one i-i-is to go and f-fetch Diamond for the trip now? He is h-happy to do so - he will b-b-be so pl-pleased!" The diamond dog scampered off towards the direction of the Harmony Suites (Obsidian had finally learned what that section of the castle was called), seeming quite happy to go and get his newest friend, her little-big brother.

Mica looked at them. "I think I want to let my Mom and Dad know I'm still alive - though we're still trying to remedy that." He almost smiled. "One hour; I'll be there." He turned and, with a quick squeeze for Clap, he headed off.

Cup looked like he was calming himself... and finally, gave a small smile and looked at her. "Siddy, thanks again for getting to this so quickly... though, I hope I can just stay calm for one more hour, not thinking about Lemon broken over your brother's knee, or not thinking about him crushed under a rock, or not thinking about him being eaten by wild weasel-nadoes, or not thinking about a possible land shark atta-"

"YO, CUP!" Clap shouted with an almost Canterlot-Voice-volume.

Shaken, her yell succeeded in getting his attention, and he blinked out of his rant. "Uh... wait, what? What?"

Clap just shook her head and grinned. "Lemon'll be fine, Cup. Trust me."

Obsidian patted Cup's back reassuringly. "Let's go home for a while - we'll calm down there for a bit, then go straight to the train station, okay?"

Cup sighed, then looked at Siddy with eyes full of emotion. "I... Siddy, I can't. I just can't. Even if he isn't exactly the nicest pony around, Lemmy was always there for me when I really, reeeeeally needed him... and, I don't know, I mean... I just don't feel right, trying to relax when I know he's going into what might be a really bad situation..."

He smiled at her. "If it's all the same... I think I'd rather just wait here, i-if it's okay; it's just hard to think about anything else when your own sibling's lives are on the line."

Obsidian sighed deeply. First Stalwart interrupted them, and now Cup wasn't in the mood? It seemed like there was simply no way she could do anything fun! "Does that mean you've already taken all those cookies you were baking to Twilight's palace?"

Cup looked at her... then gave a resigned sigh. "I guess... if I'm with you, I might could be okay. Maybe. Hugs could help."

Okay, maybe... while he didn't seem to be in a very good mood, what she wanted could actually make him a bit happier and calmer.

"... Cup... come with me, and we'll do so much more than hugs..." she whispered into his ear with hope.

What? Mares have their needs too, from time to time!

Cupcake looked at her blankly for a moment... then, when it finally reahed home what she was implying, he blushed fiercely. Then, putting on one of his charming grins, he reached out and took her hoof, pressing a kiss to it before answering her. "Well then, my Dark Princess... with an offer like that, I guess I have to say yes, now don't I?"

The two of them walked home next to each other, close enough to touch while walking... and it wasn't bad at all. Of course, Thunderclap was hitting the food carts around the station; she'd be there when they returned.

Reaching the house with no disruptions or hassles... just two teenagers sneaking into their room to do naughty things to each other. Obsidian had to admit, even though she was still new to the act, she certainly found herself interested in practising all the more.

And of course, Cupcake was being led right into it, by his... er, hormones. Yeah, hormones. That's the word.

He seemed to be much calmer now; luckily, she'd managed to turn his mind away from those grim thoughts and put it into a much, much more pleasurable place. In fact, Obsidian could use a pleasant break as well - and they had an entire hour to do the deed, refresh a bit and get back to the train station. It was foolproof.

The house was reached... the door, opened quietly... a careful tiphoof through house... making it to their bedroom... opening the door... creeping inside... closing said door...

... and for once, 'foolproof' was not a death wish; they'd made it into their room, safe and sound, and were all alone to do as they wished.

"I love you more than you'll ever know, Obsidian..." Cup sighed as he nuzzled her warmly.

He really had to love her a lot if he was able to stop worrying about Lemon so quickly - or perhaps he wanted this as much as she did? Possibly both?

"You are the number one most important pony in my life, Cuppy," she cooed in response, gently guiding him to their bed, which was soft and inviting,...and Cupcake himself was soft, sweet and warm...

And the hour flew by.

The next thing Obsidian knew, she was being gently kissed awake. "Love? Siddy? We have to go - the train leaves in ten minutes, but we can get there easy." Cupcake went to stand, but wobbled a bit and held onto the mattress to steady himself.

He grinned sheepishly. "Uh, if I can walk properly, that is!" he laughed. Oddly enough, Obsidian was thinking the exact same thing. She had been right - it had relaxed both of them. Thoroughly.

She couldn't speak for Cup, but she was so terribly relaxed right now that she could barely think about anything else than snuggling her coltfriend for a while longer. Sadly - first things first, eh?

Obsidian sighed deeply and somehow managed to stand up. She levitated her saddlebags onto her back, secured them and put the bracelet on her leg, because she really hoped that Flurry - with her wings, horn and such - would find them, sooner or later. The fact that she left after her argument with Clap and never returned was a bit concerning. Luckily, Obsidian had an easy way to contact her in any case...

"We enjoyed each other too much to do it too quickly, hmmmm?" she mused slyly. However, she quickly got serious. "But you're right - let's go. And let's try to walk as straight as possible..."

Cupcake giggled, like they were hiding a secret. "Okay... but you've gotta stop looking so pleased." Cup would have to do the same, actually - he was almost glowing with satisfaction. If she looked anything like he did, they would be found out in a Manehattan Minute. Hunh... she sort of understood the saying now, how things happened so quickly there...

But seriously, if Cup didn't want her looking so pleased, then perhaps he shouldn't please her so much! It was only his own fault that she loved him so much - every inch of his body and every scrap of his brilliant, warm, gentle and kind soul, and...

Okay, this train of thought wasn't helping in not looking pleased; maybe she should try to scowl, like in the good, old days? But it seemed to be physically impossible for her right now; damnation, but Cup was GOOD.

Anyway, it wasn't long before they reached the station, where Clap and Mica were standing at the platform, with Gypsy and-

"{Obsidyan!}"

... and Diamond, who tacklehugged her leg as soon as he saw her. "{Oh, Obsidyan! Thank you for this opportunity to help you do some good! I am so very much looking forward to our adventure together - I will be our brave and clever medic, ever alert for danger and able to heal the wounds that would end your very lives!}"

"He's extra-talky today," Clap said with a smirk, "still don't know what he's saying, but whatever it is, I like his enthusiasm!"

Diamond disconnected from her leg and practically skipped over to the rest of them. Gypsy, Mica, Clap, Cup, Diamond... it wasn't quite The Siddy Six... but maybe it would be enough? I mean, the number six was still involved, right?

"{I'd prefer to avoid any life-threatening wounds personally, Diamond... but I do appreciate your enthusiasm,}" she smiled gently at him. He wasn't Stalwart, not in any way... and as far as she knew, the heroic sixes - Pillars, Element Bearers, the six brave students from the Friendship Academy - were supposed to stay in the same squad. They needed Stalwart... but they did manage to get Quartz without Gypsy, so perhaps this time it would work out the same way?

"Is everyone ready for another dangerous adventure that we're not getting paid enough for?" she asked cheerfuly - way too cheerfuly. What's worse, she wasn't being sarcastic or ironic - she was just good-old snarky Obsidian... just doing her best to try to maintain a positive attitude. Even if she herself didn't believe in it much.

Mica lifted a bemused eyebrow. "I didn't know there was pay."

Thunderclap nodded. "Yeah - lets go kick his flank for him!"

Gypsy grinned. "Th-this one is so exc-c-cited to see so many new p-places!"

Diamond's horn gave a glow, and Pancho slid out of his saddlebag and onto his head, perched for adventure. "{Onward, to seize the day!}"

Cupcake gave Obsidian a peck on the cheek. "Thanks to you, I'm ready for anything!"

They only had to mention their names at the kiosk; their tickets were waiting for them - First Class, no less. All the way to Clearwater, which, according to the tickets, would taaaaaaaaake...

Ten hours. Non-stop.

Damnation - she forgot something to read again. Ten hours? Well, at least Lemon shouldn't have enough time get into any trouble ahead of them. "Alright, let's put this family reunion in motion."

The train wasn't too crowded, and the First Class section wasn't just comfy... it was cooled by magical devices known as 'air conditioners' that somehow made the entire passenger car cool and crisp. The seats were plush and comfy, and had levers to allow them to lie back for sleeping. There were even personal little lamps for each seat, so you could read without disturbing your neighbor. There were snack trays at each end of the room (thankfully, very few sweets) and a machine that dispensed cannisters of soda pop and juice. It was like a bigger limousine than the one she'd been in with Markannus and his queen...

Markannus... was he okay? There was no way to tell, unless he wanted them to know; she didn't even know where to start searching for him, if she even thought she could find him.

Cup sat next to her, with Clap and Mica in front and Gypsy and Diamond seated behind her. Some idle chat passed between most of them, but it wasn't long before Obsidian saw Thunderclap's wings wilt, then her head bob to one side as one of her legendary strings of drool began its' trek down her chin. Mica leaned his head on her side, and was soon breathing evenly. Gypsy and Diamond apparently weren't tired, as they chatted quietly and amicably in Ancient Crystallian while the train rolled on.

Cupcake leaned over until his head was resting on his fiancee's shoulder. "You're my everything, I hope you know that - if anything happened to you, I don't know that I'd be able to be the same stallion anymore... you're like a limb I can't live without. Like, my head."

Ten long hours... but with Cup at her side it should be okay. And even if Cup alone didn't make this journey interesting enough to keep her from dying of boredom, she had her other friends and her brother there as well.

But she still regretted not bringing any books.

"Well that's rather obvious, as we've made ourselves a very big portion of our lives together," she mused, resting peacefully. Aaaah, this was what she needed; in the perfect world, she'd have been able to get some well-deserved sleep right after being so thoroughly pleased, making it the ice on the cake... er, icing, rather. Stupid idioms.

The short trot to the station may have cooled her head a bit, but she was still in a rather... satisfied... mood. "Don't worry, Cuppy... I don't plan to let anything happen to me," she chuckled softly.

He smiled. "Good... 'cause I'm addicted to my Siddy, and I don't ever wanna kick the habit." He leaned up and kissed her lovingly, his breath warm, his tongue sweet-tasting, his-

"...{siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiighhhhhhhhhhh}..."

Cupcake opened his eyes - frozen in mid-kiss - and looked up. Diamond was leaned over the headrest above them with what looked like little pink hearts in his eyes as he gazed at them, looking as though he was watching a romance movie.

"{Please... don't mind me...}" he said in a soft, almost sighing voice.

Obsidian blinked. Then blinked again. "{Weren't you just talking with Gypsy, a moment ago?}"

Mundy sighed lovingly. "{Oh yes, I was - but when I saw the two of you getting all cozy, it just looked so very wonderful... I do hope, one day, to be able to smooch Stalwaat in such an incredibly romantic fashion...}"

Gypsy chuckled. "{One would do well to ensure he has permission before trying such.}"

Diamond looked aghast at the thought. "{Gypsee! NEVER would I take such a delectable treat without permission! I would not wish to sully her in such a manner - the very thought is preposterous!}"

Cup looked back at Siddy, then smiled and laid back against her shoulder again. "When he gets all chatty like this, I can't understand him... but he sounds like he's enjoying talking, and that's good enough for me. That, and having my very own Siddy to snuggle."

"He said that he, er... finds us romantic to observe, and is hoping that he'll end up in a similar situation with Stalwart," Obsidian explained to Cup with a touch of embarrassment. She was sort of okay with doing things like this here - after all they had a bit of privacy, and were surrounded by friends; being outright stared at was something new. It felt considerably different than being cheered on at the party, when she kissed Cup after their dance.

"Yes... let's snuggle each other to sleep. We have a long trip ahead of us." She doubted they would be able to sleep the entire way, but it was good to take naps whenever possible when chasing down the shards of Sombra. Cup placed a foreleg around her, and nestled into her side. He was so warm, so soft... Her Cupcake... and she was his Dark Princess.

Something about that was a deep connection with her; it wasn't owning like slaves, no... it was both more entrapping AND more free, at the same time. But it felt wonderful to be in love. And to think, if it hadn't been for Princess Twilight waking her up before Onyx's plans could, she never would have had such an opportunity to ever know what this felt like. It would have been a crying shame...

But instead, she HAD been through all of that, and had gained five incredible and wonderful friends: Thunderclap Dash, the hot-shot with the generous heart. Mica Chip, the logical and honest stallion. Gypsy Rover, the kindly scholar. Stalwart Stance, the endlessly loyal and stoic knight. And Cupcake Sprinkles, whose heart shared its' laughter with everyone around him.

All of them had become firm pieces in her life, solid presences that affected her, bolstered her and even got her into situations she never knew existed. Yet, they were her friends... and was she theirs?

You bet your fur.

Author's Notes:

So we have Amy's words about Hope and Sombra... and it gets Siddy thinking about what she might actually be. She brings up a number of questions that we still don' seem to have enough answers to. Any guesses you readers may have might be either true or false; you'll find out eventually, I promise you that much.

And NOPE - no full-on Six yet; honestly, they may have switched party members, but at least the height is the same. Yes folks, for this scene, the part of Mini-Nuke will be played by Mundarr The Barbarian! We ride with the desert winds! *chuckle*

So Diamond is allowed to roam with his sister, Tourmy earns back his magic... but Amy is still in the doghouse, proverbially speaking. Was Twilight's decision fair? I thought it was, given all that she brought up; Amethyst will have to show more progress (and less sneaky-stuff) for that trust to build up enough. Think she can do it?

Snugglebunny Playtime: The best way to make an hour fly by. };)

Forty Nine: Yet Another Dream(%) / Desperately Seeking Aqua

~>-<~

The polished and well-crafted oak doors in front of her flew open as she stormed through them, headed into a hallway with a pace that spoke of a mare on a mission. Guards that she passed stayed well out of her way, and avoided eye contact with her as she stomped down the hall, headed for what looked to be the doors to the Crystal Palace's throne room.

Obsidian was having another one of those dream/memory things... but was there an emergency? There must have been, because she could feel her heart hammering in her chest. Well, not exactly her own chest... and ah, hello Radiant Hope - nopony missed you, but it seems as if you don't really care about hijacking someone's sweet dreams to show off your old memories, eh?

Of course, now that Obsidian was starting to suspect that she could be connected to the missing mare far more than the rest of her siblings, she was actually trying to pay more focused attention to everything that was happening to Hope's body. This feeling in her chest... was it familiar? Her eyes - did she observe the world in the same way?

By Darkness, Obsidian had just gotten used to the fact that Sombra had crafted her to be similar to his old friend; the uncomfortable facts about her memories or his attempts to 'restore her' threw this simple (but creepy) vision into a new state of disarray.

She continued to storm her way forward, throwing the double doors to the Throne Room open with her magic; she'd done so hard enough for both doors to bang off the walls behind them. Sombra, now the visible age of adulthood, was there in a royal-looking outfit, crimson and black; honestly, he looked regal. He looked noble. He looked...

... utterly exhausted, with dark circles of sleeplessness under his eyes. But he was there, leaned on his stone table, with three advisors around him - all of whom bowed to her as soon as she entered the room.

"Your Grace," one of them began, "is ther-"

"Sombra. We. Need. To talk. Now." The voice that came out sounded as if it were barely biting back on tightly-stored outrage.

The monarch looked up in alarm, stood and addressed his advisors. "Leave us - when my High Magus says she needs to speak with me, it is imperative."

One of the advisors spoke up. "Your Majesty, the bids on this work are-"

"Are able to wait for a moment more, Winkyn; pipes don't just build themselves, you know," Sombra said softly. The advisors all bowed, while Hope stood there, heart hammering, blood rushing. They left, taking their sweet time to head outside.

When the last one closed the door behind him, Sombra turned to her. "Hope, what's wrong? Are the Yaks breaking the accord already?"

"No, Sombra..." she said tightly.

He stepped forward with a slight look of alarm. "Then did the dam not set as it should have? If that river reverts to where it was, it'll be outside of the Crystal Heart's warmth and-"

"No," she practically snarked.

He looked at her closely. "Then are you saying that the draconequus sightings we've had recen-"

"Sombra," Hope said firmly, "you promised."

With that spoken, understanding came into his eyes... and he groaned. "Hope, I TOLD you, I'd be willing to get to it next week-"

She cut him off. "Oh, yes, you said that... OVER TWO MONTHS AGO!"

Behind King Sombra was a regal full-length mirror, and Obsidian caught a flash of herself/Hope in it... and the mare looked completely livid.

"You keep pushing it off and pushing it off and ignoring me when I remind you! You're so busy with your public works 'for the subjects' that you don't even MAKE time for anything else!" she blasted at him, her voice hard and heavy with anger.

Oh, he'd probably made plenty of promises - and broke plenty of them as well. Why was she so upset? Was it connected to the Umbral Altar? Obsidian could only watch with curiosity, hoping for even the smallest nugget of clarity.

"Hope - listen to me; I've been doing so much, I can barely sleep without having to sign decrees, make decisions and stop the corruption I find. YOU and I, WE have been at this for years now... and look what we've accomplished!" He walked to the balcony and gestured out at the Crystal City... and Obsidian's non-existent breath caught in her throat.

It was the Crystal City... but it was spectacular.

So many buildings, works of art on display everywhere over walls and set into concrete displays, lush and green trees and well-trimmed hedges lining the roads, with Crystal Ponies all walking around in what looked like a state of Harmonic Bliss. It was miles from any previous view she'd ever had of it before... and she would never see it quite the same again.

Sombra spoke softly, as if seeking understanding from his friend. "They're not starving anymore, Hope. The homeless population is down to two thousand - a very small number, in comparison to our time! Disease is all but unheard of! Lush fields of produce - which YOU helped plant - are feeding not only our empire, but even our neighbors if Equestria is asking for trade routes!"

Hope just glared at him; undaunted, he continued. "This is everything our people needed, Hope - this is the security, the shelter, the LOVE they needed to prosper; there is no nation on the face of Equus which even holds a candle to the magic of our Cryst-"

"Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to be ready to cast the spell with? DO YOU!?" Hope would not be deterred, it seemed. "Sombra, you've been a king for long enough; can't you be my friend again for just an hour? Just a simple, measly HOUR?"

The monarch closed his eyes and placed a hoof to his forehead. "By Tartarus, Hope - when would I have time for such? Every hour of my life is currently accounted for! I don't really even get to do what I want; protocol and general public morale depends on me to-"

"I am TIRED of your excuses!" she yelled at him, and Obsidian could see Sombra's own anger coming forth in his muzzle.

"Well, I apologize that my excuses saved lives!" he snapped back.

"What about making a life, Sombra!?" she countered.

For crying out loud, JUST SCREW ALREADY! It's not that hard! Instead of dragging him to those dreadful Umbral Altars, why can't you just go somewhere private, have a little Snugglebunny Playtime, then wait! Really, it's not that complicated, and even if Hope had some real reasons to avoid the typical manner of creating life - like problems with fertility or being sickly - then perhaps she should have USED THIS POWERFUL MAGIC TO FIX IT, INSTEAD OF FUCKING WITH LIFE ITSELF.

And okay, Obsidian may have hated to admit it, but this version of the Crystal Empire was not bad. Not bad at all.

Sombra's eyes now began to show a light wisp of purple at the edges, indicating the level of his irritation. "What about all the lives down there!? Do they no longer matter to you, who were among them - with me - not that long ago? Don't you want to be sure we make this the best kingd-"

"YOU. PROMISED!!!"
"I DIDN'T KNOW I COULDN'T KEEP IT!"

Silence. The two of them stared at each other for a long, searingly flared moment...

"... I wish I'd never found those damnable altars," Hope muttered darkly.

Sombra's face went into a shocked look. "HOPE! With all the good we've done for the empire-"

"WHAT ABOUT US, SOMBRA!? Don't we deserve SOMETHING for all the hard work we've done! THAT I'VE DONE?" Hope shrieked at him.

Sombra now stopped in place looking shocked, and gazed at her with consideration. "Hope... do you think I haven't provided for you? Do you feel like your work isn't worthwhile?"

"Sombra... I've been working on this one single, solitary spell since I was a filly... and now that I've not only completed the spell, but I have it READY TO GO... YOU can't find the time to even go with me!" Her muzzle took on almost a pleading quality. "I've worked so hard on this - SO HARD - and you've SEEN it!"

"Hope, I can't-" Sombra tried.

"NO! NO MORE EXCUSES! I won't tolerate any more lies or stalling from you over thi-"

The slight purple wisps flowing from his eyes suddenly blazed into existence, and he stepped forward towards her with a heavy gait. "YOU shall tolerate whatever you are COMMANDED to, WITCH!"

That voice sent chills down Obsidian's non-existent spine; THAT was the voice she'd recalled from her lessons, from her training... and from her beatings. THAT was the voice she once knew as 'father'.

It was time, Obsidian guessed; it was now that moment. That very moment where Hope 'argued' with Sombra and later ran to the Altars to use them by herself, right? And it had to be the moment where Sombra showed his true face to the entire world, finally giving up and turning into the monster everyone knew. And to think, everything could have been prevented, simply by a proper rutting.

Hope narrowed her eyes and slowly walked up to Sombra until she was muzzle to muzzle with him. "... and you. You don't frighten me, you foul black leech."

Sombra's expression ground into a furious grimace, and he growled menacingly at her - but she continued, undaunted.

"I've known the truth about you for about a year now... and I am going to find a way to obliterate you for what you're doing to my friend... mark... my... words, parasite."

"We OWN it, we CREATED it... and we shall use it to conquer... to DESSSSSSSTROYYYY... to leave nothing in the wake of the Second Umbral Dynasty!"

Hope stepped back and regarded Sombra coolly. "He's NOT your TOOL, you DISGUSTING little DISEASE."
Why did that sound so much like... Tourmaline?

King Sombra smiled wickedly. "He was ALWAYS our tool, filth."

... fascinating. Did she... did she, as well as everypony else, get everything wrong?

"He is OURSSSSSSS..." the dark thing growled with a sound like broken shards of glass grinding together.

"He deserves a life of his own, you cowardly cur!" Hope screamed back into the face of The Umbra; If anything else, Obsidian had to admit - Hope had nerves of steel to face down something ancient and evil like that.

"And you deserve DEEEEEAAAAA-AAAAAagh!" The purple mist promptly vanished, and Sombra grabbed his head in his hooves. Hope, regardless of what was currently between them, took a few steps towards him, reaching out a hoof for comfort...

"Hope, get out." ... that sank at those words.

"Sombra... I j-just wanted us to-"
"STOP IT, HOPE! You're just making me have... h-have to fight it HARDER."

Obsidian actually had not the slightest idea what was happening here, or what to think about it. Proto-Tourmy's voice, The Umbra, possession... calling Sombra a 'tool'. Fascinating...

She tried to say something... anything... but before she could, the stricken monarch pointed a hoof at the door. "Leave. Me. ALONE, Hope - we'll talk later, I pro-"

"Sombra, I-"

"We. Will talk. LATER." His voice sounded strained, tired... but firm.

She felt her throat tighten, the tears running down her muzzle as Hope walked calmly to the door and, with one last look back at her Soul Friend... she left, the throne room doors echoing their shuttering thump down the hall, like a death knell.

Hope just walked along slowly for a moment... then, she began to whisper to herself aloud. "... it could work... I would only need a small portion... just enough to register as a part of him..."

She then reached under her cloak and pulled out a twine-bound notebook that, when flipped open contained a number of notes, written clearly in Ancient Crystallian, that held the title at the top of 'Crystal Shard Simulacrum Spell'.

It was the spell! The one that created them all! She could possibly recreate Ruby with this! It was what she'd been dreaming of for-

~>O<~

"... CLEARWATERRRRRRRR! DISEMBARK FOR CLEARWATERRRRRRRR!" the conductor cried out as he stepped into the range of the open windows.

What? No! No no NO! It couldn't have been ten hours already - there was no way that such a short dream could take up this much time! In her desperation, Obsidian refused to open her eyes, doing everything she could to gather back the shattered remains of the dream.

"{Sister Obsidyan! Look at this place! It is soooooo preeettyyyy!}"

Nope - there it went. El poof.

"...fuck." It was always the same - always! She'd been so close to finding out the answers for a number of mysteries! And yet - as always - she was left with even more questions than she'd had before... Why? Why? WHYYYYY?!

When she finally did open her eyes, Diamond was standing up on the back of the seat, looking down at her with wide and excited eyes, with Pancho on his head suspended solely by the stallion's ears.

"{You must come and see this incredible sight! I am amazed at the incredible beauty of it - never have I beheld such wonder in a single place... thank you, thank you, THANK you for bringing me here! You are the Best Sister EVER!}" His cuteness might possibly save his life right now... possibly.

It must have been nice to maintain such innocence and enthusiasm to the world; it was likely connected to the fact that (Obsidian assumed) Diamond wasn't dreaming about Sombra and Hope's arguments.

"{Brother, do you ever dream of Radiant Hope?}" She managed to ask without groaning... well, without groaning too much. She managed to get to her hooves, begrudgingly ready to face whatever lie ahead. So long, sleep... it was nice visiting you.
Obsidian felt exceedingly groggy; it was like the world around her was filled with molasses, and she was trying to move through it.

Diamond's jovial mood faltered a bit, and he looked at her rather seriously. "{Obsidyan... we ALL dream of mother; it is the only thing we can do, as she is no longer with us.}"

"{I mean it quite literally, Diamond - dreaming of her memories. You don't have those?}" If she had been able to see just a bit more.... she didn't even have a chance to peek at the spell! Whatever force was sending these dreams to her, it was apparently somewhat sadistic. And why did Hope even have this spell; they were all created after she was gone. Did she actually manage to cast it?

Diamond looked at her for a solid minute without saying a word, his muzzle contemplative... then, he stood up and came around the seats to where she was, and hugged her. "{I have not, dear sister - my dreams are... different. Yet I am still sorry you are haunted by such things - please, may we speak more of this later? This is not a subject for public consumption, dear sister.}"

Of course, there was a chance that 'later' would be busy and they would forget about it, or something else would come up to distract them.

She returned the hug anyway. "Let's face the world, then," she mused with a tired voice.

What were you trying to do, Hope? What did you seek to achieve with such a spell? Was it just the result of your own foolishness, or did you have other possible motives?

When she stepped off the train, she was greeted by trees.... lots and lots and lots of trees.

Clearwater, apparently, was a quiet little forest town; it felt rustic and relaxed. There was a General Store, the town hall, a row of other shops, a diner by the name of 'Flo-Jo's', and a few other non-descript buildings, and they were all arranged to give the entire town a very centered feel.

And trees, HUGE ones, bordered the entire town almost like a fence - she couldn't see anything past them except the sky directly above, and the tall shadow of Mount Arris to the southwest. There were very few ponies walking around here; most of them looked to be in the middle of shopping, so not much attention was paid to the newcomers.

Clap gave a few flaps to get above the town proper, looked around a bit, then glanced down at her friends. "The entire town's surrounded by trees - and they're thicker than the Everfree!"

Towards the center of town, there was a large, gaily-colored tent standing there, with what looked to be a somewhat small crowd gathered inside. The sign outside proclaimed:

[BROTHER CREEDENCE'S FAITH REVIVAL! Behold the power of CELESTIA!]

"Uh-oh," Cup said, "I think this might be one of those 'Celestia Is Our Holy Goddess' types - so I'm not sure if we should involve ourselves there or not... those folks can be a little... well, weird." If CUPCAKE was calling them weird...

"Well, I'm not sure about her 'holiness'... but she is pretty great, though," Obsidian mused, looking around to get a better idea of the surroundings. So many trees... didn't they have any industry here? There were plenty of resources around; either they were saving them for later, or... or... eh, well, maybe they just really liked trees?

Mica looked around and gave a slight nod. "Well, we're here - now we just need to find way to Ditch's Grove. Let's not waste too much time with sightseeing."

Well, Obsidian could use a good meal... but they were in hurry, the earth pony was right.

Passing the tent, the lot of them made their way down the street to the General Store; Mica further rationalized that, if anyone would know where to look for something local, the store ponies would possibly have the best chance of knowing whom they could ask. That in mind, they chose to go into the building with the sign outside proclaiming it to be the 'General Store'.

The shop's door had a bell over it that dinged merrily as they stepped inside. There were shelves upon shelves of merchandise, from seed to feed, and just about everything in between. Behind the counter was... well, Obsidian wasn't exactly sure. It looked a bit like a cat, but it was standing upright, using it's paws to write out what seemed to be an inventory list of what was on the shelves behind them.

Another unknown species she hadn't met yet? Oooh, how interesting! It looked like a cat, but only in the same way that Gypsy looked like a dog. At first, she wanted to trot straight up to the counter, but then decided against it and grabbed something to eat from a shelf - soda crackers packaged with a small block of cheese. After a ten-hour-long train ride, she was certainly feeling a little hungry. Only then, with her purchase in hoof, did she approach the big cat.

The feline didn't even look up from the pad. "Hiya, dere - howyadoin'? You're new in town, 'cause I ain't seen the likesa you in here before, don't ya know? Wonderin' what'cher lookin' for, in a quiet lil' burg like Clearwater, now..."

By Darkness... ACCENTS. "We're looking for someone who could guide us to Ditch's Grove, and possibly tell us about the recent forest fires around here." She didn't want to prolong this interrogation any further than she had to. She took out her purse to pay for the food, simply waiting to be told how much it would be.

The cat-thing's eyes widened. "Oh, well now... you're gonna have yerself a hard time with dat one, don'cha know? Ditch's Grove's been abuzz with activity lately, ya see? That, and mosta the folks around here, why they don't want no trouble, nosirree - and that stuff with the Royal Guards? Oh, you'll havva hard time with that one, I'm afraid, there."

Then, a look crossed the cat's features, and she gave a friendly smirk. "O'course, if you might be tempted ta, oh I dunno, maybe buy a lil' somethin' somethin' more, I might be able to tell ya where you can find a body'll take ya out to the Grove, sure. Perhaps, even."

Obsidian looked at her food - this wasn't enough? Well, she always could buy something else for later... and for the rest of her friends, as they were probably hungry as well. She turned around and once again trotted over to the shelves to find more foodstuffs.

A bit more food on the counter later, and the cat smiled approvingly. "Okie dokie, there - since you're bein' so generous and all, I can tell ya that nobody in this whole entire town can get you ta Ditch's Grove, on accounta they're bein' spooked and all, don'cha know?"

Clap rolled her eyes and sighed. "GREAT. Now we'll never-"

"Now, wait, whoa, hold yer ponies there, now..." the cat-lady said with a friendly smirk, "I said nobody in town... but, if ya go south outta town, turn up the muddiest dirt road yah ever seen, an' keep following it 'til ya find the big ol' field o' red flowers - that's where you'll find th' only one around here dat's crazy enough to do somethin' like whatcha want, okay?"

"Do they have a name?" Mica asked directly.

"Oh, sure, yah." The cat glanced around the store a bit, then leaned in closely, lowering her voice to a purr. "Her name's Humble - Humble Pie."

Cupcake's sudden grin went from ear to ear.

Well that was a rather familiar name, wasn't it? Obsidian peeked at Cup, then gave a glance to Mica; so she was going to accidentially attend a small Pie family reunion, eh? "Thank you for your cooperation, miss. The muddiest path, you say?" She would most likely need a bath afterwards. "Good thing you made so many cookies, Cupcake - tell me, is this your aunt? Cousin, perhaps?" she tried to guess while she paid for her current purchases.

"Third cousin, twice removed," he answered happily, "and she's LOADS of fun! A little rough around the edges, but a good mare!"

The cat lifted an eyebrow... but made no protests as they rang up the sale, took the pay and bagged the foodstuffs in paper sacks. "Okay, there... hope ya find whatcher lookin' for, don'cha know? Best o' luck to ya, there! And come back and see us sometime - we can always use the company, not ta mention the sales, ya know?"

Back on the street, Diamond and Gypsy both were transfixed by the sights of all the trees surrounding the township... and a few of the locals were now paying a bit more attention to them, as well. At the huge tent, there was a group of nicely-dressed ponies gathered outside; a number of them were now looking at her group with some degree of curiosity - they seemed to especially have eyes for the small stallion and the lanky diamond dog.

Loads of fun? Rough around the edges? Oh, it was going to be interesting, that much was certain. Luckily, it was for their own good - they needed a guide, and Obsidian needed to get used to the Pies as much as possible - after all, she was planning to marry into their family.

Though come to think of it, 'Obsidian Pie' didn't sound very good... OR appetizing.

"This cat-lady was quite nice... a bit of a strange accent, though," she mentioned off-hoofedly.

Gypsy nodded. "Felinicans, y-yes - our two races did n-not get along for quite some time, yet they have amended their differences in the last f-fifty years. They are a proud and intelligent people, and are r-responsible for much of the f-fine fabrics available to Equestria in m-modern times."

Diamond spoke up softly to his sister. "{Obsidyan... those ponies are staring at us.}"

From over in the direction of the tent, there was now a group standing in a circle; in the middle was what looked to be a stallion in his late middle-age, wearing a white knit sweater and a white fedora hat. He most certainly was looking at them, but the look was indecypherable - she couldn't tell if he was curious or suspicious or what...

So they lived like cats and dogs in Harmony, eh? That was the correct saying, right?

"{Diamond, as long as he doesn't work for Aqua, I don't think there's any reason to be worried about them,}" she stated as she dismissed her brother's concern. He'd spent most of his life within the Empire, and didn't know very much about the Modern World - of course he'd be surprised that somepony could stare at them without any sort of reason.

The stallion and the folks surrounding him watched them all walk past them in silence... but one of the smaller ponies in the group - a pegasus - gave a shy wave to them before they all went inside the tent as a group.

Clap shivered. "Ugh... Creepytown."

Reaching the southern end of town (thanks to Thunderclap, they didn't need a compass), it was only a five minute walk before they came across what looked like a path that was made of nothing but slick, wet and very red mud.

"I have a feeling this might be the dirt road that was mentioned," Mica deadpanned.

They'd faced Umbrals, curses, Nightmare Spells, Sombra himself and eye-bleeding fashion - and Clap considered some ponies who were merely staring at them to be creepy? Obsidian thought the pegasus was able to keep her composure better than that. Well, it was certainly a good thing she didn't wear any fancy clothes this time. And why was this dirt so red? Was the mud mixed with blood or what?

"I don't see anything muddier, so... shall we press onward?" she sighed quietly. Her previous thoughts returned with a vengeance; they'd faced so much already, so there was little point in fussing about a splash or two of mud.

The path was exceedingly slippery due to the mud, and it actually slowed them down considerably - however, after two hours and many slips and falls into the wet dirt, they finally reached the top of the ridge they'd been walking along next to.

Reaching the other side of the ridge, Diamond gasped in awe. Down the steep slope was a field, nestled in a bowl plateau, with some of the most vividly RED flowers she'd ever seen in her entire life. There looked to be THOUSANDS of them, grown and healthy, looking like something taken straight out of a Whistlewhite painting.

At the far back of the plateau, there was what looked to be a rickety, rattletrap house that was leaning precariously over the cliff's edge, seeming to hang out over nothing but a drop... and from the look of the 'foundation', it almost appeared as if it would collapse down the mountainside if you just looked at it wrong.

"{It's beauuuuuuutifuuuuuullllll...}" Diamond gushed. Honestly? With the field of flowers, the hoofmade home, and the breathtaking view down the rest of the mountain from here... it sorta was.

By Darkness, two hours, though! Two long, mud-filled hours! She had started to doubt if this had been the right way - after all, who would live that far from the township? Unless Humble Pie was a pegasus...

Ugh. Hopefully, Ditch's Grove was close to this field; Obsidian REALLY didn't want to have to go all the way back... especially through all that thick, cakey mud. She was just happy that Diamond didn't drown in it.

"Indeed, it is," she agreed with an exhausted sigh. How in the world was Diamond able to stay so cheerful and happy through all of this? The landscape in front of them was great... but there was just a bit too much of said landscape on her hooves, coat, mane and tail to enjoy it as much as he apparently was. He was an artist, of course - it seemed he appreciated things like that far more than she did.

Mica sighed. "At least it's not more mud - I don't think I could deal with any more mud."
"OR bugs," Clap said as she swatted at the gnats around her.
"Or s-st-s-strange scents," Gypsy said, sniffing at the air.
"Or walking," Cup said as he shook out his hooves, one at a time.
"Or tresspassers," said a new voice from behind them.

"Or wasting time... wait." Siddy blinked. "We didn't meet up with any tresspassers..."

Obsidian suddenly realized with a start that there was one pony too many here among them. Somepony had managed to sneak up on them; had Stalwart been here, it would have been impossible! One MORE reason she was sorely missed. Obsidian looked behind the group, an expression of mild surprise on her muddy muzzle.

Standing there was a mare who looked like she meant business. Her wild orange mane looked like it meant business, her wicked smirk meant business, her tall, thin but wiry build meant business, her ratty green jacket meant business, her slick yellow eyes meant business...

But mostly, the large, cobbled-together-looking party cannon aimed at all of them looked like it meant business.

"Hoi," the mare said, "I'mma give you ten seconds ta give me a good reason as t'why you're on mah property... an' then, 'Ol' Crackpot' here's gonna turn ya into a fine red mist, ESPECIALLY if you're revenuers of any sort." She pointed a scuffed and unkempt hoof at them all. "And don'chu lie ta me - I can smell lies..."

Cupcake, however, smiled broadly. "Cousin Humble!"

The mare squinted at Cup for a moment, then her muzzle lit up like a Hearthswarming Tree. "Well, slap mah flank and call me 'Bugaboo'! Cupcake Albert Sprinkles! How you been, you ol' crazy kook?"

Cup and Humble ran to each other, embraced, then stepped back and they both engaged in a rapid series of complex hoofbumps, then laughed as if they'd just made a grand joke. "Ain'choo a sight fer sore eyes! Whut, they your friends here, Cuppers?" She looked them all over in turn.

"Eeyup! But this one," he pointed at Siddy, "is also my marefriend!"

Humble lifted a bushy eyebrow and gave Obsidian a look over. "Well, she sure is a sleek an' sassy lil' number, I give ya that!"

"Yeah!" Cup went on, "and this is Mica, Thunderclap, Gypsy and Diamond!"

Diamond bowed. "{I am pleased to meet you, o Wild Mare of Cleared Waters; your home is beautiful!}"

Humble furrowed her brow at Diamond, then looked at the others unsurely. "He ain't, eh... 'touched in the head', izzy? I dunno about dealin' with pones like that... but he shore is a CUTE lil' fellah!"

By Darkness, ACCENTS!!! How in Tartarus was it possible that in one single country - in one single FAMILY - ponies could speak so differently? Luckily, the party cannon spoke for itself. Obsidian felt rather weary of threats - including how this mare had outright threatened to murder them.

Some happy family, eh?

"He can't speak Equestrian; he said he finds your home to be quite beautiful. A pleasure to meet you, miss Humble." Damnation, they were just a bunch of tired teenagers; threatening them with a quick execution was utter overkill - completely unnecessary.

Humble chuckled. "Eh, it's a decent place - long as I can protect m'poppies, I'm fine with it. Say, you folks seem tuckered out a mite - here, why don't we take this indoors, alright?" As she passed Diamond, she touseled his mane. "And youre right nice for noticin' the pretty place here - thank ya kindly, lil' fella."

Diamond smiled. "{She likes me! Do I have another new friend now?}"

Humble led the way toward the rickety-looking shack at the far end. "Come on, now - don't dally in the poppies none, or I promise ya, you'll be soooooo-reeeeee..."

Cup lifted an eyebrow at her laugh, but Mica's eyebrows soared. "Did..." the earth pony asked hesitantly, "... did she say... poppies?"

"She did," Obsidian confirmed. Did Mica have trouble understanding her? Maybe he had issues with accents too. "Say, Mica - isn't she your cousin as well?" If Cup and Mica were cousins, and Humble was Cup's cousin three times removed... unless they were somehow related through Cheese Sandwich... family math was hard.

Mica stared at the flowers a bit more... then hurriedly began to make his way to the house, avoiding them distinctly. "Everyone, get away from those flowers, NOW."

Clap looked at the fields. "But they're pretty... and I kinda wondered what they smelled li-"

"NO," Mica said quickly, "No. Sniffing. The FLOWERS, Clap."

She scratched her head, then shrugged and headed for the rickety house. Gypsy and Diamond whispered to each other a bit, then followed along as well. Cup looked at Obsidian and smiled. "Well, Ditch's Grove, here we come!"

She was sure he'd explain himself later - for now, less asking, more getting away from the flowers; Obsidian was too savvy to disregard Mica's advice. "Yes, here we come," she agreed. "I hope we'll also find a moment to scrub this mud off our fur, though."

Outside of the rusty shackhouse, there was a rickety table and chair set, all underneath the most patchworked umbrella she'd ever laid eyes on... however, it kept the sun perfectly off the table and its' seats.

Humble motioned to the chairs. "Have a sit, take a load off, an' let me go grab some tea for you folks - y'gotta be thirsty after a trek like that... betcha you came all the way from Clearwater, 'zat right?"

"Yup yup yup!" Cup said brightly, "It was a nifty town! They had a cat in the General Store, and a biiiiiig tent, and trees all over the place!"

Humble nodded. "Welp, the trees've always been here - they got a right to th' place afore WE do - an' that cat's name is Yowler; she's sweet, but she can be a bit of a slick one when it comes ta sellin' stuff. As fer the tent..."

She gave a huff of a sigh. "That there's the work o' Blessed Creedence, the local Celly Preacher. He's always about 'Celestia this', and 'Celestia that'; personally, I don't see why he's so gung-ho 'bout a retired mare over in Silver Shores... but ain't my poppies, ain't my 'shine."

"Shine?" Mica inquired. "As in, 'moonshine'?"

"I didn't hear that, sonny," Humble said with a pitched warning in her voice, "because the law says I can't do that n'more - so I can't DO that n'more..." She then gave a smirk. "But, yer right on the money, Mister Chip. It's how I make mah living - even though I don't do it, got me?"

Obsidian felt that she wasn't getting the context of this story - the place looked nice and well-cared for, even if it seemed that everything had been repaired at least a thousand times already. "So what are poppies and moonshine?" she asked innocently.

"GIH!" Humble said, then she glowered at Obsidian a moment before speaking slowly. "You havin' sport with me, City Filly?"

Cup raised his hooves to ward off any further reaction. "No, no, Humble! She really doesn't know what those are - she's asking because she wants an explanation, I promise!"

Humble looked at her for a moment... then shrugged. "All right, then - Moonshine, Miss Siddy, is a drink made with just the right mix of stuff, an' drinkin' it makes you feel WHOOOO-DAWGIEES like you could beat up the entire Dragon Nation by yerself! It makes you feel invinced-ible, an' you can take any pain or live through any disaster widdit!"

"Actually," Mica cut in, "it's an alcoholic-type beverage, and it intoxicates you... and in the case of Moonshine itself, it's usually RATHER potent."

"HA!" Humble guffawed, "That's one way o' puttin' it - another way's how the sheriff came down on m'head, on accounta some local fools drank theyselves blind fer a day or two... ain't MY fault they didn't lissen when I said to take it easy on the jug, ya know?"

"And those red flowers outside are poppies," Mica went on, "they put out a pollen that can be used to make painkillers... and other numbing agents."

"Like 'Shine!" Humble cackled.

Mica stared at her. "You make your moonshine... out of poppies?"

Humble grinned at him. "Betcher last acorn, I do!" she said proudly.

Mica visibly balked, his eyes practically bugging out of his head in disbelief.

At first, Obsidian's eyes practically glowed with interest - the idea of a magical potion that could be quite useful in a fight was exceedigly alluring... but sadly, Mica ruined everything with the truth. "So... Humble's Poppy Moonshine is an alcoholic painkiller?" she tried to guess.

Humble winked at her. "Somethin' like that, eeyup." She went inside the place, and they could all hear it creaking and groaning as if it would fall down the mountainside at any moment. Eventually, she returned with some old-looking glass jars and a pitcher of brownish liquid.

"Arright, now," Humbla said as she poured the brownish fluid into each of the jars and passed them to the others, "I'm pretty sure you folk didn't come alla way out t'mah little shack ta chitter-chatter at me; why'd ya'll make your way up here in the first place?"

Obsidian really didn't know too much about alcohol, except that it made ponies feel strange... perhaps she should try it sometime? "We need to get to Ditch's Grove; Yowler told us you know the way, and could possibly take us there."

"Ditch's Grove?" Humble mused, "Sure, I can take ya there - y'know it's haunted, right?"

Cup's eyes went wide. "H-h-h-haunted?"

"Yassir," Humble grinned as she sipped some of the liquid from the pitcher directly, "been haunted for close onta fifty years or so. Mean sunuvagun too - been causing all sortsa problems fer trading folks passing through. That's why most take the train ta Clearwater, and not the roads."

"Interesting... and y-you would still t-t-take us there?" Gypsy asked as Diamond tasted his drink, stared at it in disbelief, then commenced gulping down the rest of it in a single go.

"Sure she would!" Cup smiled. "She's awesome when it comes to kicking flank, so she's not afraid of anything like that, are you?"

Humble chuckled. "Aw, I ain't really alla that big uvva deal, now... but I ain't 'fraid o' no ghost."

"Hmmmm - I think that may be connected with our reason for coming in the first place," Obsidian admitted. Mean and isolated? It had to be Aquamarine.... but had he really been sitting here in Clearwater for fifty years? That's... a long time. "Were there any problems with fires and explosions before?" she asked attentively.

Humble looked at her carefully. "Well, now... maybe we've got ourselves a detective here, right? Seems like you already got a grip on some things goin' on around here." She then nodded in confirmation. "Yaz'm - little pops all the way up to big ol' kablooeys. O'course, nobody got hurt TOO bad, but that didn't mean folks weren't spooked by it a mite."

She then looked as if she was pondering. "Honest, though... them booms stopped happenin' almost, what, two or three years back... and then, outta nowhere, there's bangs in the woods, then there's a fire." She shrugged. "O' course, I arredy checked it out - weren't nothing but a big ol' bonfire, ta me. Cleared back from the treeline and ever'thing; wasn't spreadin', and wasn't hurtin' nobody. Had the townsfolks spooked, though - they sent off ta Princess Twilight fer some help, 'cause they think the big, bad ghost is back."

"Unfortunately, that certainly sounds like my brother as far as I'm concerned. It means we have to quickly get to him and talk with Lemon and his guards to try to come back to Ponyville without bloodshed." Hopefully it would be that easy - she sincerely doubted it, though. "How far away is this grove from your home here?"

"Lemon? Lemon Custard?" Humble chuckled. "Cuppers, if your brother's here ta catch the ghost, you might wanna go back 'im up on that one." She then looked at Siddy. "'Bout a twenny minute walk from here, give 'r take a step."

Clap looked at her. "If it's that close, could you go ahead and take us there? Please?"

Humble grinned. "Sure 'nuff - any friends o' Cupcake's a friend o' mine; I'd be happy as a pig in a wallow to take ya there, arright? Just say the word."

"Yes, let's go head and make our way there already - we'll clean ourselves off after a stunning victory over any miscreant revenant plaguing these fair lands." Berserker... but if he was there for so long, why did he start the destruction again? Did he feel Onyx's presence or Amber's control?

Humble shrugged as if it were no big deal, then turned and began to trot lightly along the path through the middle of the poppy field. "Arrite then - folla me, and we'll get there lickety-split! Just try ta keep up, okie dokie lokie?" She headed blithely down the pathway towards the edge of the woods, where their own muddy path had led them.

Wll, so long as they didn't sniff the flowers or drown in the excessive mud, everything would be fine. "Okay everyone," she said while getting up, "it's time to save Lemon."

The lot of them, muddy and a bit grumbly, all fell into step behind Humble, who kept an even pace for her stride - which was good on flat areas, as she was easy to keep up with... but when she could maintain the same pace over roots, around rocks and through the mud, she sometimes had to wait for the others to catch up.

The only one who wasn't really affected much was Thunderclap, who had taken hold of Diamond and was arrying him along, with many squeals and giggles of delight coming from the stallion. "{Obsidyan! I AM FLYING!}" he called out to her, though they were only about ten stones off the ground.

"I don't know what he said," Clap grinned, "but I'll bet it has to do with flying being awesome!"

Sure enough, after only a few minutes they reached what looked like a clearing around a thick copse of woods - they couldn't even see through the treeline at all. At the far end, Obsidian could make out what looked like tents - one of which was bearing the coat of arms for the Equestrian Royal Guard.

Twenty minutes? Right - maybe for mountain goats or pegasi... because there was no possible chance that an average pony could get through this place so quickly. The more Obsidian found close contact with nature, the less she liked it; cities at least were cleaner than this. But luckily, they eventually managed to come across the familiar presence of the Royal Guard.

"Oh, thank Darkness," she muttered under her breath.

Reaching the campsite, the two guards seated at the small firepit both stood up, pikes at the ready. "HALT!" said one of them, "Who goes-"

Humble moved like greased lightning, closed the distance rapidly, and became a flurry of movement before she was standing right behind the guards, their pikes stuck in the ground behind her, each one now holding a thin and unimposing twig.

"'Nuff o' that," Humble said smoothly, "We're not here ta bring problems - we're here ta bring solutions!"

One of the guards looked at the oncoming group and sighed with relief. "It's okay, Barrel - it's Lady Siddy; we're safe."

The other guard eyeballed Humble for a moment, then turned to the rest and saluted. "Ma'am - we were told you'd be coming, and to expect you. Sorry about the jumpiness, but we've had all sorts of problems since we got here. But I'm pleased to report that Lemon Custard and Hard Looker have managed to locate the closest source of the problem, and are currently doing recon on the location."

Humble looked at them, then back at Siddy's group. "Wait - you folks are here from Princess Twilight, too? You really need THIS many ta deal with a single ghostie?"

The guard referred to as Barrel spoke up. "Ma'am, with all due respect - the way it destroyed our cart, I'd say we're in for a Tartarus of a fight."

Sometimes it's good to have a proper reputation that allows you to be immediately recognized - even when appearing in the middle of nowhere covered in mud and sweat. Compared to the luxuries she'd experienced in Manehattan, this place was terrible. As far as she could say, her opinion about nature was steadily getting worse with each passing second.

However, the news from the guards was hardly pleasant either; apparently they were already attacked and lost a cart... and Lemon decided it would be a good idea to go on recon? Gah! They came here to help him - he could at least sit down and wait for them!

"It's not a 'ghostie', Miss Humble... I'm afraid it could be my brother, a rather nasty creation of Sombra's magic. He won't be an easy target," Obsidian scratched her chin. This wasn't going to be easy. "Where did Lemon go? Is it far from here?"

Humble's eyes slowly widened as her mind put two and two together... "Wait... doezzat mean you're a chile o' Sombra?" ... and she didn't seem to like the four she got.

"Humble, hold on," Cup held up a hoof to stop her, "let me explain - she's a HERO in Ponyville, and she actually fought against her father! We ALL did!" Clap, Mica and Gypsy nodded... wait...

WAIT...

One, two, three, four, five... oh sweet Darkness, where was Diamond?

"Clap, where's Diamond?" Obsidian spoke up, the tension in her voice palpable.

Clap looked at her. "I set him down, he was..." She looked around. Mica began looking as well, but Gypsy simply sniffed the air... and, with a soft whimper, he pointed towards the thick copse of trees.

"DAMNATION!" Siddy growled... then gave a resigned sigh. "Let's go, then - quickly."

Why did he go in there on his own? He didn't even say anything to them - not a single word! Why, Diamond, WHY?!

The guards looked as if they wanted to tell them to stop... but this was Obsidian, or as Stalwart called her, 'Lady Siddy'; they had heard so much about the unicorn from Wart's stories that she actually had a bit of a reputation among the Royal Guard. They didn't feel like they had the right to stop her.

Gypsy got down on all fours and began to track the scent, Clap staying in the air only a few stones off the ground, Cup and Mica taking the sides as they searched. The copse of trees were all bunched together - as if they'd been planted that way. But this close to them, they could slip between the massive trunks and work their way inside. In the treeline, it was dark and foreboding, and felt as if they were slowly headed towards certain doom...

"Gypsy, stay vigilant; I'd prefer to avoid any surprise attacks," she said quietly, carefully looking around. She had no experience with forests, so she didn't notice anything very different about the trees they slowly started to slip between. However, she was on guard - Aquamarine was here, somewhere...

Who knew how long he'd been living here; he probably knew a lot about this place, which included possible chokepoints and other areas of strategical value. Why did Diamond leave? Did he possibly notice their brother and went to meet with him?

Only a few minutes passed before Gypsy suddenly stood bolt upright, a look of pure alarm on his features. "Th-th-this one s-sm-smells... ch-charred flesh..."

Cupcake looked somewhere between fainting and exploding, but Thunderclap landed behind him and placed her hooves on his shoulders. "Cuppie, it's OH-KAY; chill out..."

Gypsy snuffled around a bit, then made a sound that may or may not have been a short 'woof' before galloping on all fours in a single direction. Clap was right behind him, and everyone else followed suit.

At length, they reached a smaller, more precisely edged clearing with what looked like the foundation of a watch tower... but it was burnt to an absolute crisp. From what she could see, all that remained were the foundation borders; they were blackened wood. And the wrapped block of char in the center... it looked like it had once been some sort of blanket or quilt, as it had been durable cloth; now, having been wrapped around something and set ablaze, it looked like a leftover charcoal briquette after the big pineapple roast.

The sinking feeling inside Obsidian sunk lower as her diligent mind pointed out how the block of char was about the same size as a pony would be...

It had been a while since Obsidian felt like this; not even being in Quartz's mercy made her as self-conscious about her surroundings and the fragility of her life as the words spoken by Gypsy, the smell of char, the sight in front of them...

Obsidian's horn flashed as she cast a shield spell - it had worked on Tourmaline's spells, so perhaps it would work this time too.

"I'm going in... the rest of you, stay here and cover me," she said as calmly as possible in this situation - as she carefully started to approach. Damnation, she could feel her stomach getting way too close her throat.

She reached the foundation... and her hoof bumped something. Looking down, Obsidian saw a small flower vase, hoofmade, with the remains of a flower of some sort in it. Next to that was a small stone, carefully carved into the shape of a heart, and what looked to be a pair of spectacles, cracked and old.

Wood, arranged and burnt... vase... heart-shaped rock... glasses... It came home to Siddy slowly, but firmly - this wasn't a disaster scene; these were the remains of a funeral pyre.

At first, Obsidian's heart stopped cold - but she forced herself to calm down. Lemon's glasses didn't look like that; the style of glasses he wore were more modern, and these glasses looked like they may have been in style a few decades ago... possibly even authentic glasses from that period in time!

No, these weren't Lemon's glasses - they were someone else's. But that raised a few questions as well: who was this, then? Why in the middle of the woods like this? And who would do something like this?

Clap and Mica were standing close, almost back to back while Cup kept his eyes on Obsidian, and Gypsy sniffed at the air, occasionally following his nose to a different area. The diamond dog eventually sniffed his way towards the snuffed pyre, and was about halfway between the group and the pyre when one of thr trees next to him simply exploded.

The wooden shrapnel flew outwards from it, and the sheer force of it sent the dog reeling to the ground. He held his muzzle and whimpered, but he didn't seem to be badly injured - though the rest of the group went right to him, of course.

"GET AWAY FROM MY WIFE. NOW." The words came at Obsidian from beyond the treeline; the voice that used them sounded like gravel being ground roughly together.

Author's Notes:

And so - the 'argument' referred to earlier by Amy is revealed. From here, Hope supposedy disappeared shortly after this - and only the slightest hint as to what's in store next. Don't worry - you'll all get your answers, I promise you.

For those of you who caught the Classic Rock reference, you're welcome. For those who didn't, it has to do with the town, the tent and the preacher. N-joi.

Felinicans, yes - because why not? I worked with a single appearance for diamond dogs, so why should they be any different? World Expansion is something I feel was woefully ignored when it came to these groups; I simply did so here, to make up for it.

Humble Pie - most certainly crazy, but fun to write for... even with the horrific and extensive accent. Hopefully it's not so thick that you folks can't read it - text flavoring is one thing; having to engage in cryptology to translate it is completely another.

Poppies made from Moonshine... to clarify Mica's reaction, poppies on Earth tend to be used to make Opium, among other things. And Humble makes LIQUOR out of them. *shivers* I'm STILL not sure I'd ever try Poppy Moonshine myself, in all honesty.

Fifty: Introducing Aquamarine

The sheer relief that Obsidian felt over the fact that Lemon wasn't captured and burned was impossible to put into words... after all, considering some of the tendencies for sadism that she'd seen among her siblings, it could have happened - they may have done so while he was still conscious, as well.

Luckily, the mood quickly changed, forcing her to once again estabilish a connection with reality.

"Step away from the pyre!" she commanded quickly, remembering what she was told about berserkers. Gypsy... well, her brother hadn't been trying to hit him, it seemed - otherwise he would have been turned into dog soup.

Wife... that could explain quite a lot. "... Aquamarine? Is that you?" She decided to take a risk - especially as she had her shield spell up and active.

Silence lie over the entire scene for all of a moment. Then... "How do you know that name?" came a quiet, serious growl.

The treeline parted, and what stepped out and made a slow, deliberate beeline for her was... not what she'd expected.

The stallon was OLD; his coat, covered with scars and worn patches, was almost white with age - and his mane was white... if you could have called the mass of clumpy dreadlocks surrounding his head a mane.

From the look of him, he had to be pushing at least eighty summers, and he had the knobby knees, wrinked skin and squinting eyes that the elderly get when they reach their twilight years. He looked very, very little like the strong-looking and powerful brother in her drawing.

However, he strode forward with not only confidence, but without a single sign of hesitation or elderly gentility; he looked like he was ancient, but he moved like he was no older than Siddy herself. His blue-green eyes were blazing as he stormed over to her, intently staring holes into her brain.

"How do you know that name?" He didn't stop, getting right up in her face and getting muzzle to muzzle with her. "YOU WILL TELL ME NOW WHERE YOU LEARNED THAT NAME!" he screamed at her with a voice like a lion's roar.

By Darkness... he was ancient, but it didn't change the fact that he still looked dangerous. He was simply emanating raw power, even when he was just trotting up to her - and then, somehow, he became even more dominant when he opened his mouth.

By Darkness! Obsidian had to force herself to stay calm - how many things that she'd learned about him would be useful now? He could have possibly changed a lot during his time beyond the prison of his shard. In fact, how did he manage to escape it?

"Diamond and Amethyst informed me of you, my brother," she said as she decided to take the most honest and blunt response - she preferred not to mention Onyx just yet.

His eyes widened... and his horn began to glow as he stepped back from her. "So, Onyx... you fool... coming here will be your LAST mistake! Your illusions are much more accomplished since last we met - unless you're still using Tourmaline for your dirty work!" He then gave a rather feral smile - the smile of a berserker.

Oh shit! Obsidian stepped back instinctively; she'd seen many dangerous beasts in her time, but this one was one of the most disturbing she had ever met!

"NO NO NO, I'M NOT ONYX - I'M OBSIDIAN, YOUR LOST SISTER!" she exclaimed in hurry.

The beast inside his eyes... hesitated. "You're... you're who? Wait," he blinked, "... you're real!?"

It was only a moment's hesitation, and he was still in an offensive stance... but the next words didn't come from him:

"HALT IN THE NAME OF PRINCESS TWILIGHT!"
"LOOKER! NO, YOU FOOL!"

And from the other side of the treeline, a Royal Guard charged in at the old stallion with blinding pegasus speed, slamming into him and knocking the old stallion off his hooves... and directly onto the charred remains on the ground, which collapsed into ash beneath his body.

"YOU SHALL CEASE AND DESIST, NOW!" shouted the guardpony.

From where he'd come from, Lemon Custard ran out at them, anger writ large on his muzzle. "YOU IDIOT! OBSIDIAN HAD THIS!" he screamed at the guard, "INSUBORDINATION!"

But that wasn't the guard's biggest concern right now.

The old stallion looked at what he was laying on... and a bright red mist pulsed from his eye sockets.

"You... YOU... {YOU SHALL ALL DIE FOR THIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSS!!!}" he screamed in an actual Royal Crystal Voice that rolled out from him in perfect Crystallian, and with a roar that dwarfed a hydra's, his horn suddenly burst forth with tendrils of pulsing bright red energy which sparked flames when they touched the ground, the surrounding trees, the debris of the pyre...

And Hard Looker, as three of them slammed into him with the force of a speeding train. There was a sound as if someone had stomped on a bed of crystal - a horrific multiple cracking sound - as the rather limp and rag-dolled form of the guard went sailing into a tree, the trunk of it bending over him from the impact as he smouldered.

The elder pony roared, and the tendrils lashed around him furiously, enraged beyond consolance. The rest of her group leapt back, except for two - Gypsy, who dove into the ground, and Cupcake, who was standing right beside her.

"Now what do we do?" he said to her as he watched the raging berserker, who seemed to be attacking the very ground... until he turned to face Mica and Thunderclap.

"Uh-oh," murmured Mica.

Just how hard is it to NOT throw an elderly pony on top of the ashes of his dead wife? It actually should be an outright simple concept! After all, she was merely talking with an old pony - why would anypony get the idea of 'hey, let's attack him while he's chatting, ruining what was obviously the most important thing in his entire life'?

The most obvious answer for Cupcake's question was 'we die'; even if they outright attacked the guard in retaliation, it wouldn't change anything now. Anypony who had the nerve to have attacked Sombra wasn't going to care about details like that. Still, Obsidian wanted to personally finish off the complete idiot who had effectively destroyed her sister-in-law's pyre.

"CLAP! GRAB MICA AND FLY AWAY! CUP, GET TO LEMON!" Damnation, she was going to die in a horrible way...

"HERE, AQUAMARINE! HERE!" She waved her forelegs at him, and was actually stupid enough to use her magic to throw a small rock at him. At least she knew that old Displacement Spell that projected her a bit to the side, courtesy of Onyx's writings. It could possibly buy her some time if he attacked her.

Clap moved so fast, her rude mother would have been so proud; grabbing Mica by, of all things, his braided tail, she took off straight up... but not before a tendril lashed out at them and juuuuuuust barely managed to slap Mica's left rear hoof.

Mica Chip screamed, and the natural keratin shoe of his hoof shattered like glass, leaving the bottom of his hindleg dripping blood.

Aquamarine's eyes continued to follow them aloft... until Siddy threw the rock. It never reached him; as if by reflex alone, a red tendril slapped at it, turning it into powdery chunks that left divots in the ground. Now, his eyes - as dark as a shark's - were focused on HER.

Without a humorous joke, nor a quip, nor even a twitch, the elder stallion just seemed to throw himself towards her, screaming like a lunatic in a voice that was FAR too powerful for such an aged form, blaringly red tentacles leaving flaming black furrows where they slid along the ground during their writhing, twisting dance around the old stallion's horn.

Aquamarine - if he was this bad now, Obsidian could finally appreciate why Amethyst had warned her so stringently.
But Obsidian could understand his anger; after all, she loved another pony as well - and would be enraged beyond all capacity for self-control if anyone would ruin Cup's funeral pyre or tomb.

However, it also meant she was able to share that anger, to feel a similar fury like he did - though subdued by the subtle feeling that she was going to die soon... but then he hurt Mica, who had done nothing to him.

And that made Obsidian very unhappy.

She could fight him here... she could die here, obviously... but even if her fight against him went badly, IT... WOULD... BE... INTERESTING!

As he lashed out at her with one of the glowing tendrils, she quickly evaded with the help of Onyx's spell, then immediately went with her own counterattack - shooting a bolt of Dark Magic directly at the elder pony. She had to either keep him busy long enough for the rest to escape... or defeat him.

Both options were good and worked for her - especially as, for the first time in some time, Obsidian's own eyes were actually seeping a bit of purple smoke themselves.

Her bolt struck true, and it struck hard; a flap of flesh and coat peeled back from the shot, and blood flew from the wound, the muscle underneath revealed. It was a good, solid hit, one that would have struck down a number of other ponies with a single shot...

It would have been nice if Aquamarine would have noticed it.

Locked into his berserker's frenzy, he didn't even register the blow - he simply brought a number of the red energy tentacles around and slung them at her, as if she had squirted him with a tiny water pistol. His eyes didn't even look sentient right now; twin black orbs with pinpricks of searing red in the center of each, pulsing in time to his rapid heartbeat.

Lemon Custard came into Obsidian's peripheral view, horn glowing and head down as Cupcake joined by his side. "Obsidian," he said evenly and quietly from next to her, "don't you think his horn looks a bit like a pencil?"

Meanwhile, Obsidian also took note of the bulging shape moving beneath the ground as a hill of dirt that was making a wide circle around the old stallion as he raged on. Cupcake simply pulled out a seltzer bottle, shook it rapidly, then pointed the nozzle at Aqua... and waited for his moment.

By Darkness, if Aquamarine hurt one more of her friends, Obsidian would simply decide to screw everything and conquer the world to rule it with an iron hoof and... wait, a pencil? What was he talking abou- oh, right. Pencil.

Obsidian evaded one more time - as far as she could tell, she did not want to be hit by Aqua's power - and focused on her brother's horn. Attacking another unicorn's horn was not an orthodox strategy, but Lemon apparently had a plan. She just had to keep her ancient brother in place long enough...

Grabbing his horn was like trying to take hold of a charging rhino; this was not a pencil! However, when she applied the sphere of pressure to it, she was rewarded with a roar of fury from Aqua as his head slowly came to a stop - and the rest of his forward momentum as well. It wouldn't hold for long, and the tentacles were thrashing about even more than before.

Lemon nodded at Cupcake; the moment had come. Cup sprayed a solid jet of seltzer water directly into Aquamarine's face. At alomst the exact moment it struck, Lemon's horn lit up, and a beam of yellow energy wrapped around the tentacles, tying them all together and wrapping around a few more times for good measure.

Aquamarine howled in pure insane rage, his voice hurting Obsidian's ears with how VIOLENT it was - as if he was nothing more than Fury Incarnate. He wasn't even using logic to-

That was it; Aqua wasn't purposely attacking anyone - he was completely out of control. It meant that his attack on Mica wasn't intentional... but it also meant he could hurt anyone, even those he loved. But, would that have included his wife, too?

However, before the thought could mull over further in her mind, she felt a surge of Dark Magic, and Aqua's horn began to overglow - and he was beginning to break free of her grip! The red ribbons of mist around his eyes began to turn a familiar shade of purple - one that matched her own. There was now no mistake; this was her brother.

Being enraged over death of a wife would be a good reason to just start destroying everything around him... and if he'd accidentally killed her himself, it would have probably made him even more furious. However, right now Obsidian had far, far more pressing issues - like calming an ancient, enraged berserker that was currently a bit tied up, but could still likely murder them all.

And right now, he was accumulating enough Dark Magic in his horn to turn this entire forest - them included - into cinders.

Obsidian did the first thing that came to her mind - she tried to levitate the carved heart-shaped stone in front of Aquamarine's vision. And if that wouldn't calm him down, she could always simply smack his horn with it; it was hard to use magic when your horn hurt like Tartarus.

Lemon began to grit his teeth in his struggle to hold the angry energy tentacles, and Cupcake stepped between her and Aqua out of pure instinct... but as soon as the heart-shaped stone floated up in front of him, he glared at it...

... and his face slowly softened from the rictus of fury it had been locked in, as he stared at it.

"I... I JUST WANTED... wanted..." Now, as the mist receded from his eyes, tears replaced them and began to pour freely down his cheeks.

"... I just wanted to lay my wife to rest..." The black in his eyes seemed to pull back into him, revealing his lovely aqua blue eyes as they began to cry, his muzzle going from enraged... to heartbroken.

Obsidian was too naive, stupid and kind-hearted for the kind of pony that she thought she was - that's why she decided to try another stupid thing and carefully approached Aqua. He was her brother... just in a murderous mood and far, far, FAR older. He deserved a hug and some condolences, right?

He slowly slumped down to his knobby, old knees and sat down in the mud, staring at the stone heart. Slowly, gingerly, he reached out and took it gently into his hooves and cradled it to his barrel as he shut his eyes and wept.

"... she... she was the only one... the only one in my life who truly wanted me..." he moaned in a voice that sounded as old as he truly was.

There was a glow of white light behind them; standing at the treeline was Diamond, his horn glowing a brilliant white as his magic was enveloping Mica's hoof. She watched as the keratin shoe was regrowing right before their very eyes... Healing Magics could do such things, but the process would have normally taken an hour or so; at the rate the small healer was working, Mica's hoof would be restored in less than a minute. She also noticed Hard Looker, the idiot guard, sitting up and looking perfectly fine... and staring in disbelief at Diamond.

How did- no. She'd have to ask him later - there was no point in thinking about that right now. Besides, first things first.

"Brother Aquamarine, I am truly sorry for your loss." She sat down closer to him, watching him carefully. On one hoof, he was her brother... but on the second hoof, he was terribly dangerous. On the third hoof, she had a bad habit of liking ponies who were trying to kill her. On fourth hoof, she simply hoped it was enough.

Obsidian spoke softly, soothingly to the elder stallion. "And there is somepony else who would want you..."

"... father did not want me... and nobody came to find me..." He held the stone heart out to look at it; it had been lovingly carved into that shape, and looked smooth as a still pond's surface. "And I awoke to... to such a different world... and I... I hated it."

He carefully set the heart in his lap, and gave a gust of a sigh as tears continued their endless march down his muzzle. "But I had to... live.. in it. Alone. A-and I did, for such a long time..." He now looked at Obsidian directly... and she could tell, there would be no treacherous blow, nor any further escalation; he looked broken.

"... and she found me. I didn't know what to think, when she kept coming back to my field... and then, when she finally saw me, she just waved at me. Just... waved." Aquamarine put his head down for a bit, quiet sobs racking his elderly frame.

"Who was she - what was her name, my brother?" Sombra didn't want anyone, so that wasn't so surprising. She could only wonder why Onyx didn't try to recruit him, though. Was she afraid of him?

He sniffled a bit, when he'd gotten some of his sobbing done. "If I had only not been so hesitant... so paranoid... I could've spent that first year in her embrace... just one more year... my lovely Heartfire always made my own heart burn for her... oh, Hopie..." He put his head down and gave a sigh that would have moved Nightmare Moon herself to tears.

"Brother... oh my dear, dear brother..." She hesistantly, but steadily reached out to him, pulling him into an embrace. In a way, Obsidian was satisfied - she'd just learned the conclusion to an old mystery. She only wished it could be a happier ending...

He sat there as she embraced him... and then, he began weeping openly, and clutched at Obsidian like a baby koala, holding her tightly (surprisingly so) as he just poured his heart out.

Diamond walked up and, smiling through his own tears, he also embraced Aquamarine from behind. Slowly, she heard the little stallion's voice sing softly, in Crystallian:

Misery loves company
Because it's so alone
It doesn't have a mother
It never had a home...

Aquamarine looked up in surprise at Diamond, whose smile only got wider... then, Aqua slowly gave a small smile of his own, and his rusty, shaky and broken voice joined in.

Misery loves company
Because it's so alone
So why not be a friend to it
And make it all your own?

The tune was soft, sweet and sing-songy; it sounded like a song that a mother would sing to a cranky foal to soothe them. And it certainly seemed to soothe Aqua.

He blinked a bit, then sighed. "{Diamond... you would be the one to remember that, wouldn't you?}"

"{Whistle sang it to us every night she could, Brother Aqua - how could I ever forget?}" Diamond replied.

"{My brother...}" he turned to look at Obsidian, "{... and the mysterious 'Lost Sister' is real after all, I see.}"

Diamond gave a little giggle. "{Which means you owe us an apology - we were not as 'hopelessly crazy' as you thought we were, eh?}"

Aqua sighed... and looked up. "So... what happens now?" he asked earnestly, looking just physically and emotionally exhausted.

Oh, right - they knew Whitewhistle. And she'd lived long enough to meet Sombra's spawn, despite the fact that he'd been falling deeper and deeper into the clutches of darkness. Obsidian had no idea how it was possible, but she was having problems putting past events on a well-defined timeline. It didn't help that her assumptions, guesses and other attempts to use data she'd already learned kept coming up wrong.

"I... I'm not sure. I simply came here to investigate these mysterious fires; I only hoped we will find you..." Well, she knew what to do, in a way. "Brother, please, forgive me my curiosity, but... do you happen to have had any children?" She was hesitating a bit, but really - her curiosity got the better of her. Also, she knew of two specific ponies that would be overjoyed by the idea of grandfoals.

That brought a cackle out of the elder pone. "Oh, we were both WELL past child-making age by the time we met; not that we didn't have fun pretending we could..."

"EWWWWW! Old sex!" Cupcake called out; he hadn't been far behind, but he'd let the family have their moment... he'd waited to make the awkward comment. And his moment had come.

Aqua looked around at them - really looked - and then seemed surprised. He turned to look at Obsidian, confusion in his eyes. "Did I just get my butt stomped by The Siddy Six?" he asked bemusedly.

Obsidian blinked. Then blinked again. "So you've heard of us, but didn't realize I was your Lost Sister?" she asked, bemused as well. Damnation; she forgot all about Hope Heartfire's advanced age.

Aqua gave a hefty sigh. "Look, back in the old days, I didn't even believe you existed; why would I second guess a sister who wasn't even real? But I heard about your deeds... and I thought the group sounded like the next batch of heroes to save Equestria, now that the Mane Six are not only retired, but they lost one of their own."

Meanwhile, Lemon Custard was leaned down very close to Hard Looker's muzzle, speaking softly... but by the color draining from the guard's muzzle, it was clear that Lemon still had a knack for being... well, Lemon... and that Looker's prospects after this fiasco were not the best.

"{Brother Aquamarine... please, would you be willing to come to where I am living now? It would be nice to have another sibling to speak with; I may have already talked poor Obsidyan half to death!}"

Aqua's expression sobered. "I'm fairly sure they don't look too kindly on assaulting a member of the Royal Guard..."

"Well, that depends," Lemon spoke up as he walked over, "on how we want this to play out. Either we can take you back in restraints, we report this entire botched ordeal as is and deal with the consequences of such..." Lemon's eyes shifted to stare at Hard Looker intently.

"OR..." he continued, "we can just forget this little incident happened, so we can take Aquamarine in peacefully and of his own accord... and so someone's job is now so very much more important to them." Looker, seeing he was being given a break, nodded vigorously. "Though there WILL be consequences, Looker - I'll see to that MYSELF - but at the end of it all, you shall still be employed. Do you agree?"

"Y-yes," almost instantly from the squirming guardpone.

Lemon nodded, then turned to the others, "And the rest of you?"

"I agree," Obsidian replied, but her attention immediately returned to her ancient brother. "It would be nice to have you around, and I also happen to know your in-laws..." she added carefully.

"You know..." His voice trailed off, and he brought his hooves up to her neck slowly... to her scarf. "I... I've seen this crocheting pattern before... Hopie had a scarf a lot like it, but hers was a soft blue. Did... did you get this fro-"

At that very moment, the entire circle of them - Diamond, Aquamarine and Obsidian - all fell through the ground into a hole roughly several stones deep, landing in a heap amongst each other.

Gypsy's head poked out of the dirt above them. "D-d-did this one g-get him?"

Diamond started laughing... and after a moment, so did Aquamarine.

"Well, congratulations Gypsy - you just defeated three dangerous creations of Sombra, all by yourself," she snarked as she started to giggle as well.

Gypsy gave a sheepish grin. "Eh... h-hooray?"

=====[Two Hours Later]=====

"You have my solemn word, Obsidian, that I will see to it your brother is cared well for," Lemon was saying as he stepped onto the train, "and that I shall see to it personally."

Things having been settled, the guards were on their way back to Ponyville - with Aquamarine in tow, unshackled and free to move, though flanked by Royal Guards. Lemon sighed. "And I wanted to be certain to thank you for coming to our aid. I know Cup probably drove you nuts over me, but you could have just let him come on his own - which he would have - but instead, you supported him and helped me greatly. I believe I wholly approve of your marrying that silly little stallion... though it still escapes me as to why you would."

Aqua, flanked by guards, leaned his head out of the train car widow to look down at Obsidian. "Mundy says their 'processing' doesn't take too long, and that they'll have a liaison for me within a day or so. I wish we had more time to talk, but... we'll get to that, I suppose. After all - I'll be where you can find me."

"Have fun, brother! Give my best regards to Amethyst and Tourmaline!" she waved to Aqua. Well, this had worked out much better than she initially thought it would.

Diamond tugged on Obsidian's scarf. "{Obsidyan, shall I return to Ponyville as well with Brother Aqua?}"

Obsidian had to try hard to maintain a straight face when Lemon used the words 'drove you nuts'; the sentence was correct and all, but each word separately reminded her of the hour she spent to calm her Cuppy down... especially 'nuts'.

"Well, I have a few good reasons, yes," she smiled at Lemon, "but it wasn't just because of Cup; I wanted to meet my brother anyway, and of course I like you as well, Lemon - it would be a shame to lose such a good teacher, eh?"

Obsidian then turned to Diamond and gave him a light grin. "{Actually, I think I'd prefer you to stay by our side; you know Sister Opal better than I do, after all.}"

Diamond's muzzle grew an excited look, and he smiled broadly. "{Oh, I was so wishing you wanted me to come along for this too! I am so happy to be helping out the best sister ever! Thank you for allowing me to go with you, so I can see MORE of the world!}" He hugged her leg again, his smile almost bigger than his entire muzzle.

The rest of the guards got onboard the train (Hard Looker being seated right next to Lemon), the whistle sounded, and off it chugged, taking the strange case of Aquamarine back to Ponyville, where he'd be safer than out here in the woods.

From the conversation that had followed on the way back to town from Ditch's Grove, Aquamarine had told them about living in a hollowed-out tree in the center of the copse; he'd been awake for a long, long time - and he'd spent his time getting older as he raided trader caravans for supplies.

He'd met Hope when she'd been there birdwatching; even though he tried hard to chase her off, she kept coming back. When she'd brought food once... well, that had finally lured him out. From that point, she worked her way into his heart, and she admitted she'd found him to be so very much in need of attention.

It had been Brother Creedence himself that had married them in a private ceremony, and it was the happiest time in his entire life. He'd loved her, she'd loved him, and he'd truly thought his past was finally behind him...

Then, he woke up to her cold, lifeless form. She'd passed in her sleep, and still wore a small smile on her muzzle, he'd said. He was devastated, but had gone out into the woods and had used his magics to gather trees for the pyre. When he'd lit it, however, it had brought locals - he scared them off, but now they were spooked. Sure enough, they'd sent for help - which brought Lemon and the others out here, by request, to look into it.

Aquamarine, the berserker who was too much for Sombra, had just wanted to pay his last respects to his beloved wife... it was everyone else who'd made it such a big deal.

Strange things. To think that, of all ponies, Whisper and Short Round also unknowingly had Sombra entangled in the branches of their family tree? But Aqua's awakening kept troubling her; it was such a long time ago... what brought him back? The total number of alicorns around whad been far less back then. There were no siblings available to free him, especially without recruiting him to their own plans.

Hard Looker had luck on his side that Obsidian didn't get even with him for disturbing the remains of her sister-in-law.

Once the train had chugged away, Clap came over next to Obsidian. "So... what about Wart? Are we gonna go get her, or..?"

Mica sighed. "If she'd have been there, I might not have had to have my hoof regrown - which, for the record, having it explode to begin with is not a fun experience."

"Should we maybe send word to Princess Twilight? Maybe she can, y'know, send Wart along too?" Clap suggested.

Gypsy and Diamond sat next to each other on the bench nearby; their own train would arrive in about twenty more minutes - and these tickets said it would only be a six hour trip, this time. Wow - gathering Aqua really had been quick, considering the time it took to find the others.

Cupcake stood next to her, not quite touching but close enough to if she wanted. She could even smell his sweet scent from where she was. He glanced over at her, and gave a little smile. "A bit for your thoughts?"

Thinking about it, Obsidian wondered if perhaps Flurry was still there... in fact, she could also contact Luna. "I'll try to contact one of the princesses and ask about Wart. The guards are returning without any injuries or fatalities, so there's no reason to keep her in Ponyville. Especially as Opal could be... well, problematic," Obsidian sighed.

While she'd thought the same about Aqua - and had turned out to be wrong - Opal was supposedly already controlled by Amber, so it was obvious that she wouldn't fall easily.

Bit for her thoughs, eh? She nuzzled Cupcake lovingly. "Lemon said he approves of our marriage - though I forgot to tell Aqua about it." This was almost over with; they just had to survive Opal and prevent another invasion of Equestria.

Cupcake's eyes widened in surprise. "Lemon said he approves? Well, THAT just made my day!" He nuzzled her back, sighing happily.

Gypsy got up from the bench, and made his way over to her other side. "A sh-shame about Hope H-Heartfire... but, it speaks well th-that she was h-happy with him, in her l-late years. This one h-hopes he a-and his in-laws g-get a chance to t-talk, someday."

It was kind of suspicious that he woke up next to her dead body, but they were old, after all - she didn't have to be so paranoid about everything.

"Yes... I'd hoped for a bit more of a happy ending, as well. As long as Aqua remains calm, Whisper and Shorty now have a nice, new son-in-law." Actually, how old was he now? "Which leaves us only Opal and Sapphire to locate and deal with..."

Cupcake gave another sigh, but this one wasn't so happy. "Sapphire... if only we'd have known who she was when she opened the door to the factory! If only we could've talked to her more! If Amber was running poor Quartz ragged, I can't even begin to think about what she's gotta be going through."

"Well, regardless," Mica spoke up, "we've still got Opal to deal with - and from the picture you've got, she seems like she might be even easier than Aqua was."

Clap chuckled. "Yeah - she does kinda look like an egghead; eggheads usually aren't so tough - we've got this easy, right Sids?"

Obsidian looked, smirking slightly. "Princess of Eggheads standing right here, remember?" She quickly became serious again, though. "However, she is dangerous, and under Amber's influence. We managed to talk Aqua down, but it will most likely be impossible with Opal; as soon as she thinks that we're a danger to her business, we have a problem. It would be good to check to see if she is already in any trouble with the law; while she did break it by forging Celestia's signatures through Quartz, she did it under mind control - she shouldn't feel endangered by any cooperation from us."

Mica grew concerned. "Hmmmmm... well, then maybe we shouldn't just all barge in at once? Maybe we should use this time to come up with a plan?"

"Like what," Clap groused, "dressing one of us up and getting 'em inside to see what she's doing?"

Mica thought for a moment. "Actually... it's not a bad plan... but we'd need to work out who and why."

Cup looked up. "Maybe I could get a message to Patty to meet us there? If we send it now, it might reach her and get her to us before tomorrow."

"Patty would be the most logical choice," Obsidian admitted. It would be the best if she could simply send a message to Ponyville instantly. She doubted that Flurry was still there, but... Flurry, heareth thou my voice?

No response - maybe she was asleep? In the bathroom? Wanting some privacy? Maybe she was being held hostage and slowly being turned into a horrifying Umbral creation? All the options may have seemed equally likely, she had to admit that in the presence of Princess Twilight, Amber shouldn't really have much of a chance - especially as a helpless shard.

Cup nodded. "Okie dokie lokie! I'll pop over to the post office, and see what I can do about sending a message to Peppermint; I'm sure she'd love a road trip!" With a quick peck on Siddy's cheek, he trotted his way back into the small town, seeking the post office.

The large tent in town had been active for a bit, with hymns to Celestia being belted out by multiple voices. After a while, though, they just caught a word every now and again, assumedly from Preacher Creedence. His revival must be going well... but then again, Clearwater was his town, and Creedence seemed like he was glad to be the spiritual guide here. Better yet? Neither he, nor any of his followers gave Obsidian and her crew even a single bit of trouble.

Clap was seated on the guardrail, looking out at the town with a bit of a distant look on her muzzle.

"Write about sending Stalwart along too!" she called after Cupcake. There - that should solve most of their problems and help them prepare for trouble. Hopefully.

And the religious folk... chances were, they'd probably never actually MET Celestia, face-to-face; it was hard to worship somepony who bakes you such incredible sweets.

Obsidian sat next to Clap. "What are you thinking about, Clappy?" she asked cheerfuly. A six hour ride... well, she could always try to take a nap again.

Clap glanced over her shoulder at Obsidian... then gave a tiny, sad grin. "Well, I... awww, it's dumb..."

"No it's not," Mica said, "say it."

She sighed. "Well... I guess... I miss Wart. A-and I missed YOU, Mikey, when I was cursed... and I missed Gypper in Manehattan. I even missed you, Siddy, when you cast that bogus Locator Spell and vanished." She shook her head a bit, then reached up and actually pulled the hairband out of her mane; the strands fell across her shoulders, and it had an interesting effect of being blonde on the outside, but even the lightest breeze revealed colors beneath.

Mica, unbeknownst to her, stared at her with loving eyes, taking in the rare sight of Thunderclap Dash with her mane down.

"I mean, yeah, we all did, but... Sids, I've never really had friends this close before. Like, close enough that it bothers me when we're not all together, y'know? It just... it just feels like I'm missing a pinfeather or two; I might not be able to tell which one's the most important, but I know when something's missing."

She sighed. "But I don't miss pinfeathers..."

Obsidian did her best to wrap a hoof around Clap and pull her closer, but she only managed to pull herself towards the big blue pegasus. "Weren't we all lacking close friends before? Me, you, Gypsy, Wart... we're just a merry band of weirdos, united by friendship and this sweet, sweet firepower we can muster up when we work together. As a group, we are more than sum of our skills and powers - we are the most awesome, evil-ass-kicking band of teens Equestria has ever known!"

She thought about it for a moment. "...though it would be nice to get some proper rest after all this evil-kicking. Perhaps even make another Spa trip or something."

Clap looked down at her from the rail and smiled, then wrapped her forelegs around Obsidian and gave her a patented Thunderclap Hug. Ow... but the smile she wore made it worth it.

Still... ow.

"Siddy, you're the best!" Clap gushed, "To think, we had to teach YOU how to be a friend, and now you're teaching us how to be a team. Who'da thunk it? It's a good thing you're the leader; I'm pretty sure I'da messed it up royally by now!"

"Is she the leader? I didn't even know the position was available," Mica joked, keeping his stone-serious expression, "and I don't recall voting for her. Though, to be fair, I don't recall voting for anyone."

Clap laughed. "Yer a RIOT, Mica!"

Mica blinked. "Thanks; I get it from my Mom."

Clap leaned down and let Obsidian go (WONDERFUL AIR!), then smiled at Mica. "What, did you want to lead?"

Mica held up his hooves quickly. "No - NOOOOOOOOO, no. I'm not good at leading; I'm a better planner. But maybe Gypsy wants the job?"

The diamond dog's ears perked up, and he paused his conversation with Mundy to speak up. "This o-o-one would NOT b-be good at leading; o-orders would t-take too long to give, with h-his stutt-tt-tter. That, and... h-he is shy."

Mica shrugged. "Well, what about Stalwart?"

Clap gave a blast of a laugh. "HA! She's practically tied to Siddy's tail; that mare would just give it to 'Her Majesty Lady Siddy', without a second thought!"

Mica nodded. "Fair." Obsidian noticed that nobody had mentioned Cupcake.

Well, since there was no Stalwart around, it was a time for a joke. Obsidian, despite her best efforts, still had issues with idioms and innuendos...

"There's also Cupcake," Obsidian offered, "and I wouldn't complain if I'd have to serve under him," she said cheerfuly. To be fair, was she really the leader here? Did they even have a leader at all? She was only important because they had to fight her siblings... right?

"According to what I'VE heard..." Clap grinned, "you already have!"

Mica, typically solid and steady, instantly burst out laughing at her comment, while Gypsy started blushing hotly, pulling his hood up to cover his (slightly giddy) embarrassment.

Diamond, however, was just looking at Obsidian. "{We... we are allowed to do THAT now? I was not informed!}"

Gypsy now began to snicker aloud, a bright and bubbly sound from the diamond dog. "{This one believes they have taken their own initiative, friend.}"

Diamond blinked at them... then stood up proudly. "{Then I must stand before my beautiful and noble Stalwaat and ask her if she wants to participate in the act of sex with me!}" He then quickly faced Obsidian. "{Will you translate for me?}"

While Obsidian blushed, she also giggled.... or possibly the other way around. However, stark terror moved through her muzzle when she heard Diamond's request. She'd kind of... forgotten that he was a bit different from the rest of them.

"{Diamond - dating first, then being a pair; sex happens much later.}" He apparently needed to learn a quite a lot about modern romance; sooner or later, he would say or do just the wrong thing, and Stalwart would kill him. Or Obsidian for introducing too many strange ideas to the small stallion.

Diamond rolled his eyes like a teenager. "{Yes, I KNOW of those things - but I wish to be honest and direct about such an event! She would appreciate it, I am certain! OH! I do not wish to ONLY have sexual acts - but, if all I ever may have is one... then I wish to share that one time with her, and no other mare.}"

Gypsy sighed. "H-h-how very romantic... this o-one believes your c-c-crush on Stalwart to be ad-dorable."

Diamond actually gave a light blush at that. "{I... em... err... y-yes. Yes, friend Gypsee.}"

Clap chuckled. "I don't even know what he's sayin', and even I know he's got a crush on Warty!"

Diamond looked at Clap curiously for a moment, then turned to his sister. "{Obsidyan... it has bothered me a bit, yet I did not feel proper asking before now - why do you all call her a 'Wart'? Is that not an unsightly blemish of the skin? Are you aware of that?}"

Maybe Gypsy considered it to be cute, but Obsidian was a bit worried all the same. "{...it is?}" Hunh. She got so used to it, she never considered the connotations.

"{Yes, Obsidyan; you have all been calling her a blemish - and I do not understand the reason why. Did she anger you at some point?}"

"{Friend Diamond}," Gypsy spoke up, "{it is a term of endearment; this one is occasionally called 'pupper' or 'doggo'; he likes it, as it is something that lets him know his friends gave him these special nicknames.}"

Diamond seemed to accept that a bit more, but still seemed confused by this Modern Equestria. "{I see... so then, nicknames are endearments towards others?}"

"{Yes,}" clarified the diamond dog.

"{And the practice of unpleasant or unwanted nicknames is... commonplace?}" He cut his eyes at Siddy, "{Then perhaps I should come up with a nickname for YOU, dear sister...}"

{"Well, when they did so for me, I became 'Siddy'. At first, I thought they meant 'seedy'.}" A nickname for her, huh? What exactly did he have in mind?

Clap glanced at Diamond. "He looks all shifty..." she grinned, "what's he up to? 'Cause wth that look on his muzzle, I want in!"

Mica sat back and looked over at Gypsy. "What is he saying, if I can ask?"

"He s-says he likes the i-i-idea for nicknames, and he w-wishes to come up with h-his own - f-f-for Obsidian." Gypsy explained.

"Ah..." Mica spoke up, "but we already call her Siddy, so that box on the proverbial resume has been filled in."

Clap giggled, "Yeah, and thanks to Cuppers, so has Siddy!"

Cup, who had just walked up in mid-convo, blinked and looked at Clap. "So has Siddy, what? Is it a joke? Did I miss it? AWWWW! Wait, can you start over?"

Obsidian chuckled at Clap with a smidge of embarrassment on her muzzle. She was already starting to regret trying to make an innuendo joke, especially as she already knew that a certain pegasus would surely build others upon that.

"We are throwing innuendos around, Cup. Were there any problems? Did you remember to send message about Stalwart as well?" she asked, trying not to look too guilty. This current stream of jokes was not only at her expense, but also his.

Cup gave a bemused grin. "Nope - no issues; because we got rid of the 'ghost', the mailmare even let me send it for free. Of course, she was staring at my flanks a lot... maybe she thought my cupcake looked yummy?" Clap nearly fell off the rail, laughing at that one.

Oh Cupcake... you know better than to invite Obsidian to eagerly dig her own grave. "I can't deny that, for sure."

Cup looked at Siddy. "Well, I know you like the frosting, at least..."

Mica managed to pull himself together, shaking his head. Clap, however, slowly slid off the railing into a sitting position on the ground, still howling with laughter. "Sto-STOP! I c-c-can't BREATHE!"

Diamond smiled mischeviously. "{In honor of such, I shall nickname you Frosty!}"

... and now Gypsy was giggling uncontrollably.

She was practically asking for it here - still, she didn't think he'd have mentioned this particular bit; her blush was visible even through her dark fur.

By now, Wart would be having a conniption fit. The lot of them around her, laughing and cutting up, having a grand time... and yet, Clap was right; something felt missing, incomplete... and no matter the good cheer going around, she could tell that everyone else here missed the little knight, too. But, for the moment, the joy of embarrassing one another helped to bring some joy to them all, in the light of what was soon to come.

They were headed to Cincineighti... but little did they realize exactly how much things were about to change.

=====[One Hour Later]=====

This train wasn't as frilliy as the Friendship Express had been; this one was sleek and silvery, almost shaped like a dart. Clap had talked about how it was supposed to be the 'next big thing' in travel: magnetic rail trains. Even Obsidian had to admit, it was most certainly different; the gentle click-clack of the train on the tracks was nowhere to be heard.

The entire train was quiet, whispery and smooth-moving; Siddy almost missed the ambiance of the old train. Almost... because it was discovered they all had private suites. Each one had a bathroom, a small kitchenette, and an actual bed - big enough for two, Siddy noted.Princess Twilight, apparently, had spared no expense on them for this trip; she'd have to thank her for it later.

Ah, bed! That was exactly what she needed right now, considering that she'd almost managed to dream-learn about a spell that could restore the bodies of her fallen siblings! She practically got giddy at the sight of the available room. However, she was a bit afraid that her enthusiasm would be TOO MUCH to let her sleep.

"Cup! Cup, Cup, Cuppyyyyyy! We have plenty of time! So, what are we going to do? Or what do you want to do? Let's do something!" She was doing her best to burn it all off.

Cupcake's enthusiasm was like a fire, and her mood was gasoline. "OOOOH! We could play Eye Spy, or use the pack of cards I brought, or we could trade off singing showtunes we enjoy! Maybe we could try to fold some origami for Gypsy - to show him we've been watching him! WAIT! What about the sink here? With a little kitchen like this, I could make miniature cupcakes!"

Granted, with the bed right there, he could be 'making miniature cupcakes' right now... that would surely make her sleepy for a while.

"What cards?" she sounded interested. While any 'bedtime activities' sounded like a fine idea, she didn't want her Cuppy to think she was some kind of lust-crazed beast!

At least at the moment; later, however...

Cup brought out his deck of cards, holding them aloft like a magic sword. "Ha-HAAA! Cardus De Packius! Now, I know you may have had some different training when it comes to 'War', but allow me to explain the intricacies of this noble pasttime of kings and scholars!"

'War', it seemed, was a very simple game to play - as such, Cup got bored after only an hour... but he'd brought all sorts of stuff to bide away the time, so it felt like she'd be busy all the way to their destination. He even had a few books!

They still had five hours, more or less. She could spend an hour at best to attempt to tire herself out, and then she had to take a nap, for the good of Equestria. For now, she decided to look through the books - maybe she could find something interesting there?

Dovetail: The Legend of Deerfield
Grim's Fairy Tales
Dream Analysis: How YOU Can Help Luna
109 Polkas For Any Occasion
How To Be A Better Coltfriend
Tonal Adjustments For Perfect Acoustics
Crinos: The Collected Works
The Collected Works of Whistlewhite
Stolen Kisses From A Monster
1,001 Recipes For Sweets

Well, it was a rather diverse collection of books, she had to admit.

Well, the decision was obvious, wasn't it? She immediately picked up 'Stolen Kisses From a Monster', but only to check quickly what the story within was about.

Stolen Kisses was a tale of a pegasus mare who had fallen in love with a cruel unicon warlock and how, after much hardship and difficulty, he eventually fell in love with her as well. It was a cute story... but a long one, it seemed.

That done, she quickly settled on 'The Collected Works of Whistlewhite'; the artist seemed to be rather important in Sombra's court, after all.

The subject of Whistlewhite was a bit more interesting... the book was mostly compiled, collected stories from the past, which were used to create a working timeline of her life.

She'd been born dirt poor to unknown parents, and had lived on the street for much of her life. The work that was legitimately considered her first one was a piece she simply called 'Fur'; it was a very lifelike painting of a kitten, playing with a puppy on the steps of the Crystal Palace. The animals in the picture were along the bottom right corner; the rest of it was a breathtaking view of the Crystal City... in shambles. The buildings all looked run down, and the cobblestones on the streets were milled up in different directions, cracked, or missing all together. It looked like a slum... but there was no denying it was her beloved Crystal City.

The book went on to speak of how she would paint for her expenses; paintings for a room to sleep in, paintings for food, paintings for supplies... it was once said that almost everyone in the Crystal Empire used to own a Whistlewhite original! Then, it spoke of the changes in regime, and how Whistlewhite herself was hoof-picked to become the Royal Artist. To commemorate this event, she painted a portrait of Sombra and his Grand High Magus that hung in the palace for quite some time.

Then almost without warning, Sombra began to turn cruel... around the time that Radiant Hope vanished. During this period, the book said that many of Whistlewhite's artworks were smuggled out of the country, some supposedly containing contraband for black market trade. Then, the book went on to speak of Sombra's Fifteenth Decree:

[There shall be no art, be it written, painted or performed, without the expressed consent of Lord King Sombra himself.]

Which is where the book spoke of The Great Artisian Purge of the Crystal Empire.

Late in Sombra's reign, he purportedly threw a fit - the reasons were unknown - and Whistlewhite, for some unknown reason, was subsequently attacked, crippled, and sent to the dungeons. Enraged over whatever had happened, Sombra then created his Fifteenth Decree... and had ALL offenders - Whistlewhite included - put to death and buried in a mass grave. The death toll for the artisian purge was listed at over 400 individuals.

Hardly a surprising ending... but why? Was it merely a fit of insanity, or was it connected to The Umbra? Was Sombra afraid that something which could help his enemies was smuggled away under his snout? Did somepony see too much?

The grim tome had two effects on the Grey Princess - first, she was truly shocked at the sight of the ragged and destitute Crystal Empire, a far cry from its current glory (obviously Princess Cadance was working rather hard). Second was the fact that, thanks to such a depressing read, Obsidian had lost any desire for pleasures of the flesh. Quite the contrary, in fact; she immediately threw herself onto the bed to think... and, perchance, to dream.

Cup could see she was upset over something... but he wasn't sure what. However, he apparently had been reading the 'Better Coltfriend' book, so he slid on the bed next to Obsidian and put a foreleg around her. "Hey... what's the matter? You were fine a moment ago... you wanna talk about it?"

He then snuggled up close behind her. "Or would you rather just have a comfy cuddle while you lay here? I can do either one... for you, I'd do anything." He hugged her close, and she heard him lightly sniff her mane.

Heh. For a moment she was curious as to what sort of wondrous advice was in this book of his - after all, she could hardly imagine a better coltfriend.

"Each time I fall asleep, I dream of Radiant Hope's past - the mare that accompanied Sombra in his first adventures - and after her sudden and mysterious disappearance, he began to grow evil. Each time I see anything about her past, I feel as if I'm on the brink of a great discovery... and I fully intend to finally reach the breakthrough," she explained quickly, practically without thinking.

Maybe one day, she would find the mare that Diamond referred to as 'mother' within her mind... but where she could be? Was it like finding Peridot and Onyx - was she perhaps near the Umbral Altar? In the orphanage? In the castle itself...?

Cupcake thought for a moment... then slowly, he settled back away from her far enough for him to place his hooves on her back and s-l-o-w-l-y rub the muscles there...

Wait... Cupcake knew massage!?

Her back told her that yes, he most certainly did. "Okie dokie lokie... then it's MY job to get you to sleep, so you can learn more about the past! Right, you just stay riiiiiiiiiiight there, and I'll just do what I'm doing."

Granted, he wasn't as talented as the Spa Ponies... but, to think that Obsidian had a personal masseuse at her beck and call? Priceless.

"Cuppy, you are so perfect that I couldn't even dream of a better coltfriend," she muttered while her mind and body were slowly relaxing. Muscles that she had forgotten the existence of were slowly releasing all the tension she currently felt. Damnation, but she loved that stallion of hers.

Cupcake smiled. "Then we're even... because you are more incredible than anything I've EVER known in my entire life." She felt him kiss the very back of her neck, in the tender spot underneath her mane, before he went back to focusing on her back.

Ohhhhhh sweeeeeeet Daaaaaaarkneeeeeesssssss...

Author's Notes:

So, in my mind, the event that brought Aquamarine out of his shard? Rainbow Dash's first Sonic Rainboom; while everyone across Equestria was seeing it and having the various changes in their lives come about, Aqua was effectively released from his crystal prison. That would mean he's been active since the Mane Six were still fillies... which explains his age.

Hope Heartfire - believe it or not, this had been my plan with her from the moment I brought them into play - a sweet elderly couple whose missing daughter ended up being connected to one of Siddy's sibs. The funeral pyre thing came later, but my idea was presented here (for the most part) whole and complete.

'Frosty'... heh heh heh.

Fifty One: Shards Of Fate

~>-<~

The sound of a creaking door greeted her ears, followed by soft, barely-felt hoofsteps, as she got the distinct impression that she was sneaking quietly along. She could even feel some cloth padding wrapped around her hooves, to maintain the silence. The lights may have been out, but everything around her had a light blue tint to it - the obvious results of casting a Night Sight spell on herself. The door she'd been slowly pushing slowly on finally fell back...

It was a regal bedroom, but decorated for simplicity instead of grandeur. Well-made yet simple curtains, dressers, a mirror and a four-post bed that seemed to be the only thing in the room that seemed a bit more royal. And there, in the bed in front of her, was Sombra himself... asleep.

Quietly, Hope entered the room and closed the doorway enough so it would appear closed in passing, but still she left it ajar for her eventual escape. She began to quietly make her way towards Sombra's side, moving slowly and smoothly.

So... then it wasn't the final argument after which Radiant Hope disappeared? But... but she held the book with the spell in it... so if she was going to try to use it, that should have been the perfect moment - unless, of course, her dreams were not in the correct order. But then - why was Hope here?

Questions at this point were meaningless and futile; for now, Obsidian could only watch and learn.

She crept up ext to the bed and simply looked at him sleeping for a moment. Obsidian could feel her throat choking up, Hope trying not to cry as she stood over him. Little by little, she steeled herself accordingly, reached into her saddlebag with a hoof and brought out a bottle. The bottle was dark brown and unremarkable - except that it was spotlessly clean and empty.

"I can't... I don't want to do this spell without you," she whispered ever-so-lightly, "but you won't come with me - probably because of that thing inside you. Well, if I can't have you come with me..."

She held the bottle above him, and her magic surrounded the cork stopper at the end. "... then I'll just have to borrow a little bit of you."

As Obsidian watched, Sombra's shadow seemed to twist out a small ribbon of darkness which began to trail off of him, going directly into the bottle itself. They were only the merest of wisps, and the bottle didn't take long to fill. The only sign he'd have felt anything was a momentary grumble from the sleeping stallion.

Quickly corking the little brown bottle filled with shadows, Hope then made her way back to the bedroom door... where she stopped and looked back at him. "Soon, my Soul Friend... soon, there WILL be a new presence among us... and they will help bring back your light."

So he didn't create them - at least not ALL of them - but instead she made some of them? Oh, it would be so ironic if it turned out that Hope created Onyx, and that her actions here cut a hole in Sombra's very soul, making him more unhinged...

After all, Obsidian held Hope in rather low regards; if anypony could make situation even worse, Radiant Hope seemed to be the right mare to fuck it all up.

She closed the door, then made her way down the hall to a bookshelf, where she moved a book on the topmost shelf... and the bookcase slid back, revealing a stairwell. Hope took the stairs down, moving with the rapid comfort of a well-known place, and when they finally stopped, she pushed through a wooden door to reaveal a magical laboratory that left most modern ones in the dust.

There were diagrams and charts everywhere, many of them in Ancient Crystallian, all of them related to magic and magical theory. There were shelves upon shelves of books, packed practically to the ceiling, and tables filled with all manner of arcane devices.

She went to the large table in the center of the workshop, set the brown bottle down on the tabletop, staring at it for a moment. Then, Hope began to weep - great, hitching sobs that rang out in the laboratory as she slumped onto a well-worn stool.

Sombra's bedroom, down the hall, book on the topmost shelf.... that was something worth learning, right? If Obsidian was lucky, she possibly still find this place - unless Sombra destroyed it, of course. Oh, so many charts, so much knowledge... and knowledge meant power!

And instead of showing Obsidian any of these marvelous riches of wisdom... Hope started to cry. Feh.

Sombra's Grand High Magus put her head down on her folded forehooves, and just let herself vent tears of frustration and misery for a few scant minutes, allowing herself the luxury of time to deal with her emotions.

It was only a few minutes before she'd gotten the initial pain out, and she looked up at the bottle itself. "When I first came up with the idea as a filly, I knew I just had to make it happen. The couple that had come in to adopt Copper Kettle had gone on and on about not being able to have foals of their own, but I knew magic could do anything, if we just knew how to do it."

She reached out with a hoof, and lightly stroked the bottle's side as she put on a sad smile. "By the time I'd met you, I was almost done with the initial theory. You said it was my masterpiece, and that was the day you promised me that, when it was ready, you and I would be the first ones ever to try it. We even shook hooves on it..."

She sniffled. "Then, I discovered that book about those thrice-damned altars... which I think your little parasite steered me towards to begin with, thinking back on it... and then we cast the Kayfadd Spell on it, where you became King, and I..."

She began to tear up again. "... and I lost my future."

She sat back, fighting tears as she stared hard at the bottle. "I have to make this work for you! I don't... d-don't know what plans it has for me, but I REFUSE to leave you here all alone! I just KNOW it's going to take me away from you, and then you'll have NOBODY to help you fight the Darkness! I won't have it! I WON'T LEAVE YOU TO DEAL WITH IT ALONE!!!" Now, the tears sprang forth again, and she just sobbed like her heart was broken.

So she'd finally realized that it wasn't by accident that they'd found the altars. Obsidian was curious if her discovery of this 'spell' was led by the endless cruelty of this ancient being as well. After all, most of her siblings had been doing a grand job in service of 'The Second Umbral Dynasty', hadn't they? Perhaps it was yet another part of this incredibly and endlessly frustrating plan; to destroy every bit of Sombra's soul that could be used against them... well, it was just a quick theory.

Sniffling, she reached a point where she felt drained... and Hope sat forward. "I can't wait any longer; I can almost FEEL it, drawing me in, licking its' lips... I have to do this TONIGHT; if it senses what I've done, it may take me on the spot. Got to hurry..."

She stood up and, with a quick wipe of her forehooves across her eyes to clear some tears, she picked up her thick winter cloak/coat and a pair of goggles, and put them into the travelbags. The last thing she collected was a notebook bound by twine, which Obsidian recognized instantly - Hope's Spellbook!

She looked at it lovingly, even gave the cover a gentle pat... then, she crept out of the room and back up the secret stairs, opening the passage again and slinking into the hallway once more. Looking about frantically, she began to quickly make her way down the hall, towards the palace's front doors.

Oh, by Darkness, please, please, please let her finish this dream! Don't let it end without showing her something, anything important... don't go wasting her time over a crying mare! GIVE HER SOME ANSWERS!

Obsidian was so excited that she could barely breathe... assuming she could breathe in this strange vision.

As she reached them, she heard a commotion going on to the left side, down a large and drk hallway; a contingent of the Royal Guard were speaking to some of the servants.

"... stole from him? But how could this be?"
"It is so, Filigree - he will not say WHAT was stolen, only that it was Her Grace, Lady Hope who took it."
"By the Heart, are you certain?"
"YES, Filigree! I am certain I was ordred to find her... like every other guard here tonight!"

She could feel Hope's heart sink even further... and the tremors of panic began to rattle her nerves. Obsidian felt herself sweating, shivering and trying not to faint, all at once - Hope was not far from merely turning herself in just because she couldn't take the stress.

"Hope?" said a soft, melodious voice behind her - and Hope didn't jump; she apparently knew this voice, and knew it well enough to not jump at it, even as keyed up as she was. She turned around...

... and was almost muzzle-to-muzzle with a mare in a long white cloak. All that Obsidian could see of this new mare was her pert, slightly smirking lips; there were no eyes or other features visible due to the cloak's hood, except for what looked like a waterfall of straight platinum mane that hung all the way to the floor.

"Whistle!" Hope gave a soft, relieved sigh as she recognized her. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you!"

Oh, by Darkness, no! Once again, Obsidian was sure that she would be left with nothing but useless scraps of solid knowledge, mere trinkets - utterly worthless compared to the riches in knowledge she desperately wanted. Granted, while the opportunity to see a long-dead artist was a bit interersting, she would pretty much prefer Hope to finally do something that could help HER for once!

The white mare seemed to look Hope over, then cocked her head. "I will guess that you are not willing to accept Sombra's invitation from his guards, then?" Her voice was mildly jaunty, warm and smooth; it was actually a joy for Obsidian's 'ears' to experience - a balanced harmony of a single voice... but Obsidian also noticed that the mare had an Equestrian accent.

"Whistle, I don't have time to explain, but please - you have to help me get OUT of here!" The unicorn mare looked around in a paranoid fashion, as if expecting guards to pop out from behind every corner. "They're looking for me, and I can't-"

"I know, dear, I know," she soothed, "do you think I go wandering the halls at night merely for inspiration?"

Hope looked at her with confusion. "You knew? How... h-how could you-"

Whistlewhite shrugged. "Educated guess? No matter; now, quickly - if you would follow me, I shall steer you clear."

The white mare, looking reverent and pure in her spotless white cloak, turned and quietly made her way down the hall, with a relieved and grateful Hope right behind her. The path they took to leave the Crystal Palace was convoluted; Hope would never have discovered it by herself, and even Obsidian lost track of where they were.

After roughly twenty minutes of hoof travel that felt like wandering a labyrinth, they ended up at a hatchway in one of the kitchens. Whistle opened the hatch, slid down into it, then reached up to help Hope climb down...

And Siddy knew EXACTLY where they were.

The two mares made their way down through the crystal-lined, cavernous tunnels until they reached a particular bend that the Grey Princess was all-too-familiar with. Whistle led her to a very familiar wall and looked about while Hope turned to watch for guards, her anxiety still potent enough to compel her to do so.

Whistle put her hoof right on the trigger without error, opening the hidden door and heading inside - dragging aclueless Hope in by her tail and closing the door behind her.

It was HER old room; there were very few differences, as the cot, the dresser, the desk were the main things that had been in Obsidian's room (and Whistlewhite's Sanctuary painting), and they were here as well.

"Whistle?" Hope spoke curiously as she looked around, "This isn't the way out of-"

"RADIANT HOPE,"

Whistlewhite's hood suddenly began to glow brightly enough that Hope had to turn her muzzle away to prevent being blinded by it. A light which seemed to fill the small chamber quickly and easily, one that was bright enough to make the sun jealous... yet there was no heat... no pain. In fact, the light itself seemed to calm Hope's rapid breathing, and soothe her jangled nerves.

"THE UMBRAL STIRS, CHILD - TO HAVE ANY POSSIBLE CHANCE TO DEFEAT IT, YOU MUST CAST YOUR SPELL WITHOUT DELAY."

The voice, still beautiful, now sounded more like a vocal chorus then a single individual, fluted melodies playing out with every syllable spoken; it was like the Royal Canterlot Voice... but it was so much more... and the very sound of it sang to Obsidian's soul.

Hope stepped back from the bright visage, shielding her eyes with a hoof. "Wh-Whistlewhite..?"

What... was... this?

Another piece of the puzzle - as if everything wasn't already too complicated. What was worse, with her past experiences, Obsidian could only expect another 'accidental' awakening soon, leaving her again with even more questions than before. Including why or how any spell cast by Radiant Hope could help defeat The Umbra.

Hope blinked. "But... b-but my spell doesn't have anything to do with that THING! How could my spell have any chance to defeat it?"

Whistlewhite now reached up and pulled down her hood... and she looked beautiful beyond compare.

Her bangs seemed to slide down across her high cheekbones, framing her porcelain face perfectly, and her full lips were pale and soft. Her eyebrows were thin and curved, her forehead impeccable, and her snout was elegant and pert. Her eyes, however, were the source of the glow, and Hope couldn't look at them for longer than a second.

"YOUR SPELL SHALL SHAPE THE FUTURE OF EQUUS... AND WILL LAY THE GROUNDWORK FOR THE UMBRA'S FINAL DESTRUCTION. IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU SUCCEED..."

Now, she stepped forward and reached a hoof out to Hope's cheek, and her voice went back to the soft, sweet lilt it had before. "... and you must have total faith in it, for it is your creation; it won't work unless you believe in it completely, my dear friend. Your name is far more apt than you will ever know..."

The moment that hoof touched her cheek, Obsidian felt her entire SOUL leap for joy! She had no idea what was being done to her, but there was a surge that ran through her, as if she'd caught a bolt of lightning square in the heart!

"... and it is HOPE that will guide the Grey into the Light," she finished with a look of such joy and concern on her features that she seemed almost motherly. Radiant Hope herself was simply stunned by Whistlewhite's touch; she couldn't speak a word.

What was going on here? What was Whistlewhite? What was Hope going to do? Obsidian didn't want assumptions, she didn't want guesses - damnation, she wanted to know! To know everything! To finally learn about her origins! The actual, factual history of this fucking tyrant! Even the sheer wonder and greatness of Whistlewhite's true appearance couldn't stop the absolute and all-consuming thirst for knowledge buried in Obsidian's soul.

Whistlewhite stepped back and donned her hood again, hiding her incredible face from the world once more. The light faded away, until it was just the two mares, standing in Obsidian's room.

"... what... are you?" She asked directly, in a tone of hushed reverence.

Whistlewhite's mouth smiled softly and sweetly. "I have had many names and incarnations, over these many eons... but I have to admit, the one I found the cutest was the first one you ponies came up with for me in that incarnation..."

She gave a light giggle that made the room brighten a bit. "They called me 'The Moochick'," she grinned.

Whistle then walked to the door and opened it again, motioning for Hope to follow her... which she did, in a sort of haze, still mystified by what she'd witnessed.

"A simpler name, for a simpler form, for a simpler time... but oh, I DO miss those days. Yet, time does march on, true? Still, I suppose you could say I've been watching over you ponies - and dragons and griffons and yaks and seaponies and kirin and what-have-you - for quite a long time, now." The painter mare rattled along as the two of them went through tunnels with enough twists and turns to practically guarantee that anyone simply wandering down here would find themselves hopelessly lost in no time.

"What's a... kirin?" she heard Hope mumble.

Whistlewhite waved a dismissive hoof at the unicorn. "Never you mind, never you mind - your work is far more important, my dearest Hope... and it's about time you got to it, unfortunately."

Through a small tunnel, she could see light ahead of them. Whistle stopped, then turned and reached out to her, giving Hope a big, motherly squeeze of a hug.

"Ohhhhh... I am SO sorry, Hope, but... this is where we say goodbye. Someone has to be here to help prepare for the future to come, and that job falls to me. Yours is to go out and meet your Destiny."

Hope's muzzle, her heart, her entire being suddenly felt the crushing weight of sorrow; even from where she was sleeping in the future, her body let out an involuntary groan. "I... I d-don't... h-h-ha-"

Whistlewhite swiveled to face her, the hood drawn back enough to reveal her soft, sky blue eyes as she placed a hoof under Hope's chin and lifted it gently to look her directly in the face. "Your Destiny is the one you make for yourself, Hope," she smiled.

Obsidian had at least learned one detail from all of this: The Moochick...

Whatever this completely alien name could possibly mean, she could at least hope to find something in the history books about it, or hope that Gypsy would perhaps know something useful about it. Diamond knew Whistlewhite, right? Perhaps he'd know something more about this strange, shining form of hers...

Hope, tenatively, smiled back. "It's... something to wish for," she said softly.

Whistle giggled. "Sometimes, wishes DO come true... now, look," she stepped next to Hope, turned and pointed toward a pair of mountains in the distance, then looked at her as if she was looking through her... or, at least, through Hope.

"YOU remember where it is, right? Straight towards the Fangs of Ice, leftmost peak, then hit the inside curve when you reach the crossroads, and upward on the path with the black ice..."

Hope raised an eyebrow at her. "Y-yes, I know this... I mean, I found it; why are you telling me? A-and how do you-"

"Never you mind, never you mind." She winked at... Hope? "Just making sure the way is known, that's all." With that, and a skeptical glance at Whistlewhite, Hope set out towards the edge of the city, where she donned her cold weather gear before leaving the warmth of the Crystal Empire's border... and started the trek towards the twin mountains.

At one point, she looked back and saw the Crystal City - which, combined with Whistlewhite's directions, gave Obsidian the EXACT location of where the Umbral Altar would be!

Finally... FINALLYYYYYY!!! Now, Obsidian - for the first time ever - could watch Hope without the frustration of not learning anything useful! She'd gotten something at last! Something tangible! The location of the Umbral Altar!

Even within the boundaries of this dream, Obsidian found herself following alongside the mare through the snow and ice; HOURS passed, where the only thing she knew was that it was cold, she was making progress, it was cold, the mountains got closer, it was cold, the wind howled around her, it was cold, she found a path of black ice, it was COLD, she followed it up the side of the left peak, it was COLD, she reached the apex where two ropes were frozen solid against the icewall, which was REALLY COLD as she freed it with her magic and began to climb.

There was a distant sense of deja-vu as Obsidian recalled this climb from the first memory/dream she'd experienced; this time, SHE was the one climbing... and she gained a whole new respect for Sombra's having done it the first time.

At about the right place, Hope turned towards the wall, kicked through the resealed cavern opening and, thinking ahead this time, she tied off and dropped a safety rope down into it before descending.

The cave was just as chilling and silent as it had been the first time. Hope lowered herself to the floor of the cavern and turned... and beheld them once again. Three altars, carved with unknowable runes, each as black as pitch. The Umbral Altar, at long last, was there in front of her...

And yet, Hope hesitated.

She pulled out the darkness-filled brown bottle and held it for a moment, just looking at the altars with its' weight in her hoof. "You know... last time we were here, we made you a king..."

She now walked over to the altars and, with her magic, began to bring out a number of arcane preparation tools from her pouches and saddlebags, arranging them accordingly and setting up things as she continued to hold the little bottle in her hooves, stroking it lovingly.

"... this time, we're going to make you something even more important..." The notebook with the twine binding came out, set down on the middle altar, and opened. "... a father."

The first time the possibility was there, Obsidian had felt rather uncomfortable with the idea that she might one day watch the creation of Onyx; right now, she was practically craving it. She knew of the spell that was used to make it, and she knew the path to the lab where she could hope to find the theoretical knowledge for it; now, she just had to witness the ritual itself, and its effects. How would it look? Would Onyx appear as a mere filly - innocent and untouched by evil - or perhaps she would already be the age of an adult mare? Shards were able to age (as Aqua was the prime example), but Obsidian never considered the possibilities for her own age's true number or appearance.

Whatever this 'Moochick' thing was, it was playing the 'long game' if using this specific spell could be turned into a weapon against The Umbra. Obsidian truly only sought it to use to create new bodies for the fallen...

And so... after close to twenty minutes of setup, everything seemed prepared. Hope took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and spoke to the brown bottle again. "Just wait right here - I have to prepare the spell first, and it has to be PERFECT; one mistake could do almost anything, so... make sure to keep your jokes to yourself!"

She smiled at the bottle... then, realizing it was only a portion of her friend - and NOT her entire Soul Friend, like she'd wanted - she sighed and put on a serious look, her heart aching but her mind ready. Then she looked into her spellbook...
...
...
...
... YES! There it was! All of it, right in front of her eyes! She hadn't been awoken, she hadn't fallen out of the dream, and it hadn't been hijacked by any chatty siblings in her head! The Crystal Shard Simulacrum Spell! IT WAS HERS!

... now, how would she go about remembering it all?

At first, Obsidian felt an explosion of enthusiasm - now she knew everything! Except... uhhh... well, she didn't exactly have any way to actually learn it, which kind of cooled her head. Hopefully watching the whole ritual would help Obsidian remember it; if not, she could eventually try to find the unicorn mare within her own mind to chat a bit about its nature. She figured she still had time for that; after all, she didn't plan to go immediately to the Empire and bring back all of her dead siblings.

Trying to learn something this complex through merely a peek of a stranger's eyes was impossible; maybe she could at least try to remember some key phrases. Hope seemed to know the spell so well, she only glanced at pages before turning them; even IF Obsidian had a way to somehow write it all down, she wouldn't have had the chance to.

But here, Radiant Hope showed some of her real skill and talent; as she chanted the lines to the spell itself, her magic poured and mixed ingredients and used them as appropriate on the third altar, while keeping the finished products and mixtures on the first, the second being the table she was using to hold up the spellbook. She was accomplishing all of this simultaneously and effortlessly, like she'd practised it a thousand or so times - and chances are, she might well have done exactly that.

It felt as if a solid hour passed while she watched the spell being performed; at this point, Obsidian almost thought she'd been in this dream for almost an entire DAY. Hope didn't seem to flag from her activities, but Obsidian could feel the strain and effort the unicorn mare was putting out for this spell. Hope was set and determined to accomplish her life's work tonight - and was undeterred by such things as fatigue and sorrow... even though she most certainly felt them the entire time.

An arc of red energy suddenly jumped from the second altar to the first, a staticky-sparking sound buzzing lightly through the chamber as it did.

Hope's eyes widened, but she didn't break her chant - she didn't even pause. As she completed more and more of her concoctions, her magic whirled and moved, effortlessly working the spell as she chanted on, sweating but never dropping or misspeaking. When it came to magic, Radiant Hope was top-notch.

Finally, after all the preparations were in place and the chanting finished... she closed her eyes and held her hooves out over the first altar, and dropped the final ingredient into the cauldron there: The little brown bottle.

The entire cavern lit up in bright red and purple energy, and the temperature dropped further than it had been outside in the blizzard. All three altars began to glow a searingly bright red, and the cauldron simply melted away from the boiling brew inside... which strangely stayed put as a bowl of violet liquid, hanging in midair.

She lifted her hooves and spoke.

"A Life within, for Life from without; a spark from two entities to make one; from two galaxies, a star..."

The mixture now began to shrink in size, and took on a familiar, slender and angular shape.

"... and this star shall Light up the world, and bring hearts together..."

The mixture began to solidify; it was becoming a crystal shard!

"... and the future shall welcome them, always, as one of our own."

The shard began to lift into the air, floating steadily and calmly, and moved to hover directly in front of Hope... then, without warning, a voice that sounded like every angry roar and miserable moan in existence piled together, spoke:

"YOU SEEK THE POWER OF THE UMBRA."

It wasn't a question; it was a statement.

"Yes, you foul thing," she said without fear (and without even jumping when it spoke, though Obsidian mentally did), "I wish to cast this spell! FOR US!"

"NAME THY SACRIFICE,"

Obsidian felt a teardrop roll down Hope's cheek. "I present to thee... m-my-"

"HOPE!"

From behind her, Sombra stood within the cavern, looking at her with huge and fear-filled eyes. Hope turned to look at him... and saw his muzzle hurting for her...

And then a roar of anger rolled off of every wall in the cavern. Hope just stared back at the sight of her friend in shock as the roar simply grew and grew...

As Obsidian watched, Hope's vision faded to white...

~>O<~

And she just woke up. Not scared awake, not startled awake, just... awake.

Did... wait, no, d-did it mean than Onyx was created by Radiant Hope herself, who used her own body as a sacrifice to make the power in the altar obey her will?

Actually... after watching this Obsidian didn't know if bringing back anypony would be a good idea.

This entire time, she simply thought that the altars were complicated tools - and nothing else. Nopony said anything about sacrifices of any kind! And what was it Hope wanted to sacrifice if Sombra agreed to her plan? She was still reeling from the fact that she'd actually managed to learn something important: there was another power at play here, standing against The Umbra... apparently, a rather manipulative one.

The train had stopped chugging, and she could feel Cupcake gently kissing along her rear right hoof. "Love? We're here - I've already got us all packed up, and I waited to wake you until we were ready to walk off the train. You sleep good?"

"Yes, actually... I really did." Well, that was probably going to be the last dream with Hope; whatever the result of the spell had been, she probably didn't live to see it happen. Still - Obsidian had discovered so many fascinating things this time! It still didn't explain how she'd ended up with Hope's memories in her head, but she was going to find out one day.

And to think that Onyx was made by Hope - well, first things first. Obsidian rose from her bed and shook off the remnants of sleep.

Cup smiled at her. "You're so cute when you sleep; I wanna paint you that way, so I can look at it even when you're not with me. Plus, I wanna do one of you in a clown outfit - for my Momma, of course. She LOVES clowns!"

In the hallway, Mica and Clap were playfully arguing about the pegasus hogging the bed, while Gypsy was holding Diamond up to see out of the window.

"{And ALL of that is the city? It's HUUUUUUGE!}" Diamond's voice was filled with foal-like wonder.

Gypsy smiled. "{Indeed - it is one of the larger cities in Equestria, when the car craze began; it and Deltrot were neck and neck for manufacturing them for many years.}"

"{And those metal things which move so swiftly,}" the little stallion pointed a hoof out the window, "{are they cars?}"

The diamond dog let out an amused chuckle. "{Yes, friend - those are cars.}"

Mundy's eyes went wide and glistened with fascination. "{WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW...}"

Siddy walked down the hallway, looking out of the windows to see the twon itself. So... this Cincin-... thing... was a city?

"Hello, everyone; did you all rest well?" she asked nopony particular. ...Whistlewhite...

Clap laughed, "Yeah - if MICA hadn't been bundling all the sheets under himself!"

Mica lifted an eyebrow. "It was the only way I could have any room, Clap - did you have to spread out to sleep?"

"But it was so comfy!" she whined back, "Better than my own bed - and that's a cloud!"

Diamond saw her, and his little legs went nuts as if he were trying to run in the air. Gypsy, chuckling, set him down and he was at Obsidian's side in less than a second.

"{Obsidyan! The city is enormous! Was the Mane's-Hat-On this big? I can hardly WAIT to see more!}" He scampered to the doors, while Gypsy followed after him.

"A g-good sleep has invig-gorated him," Gypsy smirked, "and this one h-hopes we can keep up."

Cupcake stepped next to her, kissed her cheek and smiled. "Ready to take on Cincineighti?"

You know, they'd already lost Diamond once, back in the forest... but what alternative did they have, though? Putting a collar and leash on him?

"I think so, Cuppy." She was feeling a bit strange over the fact that she was once again going into a large city. She always imagined Opal's factories in the middle of a desert, or hidden somewhere in the mountains, far away from any sort of civilization... she must be hiding in plain sight, then?

It was a city, alright... but not like Manehattan; where the Big Applecore had been a tall, bunched together city, Cincineighti was shorter, but broader. The buildings weren't as high, but they also weren't as shoved together as Manehattan had felt to be. If Manehattan was the tall, distinguished fellow... then Cincineighti was his squat, broad-shouldered brother.

And the CARS...

They were everywhere! Even moreso than she'd thought possible, it looked as though cars were crammed into every available spot on the roads, with two wheeled cycles taking up the leftover space. The air here smelled... funny. Plus, there was a haze of what looked like a grey fog that hung over the entire city - and it wasn't rainclouds, she could tell that much. But the place looked as though it were more developed than Clearwater, yet not quite as far as the Big Applecore. In other words, a happy medium.

The curb was lined with taxicabs; they wouldn't have to wait for one at all!

... especially because there was a blue and green mare in a police uniform who was standing at the end of the line outside the train terminal, holding up a sign that said [OBSIDIAN AND CO], looking endlessly bored.

Well, if this was some sort of trap, it was a very strange one. Manehattan wasn't that bad; nature was terrible. Obsidian supposed she would see what an industrial city has to offer - beyond strange air. "Well, team... it seems like somepony already awaits us."

As the group made their way to the officer, a few of the surrounding locals began to take notice. There were timid waves and looks of awe as they passed by... hopefully, this wouldn't bring the dreaded paparazzi again!

The officer stood there looking at them as they approached. She was chewing gum, and looked as bored as anyone could possibly be without dying of it.

"Obsidian, yeah?" she said as they got close, "I'm s'posed ta take ya to the station; Chief sez you got backin' by Princess Twilight, so's we got ta bax ya. I'm here ta get ya; follow me ta da parkin' lot." Her voice was as bored and listless as Maud Pie's sounded. She turned and began to make her way outside of the terminal... not really even looking to see if they were following her.

Obsidian felt that the chances were good that it probably wasn't Markannus; he may have been a master of disguise, but even he couldn't sound THAT soul-crushingly bored. "Thank you, miss - okay, let's go guys. Hopefully we will get some reliable support for this trip."

Maybe this time, their 'support' wouldn't try to destroy any funeral pyres.

They were led out to a police van, which was a good thing, as there was no way that Obsidian, Cupcake, Mica, Gypsy, Diamond and especially Thunderclap would have fit in a single police car. The morose officer got in the driver's seat and started it up.

"{THIS CAR IS ALIVE, GYPSEE!}" Diamond suddenly yelped when the engine turned over.

"{No, no, friend,}" the diamond dog explained patiently, "{it is attached to an engine; that is what is making the noise and rumbles.}"

The mare checked her mirrors, sighed with the weight of the world on her shoulders, and started driving.

"I'm Officer Cynic Sentry, and I welcome you to Cincineighti, home of universal love and the best cars in the world." She sounded like Clap did when she first described the Friendship Academy. "As we're in transit, is there any question I could answer for you?" She didn't sound like she wanted any questions, but she did offer.

Listening to her voice was almost physically painful; any love advertised by it would surely end in terrible heartbreak. Obsidian quickly shook her head at the mare's sullen invitation - if she had any questions, hopefully she could find the answers at the police station... and hopefully from someone who had at least experienced happiness ONCE in their lives.

Author's Notes:

And so the dreams come to their apex... but what happened? An explosion? Onyx's creation? A surprise party for Hope? (Okay, that last one's a stretch.) Still, now the question comes forward as to what happened, at least after the events of that last dream... and don't you worry your heads - I aim to please, and you'll get your answers. And the truth shall set you free.

That's right - Whistlewhite is the reincarnation of The Moochick; those of you who know previous Pony Generations probably had your eyebrows shoot up your forehead in surprise when you read that. I kept bumming around the MLP Wiki, looking for something to pull from the way-back times... and I'll be damned if I didn't find something for exactly that purpose. Here's hoping the reveal was as much fun for you to read as it was for me to write.

So the gang (-Wart, +Diamond) have made it all the way to Cincineighti, and are bound directly towards the inevitable meeting with Sister Opal. Her picture in Mundy's sketch seems to show her as such a sweet, studious individual; Obsidian and company wil probably have a nice little chat with her, where misunderstandings will be squared away and everything will turn out fine and hunky-dory, right..?

No spoilers...

Fifty Two: Cincineighti Heights

Aside from both Gypsy and Diamond sticking their heads out of the windows, nothing else eventful occurred until they reached Police Precinct 13; it was one of the short, thick buildings in the city, and inside it was filled with police ponies, mares and stalllions, all doing what they were supposed to be doing as the group walked in.

They followed Officer Cynic through the milling groups of officers to one of the closed doors, and she knocked with a rythym that was as dull as she was. "Chief - they're here," she moped through the door. It opened, and a very firm, serious unicorn stallion was standing there.

"Right, Obsidian, yes? You're the one Princess Luna was talking about, and the one who Princess Twilight ordered us to assist. I don't know what's up, but if the princess ordered it, I'm your stallion." He was fit and trim, if leaning towards the middle-age look, and was clean cut, bright-eyed and alert.

Well, Obsidian recalled that Princess Twilight had said something about assitance from the police, but she wasn't sure of exactly what they could do to help her. Guards, she knew - police? Not so much; maybe investigate Opal's factory? Get them official approvals for equipment? Arrest somepony?

"A pleasure to meet you - er, did the princess happen to specify exactly what you're allowed to do to assist us?" Obsidian asked; might as well just come out and say it.

"Sure, we can go over that. Please, come in," he motioned for them to follow.

Inside the office, there were filing cabinets filling the wall space, and in the center were two desks. One was neat and orderly, without a single thing out of place. The other had a buffalo in a police unform sitting at it.

The buffalo was HUGE; his horns were within inches of scraping the ceiling. His eyes weren't visible through the fringe of fur that acted as an eyebrow - in fact, his eye area was one big unibrow, going all the way across his forehead. He looked almost comical, sitting in a chair that looked even smaller beneath the massive bulk seated in it. And the buffalo wasn't fat; he looked fit - just LARGE.

He turned his face in their direction (she couldn't see his eyes, so it was a guess at best), and said a single, clear, deep-voiced word.

"Hello."

The stallion stepped next to him and grinned. "This is Chief Big Thunder Mountain, by the way - I'm Captain Shield Storm. He's the brains, I'm the mouthpiece, so to speak - the Chief does an amazing job, he's just not much for words."

"Nope," said Chief Mountain, straightening a stack of papers carefully.

"See? But rest assured, after working together for a decade, we know each other well - anything I say, he means, and vice versa."

Oh by Darkness, yet another species she didn't know about? How fascinating! Did they know magic? Where did they live? Were they subjects of Equestria or formed a separate state? Ah, so many questions; so little time to find answers.

At the moment, however... Obsidian didn't even know how the chief was able to get inside the building. Maybe he sat down a few years ago at that desk, and the police station was built around him?

She bowed to him anyway; if he was going to be an ally, she might as well be polite. "So. We are here to investigate Pola Industrial, as Princess Twilight surely told you. We are lacking a lot of direct information, however, and our expert... er, well, I'm not sure when she will arrive. How much time does it take to get from Ponyville to Cincy... uhh, this city... by train?" Obsidian kind of hoped that Patty and Stalwart would already be waiting for them when they arrived.

Captain Storm came back around and sat at his desk, opening a drawer and taking out one of several various notepads. He flipped it open, then started reading it aloud. "Pola Industrial has been a boon to this city since they built their factory here, two years ago, but they've also been keeping a spotless record - not a peep out of them, from accidental alarms to fires to... well, there's been NOTHING coming from there except cooperation and a vague feeling that we're being pacified for now."

He looked at Obsidian. "And in our experience, no news is BAD news. We've been sure they've been up to something, we just have no proof... but see, that's where YOU come in! You see, every time we go to investigate, they're spotless; we need someone who doesn't have to call ahead by law to request time to explore the factory grounds." The look of irritation at being bound to the law was obvious, but he didn't make any mention of it.

"We've been cleared to give you assistance in any way we can, but due to our responsibilities to the city, we can directly only offer a few options: First, we can provide some backup; we have a roster of about twenty five officers who aren't on special assignment or otherwise engaged - they can be called in a moment, and we can have them to you within five to ten minutes... or sooner, if you let us know to be ready for that call ahead of time."

"Second, we can offer services in looking up police records and files on anyone you can name - or at least, whatever name they go by. False identity is a problem sometimes, so don't expect a miracle... but we'll offer what we know, for your perusal."

"Third, we can make arrests as directed by you... BUT, understand that we frown on false arrests, and won't stand for being called in to arrest someone as a prank or an ego boost. Understand that, and we'll be fine."

"Fourth, we can provide some transportation, though it will most likely be in an obvious police vehicle; it won't be easy to hide your affiliations if it comes to that. But if you're in a hurry to get somewhere, emergency-style, then we are able to provide such."

"And fifth and finally, we are cleared to allow you the use of some of our body armor vests and helmets, in case of an emergency... but anything firearm- or even weapon-related is a strong, firm NO. Princess Twilight specifically told us you wouldn't want firearms involved anyway; I agree with her, as they're nasty, cold things."

The rest of her friends were still out in the main room; Mica had his head slightly poked through the doorway, listening... but that was all.

"Aside from that, do you think you'll actually NEED anything more than that from us?" Captain Storm asked.

"Don't worry - I prefer pranks that don't involve the police," Obsidian assured the captain after the third assistance option.

Hmmmmm... transport, direct backup, information, armor; not bad, actually. All of them would make the automatic connections with police obviously clear... but it's better to have options than not.

"I don't think so, sir - at the moment, I'd only like to look up some police records on Shaded Pearl. It's also possible she's lately been spending time with a similar-looking mare, but I doubt Sapphire would use her real name publicly." Eh, false identities - such a pain.

Captain Storm nodded. "We knew you'd ask about Shaded Pearl, because we have HER file already; we figured you'd want the information on the CEO of Pola Industrial, since you were, y'know, here to investigate into them." He reached over and picked up a neatly bundled stack of papers, holding them out for Obsidian. "Here; this is what we have - those are copies, so feel free to take 'em."

Obsidian took them, glad that they were prepared. "I'll check them out immediately, thank you. Is there any place around here where we could sit down for a bit, perhaps?"

"Interrogation room eight is open at the moment... just don't stay for more than an hour or so; on-duty, spare rooms can fill up at a moment' notice... off-duty, we let some officers sleep there between shifts, if those shifts are close enough together." He got up and made his way to the door, motioning for her to follow as he went out of it.

"Goodbye," came from Chief Mountain as she left.

In the main room once more, Captain Storm stopped and looked at the gathered individuals here. Thunderclap and Mica were having a debate on the best way to hide a weapon (with a few hoodlums nearby, listening intently), Gypsy was standing at the counter, eyeballing a box of doughnuts on a back shelf, while Diamond was speaking at great length to what looked like a crazed-looking old mare seated on the bench in hoofcuffs. The old mare was smiling sweetly at Diamond, and he was telling her all about his trip to Clearwater.

Captain Storm looked back at her. "Friends of yours, I take it?"

"Yes," she answered briefly, looking around. Clap, Mica, Diamond, Gypsy...

"{Diamond, where's Cup?}" she asked, a bit worried about his willingness to talk to some old mare in hoofcuffs.

Diamond turned to look at her. "{Obsidyan! I was telling my new friend here about the fun we had in the Cleared Waters! She seems nice.}" He pondered for a moment. "{I believe he has gone to use the porcelain chamber pot, yes? The room of bathing? He said he would be back in a 'jyf', though I do not know what that is.}"

Obsidian nodded - no reason to be worried, then. "Everyone, let's move this into the interrogation room; we'll all check our target's files and then plan our next steps accordingly." She'd have to wait a bit for Cup to return so she could tell him this as well.

The old nag on the bench next to her brother slowly looked up at Obsidian. "Is this your colt, missy? He sure is a nice little fella."

Diamond smiled at her words. "{Thank you, elder! You are also a joy - though I think you need to straighten your mane out; it looks a bit wild today.}"

The old nag smiled at him. "Yes, yes... I'm making sure your mother knows you want a treat - patience, little one!"

As Storm led her to the proper room, the others simply fell in line behind her, Diamond included as he waved to the old mare. The room with the door numbered '8' on it was a table with four chairs... and a large mirror at the back.

"Nobody's in observation right now; you're clear. Let us know if you need anything else." He saluted smartly, then turned and headed back to his office, presumably.

"Okay," Mica rubbed his hooves together as he sat down in a chair, "let's see what we've got on Miss Pearl, here..."

Obsidian handed him the files. Did... did she really look old enough to be Diamond's mother? Damnation. Or perhaps he simply looked that young? "I'll be right back, Mica - I'll wait for Cup outside, as I don't want him to think we just left him behind."

Mica waved a dismissive hoof towards her, shooing her off as he dove into the file, his steel-trap mind already at work. His wave away wasn't rude or presumptuous; he was simply already thinking, and didn't have time for words at the moment.

Outside of the room, there were a few officers doing their duty, moving about the area; she saw two of them carefully escort the old mare to the cells in the back, both taking care to make sure she didn't hurt herself. She saw another one escorting a rather scared-looking young colt towards the holding area, tears running down his pale cheeks. The officer in question tossed a reassuring wink at Obsidian as he passed by - perhaps this was just a scare tactic?

Whether it was a scare tactic or not, Obsidian felt her stomach clench a bit when she witnessed it. Apparently, she had a soft spot for foals... er, not that she'd met many foals before, to be fair.

And then, she saw it. Hanging in the back, surrounded by tacked-up papers and yellow sticky notes was an exquisite painting print of a goregeous view of the Crystal Mountains, looking so close to real that she expected the trees to bow from the wind.

A Whistlewhite painting print.

Ah, so Whistlewhite was truly everywhere, eh? A copy, no doubt... but Obsidian walked over to inspect it more closely anyway. Mountains... one day, she'd have the opportunity to seek them out.

It was an exceptional piece of artwork, that was for sure - it was so lifelike, only the lack of actual color was the only thing that kept it from looking like a photograph. It was a charcoal sketch on scroll paper - Whistlewhite's preferred medium - and it was a breathtaking view of the Crystal Mountainside... particularly, she noted that two very familiar-looking spires were quite prominent in the background. There was a small metal plate on the picture's frame, and it said:

[Fangs Of Ice ~ Whistlewhite]

Leftmost peak... she was created somewhere in there, and sooner or later she would have to go there as well. She would have to see it for herself, and check for the Umbral City that Ruby had spoken of, if only to be sure that no further danger could come out of this place.

What was taking Cup so long?

The peaks themselves almost seemed to call to her... as if there was a siren's call that sounded from their peaks and valleys.
She could almost see a small, nearly indistinguishable little line which rolled up the left spire... a line that was a bit darker then the surrounding ones...

"... Siddy?" She'd been lost in the artwork; Cup was standing right behind her, an eyebrow raised. "You there?"

"Shhhh..." she hushed him softly as she stepped a bit closer and squinted her eyes, focused on this single line. Was it right there? Whistlewhite was a strange creature who was able to realize that somepony from the future was watching them to learn this supposed path to the altars; perhaps she added something to her picture as well?

However, if there was something more there, she'd have to see the original; close up, everything blended in too much with modern printing abilities. Even a perfect copy was still just a copy - she needed the real thing.

And in Manehattan, she'd been surrounded by the real thing at the museum. Frustration bit her hard; the answers might have been all through that gallery, and yet she didn't know, so she'd passed them all by. So much she may have missed...

"Um... you okay, love? I mean, I like art, but that's... wait... that's a Whistlewhite, isn't it? Looks like it... Siddy, is there a connection?" Cupcake: he may not have known what was going on, but he picked up quickly.

Damnation. "Yes... but let's head to the interrogation room; we can discuss it there." He followed her back to room #8, and they went inside.

Mica had the contents of the file spread out along the tabletop, and was reading one page rather intently. Clap looked bored, and yawned as Siddy and Cup entered. "Tell me we're not just gonna sit here while Mikey reads for the next hour!" she said, rocking from side to side precariously on one of the chairs.

Diamond, however, was being treated to the sight of Gypsy folding pieces of paper on the other end of the table; the little stallion just watched, rivited to the sight of Gypsy's nimble paws folding and shaping, making what looked like a buffalo. Cupcake came over to the table and began casually looking over the papers.

She trotted in with Cup to take a peek at the papers. "Diamond? You knew Whistlewhite, correct?" she asked, focused on Opal's files.

Diamond looked up from Gypsy's masterful handiwork almost immediately. "{Whistle? Yes, she took care of us until...}" he paused, "{... f-for a while. Why do you ask, sister? Are you curious about her?}"

The paperwork on Opal was less than she'd thought... but still enough to paint a decent picture of her; she'd been listed as an orphan, and had made a living repairing appliances and such until she began to dabble in gearcraft, or mechanical creations, that were designed to make life easier. Two years ago, as soon as the factory was open, it was cranking out Pearl's most renowned invention: The Labor Harness. The device was a free-standing suit of mechanical armor that could be used for a multitude of chores, from heavy transport to mining - particulary mining, as the suits made workers MUCH safer than the typical miner-with-a-pick could be.

The Labor Harness was a much-lauded product of Cincineighti, and Pola Industrial was seen as the 'new kid on the block', but with great potential. 'Pearl' had no previous issues, problems or arrests - of course, as she truly didn't exist in their paperwork, that was hardly surprising.

"OHHHHHHHHH..." Cupcake suddenly moaned with the same intensity as he had when they were in bed together... then she saw what he was moaning about: One of the papers talked about the Nest-Lee's Confectionary Factory she'd purchased... right across the street from her factory, no less. "I think I already like this sister," Cup grinned.

"{I ask, Diamond, because I saw her in Hope's memories, and she wasn't exactly what one would call a 'normal' pony. She was... strange; knew far more than she should have. She even knew that somepony was watching her from the future.}"

The labor harness looked useful - but Obsidian didn't like it; this... thing... could be easily weaponized. Coupled with anti-magical suits, a single one of them would be worth as much as a proper siege engine! "...are you sure about that, Cuppy? Perhaps she poisoned the things from this factory..?"

Cupcake paled. "She... she wouldn't... sh-she WOULDN'T... that's just... WRONGOWRONG!"

Diamond looked very closely at his sister. "{Whistle... always seemed to know things, yes... she always seemed to be aware of what was going on, even when we didn't tell her... it was like she already knew; she even had bandages ready for when we got hurt, as if she just KNEW we'd need them...}"

Now he looked intrigued. "{Tell me, Obsidyan... what else did you learn?}"

Cup simply couldn't understand that a known sister of Onyx, who was actively working to bring back Umbrals into the world as savage undead warriors, could do something that wrong, eh? "{Oh, plenty of things, like the fact that Hope cast the spell that created us after stealing a bit of Sombra's soul. I think it means that Hope is Onyx's mother, in a way?"}

Diamond looked at her solidly, not a single ounce of humour in his eyes. "{Hope didn't create us. Any of us. Father did.}"

"{I say only what I saw, Diamond; she cast the spell using Sombra's substance, after Whistlewhite told her to do it.}"

"{Yes... she cast a spell... at the Umbral Altars. And it destroyed her, according to father's diary. I consider her our mother, as she created the spell, but... we were ALL created by father's hoof and horn.}" He now looked quite uncomfortable; did Diamond know something he wasn't saying?

"{...Diamond,}" Obsidian said softly, "{is there something you feel that you need to tell me?"}

Diamond looked at her in a very similar manner to the same look she'd gotten from Sapphire at the factory doors. "{No, Obsidyan. No.}"

Mundy now stared awkwardly at the floor; Gypsy, done with his origami, looked up to show it to Diamond... then grew a quizzical look as he saw the stallion's fallen expression. He glanced at Siddy and raised an eyebrow.

"{Brother? Was there somepony else before us, perhaps? Please, speak to me...}" That was the only possibility that she could think of.

Diamond continued to look at the floor, keeping his eyes away from hers. Now Clap noticed. "Hey... what's eatin' the little guy? Siddy, what's up with Mundy?"

Gypsy now looked up. "Sh-she is asking him about a m-m-mutual friend, Clap," he said simply, but the look on his muzzle told Obsidian that he'd want answers too, later.

What was he hiding? Why he didn't want to talk about it? What terrifying secrets he was hiding? Did he possibly murder Hope's first creation with his own hooves, and the shock over this terrifying act made him turn to his peaceful values?

Probably not... this was Diamond, after all.

"Yes, Thunderclap - I'm asking him about a mutual friend," she confirmed Gypsy's words. After all, Whistlewhite had somehow known that Obsidian was watching through Hope's eyes.

Clap turned and looked at Diamond. "Then why's he look like he just stepped on someone's tail? C'mon, little guy - what gives?"

Diamond hopped up and quickly went outside of the room, closing the door behind him. Thunderclap instantly raised her hooves. "I didn't do anything, I swear!" Gypsy went towards the door, then looked at Obsidian for approval.

Obsidian nodded. Frankly, she had no idea what had made Diamond behave like that - but Gypsy would be able to find out, or at least cheer him up. "Don't worry Clap - it's not your fault. We were just discussing a more... painful bit of our history."

Gypsy followed after Mundy, while Clap just looked confused.

"Okay," Mica spoke up, "I've finished reading."

Cup looked after Diamond as well, but he trusted Gypsy to handle it; he sat in one of the open seats. Clap crossed her forehooves and smirked. "Right, so let's hear what the Supreme Egghead has to say."

"Ha," he said to Clap as he sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. "Pola Industrial is a multi-million bit corporation, yet it fits into the private business category, as the factory doesn't have any actual employees - just 'Pearl', and a number of tasks seen to by automated machinery. Therefore, she's making an INSANE amount of money, as she has nothing to pay for but utilities and supplies."

"Pearl has donated some money to random charities, to ensure she didn't draw attention unduly - but they're private donations, which once again keeps the factory from becoming the target of taxes. It's a brilliant strategy; Opal seems more and more intelligent as I read about her."

"She makes rare trips, but spends almost all of her time at the factory, working on her pride and joys - The Labor Harness. From what I can deduce, THIS is a legitimate machine; it single-hoofedly brought down mining accidents by 14% - a miracle by any standards. And there are fleets of them, according to the warehouse accounts..." He then pointed at another paper. "But THIS paper talks about how EMPTY that warehouse usually stays; it says that delivery trucks arrive only once a week, and the shipments all go out one truck at a time... sound familiar, Clap?"

Thunderclap sat forward. "Yeah, it does - just like ol' Quartz was doing, with Sapphy at the wheel! I wonder if she's doing these routes, too?"

"Wait," Cup offered, "if Sapphire's been delivering from both Quartz AND Opal... she'd be driving an eighteen-hour route! No wonder she looked so tired!"

Fleets of working, magical machines... plenty of anti-magical suits... oh dear.

Assuming that Obsidian was right, Opal could single-hoofedly conquer Equestria at any moment she wanted! Bah, if Obsidian was in her place, Equestria would already be subjugated!

...okay, maybe it wouldn't be; friendship, blasted with rainbows and so on.

"Thanks Mica, you did a fine job," Obsidian grinned. "So - we have a factory without any workers, an empty warehouse... did that paper mention if she had any private housing, or does she spend all her time at the factory?"

"ALL her time is spent there," Mica stressed, "she has the factory's address as her own, and she shows no other property or expenses for outside housing; she's living in there."

"So, wait... lemme get this straight, here," Clap said, "Amber's got Quartz sewing all night long, Opal living out of a factory, Sapphire driving and doing what else all knows what... GEEZ, what a louse! It's like she doesn't even care that you're family!"

Cupcake spoke up, "I really don't think she does, Clap."

"I'm not sure if you noticed, Clap... but some members of my family are rather nasty artificial ponies," Obsidian sighed deeply. "But hopefully it will all end as soon as Princess Twilight places new wards around Amber's shard. This way, we should be able to stop her from abusing our brothers and sisters any further, and give us some time to think about the possibility of releasing and reforming her." That was the perfect version of the plan, anyway.

Mica nodded. "Well, we have what we can get from here - next step would be to get a hotel room, then maybe discuss what we're going to do ne-"

"BOOOOOOOR-iiiiing! I say we drop off our stuff, then head straight to Pola Induct... Indep... In..."

"Industries," Mica offered.

"Yeah THAT - we can't waste time gabbing at each other; we gotta stop this while we still can!" Clap looked ready to go, of course - one might even be afraid she'd go off on her own, were she given the chance to do so.

"We don't have Stalwart nor Patty with us yet," Obsidian pointed out, "and all things considered, I'd prefer to have both a technological expert and some increased firepower with us. Exactly how far is Ponyville from here?"

Mica looked up at her. "About a four hour trip by train; they should be here already, but I'm gauging that Wart may have had to finish out her shift first; you know she won't leave it early."

"Yeah, that's Wart, alright," Cup agreed. "Give her a responsibility, and she won't shirk it for even a second!"

"Yeah, and she's all, like, 'yeah, I'm short - but I can stll kick your flank', and all that," Clap added.

Mica nodded. "Noble. Proud. Dedicated. That is Stalwart in a nutshell."

It got quiet again; they were missing their little friend fiercely.

"Well, they should arrive soon enough," Mica said, getting up, "and it would probably be a good idea to have the rooms ready when they arrive, yes?"

"Yes, no doubt - it would be nice to be able to contact them, of course - but unless they're travelling with Princess Luna, I kind of doubt we'll be able to get in touch with them just yet." Not that the sight of Gypsy burping out messages was the nicest thing she'd ever seen...

They left the room to find Gypsy standing next to a very subdued and quiet Diamond, who still couldn't look his sister in the eye. "He sp-speaks of only w-wanting to get to sleep," Gypsy offered Obsidian, looking a bit worried about his newest friend.

Mica shrugged. "We need to get to the rooms; let's see if we can talk the officers here out of a ride."

=====[Half An Hour Later]=====

The suites they had weren't top of the line, but they weren't bottom of the barrel, either. There was a mini-fridge and a bathroom, and two comfy and springy beds in the modestly furnished room. Cup jumped on one for a bit, until everyone heard a loud >TWANG< from the mattress... and then Cup wouldn't jump on it anymore.

They had a total of four rooms, two beds apiece. Mica and Clap took one room, while Gypsy claimed another for himself and Diamond. The last was presumably for Wart and Patty...

Which left Cup and Siddy all alone in their own room together.

What secrets were known to Diamond? Did Whistlewhite tell him more than he could carry on his own shoulders, or perhaps he saw more than Obsidian had (which wasn't hard - most of her time was spent in her room or training)?
Whatever it was, Obsidian hoped that after a long night of sleep, he would be willing and able to share this story with her.

"So, Cuppy... Is there anything you'd like to do? Because if not, I'd be grateful for helping me get in a nap. Last time, I saw Hope's final hours - but I'd like to know what else I can discover within the realm of my own mind."

Cupcake looked at her for a moment... and the look was... strange... but then, he nodded.

"Yeah, uh... sure. Here," he grinned now, "you lie down, and I can give you another massage..." Something was... off... about Cup, and Obsidian didn't know what it could be.

"Cuppy? Is there something wrong?" she asked carefully, stepping a bit closer to him. He wasn't thinking anything bad about Obsidian after her discussion with Diamond, was he?

The moment she asked, she could see the relief in his muzzle. "Well... actually, I was... well... it's just..." He sighed, then took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Closing his eyes, he spoke softly. "Well... I know you've been through a lot lately, a-and there's a lot on your mind and stuff... but, well... I have been through some stuff too. I mean, Lemmy turned out okay, but... well, I was really worried there, for a moment. And the party, then Quartz and that horrible outfit..."

He now opened his eyes, and looked at her sweetly. "I wanted to know if, maybe this time... you could, um... c-comfort me?"

He gave a bit of a shaky smile... and that's when it hit her. With him looking so deeply into her eyes and just loving her, he didn't even notice how his mane was a bit ragged, his hooves needed a good buff, his coat was unkempt, and his manner was a bit... shaky? All this going on, and he didn't notice how he was having to handle himself BY himself... because he was so busy taking care of her.

He didn't notice... but neither had she. Everything that had been going on in a whirlwind around her, and he'd been there for support in almost every instance...

And here he was - still going, even as signs of wear were beginning to show... and asking for her to be the one to provide comfort for tonight.

Oh... oh dear. Obsidian could feel her heart breaking a little bit as she realized that she let her coltfriend get into such a sorry state. Now that she could get a closer look at him, he really looked exhausted and haunted. It was foolish of her to think that he was better at dealing with the stress and hardship of the last few days.

Well, she'd tried to calm him down when he was worried about Lemon, and then they immediately managed to rescue him, but still... damnation, was she blind?

"My greatest love, I'll do anything I can to comfort you," she promised, closing the distance between them and nuzzling him lovingly.

She took gentle hold his hoof, leading him towards the bathroom. "Let's get you cleaned up with a nice, warm bath. I'll take care of your mane, and then we can go to bed, where we can talk and snuggle all your stresses away."

She was a bit stressed and anxious herself at Cupcake's current state; were her attempts to care for him good enough? She didn't know - any other mare would surely have immediately noticed that there was something wrong with him.

Cupcake looked at her like she was the only thing in the world, and tears of gratitude began rolling down his cheeks, a huge smile on his poor, worried face. "Thank you, love."

He let himself be led to the bathtub, where he gave no resistance whatsoever to her ministrations... and sneaking a kiss or two as she worked. She heard him almost sob with relief when she stroked the shampoo through his mane, and he sighed so very deeply as she toweled him off. There wasn't even anything sexual; he was just so incredibly grateful for the attention.

"I love you," he said simply as she dried his mane, which already looked so much better... as did he. The nervous look was gone, and his coat and mane were good and clean; his hooves might need work, but it wasn't too bad yet.

She was a bad marefriend - worse! A bad fiancee! She may have had the excuse that she was busy with her world-saving activities, but if she wasn't able to do so without grinding her coltfriend to the dust, then she was doing something wrong. She led him to the bed, where she did her best to make it as comfortable for him as possible, fluffing his pillow and turning down the bedcovers with her magic. "I love you too, Cuppy; I'm sorry I didn't take better care of you," she sighed sadly as she crept into bed as well, still feeling guilty.

He stopped where he was. "Siddy... that's what you just did."

He slipped up onto the bed, sitting on it and looking at her. "That's why I asked, love; everything that's going on with you, I understand that you're busy and preoccupied. And no, it does NOT make you a 'bad marefriend'... just like I'm not a bad coltfriend for not asking earlier - I handled it for as long as I could, and when I felt like I couldn't, I asked for help..."

Now, he stretched out next to her and wrapped her in his forelegs, squeezing her gently. "... and you helped, just like the best marefriend ever would." She heard him sniff her mane again; it might have been a touch creepy, but it was far more adorable to her.

"I love you... and I know you love me, too." he sighed into her neck, his warm and sweet breath rolling across her nape, making it tingle a bit.

Such a good colt - the best one, in fact. Even when he was feeling bad, he still made her feel better.

She wrapped her forelegs around him, snuggling up to him tightly. By Darkness, not too long ago, there was a risk he would have been a fully-grown adult by the time Onyx would have freed her shard... and she never would have know his love. It would have been an epic tragedy.

She stroked his mane lovingly with a hoof. "After all of this is done with, we'll make it a slow week, with no hurry. Baking, snuggling and just enjoying life... and I will focus the whole of my attention at you, my brave stallion."

Cupcake shook his head. "Nuh-uh - you and I will spend time together, but I think we should invite our friends over, too. I want ALL of us - all of The Siddy Six - to be closer... even more than we are now. I want us to know each other perfectly."

His smile then turned a bit smirky. "Besides... you get me all night long, you know."

He then sighed and just looked at her as he held her. "But the enjoying life stuff? Yeah - I'm all for that, completely. And there's no other mare I'd rather experience it with." He kissed her deeply, then nuzzled his way against her as he buried his muzzle in her mane again, a contented sigh escaping from him as his warmth began to seep into her as well.

So very, very soft...

"I had already considered 'inviting our friends' to be a part of 'enjoying life', Cuppy," she grinned. For a moment, she wanted to tease him a bit... but she quickly decided against ruining the moment; there was nothing wrong with just laying here and snuggling, after all. Quite the contrary, as she was rather content right now.

It wasn't long before she felt herself drifting off to sleep, surrounded by Cupcake, and dreaming of...

Author's Notes:

Buffalo - again, one of the woefully underrepresented races from the show. I enjoyed the idea of showcasing other members of rare races within this story - be they grand or faint references - and I liked the idea of a two-critter crew running the police force. And eeyup - Chief Mountain gets the Big Mac treatment when it comes to convo.

Diamond knows something... and Obsidian is worried about what it may be. Speculation abounds, but it's most likely that Mundy will come clean about it before long; after all, how could he deny his favorite sister for long?

Poor Cup - sometimes, we simply plod along on our own path so hard, we don't realize what's happening as a result. Never forget to take the time to appreciate those who help you get to where you're going, as you sometimes have no way to know if they're suffering more so you don't have to. ALWAYS remember those who helped you step up, and never forget that they sometimes could use a helping hoof, too.

Fifty Three: Duck & Cover

~>-<~

The Delvar Libratorium. She found herself standing outside of the massive building, in a world which was tinged with a light greenish haze. Apparently, it was time to have a chat with Brother Peridot... which was only fair, as she'd missed him last time due to Onyx. Now she would gladly enjoy some special bonding time with her wiser brother. She trotted happily up the marble steps and into the grim building.

The entrance atrium was just as grand as it had been in the Empire's heyday; regal, quiet and solemn. When she'd been here in Modern Times, it was less grandiose, more subdued, and a number of walls had been put in to separate sections. In the past, however, the entire library was open; the only walls to be seen were the ones holding up the ceiling - otherwise, you could see from one end to the other without obstruction.

And seated at one of the tables in the center was Peridot, his glasses off and intently reading some random book. His ears twitched in her direction as she enetered, but he didn't look up from what he was reading.

"Salutations," he said warmly, "we should speak."

"I agree, dear brother - I'm so glad to see you," Obsidian said as she trotted over and took an unoccupied seat at the table.
Long ago, this place was truly something... grim and scary, but impressive.

With her seated, Peri placed a bookmark with a tassel into the tome, and closed it carefully, setting it aside as if it were an old friend.

"I... am always glad to see you, dear sister. However, tonight's visit is..." He thought for a moment. "... possibly going to be one that will not bring much joy. Though I'm certain you'll be glad for part of it... however, I am certain, within a 99.4% accuracy, that there will be at least ONE part you will not enjoy hearing."

He sighed. "But, before I begin... it is GOOD to see you again, Obsidian." Now, he gave a smile; as rare as it was for him, it had the effect of making his entire being brighten a bit.

Alas, she should've expected that; knowledge rarely brought joy for her, especially when it was about things as grim and important as her family. "I'd hoped to visit you last time, but I ended up spending far too much time with Onyx," she said as she returned the smile. "What do you want to talk about, then? Opal? Sapphire? Amber? Umbrals?" None of these topics would bring her too much joy at the moment.

He looked at her firmly. "First, I will give you the news you will like," he said as he stood up and began to walk about the library, examining random shelves and books. "Obsidian... do you recall what you were told about the contents of the libraries within your mind? About what they contained?"

"Everything you wanted to learn about, yes?" she replied plainly - though, considering who she was talking to, she could outright say 'everything in the world', and she'd probably be accurate. And Peri could even define HOW accurate, she was certain.

Peridot shook his head. "No, Obsidian - not everything... specifically, the books that exist in this strange headspace are all made up of nothing but whatever knowledge YOU have taken in. Nothing exists here that you have not seen before..."

He then stopped walking, and gave a small grin. "... which means everything you have ever read or even just seen is within the pages of a book within your mind."

Oh... well, Obsidian had thought that he was talking specifically about the ACTUAL Libratorium, not the library in her mental version of the Librat-...

For a moment, she could only stare at him in shock... until finally, a wide smile appeared on her muzzle. "So the Shard Simulacrum Spell is safe." Strange - she thought that hearing such news would make her happier, perhaps even outright enthusiastic... however, all she felt was mostly relief.

Peridot sighed. "Yes... and no."

He walked over to look at her up close. "The spell IS safe - and in it's entirety - within your head. Every single line and ingredient is there, yes..." He closed his eyes and sighed. "But it has been sequestered away from me... and, I assume Ruby, as well..." He opened them again, and looked her right in the eyes. "... because it has become a book that can ONLY be checked out by one individual..."

No. It couldn't be...

"... The Head Librarian," Peridot finished gravely.

Obsidian deadpanned. She thought that she would like hearing the news he had for her - in fact, he'd outright said so! Why, then, could he have thought that about anything concering Onyx, she had no idea.

"So our dear, lovely sister Onyx is the only pony around who can see it," she stated plainly... and perhaps a bit petulantly.

"She has sequestered the information, yes - I assume it's through our shared familial connection, with a 2.4% chance of error, that she managed to gather the spell and deposit it into her own memory or soul... whatever it is that has us here... for safekeeping." He began to pace a bit, looking unnerved. "And that is not all... I believe I have felt some... let's call them ripples... through your head. Both going AND receiving, like echo location, but from TWO sources instead of merely one."

Peridot sighed. "To put it bluntly, I believe Onyx is not as cut off from the rest of the world as we assumed she was."

Obsidian was glad that she was already sitting down; otherwise, she'd need to do so anyway. She hid her face in hooves, silent.

Onyx... wasn't cut off from the rest of the world? Hopefully the glyphs around Amber would stop her, otherwise who knew how terrible the results could be? Gah! She was foolish for believing that a dead Onyx was any less dangerous than a living one!

But what could she do, except for outright killing Amber and storing her and Onyx in the same place? They could chat as much as they wanted to... safe within the depths of her mind. But even this plan was risky, as Amber was dangerous - Obsidian wouldn't dare release her from her shard without the proper preparations in place.

"I am sorry to be the bearer of such revelations, but I felt it imperative to inform you of such - especially in the wake of what I HAVE been feeling, as of the past day? Time is irrelevant here, so I am unsure..." Peri sat down again, looking right at her. "But I believe that Amber has made a power play of some sort; I cannot tell for certain what has happened, but my advice is to deal with Opal as quickly as possible, then make your way to the remaining shards to investigate. However, something has changed... and I am 100% certain it is a BAD change."

By Darkness, it was getting worse and worse with each passing minute! "Let me brace myself for the next bit of information, brother; exactly how much bad news do you have for me today?"

He looked at her for a moment, then closed his eyes. "I cannot feel Sapphire's mental energies. I am aware that you have seen her, yet... even then, I could not sense her at all. As she has been doing much of the proverbial 'dirty work', it leaves her as an unknown factor in all of this. Will she stand against you? With you? There is no way to tell... but I felt you should be informed of this as well."

He put a hoof to his temple and rubbed it. "To hear voices all the time for so long, it is deafening when one of the few voices left you WANT to hear goes silent."

What could it possibly mean? Sapphire was apparently very skilled with magical energies - Obsidian had heard such. As far as she was aware though, it mostly seemed to mean 'control over the elements'. Did it mean she was able to hide herself from the world at large, including Peridot? Or had something terrible happened to her? She'd said that she wasn't Obsidian's sister...

"Does it mean you can hear sister Opal as well?" Obsidian ventured.

"Her, I can hear... and she knows you and your friends are in town. I have felt a barely-controlled panic in her, I assume because she fully believes you are capable of putting her plans down." He folded his forelegs over his barrel. "You DO recall what Quartz informed you of, in regards to Opal?"

"Do you mean the situation concerning the color of her eyes?" she tried to guess.

Peri nodded. "Yes, that is exactly what I meant. Opal herself is sweet, and can actually be kind and caring, should she let her neuroses go... but Lapo is an altogether different situation."

He now began to gesture as he spoke. "Opal loves sweets, is vastly intelligent, and will most likely come across as mostly harmless... Lapo loves her self-claimed superority, is vastly egotistical, and will most likely try to kill you all." He fixed a stare at Siddy. "Starting with you, of course."

"That's a good thing I guess - it means I won't have to see her murdering my friends," she shrugged with resignation. It could be considered a boon, right? Onyx wouldn't shup up about her plans to mutiliate and torture everypony and was rather annoying... but Amber...

Damnation, so many dangers... and just when she thought that she'd neutralized one, another one reared its head, usually worse than the ones before it.

Peri set his hooves on the table, and gave her his full attention. "Obsidian, we have an opportunity here; we are conversing with no eavesdropping and no consequences... NOW would be the time to discuss what your plans are, and how we might be able to convince Onyx to allow you access to Hope's Spellbook."

Plans? Plans. Plans... dealing with Amber... finding Opal... convicing Onyx...

Did she really have any plans? Until now, she felt as though she was merely reacting to the moves of her siblings - trying to catch up to them, but forever a few steps behind.

"If everything went perfectly - and I already know it won't - I would go back to Ponyville where Princess Twilight would hopefully already have wards in place around Amber's shard, to contain her abilities. Then we would gather up plenty of lead, build barricades, get doctors and magicians together from all sides of Equestria and attempt to free Jade with no casualties. I also wanted to look for kirin, as I've met one that used Grey Magic, and Whistlewhite mentioned them while I was living through Hope's memories."

"But, considering that we already know that Amber and Onyx are plotting something, and a turn for the worse is coming..." She got quiet. "well... I honestly have no idea. As far as I'm able to tell, it could be an invasion by anti-magic machines, or something even worse. I don't think I'll be able to gather enough information before it's too late."

Peridot nodded. "Then what we have to plan for is what we might do to protect ourselves... and perhaps set up a trap or two as well."

He stood up and went to one of the shelves, pulled down a book, then came back to the table and laid it in front of her... and it was a rather familiar book. "Onyx may have access to everything you know... but that would mean the same, in reverse." Onyx's diary lay in front of her; the original was still in hiding, but this one was right here, right now.

"I have already perused it... and it's a fascinating read. There's a vanity to Onyx that she didn't have to begin with - it only started developing after a few years under father's tutelage. But in general, you might wish to know that Onyx has a loyalty to Sombra that is unshakable..."

His look turned grim. "But Amber, being one of the latter creations, has no such bond. It's part of the reason Onyx was using her - to try to get her to want father back - but I fear there is more in store than even SHE realizes..."

"So Amber could possibly have her own agenda?" While normally it could be a good thing that her sibling didn't have much loyalty to Sombra... in Amber's case, it could actually turn the situation worse. Far, far worse.

Peridot nodded. "Consider what you might attempt, had you a well-equipped armada while you're safely ensconced within a crystal shard, and the only one who ranks higher than you is... shall we say, 'indisposed'?" He gave her a grim look. "Everything is being set for father to simply step into control... but that means that, techncally, ANYONE could step into that role."

"Empress Amber..." Obsidian muttered; nope - it didn't sound good at all; it lacked majesty. If she was in Amber's shoes, she would consider either changing her name or using only her title. "And with her powers, she is the only one who can pull it off. Onyx was too loyal to Sombra, and the rest of us... well, let's say I can't imagine any one of us submitting willingly to one of the rest."

Peri adjusted his glasses. "But someone who can FORCE compliance, as she can? Yes... very disconcerting, I concur." He stopped pacing for a moment. "Wait. If I recall correctly, did Princess Luna not pledge the possibility of her Batpony armada to your cause? Perhaps when you return to the waking world, you might wish to communicate back that NOW would be the time to prepare..."

He then looked at Obsidian with curiosity. "I wonder... mayhaps if Onyx was informed of this oversight and convinced that Amber has her eyes on the throne, she might decide to allow access to Hope's Spell. Perhaps, if we are lucky, she may even decide to join our side - at least temporarily - to deal with Amber."

It was a good thing they'd had the messenger spell put on Gypsy. "I don't intend to use Hope's spell until we deal with the various dangers to Equestria. A short-term alliance could be useful, but for now I have no need to bargain for Onyx's knowledge." The fact that it was safe in her head - even if only for the token value of 'someone's head' - was enough for now. "Peridot, if I may ask... do you think that Onyx was possibly created by Radiant Hope?"

Peridot blinked at Obsidian owlishly. "Er... no, Obsidian - she was created by father. We ALL were, to the best of my recollection... including you, of course. There was no discrepancy to wonder about - though, for a while, Diamond did keep calling Whistlewhite 'Vanchay', or 'second mother' in our Crystallian language, so it was speculated she might have been a surrogate at one time... but Onyx herself confirmed that she wasn't."

He raised an eyebrow. "Actually... I would like you to consider bringing at least ONE of our siblings back for this situation, because the ability to teleport would come in extremely handy, do you not think so?" Was he saying what she thought he was saying?

"I'm saying that I believe you require Ruby," Peridot confirmed.

The last time Obsidian needed Ruby to teleport it ended... well, how exactly had it ended? Ah, that's right - with a big, knife-shaped growth in Ruby's back. Teleportation was a skill that would be extremely useful in her own personal inventory, instead of hoping the one who had it was with you when you needed it most. Well... okay, perhaps making similar bracelets as she had with Flurry would solve that trouble - but it still was a skill that she needed to learn for herself!

Obsidian looked puzzled. "But... Hope did cast a life-creating spell, the one that you saw! She did it using a stolen portion of Sombra's essence..."

Oh, and by the way - taking a sliver of somepony's soul to make them a 'father' against their wishes? Not very nice, Hope.... not very nice at all.

"...and offering herself as a sacrifice. Perhaps there is - or was - another artificial pony? And yeah, it would be nice to bring back Sister Ruby... but I don't think that bringing her back would be easier and faster than simply learning a Teleportation Spell myself."

Peri stood up and walked around the table to face her directly, actually even going so far as to place a hoof gently on her shoulder. "Teleportation is one thing... but I believe the morale and the extra support would also do you a world of good; I saw the scene with you and your Cupcake, and I could tell how much it upset you - and I think it would be good to have a family member not only capable of hearing and responding to that properly... but one who is already on your side. Tourmaline, Amethyst, Quartz, Diamond and Aquamarine all have TWO things in common: They're all children of Sombra... and they aren't Ruby."

He looked at the book with interest. "If you like, I may try to figure out the spell myself - perhaps we could even sequester assistance from Ruby? I am certain she would know more about it than I would."

"How could Ruby know more about it than you?" Obsidian expressed her surprise.

Peridot now put on a rare, full smile. "Do you not recall SHE was the researcher? And also, the spell she used to separate herself into a mirror - THAT had its' basis in Hope's work... because it was Ruby who discovered Hope's magical workshop, after all."

Obsidian closed her eyes. To be fair, she'd kind of forgotten about that fact; after all, she knew Ruby only very briefly before her untimely death, and they never discussed...well, anything much beyond their feelings together. Besides, she was standing next to the family genius - it was easy to forget that other ponies could research things as well.

"You have a point, brother of mine," she admitted, "and I think I will mention a word or two to her during our next meeting. However, I've also mentioned that Hope herself actually used the spell..."

"Hope was a magical genius," Peri said, "and Ruby was the one who proved it to me. The spell used to create life? It was just a basis - her magical skills far surpassed anyone else in her generation, and she had an entire spellbook's worth of theoretical spells that all were based off her FIRST spell... 'The Crystal Shard Simulacrum Spell'."

Peridot looked at Obsidian squarely. "Part of the reason she was so desperate to use the spell was because it was going to unlock the potential for so many more spells if it worked. Spells that she had created from scratch."

"Such as the Soul Separation Spell - one that Ruby practiced a number of times in the workshop, and almost caused a real situation when her Dark Side nearly escaped her. She's the one who took Hope's notes and diagrams and managed to decypher the spells for herself. None of us ever had the actual spellbook, but Ruby didn't need to find it after a few years; she'd mastered as much of Hope's work as she could on her own."

Now, Peri gave a light smirk. "Onyx was indeed foolish to underestimate Ruby's capabilities - and, as you witnessed firsthoof, it led to your triumph... and her defeat."

Obsidian closed her eyes; she was starting to get a headache - metaphorical, not physical. Was it even possible to have headaches in a dream?

"She said she was going to make Sombra a father... right before she used the Umbral Altar to enhance the spell." Was it Onyx? Was there something else? Did it outright fail? But Whistlewhite herself told her to do it... and she seemed to be powerful enough to keep from wasting a life over a failure. Or perhaps Obsidian was simply too blind to realize what the answer was to her questions?

Now, the studious stallion grew a puzzled expression. "Obsidian... we were NOT alive during that moment - NONE of us ever met Radiant Hope, as she was gone before our arrival... how do you know what she said?"

Busted.

Damnation! She was talking with so many different ponies, and revealing (and keeping) so many secrets that she forgot that Peri couldn't possibly know what she was talking about. "I... well, I was able to view what appeared to be her memories, in my dreams," she explained before she quickly described the last dream she had to him.

"I thought you already knew, considering that you're obviously aware that I'd found the spell," she admitted.

He blinked. Twice. "You... are living through..."

He sat down. HARD. "... sweet blanket of Darkness..." he almost gasped, as he suddenly looked exceedingly pale. "Obsidian... do you... dream of Hope's life? I ask this because... when I was alive, I dreamed as well..."

He looked at her pointedly. "But it wasn't Hope's life... it was Father's. The dreams were vivid, as if I was standing in his horseshoes... yet, I could change or interact with NOTHING, because it was all set in stone..."

His eyes shifted to her. "... and you say, you're witnessing the OTHER SIDE of it? From HER perspective?" He looked shaken... but also a bit excited, as well.

Finally, he realized what she was talking about! She nodded eagerly, hoping to hear his opinion about this phenomenon before she woke up. "I never had any similar dreams about Sombra," she added.

It was strange... but to see Peridot in such an animated state was... well, he looked happy to be handed a puzzle like this, and was eager to see where it went. "And I, never about Hope - but I'm certain that, if we can put our heads togeth-"

~>O<~

The sudden explosion tore a hole through the wall, and covered Cup and Siddy with plaster dust and debris.

"OBSIDIAN! SPEAK TO ME!" came Cup's voice through the cloud of smoke and dust around her - meaning he wasn't wounded, she hoped.

Presumedly, Peridot would spend some time trying to figure it out, and hopefully Obsidian would survive long enough to speak with him about his conclusions. Normally, she would be rather annoyed that she'd woken up before the best part of her dream... but let's be honest; this time, the situation was a bit too serious.

"CUP!" she called out as she immediately cast a shield around herself before she got to her hooves, trying to gather enough focus to figure out what was happening right now.

Chances were good that it probably wasn't the arrival of Stalwart or Patty.

There was a stuttering, rattling sound, and suddenly sparks began jumping from the side of her shield facing the hole; small metal things were pinging off the barrier quite rapidly. She could probably hold her ground against them without pressure, one at a time; with them being poured on like this, she'd have to concentrate to keep the force field up. Which meant she couldn't cast anything else until the barrage stopped.

At the back of her shield, she saw Cupcake cut through the smoke with a pillowcase over his snout, and bump muzzlefirst into her shield. Recognizing it, he knocked on it frantically. Luckily, he was on the other side of the shield from the incoming projectiles; unfortunately, it meant her shield almost gave out, as it was technically an assault on it from two different directions!

By Darkness, who was attacking them in the middle of the city!? Sapphire used Elemental Magic; Opal was apparently supposed to be 'harmless'... unless Obsidian's mere presence made her turn into this 'Lapo' business, and even then she had only her machines.

So what was this? Did she already start an invasion? Found some mercenaries to do her dirty work? Or perhaps it was yet another party?

Everything and anything was possible; Obsidian hoped to find out soon enough, assuming she wouldn't die because her coltfriend was ruining her concentration on her shield.

"TO THE DOORS, CUPPY!" she shouted, frantically trying to maintain her shield long enough to step away from the hole. Were they being attacked from the ground level, or up higher? Everything was MUCH easier in Manehattan - including the fact that their rooms there were on such a high level that nopony would have been able to attack them from outside!

Cup barged out into the hallway in enough time to catch Mica, Gypsy and Diamond all exiting their rooms as well.

"Where's Thunderclap!?" Mica shouted over the din; whatever was shooting the metal things at her was still at it.

From outside, there came a loud >CRUNCH<... and the rattling sound stopped.

"HA! Nothin' but garbage!" came from outside, sounding suspiciously like Thunderclap Dash; Mica was through the door and out on the street in a moment. Obsidian followed, immediately taking down her shield as soon as shooting stopped - she could only hope that there was not a second attacker... or a third.

If Modern Equestria had weapons like that, then why the Tartarus did they have to defend the damned castle in Ponyville with swords and spears during the Umbral attacks!?

Out on the street, Clap was standing next to a heap of junk; it looked like it had been some sort of stationary machine, designed to simply keep spraying out projectiles until it ran out of... of... what had it been firing?

"I got this all under control, Siddy," Clap said confidently as smoke began to rise from the heap of machinery.

Under control or not, Obsidian cast a shield around them anyway. "What in Tartarus is that?" she asked as she stepped closer to investigate this strange artifact. Was this an example of Opal's ingenuity? Truly, her sister was amazing - too bad that she'd decided to target Obsidian and her friends. It was some sort of machine, complete with gears and wires... otherwise, it was mostly scrap now.

"Yeah, as soon as I heard something, I was in the air," Clap boasted, "and outside in five seconds flat. I saw the tin can, but it didn't see me... so, I grabbed the first thing I saw and KER-PLOW, I smashed it!" She pointed at one of the decorative steel flowerboxes from next to the entranceway, which was lying on its' side, bent in numerous places and looking ready to be recycled itself.

A hissing sound began to issue from the pile of junk, and it got very hot standing near it. As they backed away carefully, the pile began to glow a bright, hot white... then, it simply melted into useless, unidentifiable slag.

"Awwwww... I wanted a piece of it for a trophy!" Clap groaned.

"My sister... is a genius," Obsidian stated plainly. They didn't even have time to inspect it closely - did it have wheels? Was it teleported in? Did somepony else have to place it here?

They had no idea, and wouldn't be able to find out because this damnable thing was able to self-destruct in a very thorough manner.

"There could be more of these things around us - Opal couldn't possibly think that a single machine would be enough to kill us all." She looked around to be sure that it was safe to drop her shield and reunite with the rest of her group.

As far as Siddy could tell, there were no other turrets like this in the area - they were relatively safe, at least for now; she saw nothing and nobody else... except for the police car headed their way at a rapid pace, its siren wailing into the night.

Mica went to Clap and checked on her... but of course, she was unharmed. "Take it easy, Mikey! I'm fine, yeesh!"

Mica had on his neutral expression... but Obsidian could see the worry packed into his eyes as he checked her over thoroughly. "I know, I know - I'm just making sure; relax."

The police car screeched to a halt, where two officers - a peagsus mare and an earth pony stallion - got out and headed towards them quickly as they looked around.

"Is anyone hurt? What's the situation?" the pegasus spoke up.
"Do we need backup?" followed the earth pone.

Good thing they had police support; too bad that they showed up a bit late. "Nopony seems to be hurt; we were attacked by some kind of... automated turret? It had enough firepower to blow a hole in the wall. Clap managed to stop it, but as for the remains... well..." She pointed at the molten leftovers of their attacker.

Damnation, Opal was good.

The officers talked to each other for a moment, and as other tenants at the hotel finally began to make their way outside to see what the commotion was, one of the cops returned to their squad car to call for backup, while the other one made sure the other residents were okay.

Cup threw his forelegs around his fiancee. "Oh, Praise Twilight you're okay!"

Obsidian gladly returned the hug, but rather quickly looked to see if Cupcake was okay. "Er... Praise Twilight? That's a... unique one, Cuppy," she mused.

She was acting completely on automatic pilot, too tense at the moment to come off her guard. After checking on Cupcake, she immediately went to examine the rest of her group. Apparently, it seemed that they possibly would need Diamond on this leg of their quest.

Cup was quite dusty - a shame, since she'd just bathed him - but otherwise unhurt. The same went for Clap, Mica and Gypsy; rattled, but otherwise fine.

"Well, I mean... folks used to say 'Praise Celestia', so I just figured it was Auntie Twily's turn, is all!" Cup grinned, simply glad that no one was injured.

Diamond was also fine, but he was over at the hole in the wall, examining the ground... or more like something on the ground.

Well, in that context, 'Praise Twilight' would make sense - but it still sounded strange; Princess Twilight wasn't as legendary or ancient as Princess Celestia was. While Obsidian had practically spent many of her modern days learning about the great deeds of the former, she'd spent her entire life - including her ancient past - learning about the latter.

"Ah... Diamond?" she asked quietly, approaching him - what did he find here?

The little stallion reached down into the shadows next to the wall, and there was a metallic clinking sound. He then lifted his hoof and looked into it, then held it out for her perusal.

In it were a number of... nails? Sort of - they were squat like screws, but had no threading on them. Weird.

Mica and Clap made their way over; as soon as Mica saw what was in Mundy's hoof, he spoke up. "Those are... rivets. Industrial-grade rivets, I'd wager. They're normally used to bond steel paneling together - however, if someone weaponized a rivet gun, then they would make for some nasty projectile weaponry."

She had to agree with the 'nasty' part; the idea of taking even one of them to the belly made Obsidian squirm inside a bit. "So... either sister Opal was improvising to come up with a weapon to kill us with, or she's already prepared most of her industrial tools to be easily weaponized."

Perhaps they should have suggested that Lemon let Aquamarine come with them? They could use the raw superior firepower, and as far as Obsidian surmised, he would be able to protect himself with his magic as well. Sadly, it was a foregone conclusion.

"What hour is it?" Siddy asked with a yawn, now the the adrenaline was wearing off.

Cup looked at the sky for a moment, then simply said, "Six A.M."

Mica gave him a skeptical glance. "Cupcake - there's no way you could tell that; the sun isn't even up yet."

"I know," Cup smiled, "it's only Six A.M., Mica - of course the sun's not up yet!" Mica rolled his eyes, but in good humour.

"Ob-b-b-b-b... O-O-Ob-ob-b-b-bsid-d-dian???" came from the street, where the diamond dog was simply staring at the shot-up hotel. He lifted a paw and pointed at it. From where he was, Gypsy got a perfect view of the entire area... and was looking at something about the hotel itself.

By Darkness, what was it now? What did he sniff out or see? Obsidian, still feeling tense as Tartarus, trotted over to him to inspect what he wanted to show her a bit more closely; hopefully it wouldn't be the rivet-ridden bodies of Patty and Stalwart near the doors...

Gypsy pointed to the side of the hotel in earnest. The rivet holes left behind by the contraption seemed a bit too... uniform... for a moment. Then, as if she were staring at a picture that had another picture hidden inside, it clicked for her - and it was now obvious why nobody else had seen it...

Stitched into the walls with rivets were the words,

GET OUT

... written in Ancient Crystallian. Gypsy looked at Obsidian and whimpered slightly.

"You know, she could have just sent us a letter," Obsidian muttered, amazed at the lengths that Opal was willing to go to just communicate the idea to leave her alone - though, to be fair, they certainly were out. Outside, that was...

Stalwart and Patty were still not here... their rooms were trashed... and they still didn't have any sort of formulated plan.
Bah - Gypsy couldn't even check to see if this machine smelled familiar in any way, because it was completely melted!

She simply had to talk with Onyx, sooner or later; her siblings (as always) were still a few steps ahead of her, and she could only hope that she had the capacity to catch up to them.

=====[One Hour Later]=====

The hotel, by order of Police Chief Big Thunder Mountain, moved Obsidian and her crew to other rooms... on the upper floor, and on an inside hall - they had no windows, but they were also centralized within the hotel itself, meaning that Opal might use other methods to get at them, but this one wouldn't work again.

Room Service had brought them all beverages, sending the bill to the Royal Treasury; Siddy and her friends wouldn't be paying for any of the damages, and that was a relief. However, due to availability, they were now down to three rooms - for now, that worked... but when Patty and Wart showed up, it could be a bit cramped for at least two groups.

Speaking of which, where were they? If the train trip from Ponyville wasn't that far, then why hadn't they turned up yet?

Cup sighed. "It's seven in the morning; after last night, I don't think I'm gonna sleep anytime soon. Maybe we should get the others up and go ahead to Opal's factory? Businesses open early, right?"

Seven A.M. - and no Patty or Stalwart in sight; they had to have been attacked already. Oh, this mission was going to be fun - and she didn't even know what to do next. They'd simply gotten here, hoping that everything would work out just fine and go off without a single hitch - which was not exactly the smartest assumption.

"Let's wait for just a bit more, Cuppy - we were just attacked, and on her own turf, Opal could be even more dangerous. I mean, we could try to do something like we did with Quartz - just waltz in and show her that I'm simply happy to meet another sister - but I get the feeling it wouldn't turn out too well," she said as she scratched her chin in thought. "And we need an expert - give me just a moment, as I need to ask Gypsy about something..."

She checked to make certain she had paper in her saddlebags; Obsidian felt it was time that Princess Luna was informed about a few of the goings-on around here.

Gypsy was outside of his room, pacing a bit. He looked up when Siddy came out, and he grinned... but the grin didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Hello, f-friend," he said as she walked over to him, "this one is s-s-simply giving Diamond s-some room, as he r-r-requested. He seems a bit... d-d-distant, since your chat at the police s-st-station. S-something seems to be b-bothering him."

"Hopefully he will tell me what bothers him when he's ready... or do you think I should try to talk to him again?" Sending a letter to the princess was important, of course - but Diamond was important as well.

Gypsy nodded softly. "H-he is bothered by something - he needs someone to t-talk to... and he will not sp-speak to this one about the s-subject. It worries this one, ab-bout it... and n-not meeting with St-Stalwart or P-P-Patty is also w-worrisome..."

He looked at her. "Obsidian... i-is there anything more this o-one can do to make things b-better? He feels as if... th-things are not w-well."

The Grey Princess sighed in exasperation. "Because they aren't well, Gypsy; we're dealing with yet another danger that has tried to kill us, and we don't know the details of our enemies' plans..."

Obsidian groaned quietly; now that she said it aloud, it sounded even worse.

"You know, when my family plans to attack Equestria, they're simply too overwhelming - with Onyx and Sombra, we had a few very intense days. With Peridot, I was running around like crazy trying to fix things because it was happening so quickly. Now, we've had our third trip in a row..."

She then gave a soft, reserved grin. "And yes, you can help - I actually wanted to send a letter to Princess Luna, and to ask you if you possibly know of an entity known by the name 'Moochick'; it might not help us out immediately, but it could be useful in the future."

The diamond dog nodded at the letter request, though he did stick his tongue out a bit about it... however, at the word 'Moochick', his eyes went W-I-D-E.

"Th-th-th-the MOOCHICK!? Ob-b-bsidian, h-how do you know of The Moochick? He was a protector of c-creatures, many, many, many millenia ago... and had magical p-powers and abilities that f-far surpassed anything ponykind had kn-known at the time. This was in the time of the earliest r-recorded pony histories, and he had a reput-tation for being a bit eccentric, yet he only had the b-best intentions in mind for them."

"It is said that he was the one who first p-presented the Rainbow of Light to the f-first ponies... a magic that was powerful enough to d-defeat Tirek during his earliest days, and protected them from harm at the p-paws of the vile sorceress Katryna."

The diamond dog was so enthusiastic about the subject, he was barely stuttering at all. "He was also responsible for the legendary manor house called 'The Paradise Estate', where the p-ponies first migrated t-to Equestria from; its location is unknown today, yet there are st-stories of such, should one dig deep enough. Oh, The Moochick is one of the m-most important non-ponies in all of Pony Hist-t-tory!"

Now Obsidian felt ashamed; she should have learned about him a thousand years ago - but she hadn't been taught. Why? Did she forget ithe lesson, or perhaps missed it? If this creature was that important to history, then she should have already known about it!

Obsidian hesitantly replied, "I, um... I saw her. Kind of."

Gypsy looked at her solidly for a moment... then, he leaned forward and sniffed at her for a bit. After a moment of sniffing, he backed up, looked at her... and his muzzle relaxed. "This one... b-believes you. But... he asks, h-h-how you have seen such an entity th-that hasn't been present in P-Pony History for ages? There are n-no records which exist of The Moochick's f-fate... please, tell this p-poor one how it c-can be so?"

Obsidian took a deep breath. "I've spent my last number of dreams reliving Radiant Hope's memories - not as a spirit or an observer, no... I've been in her body, living through past events. During her last day of life, she met with Whistlewhite who was... radiating with power and knowledge. She said that one of her past names, given to her by ponykind, was 'The Moochick."

She thought for a moment. "She also seemed to know that I was there, looking at her and seeing the events unfold... a-and when she touched Hope's body, I was instantly filled with joy - I can't even describe the sensation. I have no doubt that Whistlewhite was not a normal pony."

Gypsy's jaw dropped. "Obsidian," he spoke slowly, making sure his stutter didn't muddy his speech, "are you... t-telling this one... that... Whistlewhite... the artist... was... The Moochick?" He sat down on his haunches slowly, his muzzle a mask of disbelief and shock. Obsidian simply nodded - judging by his reaction, it was apparently rather surprising news to him.

"This m-means... The Moochick was h-here... in Equestria... during the rule of S-Sombra? But... then w-why didn't he... sh-she... DO s-s-something about him? His s-sl-slavery? His c-cruelty? Why did she allow that t-t-to happen?" He put his paw to his head. "This... m-makes the head hurt-t-t."

The diamond dog sighed. "This is news that must b-be digested s-sl-s-slowly; it is too m-much to take in at the moment for th-this one..." He then stood himself up and looked at her earnestly and kindly. "But this does n-not mean that this o-o-one will let it d-distract him - a letter to P-Princess Luna, yes."

"I have no idea what's really going on, Gypsy... but considering the sheer craziness of everything happening around us, perhaps you'll be able to ask her about it yourself, before this is all over with." To be fair, it wouldn't be the strangest thing that had ever happened to her.

"But yes, let's focus on the letter first." Obsidian levitated paper and a pencil out of her saddlebag and started writing, informing the retired princess that they'd arrived in the city and were immediately attacked, and that they were planning to investigate the Pola Industrial warehouse. She also added that her bat armada should be ready to mobilize, as Peridot had advised her. At the end, after a short consideration, she asked if Princess Luna knew anything about the fates of Stalwart and Patty, since Obsidian asked for their support but nopony came or answered yet.

"Okay - I think that's all. What do you think, Gypsy?" she asked, finishing her own last words on the parchment.

He nodded. "This one thinks you h-have covered all the b-b-bases..." He then sighed. "Must this o-one EAT the paper? It seems such a m-mean thing to do t-to the scroll which h-h-holds our words for us-s..."

"Sadly so, yes," she reassured him, "but worry not - it doesn't destroy it, after all; it just moves it to another place." Though Obsidian herself would have preferred if it could happen in a bit of a more dignified way for her canine companion.

He took her hoofwritten note, looked at it for a moment... then, the diamond dog gave a slight smirk. "Obsidian... w-was the scroll you rec-c-ceived earlier wet with sp-p-pittle? If not, th-then there are... ideas..."

Gypsy then proceeded to begin folding the note, performing his origami on it, until her communication was sculpted into the shape of a dragon - the words were on the outside, so it was obvious that this was a note, not just a decoration. He looked at it and grinned. "P-P-Princess Luna may get a g-good g-g-giggle about this note, i-if it makes it through t-to her in the same shape."

With that, he simply threw it into the air and caught it in his mouth. He then lifted an eyebrow as he simply swallowed. "It... i-it is gone," he said in wonder, "and n-not within the b-belly. Incredible..."

Obsidian actually giggled at Gypsy's antics; it was starting to make sense that the princess had chosen him - not only did he have a bigger mouth than typical ponies usually did, but also had skills which would make it more... Interesting.

"Thanks, Gypsy," she reached out to him with her hoof to pull him into a hug, feeling a sudden urge to show him that she cared about him. "You are a good friend and companion."

Gypsy gladly took the hug, and returned it. "And you, d-dear friend, are like a s-s-sister t-to this one... and s-so, one is g-glad to be of s-service." His paws were on her shoulders this way, and his padded palms and fingers felt different... but not bad; they were certainly something that was uniquely diamond doggish in nature, but was an interesting sensation for a pony. His touch was warm and kind, and she actually felt some of her own stress slide back about an inch or two.

And, of course, his wagging tail was going a mile a minute; adorable.

Such a good pup. "I think I'll speak with Diamond now; I hope he'll be able to tell me something more. I chatted with brother Peridot during my nap, so I think I have a bit of a clearer picture of our situation now."

Gypsy nodded, then patted her shoulder encouragingly. "Remember... he is old-d-der than he acts. This one thinks it is b-because he has healed so m-much pain, he hides his own; we have sp-poken much these p-past few d-d-days, and he is m-most certainly sm-smarter than this one is ab-ble to keep up with, rest assured-d."

He smiled at her. "Be you, Obsidian - perhaps you b-both need th-that?"

"Well, if he is smarter than you, then he's far smarter than I am," she sighed deeply. A smart pony would have already solved this mess. "But I'll keep it in mind. I won't be able to do too much about his private pain, at least until we deal with my hostile siblings... but I'll do my best." Obsidian pulled from the hug and trotted to the doors.

Knock knock.

The door opened just a crack, and one of Diamond's pale blue eyes looked back at her. "{Yes, Obsidyan? Do you require healing, or...}" His voice sounded unlike the chipper one she'd come to know from him; this one sounded a bit deeper, and FAR more tired. He didn't finish the question, but she could see that he understood what might be coming.

"{Or,}" she said softly, lowering her head a bit. "{Would you let me in, dear brother?}"

She could see both trepidation and fear in that eye... but he stepped back from the door, and walked across the room to the padded chair in the corner, where he had to almost climb onto it to sit down. He looked so small and fragile, sitting in the big, plush chair. He couldn't look at her as she came in; the floor seemed very interesting today, for some reason.

Dear oh dear, this sight was worrisome. "Brother... I hope you know that I love you as my sibling; did I disrespect you or insult you with some aspect of my behaviour?"

"{N-no, Obsidyan, no.}" He sighed, then shifted a bit in the big chair. At first, she thought she'd have to say something more... then, he began to talk, in a voice that was FAR older than the body that held it.

"{The very first night I can recall, in my earliest memories, is the night I had to heal Sister Amethyst for the very first time. She had been training with Father, and he had been very insistent on her. He had been practicing with her resistances, and as a result, her horn had cracked... and the Dark Magic that had poured out had torn off her entire left flank. Leg and all.}"

He closed his eyes and shuddered. "{I started there. Even though my powers to heal are strong... it took almost an entire hour to grow the bone from scratch, to shape the muscle tendons, to fill in the gaps with tissue and fat, and to cover it with flesh - to say nothing of growing an entire hoof at nearly the same time.}"

He looked up at her now, and his eyes were haunted, almost dead and cold. "{My Healing Spell is powerful indeed... but back when I was still learning of my abilities, it did not numb the pain one feels.}"

He looked down again, continuing in the same drone. "{During that entire hour, she screamed and cried and howled. At one point, she threatened to kill me if I didn't stop - and five minutes later, she was pleading with me to just kill her. It was all I could do to concentrate on the healing magics; any slight waver of my focus, and the healing would stop... and if the healing magic stopped, things like blood and unsealed muscle would simply fall away from the skeleton.}"

Tears began to slide down his cheeks. "{And the entire time, in the back of my mind, all I can think of is this: I haven't even gotten to her horn yet; she still feels that, too.}" He didn't sob, nor did his voice waver - but tears continued to flow down his cheeks freely and rapidly. "{THAT is why she loathes me, Obsidyan - it is her first real memory of me. And I hate it.}"

So it wasn't merely sadism on Amy's part; she'd experienced a terrible trauma with Diamond, and that made for one Tartarus of a reason - or an excuse - to torment him. Whatever the real reason was, she had to talk with Amy about it as soon as she could - but at the moment, she was mostly concerned with Diamond. Why was he bringing up this memory right now? She trotted over to him to hug him; obviously, he seemed to need it.

However, before she could, the little stallion held up a hoof to stop her. "{N-no... I am... not done.}"

Diamond took a slow, shaky breath and continued. "{She was pushed so hard to conquer all sorts of bindings and entrapments - there are very few that can hold her for long, and IT was sure to push her too hard... which happened more and more, as more of us came to be. Then, the day came that I had to heal her again... yet this time, I did not have the power to do so. That... thing had nearly killed her with magical bond training, and the damage done was beyond my ability to be able to repair.}"

Now, for a brief moment, came a small smile. "{Then Whistle came. She didn't ask what had happened, nor what she could do - she simply walked in, closed the door... then asked if I could keep a secret. I said I could. So... she showed me that she was a healer, as well - and far better than I could ever hope to achieve. I saw... Light... from her eyes... b-but I could not look at it for long, as it was so bright...}"

The awe faded from his features, and he sighed... then looked Obsidian DIRECTLY in the eye, a firm look of authority in them now... one that reminded her a bit too much of the father she knew.

"{And that THING inside our father KILLED her. Lined her up with the others at the guillotine... not even mentioned by name, she was a faceless statistic that got tossed into a hole with the rest and buried.}"

Now, his look softened a bit. "{Obsidyan, I can clearly see the spite and hate you have for Father, but know this - do not mistake that THING for our Father... and I...}" His look went firm again, and it was scary how intense the little stallion could be. "{And I demand that you stop confusing the two - or I shall leave your company.}"

At first Obsidian stepped back, surprised and a bit agitated; she came here to check on him, to make amends, to cheer him up... and he was demanding her to stop referring to the monster she knew as a monster? She saw no difference between this 'THING' and her 'father'; to her, both words had the very same meaning.

"{Oh? Would you explain the differences between them, then? Did you ever see our 'Father' without 'It', that you distinguish the two of them so easily? Are you dreaming 'Father's' dreams, like Peridot?}" She had to force herself to be calm; she needed answers, no matter how angry he was starting to make her.

Diamond's look never wavered. "{Yes... I have.}"

His expression grew grim and serious. "{Father used to be allowed to appear to us - he would speak to us, ask questions, speculate. He would tell us that we were ALL special, and that we were worthy of this world. He spoke of how each and every one of us were incredible worlds unto ourselves...}"

He now shut his eyes for a moment. "{I am sorry you never got that - that you never had the chance to know him - but IT devoured what control he had left, and by the time we learned of your existence... he was no longer available to us.}"

His eyes reopened, and he stared back at her not with the look of a playful little stallion - but of a battle-weary and grizzled medic, who had seen more creature's insides than Obsidian had seen outsides. "{But if you wish to fool yourself into thinking there is NOTHING in Father worth missing, keep it to yourself. I LOVE our father... and I will NOT stand for any further blight on his name.}"

It was getting harder to stay calm - who would have ever thought that she'd have to calm herself down so much in Diamond's presence? He kept daring to talk to her about dead ponies that she'd never even met, and suggesting that such a thing should be the reason for forgiving the wicked and cruel King Sombra for his misdeeds!

"{Well, you said it yourself, I've never met him - never known the pony you keep referring to as 'Father'. As is such, my ire is pointed only at the creature that raised me.}" And so, there was a second sibling who relived Sombra's life, apparently?

Diamond stared for a moment. "{... THAT...}" his expression softened, "... is true. You... cannot miss what you... never knew...}"

Then, he sighed. "{And I am sorry you did not get to know what he was like... that you were robbed of that opportunity. That THING inside him, it robbed us ALL... especially Father. It...}"

His expression evened out a bit. "{It is not fair... but Life is never guaranteed to be fair.}"

He now looked at her - he didn't seem angry any more, but he still wore a firm look. "{If we have come to this, then all I ask is for you not to speak of Father in such a way in my presence... or at least blame that THING for his misdeeds. To me, it is as if I were berating Cupcake every time I saw him - how would YOU feel?}" He was still upset, but he was trying to communicate.

"{Well, that depends; would his body be possesed by a dark, cruel creature that would still use his name?}" Obsidian was starting to get rather annoyed with her brother. "{As I said, I know nothing of the pony you refer to as 'Father' - I only referred to him in this way because it was all I knew of him. I won't use this title again when referring to him - though he was always using the name 'Sombra' himself. How would you care for me to refer to it, then?}"

Diamond suddenly burst out, "{IT! THAT PARASITE! THAT FUCKING ASSHOLE, AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED! As long as you do not call IT our Father, I... I...}"

He closed his eyes and sighed, the rage gone as fast as it came. "{... perhaps I should leave; I am upsetting you, and you are upsetting me. I want to find a place where we can experience a harmony with this subject, but it is difficult when I speak so much of someone you have never known...}"

He then looked at her. "{And you speak so ill of someone I love.}"

Then go the fuck away and don't bother me any further, you weak, pacifistic midget! I will enjoy crushing every bit of your beloved father's body into gravel!

Obsidian shook her head rapidly; damnation, that was worrying. When was the last time she'd caught herself thinking like that? During her little talk with Amethyst? Obsidian took a mental step back, gathering her thoughts properly before speaking again.

"{I won't be calling IT 'Father', brother Diamond - in fact, it's been quite a while since I last used this title in regards to anypony.}" Of course, there was also the small issue that she considered Sombra and Hope to be a pair of moronic fools whose endeavors brought doom upon the whole of the Crystal Empire.

He seemed to accept that, and gave a slow nod, still keeping eye contact with her. "{... thank you, Obsidyan. It... when he was still among us, he was everything to me. All I ever had to look forward to in my entire existence was my time at the tower window... seeking the Lost Sister with the others... and speaking to Father.}"

He now sighed and broke eye contact, choosing the ground to look at. "{And it hurts when you unknowingly insult that memory.}"

He stood up and came over to where she was, looking up at her. "{I am sorry that I yelled at you, sister. Anger does not sit well with me; that is more a trait of Amethyst...}"

Good; a moment longer, and she would have said something she probably would have regretted... then, she'd definitely regret it even more when Sister Opal inevitably blew somepony's legs off, and she would be the sole reason for driving away the only member of team that could heal lost limbs.

Diamond grew a quizzical look. "{Obsidyan... may I ask a question about Sister Amethyst?}"

"{Yes brother, of course.}" When did she insult his memory in Diamond's presence? She couldn't recall...

"{I have taken notice of the magical restraint ring that Brother Tourmaline wears around his horn, due to his punishment... tell me, does Sister Amethyst wear the same ring?}"

He looked at her gravely. "{Because if it is the same type of ring, then you should be aware that Magic Restraint Rings were among the first of the bindings she learned how to break; if she wears a ring like this, then she has had access to her magic the entire time.}"

Obsidian blinked... then blinked again. She sat down with a shocked look on her muzzle. But... did she... did Amy... w-well, perhaps the older model of restraint rings were simply not as secure as modern ones were?

Mundy sighed. "{With your reaction, I assume that she does.}"

If she'd had her magic the whole time... why hadn't she killed them already? (Or at least Tourmaline?) She'd been complaining constantly about her magic being gone... and yet, she'd had access to it this whole time. Why hadn't she used it already?

"{When we return, Obsidyan," Diamond said quietly, "I suggest informing Princess Twilight of this at once; they will need stronger magic if they wish to hold her at bay.}"

"{Do we truly need it, though?}" Obsidian asked. "{If she'd wanted to use it against us, she would have already. I think she likes us more than she wants us to know,}" she said after digesting this news. Apparently, she didn't even have to ask the princess about restoring Amy's magic in the first place. "{Was that all you wanted to ask about her?}"

Diamond looked at her and blinked. "{You act as if this is not important news... why?}" He wasn't angry anymore; he was genuinely curious. "{Were I informed of this, I would no doubt be at least a bit frantic at the possibilities she would have, yet... you seem calm about such. Please explain, Obsidyan - is there more to this that I do not know?}"

He hadn't brought up any interest in Amethyst before - and now she knew why, but it apparently didn't stop his wondering about his cruel sister.

"{I... er, as I said, I think sister Amy actually likes us... or at least, kind of likes me. If she planned to use her
magic against us, she would have done so already. In fact, I was thinking that she could use a show of trust and... er... I kind of... asked Princess Twilight to remove her ring, as well as Tourmy's.}"

She held her hoof up. "{But the request for Amy was rejected immediately, though.}"

Diamond nodded, but it seemed as if his mind was already working. "{Everyone in the world deserves a second chance; perhaps she has finally begun to see the Light, and is deciding to see where it leads to, as opposed to her old habit of raging at anything that wasn't within her purview.}"

"{This... this is good news, I believe,}" he said as he gave a small smile, "{a change for Sister Amethyst? Perhaps this Modern World holds more worth than it first seems, if it makes someone like her change from her wicked ways.}"

"{I truly do want her to enjoy the Modern Age, too.}" Obsidian wanted to tell him more - about her empty room, the strange dresser, sleeping in the closet... but that had been private, between herself and Amy; she probably wouldn't appreciate that. "{May I ask you some questions of my own now, dear brother?}"

"{Yes... that is fair.}" He sat down on the floor - he was still so small, but now she'd had a taste of what was beneath the surface... and Mundy would be fine, if he was ever by himself. The conversation may have been a bit emotional, but it helped bring home to Obsidian more of who Diamond truly was. "{Though, if it is a question I cannot answer, I shall tell you so - and would ask that, should I say such, that we then move on to the next, please. But there is very little I will not speak of.}"

"{There was something you didn't want to say when I inquired about the possibility that Radiant Hope had created a new life by herself - am I right?}" Two siblings dreaming Sombra's dreams, while she was dreamt of Hope's... why?

Diamond sighed. "{Radiant Hope created something that the entire world had never known, and that led to all of us being created. But it cost her the very life she treasured... and it cost Father his greatest ally and companion, the only one who could have helped Father fight The Umbra within him.}" He sighed heavily. "{A fight that was rigged against him from the very start.}"

"{Whistlewhite told her to do it, brother - she met her when she was leaving the castle for the final time. What was this 'something' you're talking about? Do we have any other siblings?}" Siddy asked with a held breath.

He looked at her for a long time before he answered. "{Obsidyan... there are only the thirteen of us; there was nothing left of Father to create any more of us, and Hope vanished after casting her spell. I do not think there is another Lost Sibling out there...}"

He then slid his eyes to the side. "{Whistle spoke to me, and... she made me promise not to reveal what she told me. And I shall not. But I do not think that there is another Child of Sombra out there, no.}"

Obsidian sighed deeply; of course it wouldn't be that easy, of course The Moochick would ask Diamond to be quiet about whatever she'd told him. She needed to talk with Peri, it seemed - if only to find out what HIS conclusions were about this issue. Logically, Hope might have vanished because she'd sacrificed herself - she created a shard, Obsidian SAW it! If she utterly vanished, then it was only because the spell worked... which meant that the piece of soul that she'd stolen from Sombra was used.

"{I need to find out... I almost miss dreaming about her past.}" Obsidian may have lamented it at first, but now that she was neck-deep in this mystery, she wished she'd had paid more attention during those flashbacks.

Diamond nodded. "{If I may help, let me know... as long as it does not require me to betray a trust.}"

He looked up at her, seeming repentant. "{I feel bad that we fought, my sister... but I am glad I did not have to leave; I am serious when I say that this entire experience is wholly amazing - to be able to travel whenever we wish to? I could never have imagined what this would be like... nor could I have imagined how much I find myself enjoying your presence.}"

He smiled a full smile, the first since the police station. "{A presence I wish to enjoy for quite some time, if you allow it.}" Now, he sighed and put on a weary expression. "{So... how are we to tackle Opal?}"

"{Cupcake wanted to go and check out her factory... but I think it would be a bit too dangerous - especially without Stalwart or Patty - Cup's sister - who's a technology expert. I've sent a message to Princess Luna to check to see if she knows anything about them, as they should be already here... but that's all. Once they join us, I want to investigate Opal's warehouse; I'm hoping we'll possibly run into Sapphire there. Brother Peridot told me he can't sense her energies, which is... somewhat worrying.}"

Mundy stared at her for a moment, then he gave a small chuckle. "{I continue to forget that you have some of our siblings in your head... yet, it does worry me, that Stalwaat and Pattee have not arrived yet. Maybe their train is delayed? Perhaps Stalwaat has not been excused from her duties just yet? Perhaps Pattee is bulding something to assist us?}"

They were all valid possibilities... but why did Obsidian get the feeling that it was none of the above?

"{Besides... it seems as though Sister Opal has made the first move,}" Diamond said as he lifted an eyebrow, "{so are we to wait for her second one?}"

{"No, we are not; as soon as we get any confirmation about Stalwart and Patty's current status, we will act - no matter what it is.}" Were they stuck in Ponyville somehow? Were they already here, yet lost as to where to look for the rest of their group? "{I just... prefer us to go there as a group. And with somepony who would know what we're looking at.}"

He nooded. "{This is fair. If we can all mee-}"

The door opened quickly, and Mica stuck his head in and looked around. "Hunh," he said, "that's strange... Obsidian, Diamond... have you seen Thunderclap? I can't find her; she said she wanted to go take care of her business, so I assumed she meant the bathroom... but she hasn't come back yet. I even had a maid check the bathrooms in the lobby..." He looked concerned.

Oh, what NOW? "No, I haven't, Mica - not at all." She stood up immediately, almost as concerned as the earth pony stallion himself was. "{We'll talk later, Diamond; Clap is lost.}" Oh, this just kept getting better and better, she thought as she trotted off to the room.

"Did you ask Cupcake?" she inquired of Mica.

He nodded. "Yes - he hasn't seen her either; I last saw her about twenty minutes ago, myself. She typically doesn't take this lo-..."

Mica stopped where he was, mid-stride, and the color drained from his features. "Oh shit..."

He looked at Obsidian. "Siddy, Clap said after the incident that we were about to handle this business with Opal... you don't think..."

He facehoofed. "Of course she did! Dammit, I think she may have already gone to the FACTORY!"

"Oh, come on Mica - she wouldn't go there alone!" There was a moment of silence as Obsidian was trying to think once again about the words that had just escaped her mouth. "...would she?"

Mica looked at her with a deadpan expression. "Obsidian... we're talking about someone taking potshots at us. What does Clap do when her friends are threatened?"

"... she dives into trouble, head-first." Damnation! Just like the situation with Aquamarine - except this time, hopefully they wouldn't ruin any funeral pyres. "We need to get to the factory, quickly!"

She turned around and headed for the hallway to gather the rest of their group... FUCKA-FUCKITTY FUCKING FUCK!

They gathered everyone easily with four words: "Clap's at the factory!" Mica yelled out.

"Oh, n-n-n--no!"
"What? Oh for cryin' out loud..."
"{Then we must make haste.}"

"Should we inform Chief Mountain and the police?" Cup asked.

Obsidian had to make a quick decision. "Can we summon them, perhaps? Or do we need to send a messenger?"

Mica rushed to the front office. "I'll call for them; meet me outside!"

Cupcake looked at her with worry in his eyes. "Clap's probably mad that we got attacked in the first place... and she's not really big on 'patience'... or 'planning'... or 'thinking about consequences'... or sometimes even 'common sense'."

Gypsy was pacing, and Diamond was watching him do so. After a moment, Mundy came over to where they were. "{Obsidyan, I can cast an enchantment that can prevent us from being poisoned, at the very least; I will do this as soon as Micah returns from calling out to the police.}"

He then cocked an eyebrow. "{Will they be able to hear him, all the way at the station, from our hotel?}"

"We'll find her, Cup - though I would REALLY appreciate if she wouldn't do things like this!" Well, Clap was the one that had inadvertantly ruined Obsidian's first real discussion with Ruby, leading to her escape and a serious lack of data on Siddy's side... which had terrible repercusions later.

"{They will be... I think. He shouldn't do anything that doesn't make sense.}" Maybe this hotel had a similar magical armband to the one she had with Flurry, but it was connected to the police station? It would make logical sense, as it seemed to be an useful enchantment.

"{And what was that about poisoning? Is sister an Opal expert in this matter?}" Oh, BY DARKNESS, she hoped it wasn't the case here; machines alone were bad enough!

Diamond looked uncertain. "{I am unsure... but better to be safe than sorry, yes? Besides, I cannot do very much for our defenses - that was Brother Quartz's speciality - but it may yet help, perhaps?}"

Cupcake smirked. "Maybe Clap's a bit headstrong, but she means well - all she's probably thinking right now is something like, 'nobody's gonna shoot at MY friends', or such. She should work on her patience, though..."

Cupcake, Gypsy and Diamond were all out front with her; all three seemed nervous and worried... and with good reason. It was about five minutes before Mica managed to get out to them, and he wore a concerned look - one that almost threataned to break his normal deadpan demeanor. "The police are on their way there now - they're going to get into position, and they said they should be ready for us when we get there... however we manage to do that."

Obsidian peeked at Gypsy. "No reply from Princess Luna yet?"

"N-not even a b-burp," the diamond dog confirmed.

From where they were, they could see the damage to the front of the hotel; Opal's turret had practically made rubble of it with a barrelful of rivets... what might she have at her own factory for her defenses?

Cup raised a hoof, like he was in school. "Ummmm... question? If the police show up, en masse, at the Pola Industrial factory... how is your sister going to react?"

Diamond paled a bit. "{Obsidyan, Opal will not... but Lapo just might.}"

What in Tartarus was happening in Ponyville while they were here!? At the moment, they hadn't even seen any sign of Opal, except for her turret... but that could have been placed by magic, or teleportation, or by somepony else, or by another machine...

What if something had already happened back home? It really shouldn't take Stalwart and Patty this much time to reach them, and the princess could at least take a moment to reply, 'I don't know anything about this'.

"She'll start a war... in the middle of a densely populated city," Obsidian said, the look on her muzzle a bit blank from the realization - one that kept dawning on her far too often - that she had no idea what her siblings were planning. It certainly didn't help the situation (or Obsidian's nerves) that Peridot himself had told her that the situation was going to get worse.

"Let's go - quickly." Obsidian turned to her earth pony friend. "Mica? Was there anything in the files about her factory that we could use here? Perhaps how to get inside without attracting attention?"

Mica looked at her, "Yes, but there are only two ways, in or out, that I read about: The front doors to the lobby, and the HUGE loading bay doors on the factory floor - both in FULL view of the street."

Cup looked around and shrugged. "Well, I guess it's a good morning for a run..."

Mica looked at Cupcake, then back at Obsidian. "Siddy... the factory's twelve miles from here; don't tell me you think we can RUN that?"

Cup's eyes lit up. "Well, I do have one idea..."

So every entrance was exposed and dangerous - wonderful. "Okay, Cuppy - what's this idea? Anything's better than running twelve miles..."

Cup smiled. "We can ride my cannon into town!"

Mica and Gypsy just stared.

"All I gotta do is turn my party cannon around, and shoot behind me; we'll cruise down the street, and get to town in minutes!"

Gypsy blinked. Mica just closed his eyes and sighed.

Cupcake looked at his fiancee. "It would work! Plus, what other choice do we have right now?"

"I... am afraid I have to agree; we'd get to town in mere minutes... though I'm a bit concerned if our carcasses are going to be able to help Clap in any meaningful manner. I know that we have a very skilled doctor with us, but I'm not sure if Diamond learned any necromantic spells..."

It was Cupcake, and he may have been born to surprise her... however, even her supression of disbelief fell short on this idea.

"Awwwwww..." Cup said as he sighed, "so, that's a no?"

At that moment, a minivan came careening around the corner at a rapid pace, looking as though it was gong to crash directly into the midst of Siddy and her friends. Intstead, it came to a stop so close, Gypsy squawked and covered his head.

The minivan was grey, boring, and had a massive buffalo behind the wheel, as well as a stallion in the passenger seat.

Captain Storm leaned his head out of the window. "Obsidian! We were told about the upcoming situation; sorry about the ride in, but we just got up to prepare for our shift when we got the call - we're headed to the scene now. Need a ride?"

For a brief moment, Obsidian had hoped that it would be Markannus to their rescue again - it would have been the perfect moment to reintroduce him, to show that he was good and healthy. " Yes! Yes, thank you!" She didn't let this short disappointment bother her much - especially as it meant that they weren't going to be accidentially murdered by velocity with Cupcake's idea.

The rear door popped open, and they were treated to enough seats for everyone; Mica and Gypsy took the far back seats, leaving the middle for Cup and Siddy. The stallion upfront seemed like he was ready to deal with this situation; the buffalo was a BIG creature, crammed into the front seat of a minivan - he was practically wearing the vehicle, as his frame took up every inch of available driver space... and even a few inches that shouldn't be available.

"Okay, spill the beans ma'am - what are we trotting into, here?" Storm said, double-checking his gear as the chief steered the minivan like a seasoned taxi driver from Manehattan.

Okay, she could understand that they'd probably built the police station around the hulking buffalo... but her mind refused to believe that Chef Mountain could easily leave it without demolishing a wall first, and he wouldn't be able to enter this minivan without it being constructed around him as well!

"The possibility of facing an angry technological genius with enough firepower to level the city... one who apparently enjoys causing distress." Obsidian had to be honest, here. "Thunderclap Dash, our friend, decided to fly there alone... which means I will probably have to try to enter this facility as well, to face my sister. There's maybe a tiny chance she'll actually let me talk to her, but if not..."

"Yikes," came from Chief Mountain.

Storm nodded grimly. "Yeah - a bad situation, all around, that one. But we've got a lot of the force keyed-up since you've been here, so they should be more than ready to get this done. We've also insisted on rubber pellets and beanbag rounds in what guns we do have; non-lethal rounds, in case we have to fire on Miss Pearl."

He shook his head slowly. "Wow... never thought I'd ever hear myself say THAT; she's normally so nice..."

"Normally, but she may lapse. There's also the matter of mind control; it may be the same case as with brother Quartz. Opal - Shaded Pearl - could simply be forced to fight us, whether she wants to or not. At the moment, she's just..."

Oh, how Obsidian hated this word. "... a tool."

Storm's eyebrows went as far up on his forehead as they could go. "Whoa, there... slow down, hon - what's all this other stuff? Mind control? Nobody said anything about mind control! Are we dealing with alicorn-tier stuff here? Because, Mountain & I an't alicorns, if ya hadn't noticed - so we might need to call in EVEN BIGGER guns, so ta speak... just what in-"

"Safety," said Chief Mountain.

Storm nodded. "... you're right, boss - we gotta protect the townsfolk here. Which means the lot of you, as well. Are you saying you can handle stuff like that?"

"The possibility of mind control is most likely limited to the children of King Sombra; as long as my sister Amber doesn't appear here directly. Diamond is safe, so I should be safe as well. The only thing it changes is the fact that Opal may not be acting out of her own free will. That's an important point to make, because as soon as she thinks that she might lose her factory... well, she'll become MUCH more dangerous."

The buffalo nodded. "Thanks."

Storm continued. "Yeah, the heads-up is appreciated; I just hope we're ready for something like this... those Labor Harnesses'll be sorely missed, if Pola goes belly-up after this; I gotta brother in Winnipegasus, he's all sortsa happy over those things. Makes his mining work so much easier, not ta mention safer."

He sighed. "After this? Back to doing the work by hoof, I suppose."

"So let's be sure that sister Opal will survive, and that she will be considered innocent of any charges that might be pressed against her, on account of her being literally out of her mind during these criminal acts."

Obsidian sighed deeply. Dear oh dear, who would think that King Sombra would sire a daughter that would be able to choke the Equestrian economy so effectively?

Mica looked at her flatly. "Obsidian, if she really HURTS anyone, she will have to go to trial; whether or not she's guilty will be up to a jury - not to just decide beforehoof."

"You got that right," Storm confirmed, "but here's hoping we stop her before things get to that point."

"Justice," Mountain agreed.
"... not 'Just This'," Storm finished, and both the officers grinned.

"Well, in any case, I do happen to know of a good lawyer..." Hopefully, they'd avoid the worst case scenario.

The minivan closed the mileage quickly, and when they came around the corner at Industrial Way, there it was...

Pola Industrial was actually a somewhat compact building, as far as factories went; the main building was HUGE, but the surrounding additions were compairtively small; it almost gave one the impression of a fairy-tale castle, but with a huge garage in the center instead of a drawbridge.

The parking lot around it wasn't very big... however, at the moment, there were at least thirty police cars and riot vans, all in attendance, with officers surrounding the building and waiting behind their squad cars, all looking apprehensive and taut, as if on edge for the other horseshoe to drop.

There were even a few vans in the parking lot across the street: the Nest-Lee's Confectionary Factory. It was shaped like a chocolate bar, complete with a 'foil' lining around the base of the structure. Cupcake was already drooling over it.

There were so many officers here, it was doubtless that they'd been seen already - now, they were obviously preparing to storm the place, if necessary...

In other words, a wholly and completely threatening display of force.

They'd be lucky if Opal hadn't already gone completely batshit insane at the sight.

"We'll do our best to calm down sister Opal, so please don't use force before it's necessary, okay?" Obsidian looked through the van's windows and sighed deeply. "But if it IS necessary... well, you'll no doubt see... and hear... and possibly feel, as well."

They drove up to the candy factory's lot and parked out of harm's way. Storm practically leapt out of his seat, while Mountain had to pretty much pry himself out of the minivan.

The Captain turned to them. "Look, even though we've been instructed to help, we're both a bit concerned about sending a bunch of teenagers into a potentially lethal situation like this..."

"I'm usually rather concerned about it as well," Obsidian admitted. "You offered us some kind of armor, earlier... do you possibly have any spares around that we could use, perhaps?"

Storm grinned. "Spares? Hang on a moment, and we can set you up properly."

Author's Notes:

WHOA, what a long chapter! Peridot seems to have revealed his own dream-visions, and it's possible that Diamond is also seeing things like it as well... but will they be able to make sense out of what they already know? Maybe - but maybe other things will happen first; we'll have to wait and see.

I'd say the turret sent a rather CLEAR message, don't you? And yes, Opal is smart enough to have a safeguard installed to ensure none of it traced back to her. Granted, it wasn't as if Siddy didn't already know WHO would send such a thing against them... but better safe than sorry, right?

Diamond shows a bit more of what he hides under his happy persona, here - and it's a glimpse into the actual heart and mind of Sombra's healer child. He plays happy and cute all day... because underneath it all, he's a lot older than he legitimately SHOULD be. My own father was a medic during the Vietnam Conflict; to this day, he STILL doesn't want to talk about it... something I used to help me show Diamond's battle-fatigued side.

And eeyup - Thunderclap diving headfirst into the ordeal. Clap always struck me as the 'action, not words' type, so it only made perfect sense to involve her in such a manner. Besides, if the FACTORY has windowboxes like the hotel had, then maybe she has a chance after all! (Yeah, no - most likely, she's simply gonna end up in trouble.)

Here it comes, folks - things are about to get QUITE serious; you won't wanna miss this, I promise you.

Fifty Four: Introducing Opal

=====[Twenty Minutes Later]=====

"This feels... weird," Cup mumbled through the helmet's faceplate.

Cupcake and Obsidian had been outfitted with Riot Gear-style body armor; Cup may have been complaining, but to Siddy, it was FAR lighter than the armor she'd originally been trained in. Obsidian only had a standard helmet and vest, but her fiancee had the full nine yards, including a riot helmet. Mica had chosen a lighter vest-like device that he'd strapped on; Gypsy and Diamond's forms were too different for the one-size-fits-all armor that was standard for the police.

"Now, we don't think it's a good idea to send everyone in - the little fella especially - so we can go with the two of you. We're RIGHT OUTSIDE, so don't be afraid to yell for help, okay now?" Storm wasn't being condescending; he was hoestly just trying to keep them safe - it was his job to protect the masses, was it not?

"Careful," Chief Mountain, inadvertantly demonstrating his namesake in his own riot gear, made sure to tell them both.

Feeling weird wasn't as much of an issue, as long as they were safe. If anything, this armor was much more pleasant than the heavy suits she'd used before, including the Royal Guard armor from the Umbral Invasion.

Two of them. Gypsy and Diamond couldn't have full armor, and Mica was too emotionally invested... damnation, Wart - where are you? "Don't worry; we'll yell a whole lot if something bad happens," she assured the chief. "Cup? I'd say we should go in there together - any objections?"

Cupcake gave her a smirk. "What, and let you do all the work, then complain to me about it later? I don't think so, love; we've got this together."

The two of them were escorted to the doors of the factory - the lobby entrance. The factory itself was dormant, like a volcano that could erupt at any moment, any second...

Chief Mountain had followed them as far as the front walkways; he still had officers who depended on him, so he couldn't put himself out in the open. Captain Shield Storm, however, tagged along behind them and stepped to the side when they arrived.

"I'll be here at the doors; try to stay in view... OH, and before I forget..." His horn lit up, and both Cup and Siddy felt a tingle of magical enchantment wash over them both. "Just in case; The Glass Shield Spell - it'll hold for a single shot or strike... then, you're on your own. Good luck, you two... if Princess Twilight believes in you, then so do I!"

Oh good, somepony believed in her - a wonderful thing, as lately she couldn't say such about herself. A shield spell was nice as well, especially as she didn't have to maintain it. In case of an attack, it should give her just enough time to cast something at them and call for help - and, with Cup's help, she could probably maintain it for quite some time... hopefully.

Cupcake looked at her and nodded; he was ready. Obsidian then turned and nodded to the captain. "We'll do our best," she said simply before she turned back to the factory and checked the front doors.

The doors, surprisingly, weren't locked - they pushed open easily, and the cool breath of air-conditioned wind blew out over them, sending a chill down both of their spines. From what she could see through the doorway, the interior lobby was completely devoid of life; no one pointing guns or swords or insane creations of a mad genius at them.

Yet.

As long as they had a few safeguards, they should be somewhat secure. Still, it wouldn't hurt to check for any further shenanigans on Opal's part. She lifted a small stone with her magic and tossed it carefully through the doorway, just to be sure that there were no traps or alarms waiting for them to enter.

Damnation, this adventure was going to be fun... but in the worst possible way; Obsidian just KNEW it...

The rock bounced over the entrance tiles, then skittered across the light carpet until it reached the front desk, where it bounced off harmlessly. No turrets. No alarms. No explosions.

However, the front desk kiosk began to make a strange ratcheting sound, and what looked to be the top half of a mechanical pony rose into what would be the seated position - the bottom half was a platform.

-= Good day, and welcome to Pola Industrial, where we woooooooooooork to make the future brighter! =-

The robopone gave a friendly smile; even as an animatronic, it honestly did look friendly - even foals wouldn't be afraid of this creation.

-= Greetings, Miss Obsidian; Miss Pearl is waiting for you on the factory floor. I have been instruuuuuuuuuuuuuucted to allow you passage into the facility. Your guest will be under scrutiny of security, as will you. Please proceed to your scheduled meeting, and have a wonderul daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa- =-

By Darkness, an artificial pony? In a way, Obsidian almost felt that she and this creature shared a bond; if this was Opal's creation, did it mean that this machine was effectively Obsidian's niece or nephew?

"Let's go, Cup," she said, somewhat resigned to her fate. "My sister awaits us..." The Grey Princess stepped into the factory with Cupcake right next to her, looking around with a bit of curiosity - and paranoia.

Artificial pony... by Darkness, Sister Opal was an absolute genius! Equestria as a whole could use her bright mind; she stood to possibly become the most famous pony in modern history with inventions and contraptions like that!

If the front desk pony had been genius, the factory floor was beyond belief.

There were gears, cogs, pistons and valves everywhere! It was like the inside of a clock, but made for manufacturing rather than keeping time. But even the timing was eloquent, as the entire factory floor sounded like a steam-driven symphony as it whirled, whistled and churned around them like a living thing. There were a number of conveyor belts, and each one held shaped and moulded slabs of steel, or boxes of gears, or half-completed... uh, things... and they rushed all over the place.

At the far back was a platform covered with a huge blue tarp, and amidst a bevy of wires, cogs, springs and other such devices stood a unicorn in a lab coat. Her mane, pulled back in a ponytail, was strikingly blonde, and her cute, pert little ears stuck out from the headband of her thick and shaded goggles. She had a horn that held a mild red tint, but also had a single, quite visible crack running along the middle of it.

"... and so, the eponymous heroes arrive to convince the villain of the piece to acquiesce, and surrender their most triumphant efforts to the whimsy of the Equestrian existence, eh?" The voice was smooth, sultry... and quietly dangerous.

This place was beautiful in its own, odd way - though Obsidian didn't have heart to admire it too thoroughly. The simple fact that she was fully expecting turrets, robots or explosives to appear anywhere was kind of ruining the overall experience. It looked much better than the forest where she'd met brother Aquamarine.

And then, Obsidian finally met sister Opal... and found, to her great dismay, that she had goggles on. She just had to make everything harder, didnt she?

"Not really... eh, kind of, I suppose. I'd pretty much prefer if we could settle on a quo ante bellum status, and part ways without anyone of us doing anything heroic or villainous," she said carefully, unsure if she was speaking to a brilliant sister... or a dangerous maniac.

"Good morning, sister," Obsidian tried carefully.

The mare stopped working with her tools, laying them down with a chuckle. "Ah, and YOU would be the ineffable Obsidian; hero of Ponyville, savior of Midnight Star, the inside source that brought down Quartz, who brought dear, sweet Diamond back into this existence..."

She turned and faced them both, a sly smile on her muzzle. "... and, of course, now here to deal with poor, little us, yes? Because not a single one of our siblings who have met you have been untouched by your presence, not a one unchanged from meeting with you..."

Moving smoothly like she was made of liquid, she slid down an iron spire from the scaffolding, casually alighting on the ground floor where they were. She began to stroll towards the two of them, sighing airily.

"And now, surrounded by the local authorities, you come forward and speak of simply parting ways and no one being the better? Oh, but Obsidian - just your being here exposes our part in Onyx's plan - just like it did for Quartz - and the constables outside will more than likely confiscate the entire factory, claiming it for use by Equestrian services, and yet again stealing from the Umbral Empire to fuel their own economy, no doubt."

Opal seemed to enjoy talking, quite a lot. Or perhaps this was Lapo? Whoever the mare in front of them was, she sure seemed to like the sound of her own voice. It shouldn't be surprising; with her solitary lifestyle, it was probably the only voice that she'd heard, most of the time.

"Then why go with Onyx's plan, sister? What's so great about a long-fallen empire that you'd want to risk your beautiful factory for it?" Obsidian, feeling especially stupid right now, walked forward towards her sister.

The mare stepped back quickly. "YOU STAY BACK! DO YOU HEAR US! STAY BACK!!!" Her voice had gone from smooth silk to jagged glass instantly, and her shriek hurt Cup's ears enough for him to wince.

"We continue with the targeted tactic because Equestria, even in its' current incarnation, is so very weak... they prattle on about the supposed joys of friendship, and they have festvals for such nonsense as LOVE..." She almost spat the words as she began to pace a bit faster. "... but a nation united under Father's rule? THAT would be favorable, indeed. So many innovations and technologies that we could utilize for the benefit of his reign! And the SAFETY... oh, we'll never have to worry about ourselves again! No more doubts, no more critics, no more shameful mewling for the ungrateful masses!"

Now, she was circling them like a shark. "Best of all? We'd be free to build and design in peace, free from deadlines and social gatherings and monetary grants... and NOBODY would be able to lay claim to the machines we bring to life!"

Opal was approaching them - why did she apparently assume that Obsidian's getting any closer would be more dangerous than her own? Siddy just wanted to get closer to her sister... just a little closer...

"But then, who would appreciate them? If you wish to build things just for the merriment of research and design, there are a number of places outside of any Equestrian influence... you wouldn't even have to stay in a civilized area, as you could simply use your amazing skills to build yourself a secluded factory somewhere in mountains or the forest, and yet... you stayed here, surrounded by the praise of the very same Equestrians you call 'weak'."

The mare gave a haughty laugh. "We stayed because it was what we were told to do; do you not fathom that we would be far from here at this very moment, should we have had the opportunity? Oh, no - you simply assume that each of us was foolish, and that what we were doing wasn't important to us..."

She stopped far enough back to be out of hoof's reach. "Quartz was being overworked, yes... but he was getting to share his designs with the WORLD... and you took that from him. Onyx worked so very diligently to bring Father back... and you took THAT from HER. And now, you're here to take our creations from US!"

She lifted her left forehoof; on it was a band of copper and steel which she held in front of her. "However, we do believe that we currently possess an ace up our proverbial sleeve at this juncture... one that we are certain you will take notice of..."

Her horn gave a quick flash, which caused her copper band to start glowing. She then pointed that hoof at a crate in the corner, and the front of it folded open like a mechanical flower... and inside, securely tied to a metal chair, was Thunderclap Dash! She looked okay, but she was gagged to keep her quiet, and bound with what looked like steel cable.

Her sister gave a low and husky chuckle as Clap, seeing her friends, began to squirm and fight helplessly against her bonds. "... and now, allow us to introduce our brainchild... our creation..."

She now tapped her other hoof against the copper band three times, and a whirring, clanking sound started up. There was the toot of a steam whistle, and around the corner walked a massive yellow machine. The central body had a seat and six-point harness for strapping in. It also had two mechanical arms that ended in versatile pincers, and two legs that looked sturdy and powerful. The entire machine was taller than the riot van outside!

"... The Labor Harness!" The mare spoke the last three words with a touch of reverence for her own creation.

Why was Obsidian doing all of this in the first place, she had to ask herself. Well, Obsidian obviously had to stop Onyx because she was actively trying to end her life... resistance against Sombra's tyranny also made plenty of sense, considering that he'd decided to stomp on her respect and admiration towards him, then threated her friends.... Brother Peridot had been trying to end almost all life in the entire world...

Ah, right, Amber. Cruel, mind-controlling Sister Amber - the reason behind each of the calamities she'd had to deal with lately.

... yeah, okay - some of these said calamities were caused by Thunderclap; after all, she really didn't have to bully the crown prince of Equestria, or interrupt a meeting between herself and Ruby, or fly here all on her own...

"I truly admire your genius, sister - too bad we're on opposite sides, here," she said carefully as she stepped backwards.

Did this... harness-thing... have some means to attack from a distance? How fast was it? So many questions, so few answers - or, to be more precise, so few answers at the moment, as she was afraid that she would learn a bit too much about this mechanical monster's capabilities.

"Cup, would you kindly call for our friends?" she added sotto voce to her fiancee.

Cupcake started to call out, but the Labor Harness in front of him suddenly lifted its' left arm, and fired what appeared to be a jet of steam straight into his face, sending him reeling backwards; he'd been protected by the faceplate, but the blast was firm, with a great deal of pressure behind it.

Still, it was enough - Captain Shield Storm came charging through the doorway, the shotgun over his head discharging at Opal and the harness as he got closer. "STOP IN THE NAME OF THE LAW!" Storm yelled out in a voice that was quite close to a Royal Canterlot volume.

Opal gestured again, and two more harnesses came clanking in from the warehouse section, joining the fracas as Opal herself ran for the back of the factory. Storm fired the shotgun, and Opal was struck by one of the beanbag rounds, crying out in surprise and aggravation... but she managed to make it to the blue tarp, where she dove underneath it and was lost to sight.

Two of the harnesses faced off against the three heroes, while the third one reached into the open crate and closed its' pincers around Thunderclap, squeezing her tightly enough for the mare to actually let out a loud yelp of pain.

... which was when it happened.

A section of the wall suddenly buckled inwards as something slammed into it from outside, then again and once more... and the bricks and mortar came apart, as a hole exploded through the wall.

Standing there was Mica Chip... and he looked pissed.

The closest of the harnesses turned its' steam cannon at him, but in a swifter movement thn she'd ever seen from the stallion, he simply seemed to duck aside and bring up his hooves beneath it - using the thing's own momentum to sling it onto the floor, leaving a spiderweb of cracks on the concrete from where it landed. The fallen harness, with new and worrying grinding sounds coming from it now, ratcheted itself upright to try to stand... but Mica continued on past it, making a steady walking beeline towards the captive Thunderclap.

The second one turned to face Obsidian and Cupcake, while the third picked up Clap and held her against it's center; belts and straps whipped into place, binding the pegasus to the Labor Harness itself and becoming a living shield.

Mica continued toward it, regardless; in fact, it seemed to simply spur him on.

Well, here they were - in a battle, in the middle of the most fascinating technological paradise Obsidian had seen yet, against her wicked genius sister. What a terrible loss this was! Now that she thought about it, didn't she have a number of geniuses in their family? Peridot was obvious, as was Opal... Ruby was a great researcher... even Onyx, despite Obsidian calling her an idiot, was apparently a decent plotter, even if-... well, she... it... okay, maybe never mind Onyx; nopony who gets blown apart because of something in her plan went awry, deserves the title of 'genius' for plotting.

But still, Obsidian was afraid that her own intelligence and wisdom placed her among the less clever of all her siblings... though it didn't mean she wasn't going to try to do her best. She faced one of the harnesses.

Steam meant water... and she'd actually learned some spells that could be useful for something like this. After all she'd found in Onyx's books, spells that worked on the water, and growth... so that's what Obsidian tried to combine - two magical blocks into one spell, to find any trace of water that was stored within the harness and make it... well, make it grow; the rest would be done by pressure, hopefully.

The harness lifted its' other arm, and fired a burst of rivets in her direction - rivets that pinged off of Cup's body armor as he stepped lithely in front of her. He gave a giggle. "That tickles!" Of course, if he hadn't been in armor, it wouldn't have tickled nearly so much.

The steam cannon on the other arm, however, gave a soft glow... then let out a steady hiss as the pressure gauge blew out, rendering it useless, then began to drip water, running as if it were a leak in a boat.

Cup turned and fired a bolt of sprinkle-speckled magic at it... but when the bolt struck the harness, the spot simply gave a glow... then, nothing. Nothing at all - not even a scratch. "That's... not good," he said.

Meanwhile, Mica had reached the machine holding Clap hostage, and he didn't even pause to face-off with it; he simply walked right up to the harness as it swung one of its' metal arms at him... and Mica almost seemed to catch it, as he held up his hooves and rolled with it, suddenly jerking back hard enough for the arm to separate from the base. With the metallic limb in grasp, Mica now turned and jumped onto the harness itself, and began to beat the back of it with its' own arm, leaving dents and bashing gears loose. The harness let out a panicked-sounding shriek of steam, and began to fruitlessly try to fight the raging earth pony off with its' lone remaining arm.

By Darkness! Obsidian couldn't even react in time as harness fired at her - but that was the least of her worries right now, as the most important fact was that Cupcake stood in harm's way, blocking the attack. If one of those harnesses... even a single one... if it so much as scratched his skin... if this cursed machine hurt him in any way... if this stupidity with Opal hurt her love...

"DIE!" Obsidian screamed in fury as she prepared another Dark Magic spell - this one using fire - as she was more than prepared to strike the machine with all of the fury that she felt right at this very moment.

... the blast was... not what she'd expected.

Flames rolled out from the tip of her horn and shot over the harness; the paint blackened, and the upholstry on the seat was now toast... but there was actually very little darkness there. What was this? Didn't she have enough anger in her?

Well... between her argument with Diamond and her concern for Cup, she'd gotten some effect... however, considering the past few weeks, Obsidian had comparitively little Dark Magic in her reserves; her newfound lease on Life, her day at the spa, Cupcake's perfect love, the cameraderie of her other friends and her rehabilitation of some of her siblings...

She'd had some angry moments, but on the whole, Obsidian was rather full of Light Magic at the moment... and was woefully unprepared to fight a Dark Magic battle. However, combining what Dark Magic she'd had with another spell had boosted its' effectiveness... maybe there was a key there? Her only other alternative was using Light Magic, which - unfortunately - she had an abundance of.

Damnation - Amethyst had been right. Why hadn't she told her more directly!? Perhaps with a 'there will be enemies immune to Light Magic, so no matter how much firepower it provides, you need to make sure to diversify your arsenal of destruction'; that would have been pretty straightforward and Obsidian would have accepted that it was necessary! But noooooooooo... FEH!

It was time to think - and as such, she once again struck the harness with a bolt of fire, doing her best to get at least some of the flames inside it - wherever they could spread inside this terrifying war machine.

The flames worked on spreading further, but a little red light inside the harness' frame began to blink, and a pressurized cannister of foam shot white gunk all over the seat, snuffing her fire before it could damage anything too important. Had Opal thought of everything!?

Captain Storm's horn lit up until it had an overglow, and several blue energy shields blinked into existence around himself, spinning to cover each direction as he charged in at the damaged machine, blasting his shotgun wherever the soft ammunition might do at least some damage. The machine fired rivets in return that were deflected into the far wall by the barrier circle around the captain.

The third harness wasn't faring so well. A rocky, whining grinding sound had begun to issue from it, as well as some smoke and a little bit of oil. The remaining arm had ceased its' flapping at Mica, and the entire suit was coming to a slow halt. As soon as it finally ground to a stop, it let out a belch of black smoke and quit moving altogether. Mica immediately swung down to the protective frame/cage and began to bite through Thunderclap's restraints.

It was difficult to fight ponies that were not only smarter than you, but had many years to prepare. And Obsidian was starting to get desperate... but there was always a way. There had to be a way! If she couldn't do it, then who else would? She was a hero - as improbable as that was - and she had to work hard and think hard!

That's why she tried to cast her shield precisely onto the end of machine's rivet gun; she had no idea what would happen if the deadly rivets were deflected inside the barrel, but she had to try. At least Mica had taken care of one machine, and as soon as Clap was free, then at least ONE objective would be fulfilled.

The spell's effect couldn't touch the barrel... but corking the end of it wasn't touching it. The machine leveled its' rivet cannon at her again... and the device exploded in a shower of shrapnel and steel, taking the lower half of the arm, pincers and all, with it!

The machine let out an angry whistle, and charged right for her!

... and Cupcake, suddenly next to it somehow, simply stuck out a hoof, and tripped it. The machine fell over its' own stumbling feet, and slammed to the ground directly in front of Obsidian, where it started to make an odd, hiccuping whirr as it began to try to right itself.

Cup, meanwhile, grabbed the hindleg he'd tripped it with in his forelimbs, and bounced up and down on the other rear leg, yelling, "Owowowowowowowowowowow-OWWW!"

Storm Shield leapt into the air and came down with one of his shields beneath his hooves, directly on top of the last standing machine, a powerful >CRUNCH< being his reward as he pulverized one of the shoulders, sending the arm into a listless heap as he then began to attempt to blast the rear panel open.

With beanbag rounds... it miiiiiiiiight take a few shots.

Clap's voice sputtered to life, greeting Obsidian's ears. "MIKEY!"

Mica spat out the gag he'd removed from her, and his expression was all neutral again, with no indication of the raging bull he'd been mere moments ago. "Hey. You okay?" he said simply.

Thunderclap responded with a blistering, soul-searing kiss to Mica's lips that made his mane and tail stand out for a second.

"... yeah, I'm good," Clap smirked.

"Bfdhazuh," Mica confirmed, then shook himself out of it. "Come on; we need to get out of this place - the police have it surrounded, and there's no way out for Opal."

The pegasus looked over at Obsidian. "HEY! You guys came - AWESOME! I mean, sorry about taking off and stuff, but it's SO good to see ya, Siddy!" Yeah - she was fine.

It appeared that Obsidian still had the means to fight with these machines, restrictions on Light Magic be damned. Her most obvious skills were completely blocked, and she'd trained with Dark Magic a lot... but she had other ways to hurt her enemies, even if she was completely overtaken by Light and, as such, Dark Magic was simply too hard for her to use right now.

"OF COURSE, WE CAME - did you think we'd merely LEAVE YOU!?!" Obsidian shouted back to Clap, sliiiiiiiiightly annoyed - it was inevitable that they would come to save her! It was their goddesses-damned DUTY as friends!

But first things first.

Without hesitation, Obsidian dashed to the last harness machine. "Stand aside!" she said as she once again did her best to stop it with water - if there was even a single, solitary hole in the rear panel, then the water could get inside. And as soon as it got inside... well, she knew a specific Growth Spell, which would be perfect in this situation.

Storm stepped back, as well as transferring his shields to surround the machine, facing inward to stop any further threats. Enough of the rear panel had been blasted off to allow for water to get in; with effort, Siddy managed to splash a gathered ball of water across its' back, then cast the Growth Spell and waited with nervous anticipation.

The harness twisted slowly, jerkingly to face them, and it lifted a pincer to grasp weakly at Obsidian's neck... but instead, it let out a sound like a razzing fart, steam hissing from a busted seal, before the entire contraption suddenly blew apart.

Obsidian and Cupcake both saw blue flashes; the debris had activated the captain's Glass Shield Spell. Good thing too, as a particularly jagged chunk of metal bounced directly off of Obsidian's left eyeball; it felt weird and cringeworthy, but her vision - as well as her skull - was safe.

Storm Shield had a small chunk of metal sticking out of his flank, about the size of a potato chip. He glanced back at it only once, then turned to the rest of the group as if he'd seen nothing. "You four okay?" he asked between panting.

"Good!" called out Clap.
"Sore, but good," said Cupcake.
"Fine now," stated Mica, "and you?"
"I'll live," said Captain Storm.

"... I WOULDN'T BET ON THAT," said Opal's voice, scratchy and metallic, as if it were coming through what sounded like a pair of speakers.

Now, klaxon alarms began to go off all around them, and all the lights along the walls changed to yellow emergency lighting as something began to rumble loudly enough to shake the factory floor.

"... we need to GO," said Cupcake.

Obsidian really didn't have any reason to argue with her coltfriend. She'd almost lost an eye - and even if Diamond could probably restore it easily, it didn't change the fact that she was a little shaken by how close it had come - she liked this eye! Granted, she liked the rest of her body too... which meant that she had to get out of this place!

"GO!" she confirmed, already dashing toward the doors. All of these beautiful machines... and she wouldn't even be able to get a glance at them now! Damnation!

The five of them raced their way through the factory and back into the lobby area as the rumbling kept getting louder and louder, even overpowering the ear-splitting klaxon that was screeching its' single, repeated flat note.

Passing the front kiosk, the mechanical pony gave them a friendly wave.

-= Thanks for visiting Pola Industrial, and have a wonderfulfulfulfulfulfulfulfulfulfulfulfulful =-

They got outside of the lobby doors, with Thunderclap carrying Mica for speed, and saw the scene.

The number of police vehicles had tripled since they had last been outside, and the factory was surrounded by officers of all breeds, genders and ranks, each one armed with guns and all aiming at the huge factory floor doors.

"PEARL!" Chief Mountain called out through a megaphone, "SURRENDER!"

Captain Storm rushed Siddy and her friends over to the sidelines where a few squad cars were parked; they were covered but still able to witness whatever would occur next.

"Tell them to disperse! Whatever Opal has prepared, I am certain it will be HUGE!" Obsidian quickly demanded of the captain with panic in her eyes. What has her genius sister prepared for them all? A gigantic bomb? Or perhaps factory itself will turn into a giant war machine?

There was a >CLUNK<, and with a loud grinding rumble, the large steel doors at the front of the factory began to slide open...

"AND LO, THE MASSES OF SHEEP BEHELD THE CUNNING WOLF UPON THE RIDGE, AND THEY BLEATED THEIR LAST, BECAUSE THEY KNEW THIS WOLF WAS THEIR REAPER!"

With the massive doors only halfway open, an enormous mechanical leg thrust itself through the plate steel, slamming home (and the newly dislodged door) into the ground as hissing steam rolled like a fog from within it. The leg flexed forward, and was followed by another, which bashed open the other door impatiently, bending it nearly in half.

"... what in the name of Princess Twilight Motherfucking Sparkle is THAT!?" Captain Storm eloquently blurted.

It looked like a cross between a huge serving dish and a mechanical spider, and stood tall enough on its' eight hydraulic legs to barely miss the top of the huge doorway as it strode out into the parking lot with a determined and direct gait. It was shiny and chrome, and seemed to have panels all over it's surface. A small dome in the center of the top revealed a unicorn mare inside, pulling levers and switches as she spoke into a microphone jutting up in front of her.

With her goggles on her head, revealing burning red eyes beneath.

"WE ARE THE MUZZLE OF PROGRESS, YOU EQUESTRIAN SLOTHS! WITH OUR ARMADA OF MACHINERY, WE SHALL KEEP YOU BASE THIEVES FROM STEALING ANYTHING FROM US, EVER AGAIN!"

With that, she pointed her braceleted hoof at the factory behind her... and out came rows and rows of Labor Harnesses, hundreds of them, all marching in step as they began to pour from the factory like water from a tilted pitcher!

Red eyes... FUCK. Obsidian was well aware that this maniacal, dangerous creature was her sister... and no matter how badly she'd wanted to simply communicate, Lapo was at the proverbial wheel.

"It's the start of an invasion, captain - and this device isn't as lousy as those Umbral zombies that invaded Ponyville were." Strange... Obsidian was thinking there would be explosions to go with the reveal - unless of course it WAS still coming, and Sister Opal simply hadn't shown all of her cards just yet. Which, obviously, would make things even worse.

"Clap?" she asked tenatively, "do you think you could get me on top of this crazy thing?"

Clap grinned. "Yeah - we get you up there, and you can just knock her around with some magic for a bit - then, we take down her machine!"

"You kids are going to do WHAT!?" Captain Storm cried.

The pegasus gave a burst of a laugh. "HA! We're gonna introduce Little Miss Egghead here to... The Siddomizer!"

"Wait, what if-" Cup began, but Obsidian was already being lifted off her hooves by the powerful grip of Clap's forehooves around her waist.

"Okay, Sidster," she said, "you just let me do the fancy flying part; you be ready to blast that bimbo into Limbo!" She soared towards the walker, while the cop cars beneath began to get thrown and crushed by the oncoming onslaught of harnesses, all moving as one whole, all firing rivets or steam into groups of officers.

There was screaming. There was blood. There were still good officers here trying to hold things back... and one of which was Chief Big Thunder Mountain.

With a roar like a lion, he raised up and grappled with a harness that tried to grab a nearby fellow officer by the waist, and the mighty buffalo was now locked in a power struggle with a machine... and was slowly, but steadily, winning. The machine's arms began to give ground, then broke clean off - and the chief slammed them onto the ground, lowering his head and charging forward to slam the thing into the wall behind it, crushing the steel cage into a oil-leaking ball that ceased moving. The buffalo smiled, then moved onto his next opponent without hesitation.

Uh-oh; if Cupcake had some kind of comment on what they were doing, it meant that Obsidian probably didn't think this through enough. Still, it was their best option at the moment - to decapitate the enemy army, she had to take out their leader.

Considering the crack on Opal's horn... well, it was possible she could be taken out without outright killing her, yes? And Obsidian herself just had to make the decision without any available consultation. Because she knew that, if she asked others about her idea, they would stop her from doing such stupid things.

...Siddomizer? Really?

With an overhead view of the area, Siddy began to notice that there were a number of officers trying to attack the walker with spells... but each one had the exact same effect as Cupcake's did on the harness; a glow, and nothing more. Suddenly, with all her past knowledge of spells and workings, it clicked into place for her: The Dark Magic scrolls that Opal had been gathering meant she had been proofing the armor plating against magic... Light Magic, to be specific. She'd seen the effects before on shielding sigils and runes of protection. And to cast spells like those, one would need a source of the opposing force to cast them. Hence, the scrolls, delivered by forged orders from Celestia.

ONLY Dark Magic would be able to harm that mechanical menace - and Obsidian's darkness tank was almost bone-dry.

But... but she just had to find a way! She simply couldn't stand there and do nothing when all they had to do was stop Opal! There had to be a weak point, or perhaps an opening, or an unguarded vent... or... or... well, she just HAD to do it!

Clap careened in closely, then with an almost ballet-like smoothness, the pegasus simply lowered her to the top of the thi-

-i-i-I-I-ING! She was slipping! The entire upper surface had been refinished in what looked like solid steel... but it was coated with an extra-slippery wax that was making Siddy's hooves slide out from under her - if Opal tilted the body too far, she'd simply slide right off like one of Cup's pancakes from his non-stick frying pan!

OH DAMN, OH DAMN, BAD DAY BAD DAY BAD DAY! Who would have ever thought that extra-slippery wax would be Opal's way to deal with attackers from the air?

"OH, DID MY SISTER WISH TO VISIT ME? SORRY - I'LL HAVE TO LET THAT MEETING SLIDE, AHH-haHA-haHA-haHA-HA-HAAAAAA!!!" Lapo's voice crowed through the loudspeakers in victorious, smug glee.

"There's no traction for ya up here, Siddy - what now?" Clap yelled over the din surrounding them, as the walker crept forward on all six of its' enormous legs, making its' way into the street, surrounded by a swarm of Labor Harnesses at its' feet.

... and, on the rooftop of the mechanical factory, she saw a quick flash of purple.

"THERE! TAKE ME THERE," she pointed with her hoof at the rooftop of Opal's factory. Whatever was there, it would be far better than standing on this cursed spider's slick surface.

Clap changed direction, and hauled Obsidian to the roof of the factory, where she set her down gently as she hovered next to her. There was no further trace of the purple thing... but Obsidian could see the entire scene from up here, and had a perfect bird's eye view of her Cupcake, standing on top of a riot van and putting his hooves to his lips, letting out a LOUD whistle.

As many as a hundred harnesses all turned to face him. And just like that, he was wearing a paper dunce cap, and his eyes were crossed. He stuck his tongue out, and gave his voice an even goofier sound as he spoke to them.

"Duh-hurr-durr! Lookit MEEEE! I'mma LAAAAAA-ber LOOOOOOOO-der! I'mma dumb azza sack o' hammers! Herp-de-derp, I say we gits da SYNTHETIC oil too-day!"

The harnesses focused a bit more on him, raising their weapons and taking aim as one of them up front let out a shrill steam whistle toot of what might have been taken as umbrage... so why was Cupcake Sprinkles smiling?

He suddenly leapt off the van's roof, and ran right through the gathered crowd, dodging a number of them as he galloped by them with his tongue stuck out. The massive group began to give chase, even though the stallion was much faster. Cup ran and ran until he barged through a set of double doors on a building... The Nest-Lee's Confectionary Factory.

"Sids, what do we do? She's got us outnumbered by, like, a BAZILLION to one! How are we gonna take her down?" Clap spoke up, watching the scene with the walker below.

Could they take her down at all? Her war machines were able to counter Light Magic, an assault from the air was unsuccesful, and she had them effectively outnumbered. All things considered, all they had was Cup's plan - whatever it was - unless he just wanted a good excuse to go into the candy factory.

Okay, class! Let's count Opal's advantages: Surprise, Light Magic nullification, effective numbers of troops, amazing technology, and a giant metal spider that could be used as a seige engine.

Let's count Obsidian and company's advantages... um... er... well, Diamond could restore their lost limbs?

Obsidian felt useless - the most obvious result of a not-very-clever pony standing against a true genius. What else could they do, aside from surrendering to the mad scientist and begging for mercy or possibly escaping? She was desperately trying to find any other options, but she was pulling blanks.

"Let's get to that factory - it seems that at least Cup has some kind of plan," Siddy hoped.

Clap grabbed her up and started making her way to the factory as the huge walker turned and began to make its' way towards the large gathering of buildings downtown - all the while, Lapo's voice laughing maniacally over the loudspeakers.

Reaching the candy factory, it seemed as though there was a skylight on the roof, so Clap landed them both there and looked inside at about the same time that the harnesses reached the closed front doors, simply knocking them down and stomping inside. Inside, there were displays of all sorts of candies, from best-sellers to rare and obscure recipes, all available for everyone to see...

... and every last shelf was completely barren. The entire floor was littered with wrappers, empty little boxes and discarded packaging - and not a single piece of candy remained in sight. The harnesses stepped inside and seemed to be scanning around for a clue as to the stallion's whereabouts...

Then, the stockroom door flew open, and he stepped out into the room.

Cupcake Sprinkles had all sorts of candy leftovers smeared across his mouth and face; his eyes were huge, his pupils tiny, and he was literally vibrating as he stood there, so much so that his outline was a bit blurry.

"...iiiiiiiIIIIIIIT'S pLaYyYyYyYyTIiIiIiIiImMmMeEeE!!!!!" he practically sang out in a jagged, manic voice that sounded as if he was mere seconds from utter insanity.

A Labor Harness near the front took a single step back.

>ZOOM!< Cupcake rocketed out of the factory like a bat out of Tartarus, leaving a trail of white energy (with glittery sprinkles) behind him as he became a super-hi-bounce ball of sugary overload, ricocheting off harnesses and smashing them to pieces in the process!

He was moving at such high velocity speeds, Clap blinked and gave a low whistle. "Now THAT is fast!"

The entire time, all Obsidian could hear was Cup's hysterical laughter...

"HAAAAAAhahahahahahaahHA! Hee hee hee HOO hoo hoo hoo! Ha-HAAAAAA-heh-heh-HA-heh-heh-heh-hee-hee-heee! Ah-ha-HA-ha-HA-ha-HAAAHAHAHAHA heh heh heh heh heh heh HAH! Ha-HAAA! Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-HOOOOOO! TeeheeheeheeheeheeHAAAAAAAAH! Hee-HA-hoo-hoo-HA! Ha ha HAAA hahahahahaha! Hoo? HOO HOO! WHOO-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-HOOOOO! HAAAAAAA-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-haaaaaa! HeHAhehhehHAhehHAHAHAAAA! Ho-ho-ho-HOOOOO-ho-ho-hohohohoHAAAAAA! HeeHAAAAAA-hahahahahahahahahahahaHA! Woo-HA-hoo-HA-whoo-hoo-ha-HAAA!"

A sugar-fueled Cupcake was a ridiculous, yet utterly terrifying sight! Nopony would ever believe that this stallion, seduced by the Dark Magic of SUGAR, could turn into such an efficient war machine! However, this could be the best way to stop the harnesses from overwhelming them too quickly.

Obsidian did feel that using her coltfriend as a weapon was hardly moral.

"It's... well, at least he's going to keep them occupied for a moment. We still need to figure out a way to stop my sister, though," she pointed out.

Explosives? None of them had any experience with them - besides, she wasn't sure if they would even find any in Opal's factory. Magic? With what they had available, not very effective. Wart and Patty obviously would have known what to do with it!

"Where is she going? Could we find anything useful along her path to stop her with?" Obsidian looked as if she was getting more and more anxious with the progress the giant metal spider was making towards the city proper.

Clap looked, and her muzzle grew grim. "She's headed right towards the heart of the city - there's a lot of folks there! Crap, Siddy, we gotta - HEY!"

She pointed at the riot van Cupcake had been standing on; the engine had started up, and Gypsy's head was poking out of the driver's side window. So THAT was why he'd led the harnesses away - Gypsy and Diamond were sitting ducks without armor, so they'd been trapped in the van.

But now, the diamond dog was driving it! Well, with how it kept jerkily starting and stopping, he was trying to drive it...

Meanwhile, Cupcake came to a dead stop in front of one of the largest remaining groups, wearing an insane smile that would make even Discord shake in his scales. He quickly reached behind him and brought out something with a flourish.

It was a single can of Ener-GEE Power Soda.

The harnesses, as one, stopped, turned and began to run as Cup popped the ring, then drank it down all in one shot. His eyes blinked like traffic lights, he hiccuped, and >ZOOM!< - he was off again as he blasted his way through the gathered group, sending pieces sprawling in every direction.

Maybe it was a plan... or maybe Cup was simply making a window of opportunity for them to escape? In either case... "Let's get to where Gypsy and Diamond are," she said decisively. Maybe from there, they could formulate a decent plan.

Clap grabbed her up once more, and they made their way to the van. As they got close, the back doors swung wide open, and a grinning Diamond waved them in. Clap landed flawlessly inside, just in time for the whole van to jerk again, causing her to sit on Diamond's little form.

"ACHK!" cried Clap.
"{I CAN ONLY BREATHE BLUE BOTTOM!}" wailed a muffled Diamond.

Clap got up quickly and looked back at him. "Mundy! You okay?"

The small stallion looked a bit chagrined, but otherwise okay. He shook off the moment and looked up at them both. "{Gypsee wishes to chase the giant metal spider!}" he announced to them.

"St-t-t-tup-p-pid-d g-g-gearsh-sh-sh-shift-t-ting-g-g!" came from the front, with yet another jerk.

"Chase it? Why?" Obsidian asked, a bit dumbfounded. Quite a large portion of her surprise came from the fact that, at the moment, Gypsy's style of driving was possibly going to finish them off for Opal, clearing her of any necessity to commit a murder in the family.

Well, at the very least, Diamond seemed to be fine. While Sister Amy had spent a lot of time torturing him, it had inadvertently given him plenty of time to train in self-healing. Obsidian didn't want to have to check to see if he could put himself back together after being stepped on by this giant mechanical monstrosity.

Gypsy glanced back at her with a rare, determined look. "It h-h-heads f-for th-th-th-the t-t-town! It w-will hurt i-i-innoc-cents! It m-m-MUST b-be st-stopp-p-ped!"

Diamond nodded. "{And I am here to ensure he does not die - do you need to be healed?}" he asked eagerly as his horn gave a soft glow, almost in question.

"Of course, I agree that it must be stopped... but we have no plan!" Obsidian protested. She had tried to come up with something herself and almost fell from the damned thing! "So unless we can load this van up with explosives and drive it into one of its' legs, I really don't know what else we could do!"

"{And no, Diamond - thank you,}" she muttered a bit more quietly.

Clap's eyes lit up. "Hey, what if I-... uh-oh."

She was looking back behind them at Cupcake's widely-strewn pile of broken Labor Harnesses, spread out along the entire street. Truly, he was a force to be reckoned with, under the influence of sugar.

However, he'd apparently reached the tail end of his sugar rush. He sort of stumbled to a stop, said "nite nite" in a fluted and ragged voice, and fell over onto the gear-laden concrete. And gave a loud snore.

Clap looked back at Obsidian. "I'mma go fetch Cup and Mica; we'll catch up!"

She took off out of the back, just as there was a yowl that sounded a LOT like a swear word, and the riot van kicked into gear and roared ahead, zooming away from Obsidian's unconscious love... and towards the wicked metal juggernaut which was getting closer to town by the step. Gypsy was now hanging his head out of the window, his purple tongue flapping in the breeze as he began to gain ground on the steel monstrosity ahead of them.

Cupcake had saved the day; every single police officer on duty right now owed him their lives. However, for a moment, Obsidian's heart had stopped when he simply fell over - and even then, his snore didn't calm her concerns, as she was busily imagining the terrible wounds he could have taken during this battle.

Which was still more positive than her thoughts about the steel spider. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't come up with any way to stop the damned thing. She'd tried her best - a hasty and badly-planned idea - and lost terribly. How utterly pathetic.

Rolling through town, she saw as they got closer that there was a bridge ahead - one that spanned a wide water gap. The walker was headed straight for that bridge, Lapo screaming out her vengeance with her artificial Canterlot Voice.

If they could make it there first, Siddy could possibly have a vantage point to work from, as well as the element of surprise. Plus, if she could stop its' advancement here, they would be a lot less likely to harm civilians and citizens, as it was between the large urban areas, and not in the midst of them.

But the dog behind the wheel would have to floor it to beat the giant metal spider to the bridge.

Author's Notes:

And so, one Tartarus of an altercation, big metal machines, armies of enemies and SO much more inbound! This was a rather active chapter, and I hope it leaves you hungry for the next one!

So yeah, TWO musical influences here: "The Rainbow Factory (Instrumental)" by Wooden Toaster laid the groundwork for the metal spider's appearance, and "Play With Me" by Extreme for Cupcake's sugar-fueled assault. Both songs led to the story ideas, not the other way around, for the record.

But the dog behind the wheel would have to floor it to beat the giant metal spider to the bridge. = the best out-of-context line in the entire series, in my humble opinion.

As is the case with just about ALL stories with fantastic technology in them, there was bound to be an obligatory giant mech battle - because tropes are tropes, but they're tropes for a reason - because they work. So please, enjoy the upcoming battle - because by the time it's over, things will be decidedly different.

How different? No spoilers...

Fifty Five: Obligatory Giant Mech Battle

An almost guaranteed certainty of death. Exceedingly small chances for success. Possibly terrible losses ahead.

So what were they waiting for?

Obsidian still didn't have any plans to deal with all of this, but hey - that never stopped her before! Though it honestly should have, from time to time; perhaps less ponies would have had to die, like Applejack or Ruby. In fact, a smarter, less lazy pony could do a much better job of this than Siddy currently felt like she was.

"Quickly, to the bridge! If all else fails, we can simply collapse it, right?" Obsidian suggested with a rather resolved and weary voice. Will the city's government get angry about ruining their big bridge? Quite likely.

Gypsy nodded, then grabbed the gearshift and let loose with an, "Awwwooo-OOOOO-"

Which was cut off when the vehicle began to hitch and jerk again.

"N-no, NO... this... th-this is, no... this i-i-is NOT awoo~... NO!" he growled irritably as the vehicle slung to the left for a precarious second then, with a loud grinding sound, it slammed down into higher gear and they took off like a shot.

"... awwwwooooo-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-oooooooooooo!!!!!" the diamond dog happily resumed his howl.

If Gypsy landed them in river with his inexperienced gear-shifting, they still had at least a small chance to survive, right? Even though Obsidian herself didn't actually know how to swim...

The walker made slow but steady progress towards the hapless city, its massive steel and gear legs making the ground shake as they made their way forward while on the street below, the riot van raced along the road, Gypsy maintaining a good speed but still having a few issues with shifting gears.

Obsidian saw one of the legs come down right next to the van, smashing into the road itself, and Gypsy yelped as a chunk of concrete shrapnel smacked into the side of the vehicle, making him fight to get it under control... but the deft doggo managed to do so, and they were now juuuuuuuuust ahead of the walker.

But their passage did not go unnoticed...

"AND LO, THE COCKROACH, AFTER HAVING A CHANCE TO LIVE, CHOOSES DEATH! THIS ROACH IS A FOOL... BUT WE APPLAUD THEIR TENACITY!"

The mechanical nightmare now opened multiple small hatches underneath, and what looked like ping-pong balls began to drop out of them. Once clear of the hull, the spheres grew little propellors, and began to float along and hover...

And then, they began to beep. And beeping wasn't usually a good sign. Especially when the beeping things were drifting in YOUR direction.

The fact that they actually managed to make it towards the bridge quickly was a pleasant surprise. Avoiding crashing into the metal spider's leg was a promising turn of events, too. Overall, Obsidian - who had already almost decided that they'd lost and would have to either evacuate the city or simply run away - was starting to hope that perhaps they could do something here...

And it was her first boss fight with narration!

When her sister decided to attack them with things that seemed to be flying bombs (what a genius she was!), Obsidian decided it was her time to try to do something beyond moping and complaining. She carefully went to the back of the van to push open the doors and start targeting the little flying spheres with the Fire Spell she'd learned from Onyx's book.

It was time to see how fire-resistant Opal had made her creations.

The blaze blasted outward from her horn, boosted by a touch of her Light Magic, and surrounded the majority of the incoming spheres, which detonated with little >BOOMF< sounds, releasing not explosives... but instead, little puffs of globby white goo which just seemed to splatter about.

And as soon as the goo struck something, it stuck fast and began to grow, like some sort of foam. The foam grew rather quickly, and seemed to be attracted to itself in the process, sealing quickly around whatever it stuck to; if that foam got on someone's face...

Though her blast was effective, there were still a number of spheres that were on their way towards them, attempting to keep ahead of the oncoming towering spider mech.

"{Obsidyan... could any of this assist you?}" Diamond pointed to the police weapons lockers, which were open and gave full access to everything... IF she could figure out what these things were. Racks of what looked like firearms, some sort of sticks with pull-rings, little handles with pointy bits up front, and a long, steel tube with an aiming scope on its' side.

"{Have I started helping yet?}" the little stallion asked merrily.

The most perfect situation would give Obsidian enough time to catch some of these balls and throw them back at the spider's legs, maybe to make it a bit more sticky and overall more difficult to steer. Alas, this was hardly the perfect situation, especially as typical explody-type bombs would horrifically hurt them, forcing their grieving families and friends to keep their coffins closed during their funerals. These things, though? They were a bit more subtle...

"{I don't know how to use those, Diamond! We'd have to ask Mica or Clap!}" she replied while continuing to blast their spheroid attackers with her magic. "{Can't you try to do something to them as well? They're not alive, so it wouldn't disrupt your pacifistic vows to attack them!}"

Diamond considered it for a moment, then smiled broadly as realization set in. "{You are correct, Obsidyan!}"

He turned, grabbed a small ammo crate and dumped it, filling it with the strange pull-ring sticks and dragging it to the back - flashing a quick smile beatifically at Obsidian as he passed - and when he was positioned at the rear doors where he could see clearly, he blinked... and thick, dark purple mist POURED from his eyes as his smile went feral.

"{I SHALL OBLITERATE OUR FLYING FOES WITH NO MERCY!!!}" Diamond's suddenly gravelly and deep voice growled out as he began physically throwing the sticks at the goo-balls. This was about the point that she was reminded of her brother's uncanny strength, as his throws sent the sticks through multiple spheres with each toss, making them drop their sinister payload harmlessly on the ground.

Impressive... most impressive! As far as Obsidian was concerned, her brother's transformation was terrifyingly beautiful, or beautifully terrifying - perhaps both? Regardless, the fact that this little war machine was on her side improved her mood considerably.

Gypsy, who had been watching in the rearview on occasion, suddenly yipped. "Ob-b-b-bs-s-s-s... Ob-b-b-bsid-d-d..." Apparently, he wanted her attention. "... RRGH! {Obsidian! If you can get the flying balls to chase us, could we use them to block up the bridge?}"

After seeing the Fire Spell's effectiveness boosted from Light Magic... maybe the flying devils weren't immune to Light? But block up the bridge? It was a good idea, but Obsidian simply had no clue how to levitate so many of them at the same time. Even with Lemon's training, there were too many of them - making simple levitation ineffective.

As she watched, another round of flying glueballs were being dropped... but they fell a short distance before they opened their props. Maybe if there was a way to push one or two back up inside it, it might explode within? That could be a BAD day for Sister Opal. Also, there was the idea that the little spheres were little; maybe there was some way to direct them away from the van, and possibly to another target? Or there was also-

"{OBSIDYAN! I REQUIRE MORE ITEMS OF DESTRUCTION WITH WHICH TO RAVAGE OUR FOES WITH!}"

... Diamond requesting something else to throw, apparently. Along with what was in the armoury lockers, there were some helmets, some expensive-looking equipment, and a lot of loose shells of ammunition rolling around on the floor with each turn and jerk of the steering wheel up front.

Obsidian quickly scooped together and rolled several of the shells closer to Diamond, hoping it would be enough to keep him occupied while she focused on the goo-ball hatch. She actually had something in mind that could be rather useful in this situation... especially if this foam contained even one tiny drop of water...

While she was doing her best to repeal the airborne assault of these flying machines, she kept eyeing the hatch they were coming from carefully, in order to try to block it with a shield during the next attempt to drop fresh enemies; all she could do was hope that there was enough water to make her impromptu mix of growth and water spells work.

When the shells clinked against his rear hooves, Diamond turned and looked down and grinned wickedly. He scooped up one and winged it at a sphere. "{NOW, FACE THE DOOM OF-}"

When the shell exploded on contact, Diamond jumped back. "FOKMEE!" he yelped, in... Equeeeeeeestrian..?

Then, it kicked in what the shell had done... and his smile went from wicked to beastly.

"{THERE SHALL NOW BE A RECKONIIIIIIIIIIING!!!!!}" he screamed with a voice like a howling wolf as he began throwing bullets rapidly... with both hooves. Very much like a powerful rifle packed into a smol pone package, Obsidian watched as the number of spheres began to dwindle while her tiny, sweet and harmless-looking brother became Tartarus Incarnate.

As for the tube-blocking shield spell... well, it managed to cover the hole, but it didn't seem to-

>BOOMF< ... oh. There it went.

And as she watched, the compartment section which housed those tubes suddenly dropped a number of screws, automatically separated from the spider, slid across Obsidian's shield and fell straight to the ground, before the entire device burst open at the seams with a massive clump of sticky white foam.

It hadn't stopped or even slowed the walker down - but the sticky bombs were also no longer a threat, so... success? Considering what sort of issues that goo might make, it most certainly WAS a success... it was just hard to enjoy the little things when the massive mechanical war machine was almost at the bridge.

Well, at least they were no longer in danger of being suffocated by scientifically-spawned goo; she turned to her small brother. "{Diamond! We stopped the spheres - can you try attacking one of the legs?}"

"{MY THIRST FOR DESTRUCTION SHALL SLAKE ITSELF ON THAT WHICH CANNOT DIE!}" he yowled as he turned his powerful throws towards the walker's front right leg, his strength leaving pock-marks in the leg's sturdy armor as shell after shell impacted it.

This drew attention from above, as the speakers crackled to life again. "AND SO, YOU SEEK TO STOP US BEFORE WE ENACT OUR VENGEANCE UPON THE MASSES? WELL, WE GREET YOUR CHALLENGE HEAD-ON, AND ONLY THE WEAKEST OF US WILL HAVE TO SUFFER... AND THAT MEANS YOU!!!"

More hatches popped, slid and folded open beneath it, and out popped a number of gadgets, gizmoes and weaponry that looked ready to fire at a moment's notice. The sudden deployment of technological weaponry made this task go from well-nigh impossible to completely impossible! The walker stopped heading towards the city... and turned to focus its' FULL attention on the little riot van.

Vengeance upon the masses? Oh dear; the spawn of wicked King Sombra surely had some terrible mental issues, didn't they? It really shouldn't be too surprising, considering how he kept treating them, but still - most of them seemed to like mindless destruction just a wee bit too much.

And DAMNATION, how many weapon hatches did this fucking thing have? And how many more destructive devices was it carrying in its mechanical belly? For now, Obsidian could only frantically try to block some of the various instruments of destruction with her shield. Perhaps at least some of these things would explode when damaged, and maybe damage the spider from the inside..?

As she watched doom looming large over them, Obsidian saw a group of bottles come flying out of seemingly nowhere and shatter along the top of the walker, covering it with a cloud of sickly green fog.

"WHA- NO! WHAT IS THIS? WHERE ARE YOU?" There was a quick flash of purple on the top spire of the bridge's arch... but it whirled away before Obsidian could get a good look at it.

There was a ratcheting sound as tubes opened along the sides of the dome, then a whirr as a number of fans came to life and the green mist was blown away into the sky, leaving Lapo's view unobstructed. "AND NOW, INTREPID HE-"

Suddenly, the spider's own busted goo-ball dispenser came flying from behind it, slamming into the rear left leg and bursting open along its length. The white goo inside did its 'sticky-thing', and the walker's leg was held fast to the asphalt, stuck in place.

"UNSTOPPABLE! OUR FURY IS UNSTOPPABLE! INSIGNIFICANT GERM! PUSTULE!" ... leaving one rather irate Lapo.

Who was this purple-clad pony? And why was she hiding her presence? Why was she helping them, and what were her motivations to do such? Would Obsidian be able to trust her? She would certainly have a number of questions to ask the purple mare later, if she didn't mysteriously disappear once this was done with (and if they didn't die in the process)...

But first things first.

The machine was stopped - at least for now - and that was all that mattered at the moment. They just had to be sure that it would stay this way.

"Now's our chance!" Siddy said as she quickly took a peek into the small weapon arsenal that they had access to. Explosives, explosives... where were the explosives!? If she could just cripple one or two of the machine's legs, this could all be over with!

There were no more of the pull-tab sticks, and she didn't recognize anything else here enough to operate it with any level of efficiency or confidence. However, before further ideas could settle in... their luck gave out.

Gypsy was stuck in the middle of another grumble-worthy downshifting when one of the devices beneath the metal spider fired a beam of bright yellow energy directly in front of the van, melting asphalt as if it were butter as it left a massive hole that was deep enough to breach the underground sewers.

The diamond dog was far too busy trying to get the current gear to catch to notice them roll directly into that same spot.

And the van ABRUPTLY stopped. As in, instant dead stop; Obsidian, Diamond and Gypsy were now at the mercy of Big Bad Papa Gravity... and momentum hurts.

Obsidian flew towards the front cab and slammed into the back of the separating wall, with Diamond landing square in the center of her ribs on her left side. It hurt as she felt her skeleton flex from the impact, but it frankly paled in comparison to what else she noticed...

The driver's seat was empty, and the windshield was GONE.

"NO!" Obsidian screamed in horror; their carriage was damaged, and she was hurt, but Gypsy... well, the chances were exceedingly good that rocketing out of a van through the front windscreen was probably bad for his health. As in, LETHALLY bad...

She did her best to stand back up on all four of her legs as quickly as she possibly could, cursing under her breath at Opal, Onyx, Amber and every single force of fucking evil that was so keen to turn all their lives into a living Tartarus.

"{OUT!}" she said as she grabbed Diamond with a forehoof and started to move through the front cab to the shattered portal that was once a windshield, apparently wanting to leave the vehicle from the other side, away from the spider and its' many nasty devices.

She managed to squeeze herself and Diamond through the windscreen's former home just as one of the walker's legs came directly down on top of the vehicle, crushing the van into a much smaller, flatter version of its' former self.

Gypsy was lying against a wall across the street - and he looked horrible. First of all, there was a lot of blood. Second of all, his arm really shouldn't be able to bend that way. Third and most foremost, however, was the fact that he shouldn't be bleeding so profusely from his mouth like that - one might think he was mortally wounded by being thrown through a windshield at high velocities, then slamming into a brick wall... but, that's what it seemed like had happened.

"{Listen to me closely, Obsidyan,}" Diamond spoke up, turning to face her with all seriousness in his expression, "{I can most likely save Gypsee... but I need to be able to work; you MUST keep the walker distracted, or it may kill me as I cast it. I need you to do this, please, for Gypsee!}" He turned and galloped over to the broken canine and began healing him as quickly as he could, his horn glowing a bright white as he went to work.

Obsidian instantly wheeled around to face the metal spider. "OPAL! YOUR TECHNOLOGY CAN GO FUCK ITSELF! NATURAL SHIT BEATS THE FUCK OUT OF MODERN SHIT ALL THE TIME!" Obsidian screamed in a high-pitched voice, as she was trying to push away the terrors of Gypsy's current state from her mind.

She turned around and blasted her Fire Spell straight at the cockpit; she doubted it would do anything serious, but she just wanted to ensure she kept Opal's attention focused on herself. "FATHER NEVER LIKED YOU ANYWAY!"

Now she just had to worry about the enormous, weaponized and clearly superior mechanical spider; she'd better start using that dodge spell she'd learned from Onyx's book - unless, of course, she really wanted to die. It would come in handy for attracting Opal's attention, though, as there would be a better chance that her attacks would miss the Grey Princess - unless she knew of this spell already and knew how to aim in order to counter it...

Lapo merely laughed scornfully. "DO YOU TRULY BELIEVE I WOULD RISE TO SUCH JIBES AS THAT!? PLEASE, OBSIDIAN," she mocked, "WHO DO YOU THINK I AM - TOURMALINE?"

However, Obsidian obviously had her attention anyhow, as Lapo pulled levers which sent many of the destructive things underneath into a determined mass of 'KILL OBSIDIAN NOW'... but another bottle flew overhead and burst across the spider's bubble cockpit, and the green fog returned.

Leaping down from above, a purple shape came to a solid landing right in front of Obsidian... and slowly stood up. It was a sleek purple-suited mare, wearing a wide-brimmed matching fedora, her eyes hidden behind a purple mask. She looked strong, capable and more than ready for battle. To top it off, she had a billowing purple cape that looked EXACTLY the way a hero's cape was supposed to look.

She looked sort of like one of Cup's 'Power Ponies', but it wasn't one she recognized... but Obsidian was certain that Wart would have; hadn't she said something about... what was that name?

The purple mare faced off at the walker, narrowing her eyes as Lapo gave an amused chuckle. "AND WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE? ANOTHER FOOLISH PONY, DOOMED TO MEET THEIR FATE AT MY HOOVES!?"

The purple mare's eyes just glared as she took a defensive stance, glancing over at Siddy only once before focusing completely on the mad, mechanically-inclined mare.

That hat was obviously hiding a horn... however, Obsidian felt she could rather safely assume that this unknown pony didn't have wings. Too bad; it would have possibly meant that Princess Twilight had decided to bring her heavy firepower to the fight. Or maybe it was Prince Midnight... though he looked a bit too stallion-ly to be this pony...

First things first - as far as Obsidian was concerned, it could even be Amethyst; as long as she turned out to be more helpful than Obsidian herself was at the moment, it was fine with her.

"I'll take care of the devices on the ground, if you can keep her attention," she suggested to the mystery mare; hopefully, something would finally work against the evil genius in front of them.

The purple mare spared her another glance, nodded once and began to make her way to the opposite side from Obsidian, circling warily as she tried to flank the spider. Lapo obviously wasn't having that - and said so with rivet cannons that chattered along the ground after her path. But the mare was exceedingly nimble, and practically danced out of the path of the guns, keeping barely a step ahead... which left Siddy free of attention.

For now, Obsidian concerned herself with the various machines on the ground; with only herself and her (diminished) magic ability, she had to take care of a LOT of artificial enemies, at least long enough for Diamond to heal Gypsy back into one piece... her poor friend... into one... whole... ENTIRE... PIECE... AND IT WAS THESE STUPID MACHINES THAT HAD DONE IT!

"D̮̝̗I̶͎̥E̝̯͈!̲̫͟!" she screamed, summoning a small firestorm with the power of her righteous anger at poor Gypsy's situation. Besides, the more she could possibly destroy now, the more opportunity it would give them to find a way to defeat this damnable thing!

The effect was instantaneous; flames licked outward in a circle, sending out a literal ring of fire around her. Most of the devices - the small machines, anyhow - were blown backward from the release, their innards cooked to a charred and blackened lump.

Behind her, the street shook as the walker's front legs were now smashing at the ground around the purple mare, who was artfully dodging each attempted strike. The mystery mare then slid to a stop next to a dumpster and, swiveling to place her rear legs against it, she bucked it directly into the middle left leg of the walker, cracking the armored casing and staggering the huge machine.

"OH, PLAYING THAT WAY, EH? WE CAN PLAY THAT WAY, TOO!" One of the other legs lifted from the ground and came down behind a small cafe, which then was raked sideways towards the purple mare, sending an entire shop's worth of debrs flying at her! In the dust and dirt of the receding wave of rubble, Obsidian lost sight of her mysterious ally.

"EXCELLENT! AND NOW... FOR YOUUUUU..."

Oh shit...

Obsidian probably didn't have to worry too terribly much about her new ally; she doubted such an attack would be enough to kill her, as she seemed sprightly enough to have probably gotten out of the way quickly, and most wounds could be healed by Diamond. At the moment, she was mostly concerned about herself, her brother and the current state of her diamond dog friend.

She braced for an attack - and with her Displacement Spell, she could at least hope that Sister Opal wouldn't be able to kill her too quickly. In the meantime, she attempted to throw another firestorm at the one leg already weakened by the earlier dumpster throw. Whatever was making this machine capable of mobility, combined with whatever damages the mysterious mare had managed to do... Obsidian was sure she just had to weaken it enough to make it collapse under its own weight.

The Fire Spell went off again and the spider-walker's leg set ablaze, though there was no visible changes she could see... yet.

Five different weapon-like appendages each locked on Obsidian and fired: a green laser, a red laser, a rivet cannon, a speargun and a stream of high-pressure water - and all headed directly for her; at least the stream would be easy to deal with.

She waited for Opal to fire, then dodged towards one of the legs, hoping that her sister would do something stupid, like maybe hitting one of her device's own appendages - and keeping the mad genius' attention away from Diamond and Gypsy would be a nice bonus too.

Obsidian's diligence helped her narrowly escape the lasers, she sidestepped the spear and the rivets were thrown off completely by the dodge spell... but the stream of water slapped into her muzzle-first, and she slammed into the leg she was headed for... so, she'd made it. She was unhurt, but was now FAR too close to the metal spider for her comfort.

Another green bottle flew against the cockpit and shattered, but now the fans around it were running constantly. "THAT TRICK IS NEUTRALIZED, INTERLOPER!"

A burst of rivets revealed the purple mare's location as she leapt from the debris to avoid the shots; she looked a bit scuffed up and dirty, but she seemed otherwise unharmed as she continued to attempt to flank the spider.

At least Obsidian could survive being wet; she didn't even try to deflect lasers back at the leg, but she forced herself to once again dodge to the side, moving away from the mechanical leg with a nimble roll. The effects of the battle were starting to catch up to her, despite the adrenaline currently raging through her body and clouding her mind.

Honestly, she was a bit outmatched, not to mention how tired she was... and frankly, Obsidian was not in any sort of good mood... which she hoped would be just enough to reach into the water gun with her growing magic, and make it pay for soaking her!

Hitting it with the Growth Spell was more than enough to burst the pressurized cannon's tube, and water sprayed everywhere for all of five seconds before that too was dropped from underneath, just as the Gooball Dispenser had been.

There was a sudden, sharp bang; steel shrapnel, wires and gears flew out of the burning leg, along with a trail of thick black smoke. The purple mare juked and jived her way to that side and - with a firm buck - bent the entire leg into a broken and warped angle, rendering it inoperable.

Now, even if Opal got loose from the goo, she wasn't going anywhere! Well... anywhere quickly, at any rate.

Lapo let go with an unintelligible scream of fury, and turned ALL her attention on the purple mare, firing everything at once at her... which the nimble mare dodged with deceptive ease, driving Lapo even crazier, if the line of enraged screams and grunts of exertion she was currently screeching through the loudspeakers meant anything.

Okay, this was perhaps the best possible time to move away from the spider a bit, just in case it came crashing down anytime soon - after all, Obsidian had heard that overdosing on gravity was dangerous. However, it didn't stop her from enveloping as many of the laser guns as she could with small, personal firestorms of their own; if it worked for a leg, then it should do wonders to a delicate, technological masterpiece where every single wire was probably important to the whole.

She gave a burst of fire to the two lasers, and the green one almost instantly exploded. The red one got off a single shot, which hit her right in the middle of her left flank, setting the cutie mark on that side aflame and sending a searing jolt of pain along her barrel... but it was no Bonetwister Spell, so it seemed as if Tourmaline's magical attack had prepared her for pain like this... but just barely. With that one shot successful, the red laser gave up the ghost and simply melted into useless slag.

GAH! FLAMES! Obsidian almost instinctively dodged back and leapt to the side, then immediately cast her water spell over her flaming flank to stop the fire from spreading any further. Being covered by a coat of fur, she really wanted to avoid burning it off!

Ironic; without the water cannon soaking her, Obsidian would have been in a much more dire situation right now.

"ENOOOOOOOUGH!!!"

Twin cables, like an octopus' steel replacements, shot out of the spider's underbelly and wrapped themselves rapidly around both Obsidian and the purple-clad mare, binding them tightly like a boa constrictor's coils.

"THIS LITTLE GAME IS OVER! YOU WILL NOW BEAR WITNESS TO THE VERY FIRST OF MANY, MANY, MAAAAAANY REPARATIONS, AS I GIVE MYSELF THE GIFT OF YOUR DEATH!"

A small yet bright beam of Light Magic came flashing out from the sidelines; Diamond and Gypsy (now fully healed, Obsidian noticed with relief) were standing there - and the brave little stallion had dared to fire a beam of Light Magic at her...

Which struck the armor and glowed... then did nothing. Well, at least he'd tried - and honestly, Obsidian was a bit surprised; apparently, between this shot and his earlier assistance, Diamond was a bit more bold than she'd thought.

"FOOLISH BROTHER! ONLY DARK MAGIC CAN AFFECT MY BRILLIANT ARMOR!" Which is when Obsidian felt Dark Magic building QUICKLY, somewhere nearby...

Just how many damned weapons did this fucking machine have!? Lasers, rivet guns, water cannons, exhaust fans, immobilizing goo, standalone devices, cables... IT WAS FUCKING OVERKILL! It was an army unto itself!

A one-machine-army which would kill her and her mystery companion... but what was this? Obsidian looked sidelong at the costumed hero as soon as she felt the familiar surge of Dark Magic...

With a burst of pure black energy, a column of Dark Magic - roiling and pulsing - shot out of the purple mare's hat, shredding it as the horn there fired the beam directly at the walker. The resulting blast tore right into the chrome hull, and like a red hot knife through butter, it sliced away nearly an entire third of the walker's body - including three of its' massive legs!

"NOOOOOOO! IMPOSSIBLE!!!" screeched Opal's voice, incredulous, as the walker began to teeter precariously, fluids and servos bleeding onto the street below as it staggered to stay upright.

This done, the purple mare popped off two smaller shots that split the steel cables holding the two of them, and Obsidian hit the ground on all four hooves, just as the mare herself did.

The walker was making a valiant attempt to remain standing, but flashes of sparking machinery inside revealed oil and other fluids gushing out by the bucketful as it tilted wildly on what remaining legs it still had, trying clumsily to compensate for the lost stability... and failing miserably.

"... no-no-no-no-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NONONONONONOOOOOOO!!!" the mad mare's voice wailed as the massive mechanical monstrosity lurched sideways when one of its' few remaining pivotal legs plunged straight through the surface of the road, creating a deep hole that caused the entire walker to tilt, scrabble humorously at the ground with two desperate legs, then tumble over, coming to rest at an angle with a massive, grinding squeal of protest... from the machinery AND the mare controlling it.

It was finally down; the spider walker was now dormant... but Lapo was still active, and there was no telling what tricks she may have still had up her lab coat's sleeve... regardless, Obsidian wasn't going to give her enough time to shake off this sudden and unexpected defeat.

She dashed forward to the fallen war machine, making her way carefully towards the cockpit with the knowledge that dear Opal could be still a dangerous foe if she got away! Building another giant mechanical spider would probably take her a while - especially without her factory - but the Labor Harnesses? Even a single one of them could be terribly dangerous!

All that she had to do was drag her out of the machine's domed cockpit and keep her occupied until the police got there to handle the official arrest... IF Opal didn't manage to get away from her through some freak happenstance, that was.

Climbing over the wreckage carefully (she recalled how slippery the surface had been), she found the cracked and broken dome of the control center easily enough... and inside was EXACTLY who she was looking for...

But something didn't look right; the mare who cowered at the bottom of the pilot's seat was decidedly more demure and skittish, with barely-controlled fear in her eyes as she looked up at Obsidian.

"Um, er... p-p-please, ah, if you w-would, er, could you, um, please n-not, um, h-hit me, yes? Um, ah, p-please?"

Her soft, BLUE eyes.

So, Lapo had escaped into the depths of Opal's mind after her defeat - and she was calm now? Well, it was an improvement, at least - and it seemed as though the actual fight-fight was over with. Good.

Obsidian sighed deeply. "Good morning, my sister... I hope you will be at least a touch more reasonable than your, ah... 'other self' was," she said kindly. Well, as kindly as she could in her current state of mind. "Diamond is here with us, dear Opal - would you like to go and say hello? I am certain he would be eager to meet with you, now that you're... well, YOU."

The small, harmless-looking mare shivered a bit where she was, still looking up at Obsidian. "Uh, well, I would l-like to, ah, apologize for my, let's say, mmm, alter ego? She, er, gets a bit, um, protective, yes, of me at times, quite... w-we thought that you, uhm, might be here to, ah, k-k-kill us, um... y-yeah."

She looked down and gave a shaky sigh. "Please, er, tell me i-if she hurt, uhm, anyone or, ah, killed any poor souls today, y-yeah? But yes, I'm, um, very sorry, right..." The mousy mare looked down in shame and embarrassment, her body language suggesting she was fighting the urge to simply scamper away like a rabbit.

Opal, it seemed, was apparently worried about the welfare of the ponies Lapo had threatened... maybe she was going to be easier to convert to Obsidian's cause like this? "We... we will have to see; let's go for now, sister. I happen to know a good lawyer, if you need one... and with what's happened here, you just might."

Obsidian offered her hoof to her sister, in order to help her climb out of the broken and tilted cockpit. Opal gave a sheepish smile, one that also looked a little hopeful as she reached up towards Obsidian's outstretched foreleg...

[Ah... MUCH better.]

And a voice rang out so hard in Obsidian's head that it drove her straight to her knees...

And Opal. And the purple mare. And Diamond. And Gypsy...

... and every officer tending to the factory scene...

... and every citizen of Cincineighti... and Manehattan... and Ponyville... and Canterlot...

In fact, all of Equus heard the voice, excruciatingly clear and precise, as if their minds were all connected to a single, gigantic speaker that was sending a jarring squelch of feedback directly into their heads.

[Testing, one two three? Testing...]

As Obsidian and the others around her writhed in pain, the voice presented a saccharine sweet giggle before speaking up again.

[And HERE is where the heroes lose, and the villains prove to be so much more resourceful than the heroes ever took into account for. Lovely!]

By Darkness! This was more than Obsidian could stand; she'd just finished fighting with an enormous and terrifyingly powerful war machine! What the FUCK was going on? WHY COULDN'T HER MOTHERFUCKING SIBLINGS JUST STOP?!

IT! WAS! NOT! FAIR!!!

There was a wicked, mocking laughter that rang out through everyone's skull like a gigantic, tolling bell... and then, the pain too great to bear any further, Obsidian blacked out...

The last thing her eyes beheld before darkness claimed her sight was Gypsy holding his head and howling to the skies in agony.

~>-<<<<~~~~~

Oh, no no no... I think not, Obsidian - no escape into dreamland for YOU, I'm afraid.

No, I think it's about time we met, you and I... so I'll just pop you over here, and we'll... have a chat, shall we?

Oh, but where are my manners? Since we haven't ever been formally introduced, my name is Amber. I would say it's nice to meet you... but we both know THAT would be a lie, so let's not, hmm?

Author's Notes:

Oh, don't think YOU'RE getting out of this, either.

You see... I can read it on your brain. Read it like a book... you've really come to LOVE the sorry sacks of flesh in this little story, haven't you? You've been relating to their personalities, their situations, their fears... you've made an investment in them.

Good. Ohhhh, that's GOOOOOOOOD.

See... I'm about to tear their little worlds apart.

The actions I take from here out are going to wound them. Physically. Mentally. Spiritually. I'm going to scar their very SOULS with what I do, because the things they'll experience will leave marks.

Permanent ones.

And you? You get to see it happen. You get to see how the prideful fall, how the heroes fail, and how I take over an entire continent with a flood of pain and regret, of loss and sorrow, of life stomped out like a bug.

And you'll carry that knowledge with you, just by continuing to read. Which means my actions will affect YOU, too... and I'll dwell and live on inside you as well.

I wonder... does that make you feel fascinated... or violated?

AAAAAH HA HA HAA HA HA HAA HA HA HA HA HAA HA HA HAA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAA!!!!!

Fifty Six: Introducing Amber

Wakey. Wakey. Sister.

Obsidian slowly came to. She was seated on her knees, her hooves bound by some sort of ghostly, glowing chains with a matching shackle around her neck, just barely able to lift herself up.

It looked like she was at some sort of an outdoor location with walls... but no ceiling, and not a single doorway in sight. Around her was what looked to be nothing but white; she was in some place with snow - and lots of it. It was also freezing out here as the wind howled around her, and if she didn't find a blanket or a thick coat soon, she'd freeze to dea-

Her Father was right behind her!

... wait... okay, it was more like his statue was right behind her, but... how did it get here?

And where was this place? How did she get here? What... why... damnation, why was it so cold here? And why she was bound like this? It's not like she was in any shape to fight, anyway... and WHY was Sombra's statue here?

Why? So many questions, so few answers... but at least that horrible mental agony had finally stopped.

"You know," Obsidian spoke as she gathered her thoughts, "I'm still jealous that my siblings seem to have gotten all the amazingly useful powers," she muttered, more to herself than to the world.

The most logical answer to her question? She was probably in some kind of dreamland again... but how did Amber manage to get her here? She had no idea.

Losing was actually turning out to be quite relaxing - once that awful pain had ended, that was.

"And here you are... Obsidian, the 'Lost Sister' that Quartz used to go on about so very often, even though I called him a moron for seeking you out. I suppose I owe him an apology - not that he'll get it." The voice had an odd doubling sound to it, so that it was as if two beings were speaking at the exact same time.

"Not that any of you will." And it was eerily familiar.

"H-hello? Where are you..?" Obsidian said as she tried to look around for the source of the voice. How in Tartarus could Amber be unaware of her existence; with her powers, she should have already been aware of her, shouldn't she? All this time, Obsidian had been raised practically right next to the lot of them... so why was she the 'Lost Sister'?

A smug chuckle wafted through the chilly winds to Obsidian's ears. "Over here, behind Father... where I've spent FAR too much of my life, to be quite honest. So yes, let's finally meet..."

Stepping out from behind the statue wasn't some hackneyed, two-bit villain from a comic book. It wasn't some weird creature from another world, it wasn't some sort of undead nasty, and it wasn't a monster from underwater.

"... Sids."

It was Flurry Heart, walking with a salacious strut in her step as her eyes gave off an unhealthy, yellowish-orange glow. Beneath the muzzle that wore that smarmy expression was a leather cord that was tightly tied around a Dark Crystal shard - one she'd specifically last seen encased in a runic box.

"How do you like my new look? I absolutely LOVE it! Slim, firm, young..." Her grin doubled. "Immeasurably powerful. Just like I like 'em!"

Obsidian's eyes opened wide, and she rapidly tried to sit up, jerking hard at her energy chains... but eventually she came to understand that they weren't giving at all, and were holding her rather firmly.

"RELEASE FLURRY AT ONCE," she howled furiously, "OR... or... or I'll give you a nasty glare." Obsidian sighed at the hopelessness of her situation as her rage petered out into resignation. "Why do you even need her, anyway - don't you already have your own body?"

Actually, the answer to that question was fairly obvious: if Obsidian got the option to settle into an alicorn's body, she probably would have done it as well. After all, Peridot had already attempted such, which meant it was a most logical option.

"Did Aquamarine play a part in this, perhaps?" Maybe letting him go to Ponyville with his magic intact might have been a mistake...

Amber smirked, looking a bit too much like Flur. "Aqua? Oh, he was part of the reason I did this to begin with - if I'm still in my crystal shard form, I won't age..." She then chuckled. "OR be the target of any of Father's ressurrection attempts! No body, no transfer!"

She strutted closer to Obsidian, allowing her tail to slither along the Grey Princess' muzzle with a spiteful smile on Flur's familiar, yet still somehow alien face. "Although... I have been thinking about that, too..."

She walked over to Sombra's statue and placed a hoof on it, giving it an almost loving stroke. "Father might have been some... hot shit... during his time, but I think it's time for someone else to take charge..."

"Well, he has amassed a rather thorough list of defeats; a thousand years ago, a number of decades ago... a few weeks ago..." Obsidian pondered, "and keeping him in stone like that does seem to make it impossible for him to transfer his essence," Obsidian said carefully.

Flurry had a nice, soft tail; as soon as she was back, Obsidian had to remember to compliment her on it.

Amber/Flurry grinned. "Oh, impossible just isn't good enough for me..."

Her horn flashed, and a bolt of sinister, jet-black lightning shot down out of the sky, slamming directly into the statue and instantly shattering it into a million pieces that flew in every direction, coating the surrounding area in gravel... and Obsidian's head throbbed HARD.

"There now," Amber giggled as she looked at her sister, "I like THOSE odds better, don't you?"

"NO!" Obsidian cried out as she once again tried to rise - but the ethereal chains continued to hold her in place. It wasn't for some kind of deeply-hidden scrap of affection for her father, or any other nostalgic memory; it was more the concern for all of the knowledge he possessed, the answers to so many questions which were begging to be answered. Not to mention a somewhat vocal reaction to this strange throbbing in her skull...

"Why?! Why did you do that!?" It was just in the dream realm, right? It had to be! IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE OTHERWISE!

The possessed alicorn grinned widely. "Well, you see... I've been working VERY hard to fulfill a plan put together by Onyx, to ensure Father had everything he needed to make a glorious return: an army, insiders, power, money, and a kingdom. But see, looking at all that, I thought 'well, he's still dead - and I'm right here.' And with Onyx turned into pony soup all over P-Ville and unable to stop me... well, I just decided I'd be the better choice for the role."

She now strolled over very closely, and leaned down to purr in Obsidian's ear. "And I want to thank you too, Onyx; without you spying on Obsidian and relaying things back to me, I never would have found the Umbral Altars."

Obsidian's head throbbed once again, even harder this time.

Amber stood up and looked down at her sister. "Which, if I recall correctly, is where the Umbral Empire's Capital is hidden? I'm making that my FIRST kingdom..." She now leaned in close enough to be muzzle-to-muzzle with her. "... which is where the ORIGINAL Umbral Pools are!"

She then stepped back, smiling at her smugly. "You know... since the Black Pool is sealed off? I have to get my Umbral Undead Horde from SOMEwhere, don't I? And there are countless pools there, too... at least six for every temple." She giggled again. "And the Umbrals LOVED their temples."

Good work, Onyx! Stellar job there, Obsidian! What was this throbbing she felt in her head; was it Onyx screaming in agony and anguish? Hopefully it was... because the other possible alternative, so closely on the heels of the destruction of Sombra himself, was far, FAR worse to contemplate.

"The Black Pool? Amber, by Darkness, those zombified Umbrals are absolute SHIT! Why don't you just invest in Opal's mechanical armada? No stench, no rotting, and they were much harder to defeat! Trust me, I know firsthoof!" Obsidian protested.

Amber sat down in front of Siddy and fixed her with a happy grin. "But I have... Obsidian, don't you get it yet?"

She sighed, then spoke as if she were explaining to a child. "The suits that absorb Light Magic go on the undead Umbrals, and the Umbrals get into the Labor Harnesses, which are proofed against everything but Dark Magic - the suits then absorb the inevitable incoming Light Magic from the mewling Equestrians and convert that energy into Dark Magic, which in turn fuels the harnesses - which means little things like water or electricity won't cause them any problems anymore!"

She gave a rather snide laugh as Flurry's muzzle sneered at her. "Nearly invincible, Light absorbing, undead Umbral monsters in powered armor, complete with cannons. Equestria will fall in DAYS, not years or months or even weeks..."

She then sat back on the alicorn's haunches and sighed happily. "Not that it matters much; I already control almost every mind in Equestria at the moment, so... not much of a challenge to scrape the resistance off my hooves. Not that I won't enjoy it..."

"THAT... that... that's actually pretty clever, sister; I didn't even consider putting the zombies into the machines - a nice touch. That, and inside the harnesses, nopony will be able to see the awful, mismatching colours of Quartz's eye-bleedingly gaudy suits - which is a nothing but a boon to all of Equus, if you ask me. I mean, his designs are nice... but somepony should give him a few tips about coloration and pattern taste..."

Obsidian found herself far too relaxed and calm, considering the current situation - but it was like a numbness was slipping over her senses, and she found she was detaching herself from what was quite the disheartening development for the Grey Princess.

However, Zombies in mobile war machines, fueled by stolen and converted Light Magic..? Well, that sounded really... effective. Unfortunately.

Amber stood up again, dusted herself off, and looked at Obsidian with an all-too-condescending grin on Flur's muzzle. "It's okay - Onyx's plan was a bit advanced, but once I saw what she was up to, it was obvious how to exploit the FUCK out of it. All the funds are now under my accounts; all the supplies are in my reach, all the undead will be under my command..."

She laughed with a jagged, egotistical lilt to her voice. "Empress Amber... I do like the sound of that, don't you?"

Meh, Obsidian still thought it lacked any real majesty. "Sounds better than 'King Sombra', I suppose... er, could you loosen these chains a little bit? I can't even shrug properly in these things."

Damnation, what was this place? Obsidian was actually starting to suspect that this may not be a dream... which meant that Sombra really was-... and Flurry really was-... a-and they couldn't-... SHE couldn't-...

Obsidian didn't know how... but she was certain that, somehow, this was all Hope's fault.

The alicorn snickered and gave Obsidian a sardonic look. "Oh, don't try to take me for a fool; I outfoxed Onyx, so YOU don't stand a chance, my little cupcake. OH!" She suddenly smiled wickedly. "Speaking of Cupcakes..."

She strolled over to the standing wall of white... uhhh, whatever it was... where she then looked it up and down critically before she turned and leaned back against it, standing on her two rear hooves as she crossed her forelegs over her barrel. "You know... I could just kill your little friends, right now, without batting an alicorn's eyelash - even THIS alicorn. Though she'd certainly know it... oh-ho-ho-hoooo, she knows about it already! I mean, just because I have control of her doesn't mean I can't let her watch..."

She licked her lips cruelly. "You should hear the names she's calling me... such a mouth on her."

So Flur was still in there, somewhere - good to know.

"Take you for a fool? Outfoxed? Amber, what exactly do you think I can do to you right now, eh? All of my fighting between any of us started only because my siblings seem to have a bad habit of trying to kill me!"

Obsidian raised her eyes to the sky in a gesture of complete exasperation. "What do you think I could do if you loosen the chains - sneeze at you? Glare harder, maybe?"

Amber sighed softly as she looked on Obsidian with mock pity. "Obsidian, if there's one thing I've learned from studying your mind, it's how easily the hero can find some sort of miracle to save the day at the last minute, if you give them even an inch of freedom."

Then, a slow chuckle bubbled up from the possessed alicorn. "You want to stand up, you say? Okay then-"

There was a distant >PING< sound, and like a bullet shot directly into her forehead, a silver ring slammed into place around her horn, and she felt her magic simply STOP. It wasn't gone... it just was blocked; it felt like she had to use the chamber pot, but was stuck somewhere she couldn't, and had to hold it in. It was... uncomfortable, at best.

Was THIS what Tourmaline felt every day?

"... stand up." The ethereal energy chains fell away as if they were made of dust, crumbling apart into the snow beneath her, yet leaving no trace of their existence behind.

Gah! It was almost as if somepony had shut down one of her senses, like taste or scent! It felt as if she needed to scratch a place that was just a teeny-tiny bit too far out of reach. It was a terrible feeling, really - but at least she could finally stand fully up.

Obsidian slowly got to her hooves and stretched some of the soreness out of her legs. What was this place she'd been brought to... and why it was so cold here?

"Thank you, sister," she said with a miserable note of resignation in her voice... something that was becoming pretty commonplace, lately. "So, where are we? This doesn't exactly look like anywhere I know of..."

"Oh, you know it, alright..." Amber said with an ominous overtone as Flurry's horn began to glow, and Obsidian felt herself rise up, up, up into the air rapidly as the alicorn flapped upwards next to her, soaring their way up the wall of-

no...

No...

NO...

"Yes! If your memory serves me correctly, it was riiiiiiiiiiiiiight up here somewhere, wasn't it? Oh-ho-hoooo SHIT - it's so close, I can almost TASTE it!" Amber giggled gleefully, sounding more and more manic as her anticipation mounted.

Obsidian's view of the wall falling away beneath her revealed something that told her all she needed to know about where they were, and it chilled Obsidian's bones more than even the snow and wind blasting around her right now ever possibly could.

There they were, frozen in time and suspended within the massive wall of perma-frozen ice that shot past them...

Two ropes.

Amber lit her stolen body's horn and blasted the frozen-over hole; the ice shattered like glass inward, leading to a tunnel that Obsidian had only seen reactions to from others... but being there, in the horseflesh...

Something inside her both gathered itself in anticipation... and cowered back in fear.

Levitating her inside (and 'accidentally' bumping her head into the ceiling as she did, invoking a painful sense of deja-vu), the two of them slowly floated downward, and ended up standing in a slushy, foreboding cavern. Amber shook the snow out of her mane nonchalantly; she looked fine - Obsidian, meanwhile, was FUCKING FREEZING.

And then... she saw THEM... or, more like IT.

There were three bases, yes... but the altars on either side were nothing more than shattered rubble, strewn across the cavern floor; only the middle altar remained intact. And seeing it up close like this... for some reason, the artifact scared the living Tartarus out of Obsidian.

Cold... terrifying... it had truly been quite a while since Obsidian really found herself scared of anything - she had her paranoia (such as it was), but that was more connected to her sense of feeling powerless and worrying about everything. She was worried about her friends, how they were, and what Amber might have already done with - or TO - them all.

These things, though? She was scared out of her mind, now that she was standing there in their presence. And, due to her own fear choking her throat and the freezing coldness numbing her body, she couldn't even say anything clever.

"Ah, good... the markers are still here..." Amber stepped towards some unseen mark lightly... but was paying the altar not a single bit of attention; she was scanning the wall behind the two of them, it seemed.

"Now, if I were a magical lodestone," Amber spoke distantly, as if lost in thought, "where would I... hide..."

This wasn't good - quite the contrary, it was terribly, awfully, exceedingly BAD. Obsidian stepped back, wondering about the state of her climbing skills...

Oh, and before she forgot, good job, Moochick; nice of you to give Amber all the knowledge she needed to turn Equestria into a rotting Umbral Nightmare.

"AH! Here we go!" The alicorn stepped back from the wall, kicking some of the shattered altars out of the way in a most disrespectful manner before looking over her flank to Obsidian. "Watch this shit, Sids," she winked, mimicking Flurry far too closely for the unicorn's comfort.

Her horn sparked up an overglow, and she fired a straight beam of amber-colored energy directly at the top-right corner of the wall... which responded with a deep rumble that made both of the mares have to keep their balance.

Slowly, there was a grinding sound, and the walls began to part. A dank, moist and cold air poured over her entire being, washing her in scents long gone from Equus, the dust of an empire gone to time.

In front of her was an ENORMOUS cavern that extended further back and down than she could even see... which she found she surprisingly could see back somewhat because of the eldritch blue flames that burst to life within the ancient torches lining the walls as the doors opened. The entire cavern was filled with a massive city - one that dwarfed even Canterlot - that was a study in black; shadows lurked at every corner, and a dark haze began to wisp up along the edges of the streets. The buildings all seemed to lean in towards the viewer, no matter the angle, and there was a stone and steel framework that even had buildings on the cavern's ceiling!

In the very center of it all, there was a massive black stone spire jutting up from the ground, and what looked to be some sort of bell hanging from the center of it. Surrounding this column was an enormous Black Pool, the dark waters still and calm... and foreboding.

"Behold... the Umbral City... Tambelon..." Amber whispered in quiet awe.

Was the whole mountain carved hollow inside? What kind of species would waste so much time and energy just to built a metropolis cut off from the warmth of the Sun? And even more importantly, why Amber was dragging her along to witness this? One would think she'd prefer to take either Sapphire or possibly Aquamarine with her. Why was it she'd decided to expose Obsidian, of all ponies, to the ravages of the elements and the sight of this city?

Tambelon, the fortress city of Grogar - that was interesting. Normally she would have been a bit more interested, perhaps even overjoyed at the idea of seeing the well-preserved city of a long-gone race... yet sadly, at the moment, Obsidian was simply worried that it could end up becoming a bit too interesting.

Amber gazed in at the ancient city for a moment... then turned to Obsidian. "So... now that I've gotten the means to summon an army, I need to prepare for the ritual. Which unfortunately means that I need to find something to do with YOU." The smile she wore said she already knew.

"I know!" She stepped closer to Obsidian. "Let's play a game - ooooh, it's been SO long since I got to play a game!"

Her horn flashed... and now, the two of them were inside the Crystal Palace itself, standing in the throne room. Standing on either side of the throne were Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, both with the same glow in their eyes as Flurry had.

"So, games, games, games... hmmmmm..." She made her way over to the throne and gave it a light caress as she then turned and sat her stolen rump in it. "I could always have pairs of those you know show up, and have you choose one each time to die - that one gets intense, especially when I let them hear your reasoning... or maybe I could simply have them all run until the last one standing..."

She sighed. "Dull, dull, dull. No fun at ALL in that."

For a moment, Obsidian thought that Amber's goal was to force Obsidian to participate in some sort of vile ritual - as a sacrifice, obviously. Luckily for her, it seemed that Amber was simply dragging her along because she was bored, and wanted to brag about her perfect plan that she'd managed to pull off, using only the powers she was created with... and others that she damn sure didn't deserve to have. And, just like Onyx, she was just too excited and pleased with herself to plan anything but sadistic things.

For a moment, Obsidian agreed with her - it was dull; each time somepony conquered Equestria, they were eventually going to lose because they were being too sadistic, too treacherous and so on. How could they be so blind as to miss the fact? It's not advanced math, for Darkness sake - it's just history!

Amber regarded Siddy for a moment, then grinned. "You know those chains you were in? They never existed. You could have simply gotten up and walked away, right there on the spot... but you couldn't, really. Because I wouldn't allow your mind to NOT see them, so your brain was convinced that you were chained up."

She giggled. "Fun trick, right? Just convince someone that something isn't what they think it is... and then, control the part of their mind that won't believe you, and you've got a GRAND amount of things you can accomplish!"

She then returned to her previous track. "But yes... games... AH! I know! How about a nice, rousing game of..."

Flurry's eyes flashed wickedly. "Goalpost?"

Obsidian could easily believe Amber about the chains; she'd tried to get up, but couldn't... she wondered, would her muscles be deceived as easily as her mind? She had no idea. Of course, Amber could be bluffing about bluffing, and the chains could be real... really, Siddy should have thrown her sister's thrice-damned shard into a rock crusher and been done with it!

She tried to focus on her horn. Was there really a ring there, or was it just another one of Amber's tricks? Of course, Obsidian had no idea what this 'goalpost' game was - so even if it was skinning ponies alive, she simply didn't have enough information to react with any sort of horror - only a mild yet weary stoicism.

Amber/Flurry smiled smugly. "Oh, this game takes a little bit of explaining; don't worry, you'll know the rules before we get started, I promise."

She stood up and began to strut her way towards Obsidian. "First, we start by killing you... well, in a metaphorical, illusory sense, anyway. We'll say that some horrific miscreant - an earth pony - broke out of jail while the lot of you were handling Opal... and maaaaaaybe this pony decided he didn't like your muzzle so much, hmmm? So, when nobody was prepared, he simply jumped up and slit your throat... right in front of all your little friends!"

Her eyes flashed with that same orange-yellowish energy Obsidian had seen earlier, and somewhere in the distance, Obsidian could swear she heard something... a voice, multiple voices maybe... crying out in anguish. And inside her, Obsidian felt something twist, break and then curdle... like milk that had gone completely sour within seconds. It felt awful, especially as it wasn't a physical pain; it was more a pain for the soul.

Amber chuckled lightly. "Awwwww... Sids, they're SO heartbroken! Especially Cupcake - oh, you should FEEL what it's like, having the joy and life just leak out of you like that! Oh, they are devastated! I didn't think it'd be THAT good!"

She laughed and then held her forelegs out in a grandiose gesture. "Obsidian, thou art dead! You have ceased to be! You have expired, your life force is snuffed, you have gone on to that big stable in the sky!" she laughed, "you are... an EX-PONY!"

It was too much for poor Obsidian, who had endured such a long fight with Opal's machines, saw a mortally wounded Gypsy bleeding out, realized that the constant fighting was taking a toll on her friends, stood against the insane berserker that had turned Mica's hoof into jelly...

Fight after fight, again and again, there was always something awful happening, something that could quickly turn into a danger to all of Equestria - even when she found the shards of her siblings, she had to worry that they could be buried in concrete (which would merely have locked her away from brother Diamond, while it wouldn't have changed Amber's situation much at all!)...

Amber's cruel mention of Cupcake soured her a bit; Amber wasn't going to be invited to the wedding, that's for sure... though Obsidian didn't know if there would even be any wedding now...

She sat down hard on the cold cavern floor, hanging her head as tears rolled down her muzzle and dropped to the ground. Her head hurt... her heart hurt... her very soul hurt...

They had lost.

Amber/Flurry crossed her forelegs and gave a mocking pout. "Awwwwwww... what, living in the lap of luxury while being the perfect tool for not one, but TWO sisters got you down? Oh, Obsidian... you're making my nips hard, it's just SO good! I knew I would break the rest of your little Glee Club, but to have broken the mare who took down Onyx?"

Obsidian's head throbbed again; the headache she was dealing with was getting lousy.

Amber laughed cruelly. "How could this day get any better at all, hmmm? Goals realized, plans achieved, foes in tears, throne taken... I'd say I've had a very satisfying day! I'm almost feeling sorry for the rest of my days, because they just will NEVER match up to today!"

She watched Obsidian cry quietly for a moment, then sighed with exasperation. "Okay, bored now - you gonna play, or do I have to make you play? C'mon, time is entertainment!"

So, she broke the mare who took down Onyx, eh? What a novel idea that was. Unsurprisingly (unless one already knew Obsidian's strange behaviours when she was insulted), she almost wanted to giggle at that. But she didn't - and not only because of her recent crying jag - which, to be fair, allowed her to release some of that tension - but because of how Amber spoke to her.

"So... in other words... all your following days will always be worse for you? I almost pity you," she said with a completely calm voice. She raised a hoof to dry the tears off her face, and swallowed back any remaining tears inside her.

Flur's eyebrow lifted, and she grew a small smirk. "Yes, yes... more's the pity, right? But now, here's where the game gets interesting..."

She stood up and stretched languidly, strutting towards Obsidian. "All YOU have to do, Sids, is get from your house in P-Ville to Twilight's throne in her palace. All you have to do is TOUCH it... and you win. And for your trouble, if you DO win..." She pondered a moment. "... tell you what, IF you actually win, I'll let your friends go. No longer under my control at all - and I won't be so gauche as to let them go into a trap; they'll be free to leave, no strings attached... after all, I may be a conniving, advantageous creature, but I'm not an absolutely uncouth beast."

Just to Twilight's throne, eh? As if Amber would play fair, even for a moment! Of course, Obsidian was still a bit annoyed that none of her siblings had ever entertained the idea that they could have simply offered her a nice place next to the throne, well-paid, and maybe even let her friends and their families live... though she didn't know if she would even take such an offer...

But it didn't change the fact that it would've been nice - it would have shown that they cared, at least a LITTLE bit!

"What are the defeat conditions?" she asked morosely.

Amber grinned. "Oh, well... you're defeated when you DIE, Sids - isn't that, like, totes obvi?"

"You see... you're going to have just one obstacle you'll have to overcome; I'm going to clear out Ponyville, so nobody gets in the way... or provides you with help of any kind. Then, I simply make you look like this," the alicorn pointed to a display which had a mirror as a centerpiece, "and send you on your way!"

The mirror didn't show Obsidian in it; instead, there was a middle-aged earth pony stallion with a rough, sketchy look to him, the kind that would probably belong in jail. He moved the way she did, he blinked when she did... it was HER, just not HER muzzle.

"Not bad, eh? His name's Jack Knife, and he's the one responsible for slaughtering Obsidian right in front of her friends' eyes. So, as you can imagine, thney would make the perfect defenders for our little game!" She smiled broadly at Obsidian.

"So, as Jack Knife, you'll just have to get through your VERY PISSED OFF friends and touch Twilight Sparkle's throne - and you'll win! Death equals failure... and if you fail, I give you my solemn oath that I will do everything in my power to shame, humiliate and torture every one of your friends until their poor bodies just give out... 'cause that's just how I roll, Sids."

Well, THAT was rather obvious - though Obsidian was somewhat disheartened that Amber seemed so eager to let her die. Come on, now - what happened to 'sisterly love'? Was it a concept that only Ruby and Diamond knew of? The nerve of some ponies, really...

Siddy trotted closer to the mirror, looking at herself. It was an exceedingly strange sensation; seeing a foreign and alien body looking back at her from the reflection, yet it reacted exactly as she did. Did Amber feel like this all the time?

"You know, if you wanted to make me a stallion, you could've at least made me look a bit better than this," Obsidian mentioned, apparently completely care-free about the grave conditions of this 'game' and how she looked at all. She wasn't going to give Amber the satisfaction of watching her mourn the defeat that didn't have to happen. Not at all.

In fact, to show just how care-free she was, she lowered her head to look below herself, between her rear legs. Gelded, she noticed. How nice...

"Eh, appearances are all that matter, not specific tastes. At any rate, they'll only see HIM when they look at YOU. And you can try to communicate with them... but i'm pretty sure whatever you say is gong to be misinterpreted as you slandering poor, dead Obsidian, so it's your call." She giggled a bit, sounding too much like Flur while being the exact antethesis of her.

Bleh. "You've put a lot of work into this little roleplay, sister dear. And pray tell, what would be the reasoning behind Jack Knife's presence in my... I mean, HER house?" she asked with false interest and forced calm.

"Doesn't matter; it's just the starting line." Amber/Flurry strolled over and got mere inches from Obsidian's reach. "So... any last requests? Notable comments? Attempts at bravado? Questions? Or do you just want to give some vague promise of returning to 'deal with me' in the future?"

She fixed her with a happy glare. "Because any way you slice it, your time doesn't start until you leave here, so take advantage of it while you can..."

Bravado, questions, comments... Obsidian was pulling blanks. She simply had no idea what to ask of her - especially as Amber could simply lie about anything under the sun. Perhaps a snarky comment, a pre-ass-kicking one-liner would make her feel a bit better... but she couldn't come up with any.

"How about a hug, sister?" Obsidian said softly.

The possessed alicorn cocked an eyebrow, and actually tilted her head at her as she gave a distasteful sneer. "Eh, no... I don't do hugs, not while I exist at the end of a cord, hanging from some alicorn's neck... and honestly? I don't do hugs anyway - you and Diamond, what's with the hugging thing? Physical touching is for SEX... which I am SO looking forward to experiencing in this body!"

She walked back towards the throne and stepped close to Prince Armor. "This one's older, but so distinguished... I bet he'd make a wonderful first time, eh? And of course, I can feel them both squirming in their heads at just the thought of it..." She leaned over and gave the side of Shining's muzzle a slow and sensual lick.

"... which will make it SO much better," she said as she eyed the stallion hungrily.

At first, the mere idea of using Flurry's body for any sort of sexual interaction made Obsidian affect a disgusted look on her muzzle. Then, it clicked who Prince Armor was in relation to Flurry Heart; mental images of herself and King Sombra in a similar situation flashed through her head (thankfully swiftly), and an expression of sheer horror, disbelief and sickness rolled across her face.

"...that's pretty fucking low, Amber," Obsidian muttered as she stared at Amber in disbelief.

The false alicorn smiled broadly. "Oh, why thank you! It's always good to know when you cross someone's boundaries... thanks for informing me!"

With that, she began to lean seductively against the regal stallion, nuzzling him and leaving a little trail of playful kitten-kisses down his powerful neckline. She then turned and smiled over at her sister, with Flurry Heart's muzzle locked in a wicked and sinful gaze that almost invited Obsidian as well.

"Now, I have a ritual to prepare, and YOU have a throne to touch!" She then did a very chillingly accurate rendition of her host's personality and expression as she said, "So like, ciao, Sids! Call ya later, mmmkay?"

With that, there was a FLASH of light... and Obsidian was standing on her own front stoop, at her door, at home. And Ponyville looked as barren of other life forms as it had been in her dreams.

[Good luck... and tick tock, bitch.]

Author's Notes:

... oh, my head... what-... oh yeah...

So, Amber. Yikes. Now that she's up and about and you've all had a chance to see what she's like... well, it makes the other siblings look kinda tame in comparison, eh? Oh, and for the record, IT GETS WORSE; just figured I'd give you folks a heads-up.

'Hiya Sids' by Lazzari; I have to say, I like the jagged and edgy look to Sombra, and that wicked smile is delicious. An excellent job, if you ask me. I wish there was more artwork for the story to show you all, but at least there are gems like this to tide you over. Thankies, Lazzari!

So, how did it happen, you ask? Note back a good bit to the Crystal Empire, and Siddy's convo with Flur; didn't she say that she meditated in the same chamber as Amber's shard? Well, when you're a mental dynamo, exactly how hard would it be to slowly build a backdoor into someone's head - even an alicorn's? Then, Flur came to Ponyville, where Amber's shard was being held... do the math. (I may do a side story which shows this scene, but only if enough folks would want to see it.)

Hate Lemon Custard... loathe Stonewall Peavine... but by the end of the entire tale, you'll be SCREAMING for Amber's blood. You'll see - no spoilers.

Fifty Seven: A Most Dangerous Game

Okay, serious thinking time.

Ponyville itself was going to be clear of others, but apparently not completely cleared - otherwise, it wouldn't make any sense to put her into this stallion's appearance. There were going to be others here... and knowing her luck (and having recently learned of Amber's level of sadism), they were most likely going to be her friends.

No time for surmising or reiterating what she already knew; first things first. And at the moment, the firstest thing of all was getting to Princess Twilight's palace. Obsidian was going to try circumventing the middle of town with a longer route... and avoiding Sugarcube Corner at all costs, as if demons and Umbrals were planning to meet there for brunch.

The entire village was as silent as a grave. It was just past dusk, and there were a number of shadows that filled each corner... plus, with nopony present to light the magical lanterns, the streets were foreboding and dark. There were a few scant electric lights, but those only converged where the shops were located and where public places were frequented... which meant there was a lot of open ground to cover, but there were a few points of light to move between.

She might've cast a Light Spell, but the ring on her horn was firmly in place and she couldn't access ANY of her magic. Whether it was real or not, the restraint was doing the job it was made for.

As further evidence of Amber's vast control, there were some rogue rainclouds hanging over the town and it was lightly sprinkling little raindrops with the occasional, distant light rumble of thunder; no pegasi available to corral them. The ground was a bit muddy, but otherwise everything was still and dark and quiet.

The perfect mood for a dramatic encounter; Obsidian had no doubt that it was bound to happen, sooner or later. It didn't prevent her from doing her best to move quietly between the houses as she made her way towards the castle itself. Getting there would involve crossing town, then getting though the meadow area between the town and the castle, then through the castle itself to the throne room. It sounded simple enough, and she most certainly knew the way.

As she rounded the corner towards the fountain, she felt an icy chill in her heart - one which made her shiver involuntarily. The wind blew across the empty streets, and the drizzle pattered down to make small, shallow puddles within the occasional ruts and divots that passing ponies and their carts had made in the course of their travels.

Suddenly, out of the darkness came a sound that turned the Grey Princess' blood to ice water in a split second:

... haaaaaarrrrRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooo...

Someone had found her.

A moving, churning hill of mud and dirt zoomed out from behind a larger building, and began to rush towards Obsidian rapidly, overturning cobblestones and making a direct beeline for the mare.

Oh shit! At least Obsidian didn't have to waste any more time trying to be sneaky! She simply turned to face the end of town and rushed forward, sprinting towards the castle with haste as she wasn't really wanting to meet A FURIOUS GYPSY ROVER!

The hill suddenly vanished down into the ground... then razor-sharp, claw-tipped paws suddenly thrust up from the dirt underneath her, tearing at her legs and barrel while pulling at her tail, a frantic scrabble for anything soft and yielding.

It was always better to be safe then sorry... but it was far better to be alive than safe. She juked to the side - straight into the mud - just to avoid losing any of her limbs that might prove useful on her quest. After all, she was rather attached to them...

"GYPSY!" Obsidian cried out as she couldn't help but shout at him in her desperation - but alas, if all that Amber had claimed was accurate, no sound that she made would reach his ears unchanged...

The location of the attacks continued to follow right beneath her, with one claw managing to tear a gash across her left front leg. Luckily, not across a tendon... but it still hurt like fire.

As she went to step forward, the dirt under her started to sink; he was digging the ground out from beneath her hooves! She had to start running erratically; she'd have to be even more vigilant if she didn't want him to make a hole for her to break a leg in!

This little trek was probably going to be difficult and unpleasant. She started to dodging like mad, as there was simply no way he would outright stop - at least until he ran out of ground to dig through.

Sadly, there was plenty of it. In fact, as far as Obsidian could tell, if the palace floors couldn't stop him, she was completely and totally screwed. She could make it all the way there, she was sure of it - she would just have to dodge Gypsy during the entire trip to the castle. Might as well get started on the fast-paced action now - the sooner her adrenaline kicked in, the better.

Galloping through town was nerve-racking, as Siddy felt she was literally dancing on glass; one wrong step, and she was done for. That, and those rock-rending claws kept reaching up and threatening her underside, where all her tender bits were... like her chest, her stomach, and other physical attributes that are usually best left undamaged.

However, Obsidian saw a saving grace ahead of her - a parking lot, paved over, was at the far end of this street, and in the right direction; she could possibly lose him there. She still hadn't actually seen the diamond dog's muzzle as of yet... but she could hear what sounded like a low, continuous rumble of angry thunder whenever he was scrabbling to claw at her.

What was more? She could feel his PAIN in her own heart, his suffering and rage at having to experience the loss he did. How had it looked, Obsidian wondered, when she'd died in front of him? Had Amber been completely literal?

Poor Gypsy... and Poor Siddy, if she didn't hurry her flank to that paved lot!

Of course, even if she could escape those claws from underground, her problems were still far from over - he could simply run after her on the surface. However, in this case, she could at least have a chance to stop him. To resist. To fight... no matter how badly it would hurt (both literally and metaphorically) to do so.

She turned to one side without warning and practically dashed towards the asphalt-covered parking lot, hoping to lose Gypsy for a long enough time to get back on route to the castle.

It would be severely ironic if Gypsy - in the act of trying to avenge her death - ended up being the one to kill her.

When she finally managed to dash her way onto the concrete-surfaced lot, the attacks from beneath her stopped. Safe for a moment, she saw the mound of dirt circle the lot hastily, as if looking for purchase, but finding none. Then, it stopped only a short distance from her hooves...

And an absolutely livid diamond dog, growling with a guttural rumble, burst upwards out of the muddy ground! He was wearing crude padding beneath a black duster, and with a pair of thick goggles covering his yellowish-glowing eyes, he roared like a beast unbound as he surged up from the ground at her, claws ready to strike, foam and spittle flying from his tooth-bared maw.

This time there would be no Diamond present to stitch either one of them up - though that was honestly the least of her problems. After all, she lacked the claws and teeth Gypsy had available to him.

At the first moment, Obsidian simply wanted to push him away from her with her magic - but alas, there was this damnable ring on her horn! And no matter how much she might curse the fact, it was still obviously apparent: she simply couldn't defend herself using magic she had no access to.

Damnation, a rabid Gypsy was quite a terrifying sight to behold! The normally kind and loving friend she'd once known had turned into an absolute beast, a real killing machine - which was currently aimed straight at her.

Obsidian counter-attacked, slinging a hoof in a feint to try to hit him in mid-air while actually dodging below him, then striking upward into his midsection. Such a strike knocked Gypsy for a loop, and he stumbled back with a yip, but then glared at her with seething anger as he sprung forward again, paying no heed to the trickle of blood running from his mouth.

He went low, going for her muzzle and swiping upward; she felt his claws barely flick at her chin, making little papercuts there as he just barely missed tearing open her throat! He whirled like a dervish, and was coming back for a double-claw to the barrel - but he was a scholar, not a trained fighter; he was telegraphing his moves far too much. A good thing, too - otherwise, his speed may have made up for his tactical shortcomings.

Obsidian could fight; whether she actually wanted to or not was a different story.

What a terrifying enemy Gypsy made - normally, someone with such little battle training wouldn't be too problematic - even with the advantage of his strength and those sharp claws - but the fact that Obsidian didn't have her magic and that this was her dear friend attacking her was making everything harder. She just had to be careful, keep vigilant and strike right after dodging his attacks.

Dodge, strike, dodge, strike... it was almost as if it was mere training, instead of a battle to the death.

He kept coming, yet she kept deflecting... but only half the time was she managing to get in a strike back; for the rest, she was having to dodge his bites and swipes, and though he may not have been a fighter, he was insanely angry - and his adrenaline was making up for any sort of lack of training. But of course, it only meant she had to keep sidestepping and guarding, and striking when she could... which wasn't as often as she'd hoped.

As the altercation continued, she could see the damage she was doing to poor Gypsy stacking up; his eye was blackened, a front fang cracked and broken, his cheek and mouth bleeding... and though it all, she just felt his PAIN his horrible PAIN churning inside him, the outer shell only being a porton of the pure primal fury he felt right now.

As Obsidian continued to back away from the pressure of his assault, she felt herself step into the dirt at the edge of the lot, and teeter over into it unexpectedly as it fell away from her landing, and she fell further down than she'd realized was even there...

Falling through the hole she'd made and hitting the cool, rough earth on the ground, Obsidian found herself at the bottom of a large pit; it looked as though it had been dug out completely under the parking lot... which meant Gypsy had herded her here. Maybe he wasn't a fighter, but he DID know a little something about ancient tactics... and the art of distraction, apparently.

With an internal chill freezing her veins, Obsidian looked around and realized the pit she was now sitting in was one big killing jar... and she was the bug.

Well, Gypsy would probably feel terribly sorry for killing her, Obsidian was sure about that. Not that he'd have much time to do so - after all, there'd been what Amber said about torturing them all to death if she failed...

"GYPSY! IT'S ME - OBSIDIAN!" she shouted in panic, her eyes searching the area frantically to find even a mere glimpse of a means of escape - perhaps through one of the diamond dog's own hastily-dug tunnels?

The canine in question suddenly burst through the wall next to her and swiped at her barrel, leaving three angry red slashes along her right side before he dove into the dirt on the opposite wall - an act he began to repeat rapidly; luckily, Obsidian's training kicked in, and she managed to stay just barely away from the rest of those lethal attacks.

His diving from one wall to the other was harrowing to behold... but it also left more holes that could possibly lead up to the surface. She just had to dive into one herself and go up as fast as she could...

Yes, let's outrace a diamond dog through the dirt; no problem, eh?

Obsidian had to choose - and neither of her choices seemed good enough. However, just sitting there, waiting for him to get tired wasn't an option. Amber really wanted to top Onyx on Siddy's personal list of 'the most annoying ponies ever', it seemed.

He dove in at her again, slicing a lock from her mane in passing... and revealing light from above through the passage he'd made! She would have only seconds... but if she could get through the hole, she'd be above ground again. And above ground held much better chances for survival than below it did.

Obsidian was well aware that Cup really liked her mane... but she was fairly certain he also liked the rest of her body as well! To keep him satisfied, she just had to keep it in one piece. She decided to take the risk and scrambled towards the tunnel to reach the life-saving light above her.

She leapt in and scrabbled at the grime-slick sides to get to the surface before Gypsy could reach her - and popped onto the concrete of the parking lot, covered in mud and scratches... mere seconds before he leapt through as well, coming out of the hole nearly right on top of her!

Free of the obstructions below, he began wildly slinging his paws at her, needle-like claws getting close enough for her to feel the wind of their passage.

"NOH! BAD! BAAAAD! STOP! NOH!" His words sounded more like harsh barking, like a junkyard mutt guarding his territory... but at least his stutter seemed to be gone for the moment. Silver linings, right?

Normally listening to Gypsy's advice was a good idea - but not today, old friend. She just had to get a single, clear shot - one good strike to leave him stunned long enough to resume her mission. She dodged into the parking lot again, feeling much safer with a firm floor beneath her hooves as she frantically looked around for anything that could be useful in her situation.

Unfortunately, other than the few remaining vehicles still parked there, nothing useful came to-... WAIT.

About a block down the street, there was the glow of a sign for Handy's Dandy Tools, a hardware store - and possibly a number of useful things inside she could work with to possibly stop or even entrap him? Otherwise, there was a single shopping cart, with three wheels, shoved against the back lamppost in the lot - and it didn't look very weapon-worthy.

Well, a tool shop was as good of a choice as any other place, and as such a shop would most likely have hard floors instead of dirt, the pup would no longer have any of his current digging advantage in there. Obsidian braced herself for the sprint, then ran to the store at full-tilt, desperate to get there ahead of the canine.

When she began to bolt, Gypsy quickly dove into the ground again and gave chase, his passage marked by the hill of moving dirt she'd seen earlier. She could feel the familiar sensation of the ground under her going soft, even as paws raked repeatedly at her hooves.

She laid on the speed and made it to the storefront, sliding to a stop in front of the door before three things happened, almost simultaneously:

1: Obsidian found the door locked tightly.
2: Obsidian realized that the front stoop for the shop was made of concrete.
3: Gypsy realized it just a touch too late.

>WHUMP!< She felt the ground beneath her hooves shudder as a network of cracks spiderwebbed out across the storefront's cement stoop... then, nothing but stillness and silence.

BY DARKNESS! Obsidian had only wanted to stall him; she hadn't wanted to give him an accidental concussion! She dove towards the dirt, and had to dig a bit to find him... but not far under the surface, she came across Gypsy's limp form and pulled him out of the ground carefully.

His head was gashed and bleeding, and he was completely unconscious. She had done quite a number on him; he looked like he'd been in a fistfight with a minotaur, and wasn't exactly the winner. Worst of all was when she looked at his goggles and saw they were half-filled with his tears.

He'd tried so hard to avenge her, and had even gone somewhat feral over the loss of her. It was kind of touching, knowing he'd have gone this far for her, had it happened for real. Poor, kind-hearted Gypsy Rover...

Amber would pay for this - ALL of this! Her heart ached for her friend as she wasted a few moments tearing strips from his duster to patch up the worst of his wounds she could see... and only after she'd made sure he wasn't going to bleed out, she'd get back to her trek to Twilight's Palace.

After a quick bandaging and settling his poor head down onto the remaining scraps of his duster, Obsidian turned and quickly continued through the rest of Ponyville, only looking back at Gypsy once before moving on.

It was only another few minutes before she managed to reach the edge of town, and she was now looking over the expanse between here and the palace; it looked as though it wouldn't be too much of a trip, but it also wasn't a five minute walk through the park, either. Though it most certainly seemed to BE a park...

Still, at least the rainclouds were staying situated over Ponyville; otherwise, it was a clear sky...

... well, nearly clear, anyhow; there was something in the air that at first might have been some kind of bug, but it was actually far out there.

But getting closer...

... rapidly...

... VERY RAPIDLY, in fact!

Obsidian could now make out that it most certainly was NOT a bug... but something big, fast and very blue was coming straight at her through the air at colossal speeds, making a direct path to her exact position!

Oh, BUT OF COURSE! For a second, Obsidian entertained the idea that all she had to do was sit down and wait; most likely, the impact would kill her immediately, ending all of the torment and pain she was currently dealing with. She wouldn't even have time to feel anything... but, it would end exceedingly badly for her friends if she failed. She had no choice; she had to press on, regardless of circumstances.

She'd never won a race against Thunderclap Dash... but there was always a first time for everything, right?

Streaking past with a wake that nearly blew her off her hooves, Thunderclap Dash shot by like a bullet, delivering a foreleg clothesline that sent Obsidian sailing backwards and slamming into a park bench, bending it almost in half from momentum alone.

Clap was wearing her Wonderbolts training uniform, had her flight goggles down over yellow-glowing eyes and had a knapsack on her back with a label that read 'WEATHER FACTORY PROPERTY' on it in big letters. She turned back, and reached into the sack to pull out what looked like a long, steel pole. She pointed one end towards Obsidian.

"EAT THIS, YOU MURDERING PSYCHO!" she screamed with rage as a bolt of lightning shot out of the tip of the rod, scarring the ground next to Siddy and making her coat's fur stand on end!

NO FAIR! WHY DID SHE GET TO HAVE NEW TOYS?! Obsidian quickly pulled herself up from the wreckage of the bench, jumping behind it - the more things between her and the lightning bolts, the better.

Shit! It was simply not fair! Even her friends had more firepower than she did at the moment!

As Clap shot past overhead, Obsidian now heard a mechanical growl, like an engine roaring to life. Then the sound revved, and wound up to speed... behind her.

Out of the bushes roared a gaily-colored dune buggy, rumbling and thundering towards her. It had a number of different fireworks strapped to the top of it and a sign on the front which labeled it 'Pinkie's Noo Year Party Wagon'. It also had a number of rakes, pitchforks and stakes strapped to the front of it, presenting a portable spear wall across the front of the contraption that would probably hurt pretty badly to get run down by.

And behind the wheel, wearing a construction helmet and yellow-glowing goggles, was Mica Chip - a firm frown on his muzzle being the only part of his expression Obsidian could make out.

It really would be too simple to just sit down and wait for the inevitable end. Why did they all seem to have goggles, though... it couldn't be an accident, or perhaps it was? Maybe it was just bait to attract her attention?

But first things first - and the firstest thing of all was avoiding being pitchforked!

Turning so fast she almost heard her mane snap in the wind, Obsidian darted between the trees and park benches as she continued trying to get closer to Twilight's Palace. Perhaps the juking and jiving wouldn't stop these two for too long, but at least it could possibly slow them down.

Mica gripped the steering wheel with his hooves as he dipped and dodged between the trees; Obsidian was more maneuverable, so she managed to keep away from the deadly front grill. However, with a tug on a single cord from Mica, the fireworks on the rack above began to sizzle, then launch - and now rockets were shooting past her, exploding in brilliant bursts of fire in front of her, making her stumble and partially blinding her.

One of the rockets got lucky, and hit her squarely in the middle of her back, where the >POP< of it's explosion burnt a hole in her coat, and nearly in her skin. As a reminder, another blast of lightning nearly tagged her flank as Clap divebombed her once again.

GAH! Thinkthinkthinkthink... o-okay, what weaknesses in them could she possibly exploit? Well, Clap was rash and hardly ever thought about her actions first... while Mica? Ummmm... Thunderclap Dash, maybe? Obsidian turned rapidly, trying to flank Mica's Motorized Cart Of Doom. She had a plan - sadly, it was a stupid one. Mica's cart wasn't able to turn very easily at high speeds, so she managed to get a good bit towards his side before Clap made another run.

This time, as Obsidian was running, it suddenly felt like she'd been slapped by an Ursa Major, and she went sailing through the air before sliding to a halt on the ground with dirt in her mouth. Her left flank felt like it was on fire and partially numb.

"DIRECT HIT! YOU SEE THAT, MIKEY?" Clap yelled down.
"FOCUS, CLAP! DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY!" Mica returned.

By Harmony, what was that? Why did the entire world feel so strange? Wait... it wasn't the world; it was her flank. Confused and in a bit of shock, she peeked back at it as she tried to get up again.

Across her lovely Crystal Heart cutie mark, there was now an ugly, blackened patch of smoking flank - she'd been struck by lightning, and though it hurt horribly, it wasn't bleeding; the wound had been cauterized by the strike.

With the roar of Mica's engine growing louder in her ears, she knew she couldn't stay put for long... though honestly, staying in one place would technically solve all of her current problems.

She rolled to one side, forcing herself to move her wounded leg. If only she could get between Clap and Mica...

"THIS IS YOUR FAULT, THUNDERCLAP CRASH! YOU JUST HAD TO FLY ALONE TO THE FACTORY, DIDN'T YOU? DIDN'T YOU!?" An angry Clap could possibly make a mistake - and the more mistakes she would make, the easier it would be to stop Mica.

Curious - would Amber's spells distort even her insults? To be fair, Obsidian had a few things that she would like to explain to Clap... such as 'getting captured makes everything harder'.

The pegasus didn't even seem to notice; she was leaning down further to get in some speed before diveboming Siddy with a literal lightning rod again.

"I'LL SHOW YOU A CRASH, KILLER - I'LL CRASH INTO YOUR FREAKING SKULL!" she screamed as she let loose with another torrent of electricity, leaving gouges in the dirt behind and next to the unicorn.

Finally managing to turn himself towards her again, Mica surged forward, unleashing another volley of fireworks - a few of which struck Obsidian, one or two bouncing harmlessly off before exploding while another sizzled against her coat - and yet another was throwing sparks into her mane!

The insult may not have been her exact words, but at least she got the impression that Clap had reacted accordingly; good enough.

Sadly, it was the only thing 'good enough' happening at the moment - especially considering that the sizzling fireworks and lightning strikes were hardly good for her. In fact, they hurt like Tartarus - and if she didn't come up with any good ideas in a jiffy, all her pain would end soon enough... most likely in a rather messy way.

Deeper into the park was her only option at this point; she had no chance against these two at the same time. Bah, even against a lone pegasus, her chances were pretty low - but as soon as she could take Clap down, Mica would react. Maybe he'd give up, make a mistake or get angry enough to kill Obsidian with a single blow - hopefully without sniping her with fireworks; a single death blow was preferable to burning, bit by bit, from little tubes of explosive agony!

Clap and Mica fell into sync, and began firing their respective payloads at Obsidian as she ran. Dodging through the trees was effective at being active cover, but they would still only need to get lucky one good time.

After a substantial volley, Clap started charging Siddy down while Mica pulled the cart to a stop, hopped off and began reloading another round of fireworks onto the roof rack. Meanwhile, Clap continued to light up the ground around the Grey Princess, setting fire to the grass and blasting the bark off of trees; Obsidian was barely keeping out of the way as it was - much more of this level of activity, and she'd get winded way too soon... which would cost her her life, and possibly that of her friends, too.

Damnation! In a way, Obsidian was touched that her friends wanted to avenge her death so very badly. On another hoof, however... she made a mental note to discuss with them all that BRUTAL MURDER isn't exactly the best way to avenge one's death. Maybe something about forgivness and so on...

Though, obviously, she would have to contradict her own teachings as soon as she saw Amber again...

But at least in a way, her plan worked - Mica was distracted for a moment. Now, Obsidian just had to run across something she could throw. Hopefully, something within reach - her magic, sadly, was still kaput.

The park had a few things that could be grabbed easily enough; there were a few frisbees laying about, as well as a soccer ball and a lawn towel. There were also trash cans, in a pinch.

Thunderclap was audibly growling as she tried to use the rod she'd held... but it simply fizzled. She threw it down and reached into the knapsack again, pulling out another steel rod and blasting off a fresh bolt of lightning at her.

HA! THE DAMNED ROD FINALLY STOPPED WOR-... nevermind.

Back over with Mica, he finally managed to finish reloading and hopped back onboard. He revved the engine and tore into the dirt as he started heading their way again. Now, from the look of things, Obsidian had Clap right behind her, and Mica directly in front of her.

And Mica was now back in his war chariot - overall, Obsidian was screwed. So, in desperation, she reached for the soccer ball to use it against Clap as the worst ranged weapon in the history of ranged weapons. The towel was nice as well - she liked towels.

Clap was charging her from behind, Mica was coming at her from the front... she was in the middle of a pincer, and would probably be toast unless she came up with something really good.

Perhaps... maybe, if she could just... meh, the ball was useless. But that towel - the towel was nice. In a way, it was her plan - she just hoped to bait Clap into crashing into Mica's cart... with just a small chance that the pegasus would end up possibly impaling herself on a pitchfork.

Was endangering Clap's life in exchange for her own survival, moral? Probably not, though one could argue that Obsidian's life was the only thing keeping death away from all of them - but right now, Obsidian was sore, desperate, tired and didn't have any free time to discuss the details of morality.

So, she simply grabbed up the towel in passing and ran towards Thunderclap, preparing to throw it directly in her face.

Clap was a pegasus, so she could technically fly far enough up to be out of reach of any kind of towel...

"OH, HEAD ON? COME GET SOME, YOU TWISTED FREAK!" ... good thing Clap wasn't smart enough to realize that.

She dipped low, and began to charge at Obsidian, a grim smile on her muzzle as she focused on that towel, coming right at her, at eye level, and picking up more and more momentum as she came.

There was this kind of sporting event she'd heard about once... or maybe it was a traditional dance? There was something in it about minotaurs, flapping red flags at them and avoiding their attacks... well, Clap was going to be a bull today, apparently. And Obsidian had one single chance to get this piece of fabric onto her friend's head at the right moment, to blind her long enough so she could reunite her with her lovely coltfriend and his machine. Face first.

"OBSIDIAN IS A FUCKING IDIOT," she screamed out loud in a bid to make Clap a bit more livid, and to be sure that the pegasus would focus more on her words than the rapidly incoming Mica.

Behind her, a stream of fireworks began to rain on where she was... including a bottle rocket that ricocheted off the ground and came up right under Obsidian, exploding as it reached the front of her barrel. A good thing, though - about one second earlier, and Cup would have been very upset with Mica Chip.

But the words did the trick; she saw Clap's muzzle harden, and she let out an unintelligible roar as she charged for her... in fact, her form was beginning to narrow...

OH SHIT - if she let loose with a Sonic Rainboom at ground level, Obsidian could possibly be blown away by the sheer force of it! She HAD to stop Thunderclap NOW!

The question was - would Clap be fast enough to pull off a Sonic Rainboom at ground level? Even when she was flying, she'd only achieved such a thing once, after long and arduous preparations. Now that Siddy was running, it was simply impossible that she could get close enough to pull it off. That's what logic would tell Obsidian.

Obsidian, however, would tell logic that there's really no place for it here, at this time - because anger and adrenaline could be all the fuel she needed to achieve it. So she threw the blanket at Clap's head and leapt to one side, toppling to her knees in the process.

Clap, already in full anticipation of the upcoming throw, laughed and looked back at Obsidian haughtily as she dodged under it. "HA! YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME IF YOU THINK I WOULD FALL FOR A-"
"CLAP, LOOK OUT!"

But with Obsidian moved to the side as she was, it left nothing between Clap and Mica. One of Mica's fireworks went wild and slammed into Clap's left wing; there was a burst, smoke, and a surprised yelp from the pegasus before she saw Mica's cart coming right for her and raised her forehooves to cover her head.

>WHAM< The two met head-on, Clap diving face-first into the cart's windshield, and the resulting collision sending the entire mishmash into a clump of nearby hedges.

Thunderclap should be safe after crashing through a windshield... right? Mica should be fine, too... a-and besides, if he died from being crushed by Clap, at least he would die happy, wouldn't he? Though part of her ached to do so, Obsidian had no time to check up on them as she had with Gypsy; she had to hope the Fates were kind today, and that her friends weren't mortally wounded.

She turned to the castle and sprinted to it, trying to force her body to try a bit more, to hold on a bit longer...

She cut across the park center and managed to get through the remaining distance rapidly, reaching the large palace doors within a few minutes. There wasn't even enough time to check how much time she had left; she didn't have a watch anyway, so it would have been a futile gesture. She just had to hope she hadn't wasted too much of it in the process of getting here.

The doors were unlocked, and their hollow creak echoed down the many hallways of Twilight Sparkle's Palace. Without anyone else she could see present, it felt strangely alone; she hadn't seen many others wandering before, but now it just felt eerie.

She'd made her way down the entrance hall, and was turning to head down the main hall when she first heard it...

>clank<
>clank<
>clank<
>clank<

She was NOT alone, after all - a steady metallic rythym was being clanked out, and it sounded as if it were getting closer...

By Darkness, no... just... Obsidian's entire body was sore; probably the only thing that was preventing her from falling over was the fact that she had enough adrenaline running through her veins to force the dead to move! And those clanks marked the first time in her life when she wasn't at all happy to hear that her little guard friend was coming.

She turned to the corridors and took off; there was no way she could possibly stand against Wart - she had to lose her.

As she took off down the hallway, the sound just seemed to get louder:

>Clank<
>Clank<
>Clank<
>Clank<

It was insanely nerve-racking, hearing the sound of what had to be progressive hoofsteps as Siddy moved along, heading down the hall with the intent of not coming across the owner of those clanks.

In front of her, a wall-bound chunk of stone suddenly was wrapped in a green glow, and it whizzed off the wall and slammed into Obsidian's side, sending her staggering to the floor and making it painful to breathe. This was followed by other pieces of wall growing their own green glows, and flying at her from different directions.

Hello there, ribs - it's nice to hear from you again... wait, no - it's BAD to hear from you! Bones normally shouldn't make snapping sounds like that, and she was pretty sure that it had been a while since breathing itself counted as torture. Sadly, she couldn't stop - especially not when the walls themselves were trying to kill her!

She rolled to the left, then to the right, then back to the left... if she had to, she was going to wipe the entire damned castle floor CLEAN with her coat and mane - but she would SURVIVE!

A tapestry came whipping off the wall in a green aura and deftly flew between her hindlegs, wrapping them together and yanking upwards, jerking her off her hooves. Hitting the stone floor hurt, and she felt her jaw crack against the tile beneath her as she struck it... and from her new vantage point, Siddy saw what was standing ahead of her...

There was a rather small suit of full plate armor standing there; it looked polished, yet dents and grooves spoke of actual action witnessed by the armor in question. The faceplate of the helmet was completely down - not that Obsidian had any question as to whom was behind it. As the unicorn watched, a green aura pulsed around the horn's armored plating as it faced her with a fierce stance.

"Jack Knife," came a cold and hard voice from within, "you have been found to be lacking in any sense of the word 'morality', and stand guilty of premeditated and willful mareslaughter... but any pleas you may wish to speak shall fall on deafened ears this day, as did our own when you took our heart from us. Now, in the name of all that is right and good and just..."

Wart's horn grew an impressive overglow, and FOUR bastard swords lifted up from behind her, brandishing in the air above the small knight's head in a ready and most threatening manner.

Her voice was low and menacing. "... have at you, vile fiend."

Okay, come on, seriously... what mother would consciously name her foal 'Jack Knife'? They should have seen through the illusion already and noticed that it wasn't serious enough to believe it could be true. Sadly, not a one of them had.

And Stalwart - just like Mica, Gypsy and Clap before her - had gone waaaaay overboard, bringing far too much firepower to deal with one, lone, crazily murderous earth pony. And Obsidian was already regretting that fact, as she could feel her jaw reacting in considerably different ways than usual.

Legs? Wrapped. Jaw? Hurt. Her entire body? In pain. Her head? Well, it was still in rather good shape, as she simply didn't have too much time to think how much this fight against her friends truly pained her. She had some time for that during her struggle against Gypsy... but that felt like it was ages ago.

At least being skewered with four swords at once would be less painful than walking around in her current state, and once it was ov-... NO! This was NOT the end of her! Not yet, by Darkness!

She started to fight desperately against the tapestry's snare, trying to free her hooves as best as she could; every single movement hurt, but she had to do it - there would be enough time for complaining later!

The tapestry tore, just as the first of Stalwart's swings came down where her rear left leg would have been! Sparks flew as the little mare attacked with all four swords at once with Obsidian dodging and dipping as fast as she could, the blades coming close enough to split hairs... and even closer, as one or two of the slices actually connected, leaving lines of red along her side.

This wasn't a fight against a studious scholar, or a Wonderbolt-in-training and her coltfriend... this was a seasoned and well-trained warrior she was fighting now! She couldn't afford to misstep or think slowly; Wart would take advantage of every slip-up and weakness she could. Obsidian could only guess at the level of anguish and vengeance in the little mare's heart... but she was getting a first-hoof chance to experience that right now.

The four swords swung out-of-tandem with each other, leaving Siddy off guard at the lack of measured timing in the strikes. This caused a few slices to appear in Obsidian's coat, as if she were taking a cue from Ruby and sprouting stripes of her own.

There were plenty of slip-ups and weaknesses waiting for their turn at Obsidian's nervous system, and each landed hit was bringing her closer and closer to more of them. It was simply impossible to ignore her wounds any longer; even pretending that she was perfectly fine was failing her...

She had to escape - now!

A prolonged duel with an enemy who possessed magic, four large swords and no prior injuries could only end in one possible way - but it couldn't! Not now, when she was so CLOSE! Obsidian tried to find at least a window of opportunity to throw something at Stalwart and escape.

A torch seemed like the perfect weapon, but Wart was on top of her game for this one, and caught it easily with her magic as Obsidian lobbed it at her head. The torch was then swiftly winged right back at her, but not to strike Obsidian; it dashed against the wall next to her instead, and Obsidian's view was filled with ash and sparks.

And through the shower of sparks came two blades: one sliced at her barrel, leaving a red line that went from the base of her neck to her shoulder; it was deep, and it hurt like wildfire as it began to bleed. The other one sliced right through the middle of her right ear, the tip of it sailing past Obsidian's view and bouncing off the wall, landing at Wart's armored hooves as she walked past it, focusing her attacks solely on Obsidian... purposely wearing her out.

GAH! This was hopeless! Pointless! There was nothing she could do to stop the unbound fury of Stalwart Stance! She was always crazy about loyalty, royals and Obsidian - and there was nothing the Grey Princess could do to stand against her! It hurt! IT HURT! EVERYTHING HURT!

"AAAAAH! STOP IT, WART - IT'S ME!" she screamed in anguish, trying to step away from the swirling death in front of her. Amber would win; she'd torture her poor friends to death, and Obsidian wouldn't be able to do anything about it. And even without the threat of torture... poor Stalwart would be absolutely heartbroken after finding out she'd torn her friend's body apart like this!

"YOU SHALL BITE THY TONGUE! SHE WAS A ROYAL! SHE WAS A PRINCESS! SHE WAS FAR BETTER THAN YOU SHALL EVER DREAM TO BE! SHE WAS A HERO!" With each of these declarations, Wart swung at what she thought was her enemy, either narrowly missing or connecting far too well. Obsidian could feel the little knight focusing on her leg joints, trying to take the flexibility out of her.

"SHE WAS MY BEST FRIEND, YOU BASTARD CHILD OF DRAGON SHITE!" With that, she telekinetically shoved Obsidian through the wall next to her, the battered unicorn mare collapsing onto a table in the palace library; she hadn't been allowed in here when she'd first arrived - now, it was one of the places in the palace she knew quite well.

However, at the moment she was simply aching on a table - and she could hear that syncopated rhythm start again, far too close for comfort...

>CLANK<
>CLANK<
>CLANK<
>CLANK<

Obsidian thought that it was impossible that she could be in any more pain than she already was... however, Stalwart was quickly teaching her that yes, there were new ways to make her body suffer! And here she'd thought being beaten by King Sombra was bad enough...

Library... it was the library... perhaps she could take Onyx's diary and - wait, no... that was in Tourmy's hooves at the moment! It didn't help that she was barely able to move at this point, but she tried anyway to crawl away from her doom.

She managed to work her way to the central desk as Stalwart marched her way into the room. The little mare looked around a bit; she was wearing a helmet with a visor, so Obsidian couldn't even see her muzzle... but if she knew Wart as well as she should, Siddy was fully convinced that Wart was most likely crying under that helmet. But she'd be damned if 'Jack Knife' would know it.

The swords hovered above and behind Wart as she made her way slowly and warily into the library. "You dare to profane this place with your presence... but I shall remedy that problem very, very soon."

She began to make her way through the shelves; she was so small, Obsidian could only track where she was due to the location of the hovering bastard swords trailing above her.

However, as far as Obsidian was concerned, tracking prey that was bleeding profusely from multiple cuts was an easy job for a predator. She wasn't going to give up easily, though. It'd been ages since she was last here; in the desk, there were still the librarian glasses that she used when she had to be a 'serious librarian'. Over the doors was the sign about Sonic Rainbooms being prohibited.

Damnation... now that Obsidian thought about it, the destruction of this wall would surely make for a lot of mess to clean up later. Her first time here had been, what... three thousand years ago? Four? Well, it felt like a long time ago...

It was good that Obsidian didn't forget where certain books were, because the only plan she had consisted of throwing 'Crinos: The Dark Magic of Romance' at Stalwart, hoping beyond hope that she might recognize it and think twice about this situation. The book went sailing through the air and bounced off of Wart's helmet harmlessly, bringing an annoyed grunt from inside and a twist of the head to see where it came from. "Every second you evade me shall be another day added to thy suffering, maggot!"

The smol mare began to slowly stalk the aisles, her head seeking even the slightest of movements. "When I find you, cur, I shall make what you did to Her Majesty Lady Obsidian look like foal's play..." The thought of Wart taking her time to torture someone who had killed her best friend... well, it certainly lit a fire under Obsidian to get out of this as quickly as possible!

Come on, you stubborn little filly! Check out the damned book! Look at it and realize that it was the same book your bestie wanted you to read! GAH!

... fuck it.

Obsidian knew this place well - she just had to outcrawl Stalwart's advancing steps... and not lose too much blood in the process. Amber, I will mop the floor of this damned palace with your fucking face, Obsidian thought with a growing hatred.

Every single twitch of her muscles hurt as Obsidian's slow progress continued across the floor until she was close enough to see the window she could feasibly climb out of...

"There you are, whelp!" ... and Stalwart found her.

Two of the blades sliced through the air at her, and the shelves on either side of the small knight let out twin crashes as the swords bit into both shelving and books, a number of tomes crashing to the floor around her. At the moment, her saving grace was the fact that those large swords couldn't swing in arcs powerful enough to do much damage, hemmed in by the shelving on either side.

Wart, however, wasn't waiting for swinging room; the other two blades came up from behind her pointed forward, and they began to stab at Obsidian, forcing her backwards as the unseeable face behind the helmet growled in concentration.

"THOSE BOOKS ARE LIBRARY PROPERTY!" Obsidian yelled out, suddenly reminded of her librarian duties, in helpless anger. What did Stalwart think THAT was going to do? Destroying the library would somehow avenge her death? Great job, Wart, really - everypony knew that Obsidian had always hated books, right?

Her short burst of anger didn't last very long though, as she was quickly forced to dodge once again, while getting close enough to the window to outright jump through it. At the very least, it would get her away from the volatile ball of metal and sharp pain that was seeking to end her life.

She managed to make her way to the window, right herself enough to jump-

"NO!" ... and get caught in a field of Wart's green magic.

She felt the unicorn none-too-kindly squeeze her as she was brought about to face the little knight directly. All four swords now held at the ready behind her, making Wart look a little bit like Amy did, once long ago, with her daggers hovering overhead.

"Before you are dispatched with extreme prejudice for your crimes," Wart said in a stately, yet barely controlled voice, "you will answer ONE question..."

Stalwart's form then gave a small shiver, her armor rattling ever-so-slightly, and the voice that came from the helmet sounded as if it were on the verge of shattering like glass. "... w-w-why? Just explain to me WHY? Why did you DO it, you foul miscreant!? WHY!?"

Obsidian really needed some magical fighting lessons from Stalwart; she was apparently even more skilled than Obsidian thought. Or perhaps Obsidian simply didn't have the chance to prove her skills as much? And now that she was looking right at the very heart of Stalwart's fury and anguish, the Grey Princess was fully aware that she needed some of her famous luck to survive.

Or perhaps that wouldn't help her too much; she could feel a few rather nasty wounds at the moment.

"I-it's... Amber..." she said as she tried to reach up with her hooves to Wart's helmet, in an attempt to cover her eyes. "I... I'm Obsidian!"

Wart's helmet let out a howl of furious anger. "YOU DARE SAY SUCH A THING OF LADY OBSIDIAN!? THEN THERE SHALL BE NO MERCY!" She drew back with all four swords to run Obsidian through, ending her life in misery...

And the bookcases, perhaps feeling some sort of need for revenge against the little mare, suddenly gave out from the previous attacks, and a cascade of books clattered down onto the little knight's helmet, making a loud ringing as they bounced off her noggin.

"OW! ACK! HEY! S-STOP!" She dropped two of her swords - and Obsidian - to the floor as she attempted to bat away the falling tomes.

Somewhere inside her, some rather curious, somewhat depraved or simply psychopathic portions of Obsidian's soul were curious as to what her friends were actually hearing when she spoke... but alas, there was no way she would ever be able to find out.

It seemed as though the floor was a bit more painful than usual today - yet more comfortable, too. Being a stupid, stubborn hero was a difficult career path, Obsidian thought to herself while her body was practically begging her to stay down and just let it rest - even if it meant death. And yet, Obsidian fought back against the unconsciousness that threatened her and tried to use this opportunity to escape.

...oh, those poor, poor books...

The window was now behind Stalwart, so it might not be a good idea to continue that way... so, back to the central kiosk it was. Obsidian managed to mke her way there, and was now at the dubious safety of the desk... but now, she'd lost sight of Wart completely.

>CLANK!<
>CLANK!<
>CLANK!<
>CLANK!<

The rough hoofsteps seemed to be coming from the west end, she'd doubled back and was coming up through the same walkway Obsidian herself had used.

Rifling quietly through the top desk drawer, Obsidian grabbed her librarian glasses and put them on her muzzle. It wasn't anything that really did much good, but it made her feel a bit better. Irrational, yes, but she could at least die looking smart.

Obsidian braced herself for a sprint, then ran towards the doors in a bid to escape, heading towards the Harmony Suites. Perhaps, at the very least, she could die in a comfortable place.

She managed to make it to the doors - just in time to see them slam shut in front of her in a burst of green magic.

"... you... CUR... you savage CUR..." Wart now stormed her way out of the shelves, stomping directly towards Obsidian with every intention of slashing her apart. Midway to her quarry, Wart charged at her, with the swords behind her raised to strike...

>POP<

Obsidian saw a flash of bright red light for only a second... then, she was standing in the west hallway, completely on the other side of the palace from the library. In the distance, she could hear Wart's enraged roar of indignant anger at having her target yanked away from her in her very moment of triumph.

Oh, the floor looked more and more comfortable with each passing moment... in fact, Obsidian was slowly becoming too tired to even think properly - or perhaps it was blood loss?

"What in..?" she muttered. Had she managed to finally figure out teleportation for herself? But wait... the energy burst had been red, hadn't it? Maybe...

No time for this postulation; she had to get to the throne room, then to the throne. It was time to end this nightmare; she could die later, if she still wanted to.

Getting to the throne room was far easier without a rage-fueled little war machine tracking your every step; she came to the doors soon enough, and could feel herself having to push harder to keep moving. Between the pain, the exhaustion and the blood loss, she wasn't sure how much further she could go. The doors were a bit stiff to open, but they eventually gave way and she crept inside.

The throne room was silent and dim, with only the light of a few torches to see by. At the far end was her goal: Twilight Sparkle's throne. It sat there, carved and regal, befitting a princess such as the purple alicorn was. And nothing but open floor between here and there, save for the columns in the center. It looked as if she were home free...

Until a bolt of magic slammed into her left shoulder, lifting her off her hooves and sending her flying into the wall HARD before she flopped unceremoniously onto the tile-fitted ground.

Well, hello there Miss Floor, how have you been... oh, so you've been polished... aww, how nice of the cleaning crew. Yes, Miss Floor, Obsidian was very sorry that she'd landed on-...

Wait - the floor wasn't a living animal, and Obsidian wasn't Fluttershy.

She tried to get up, barely capable of thinking about very much now. She only knew that the throne was ahead of her - she was almost there, she had to get there, SHE WOULD BE THERE!

Stepping into view from behind a pillar came a ragged unicorn stallion who looked to be the very visage of death; his pale coat was devoid of color, as was his mane, which was clumped up and frizzed as if he hadn't touched it in years. His movements were firm and sure, and his body language spoke of nothing but a determined and precise focus on every move Obsidian made.

His eyes, dead and cold, stared right into her soul, and he walked until he stood between her and the throne. This deathly-looking pony's entire being sent chills down Obsidian's spine, as she could wear she was facing off against a serial killer instead of a pony. She didn't even know who this pony was!

He stopped where he stood, simply glaring down at Obsidian with a gaze that made her nerves itch and her heart shudder, silent as the grave, apparently ready to stare her to death... and with how he looked, he might just be able to do it.

By Darkness... she was so tired that she was barely able to withstand the glare's weight. "To the... side for a... m-moment, please... th-then... you can kill me..." she muttered, gesturing with her hoof for him to move aside.

Throne... she just needed... to touch... the... throne...

The stallion let go with another blast from his horn - one that slapped Obsidian across the muzzle, which knocked the librarian glasses from her muzzle and a tooth out of her mouth. Then came another to the neck. Then one to the backs of her knees on her hindlegs - both of them simultaneously - and another to the center of her spine. One more blow to the middle of her barrel, and the previously tenderized ribs there gave out with a >SNAP<.

As he administered this flood of pain, the dour stallion watched her gravely... and, as he stared, he reached up to his own neck, cupped something in the frog of his hoof, and lifted the pendant of a necklace... an engagement necklace... to his lips and, without a single word spoken, he kissed it softly.

Cupcake looked terrible; of course, Obsidian would probably look just as awful if somepony murdered her love in the middle of a world-saving event for literally no reason, but still...

She didn't even have strength to stand up. In fact, with the current state of her ribs... and her knees... though hopefully not her spine... chances were, she probably wouldn't be able to do anything at all. All she could was to cry out in pain, one last shot at reaching her one true love...

"MEANIE!" Obsidian screamed with every ounce of energy her poor, broken body had left.

Cupcake's lifeless eyes narrowed even further at whatever he'd heard her say, and she felt herself yanked off her hooves and slammed forcefully into the ceiling with enough power to knock the wind out of her and make her busted ribs screech within her rapidly breaking body.

As she hung there from the gilded ceiling, he stepped over to where she was and, with his grip on her middle beginning to s-l-o-w-l-y tighten, he glared up at her with the coldest of conviction in his dead eyes. The fact that Cupcake hadn't said a single word at all during the entire altercation was more unnerving than anything he might have actually said in the first place.

Her eyes, just barely open now, looked upon her stallion; she could almost see herself reflected in his eyes... if they had held reflections anymore, that was. They were flat and basic, looking for all intents and purposes like the eyes of a porcelain doll - bereft of living energy.

Well, that was the only plan that her tired and pained head could come up with. She was going to die, killed by her fiancee - Amber, you sadistic bitch! Obsidian was sure that she would accidentially forget to invite her to the wedding; the fact that dead ponies can't be wed didn't even occur to her dimming, fading mind.

"... I... l-love you... Cup...py... bye..." she whispered her last words and closed her eyes, unwilling to look at the miserable mockery of her beloved in her last few moments.

Cupcake pulled her closer as he slowly yet surely choked the life from her... so close that her limp and hanging mane fell across his muzzle...

And the squeezing stopped.

The pale stallion below her slowly began to show the tiniest bit of color - a pale and washed-out blue fading in, ever-so-slightly - as his eyes widened... and he sniffed.

Then sniffed again.

And again.

And again, almost inhaling the strands of mane that laid across his snout.

"... S... Sssss... Sssssss..." His lips parted, and his voice sounded as if he hadn't used it in decades.

"... Ssssssssiddy?" he muttered in a daze, staring at her with a mixture of disbelief and razor-thin hope.

Obsidian nodded weakly, though even that slight movement was a bit much - she was barely staying conscious.

It was ironic that her own friends had managed to hurt her more than any of the baddies had, up to this moment. On another hoof, she bested three out of five members of the Siddy Six. Not bad, not bad...

His eyes grew even wider, and then he lowered her down from the ceiling until she was face to face with him. He looked at her curiously, hesitantly...

"... I hope to Twilight that's you, or this will be very awkward..." he said.

And kissed her.

Bold of him - but Obsidian had never in her life been more grateful for a kiss. She tried her best to return it, but she could barely even feel her lips. But it felt wonderful - a momentary respite in a veritable ocean of misery and pain.

As they kissed, color slowly began to flow back into the stallion; by the time the kiss broke, she was looking at her Cupcake Sprinkles again, in all his sweet, unique glory.

And he gasped when he saw her - finally saw her and her current condition.

"Obsidian? OBSIDIAN! Oh nononononononononono..." He lowered her gently down to the floor, and practically jumped to her side.

"Siddy, oh Siddy, Obsidian, oh love, OH SIDDY!" He looked over her frantically, then reached behind himself and pulled out what looked like a first aid kit. He put it to instant use, including some weird-smelling liquid that he splashed onto her numerous wounds, numbing them from the pain.

Now, only breathing, thinking and existing hurt; no really, it was an improvement!

"Siddy, what... what h-happened? What's going on!?" His eyes were wet with tears - both at the sorrow of her current state, and at the joy of seeing her alive.

"...throne... t-to the... throne..." Obsidian was so relieved that Cupcake wasn't going to kill her that she almost blacked out. Luckily for her, she didn't - and though she still wasn't in any shape to have any sort of small-talk right now... she was still able to crawl to the throne.

She was a rather stubborn mare, after all.

Cupcake looked at the throne, then saw her moving towards it, and just knew he didn't understand a single, solitary thing that was going on... but he scooped Obsidian up and placed her gently onto his back, where his coat was soft, sweet-scented and very warm. With her secured, he began to walk carefully towards Twilight's throne.

"I don't know why you need the throne," he said, his voice husky with emotion, "but I love you - and if that's what you need, then that's where we're going."

He walked carefully forward and brought her right next to the regal chair, smiling sweetly back at her as he began to cry. "I thought I'd lost you, love... I j-just couldn't... c-c-couldn't..."

May Darkness and Harmony both have mercy on anypony who'd make Cupcake think he had lost his Obsidian... which, in this case, meant Amber. Cuppy liked to have fun... so there was a chance the mare was going to be turned into a 3-D puzzle? The Grey Princess herself wouldn't complain too loudly... well, at least at the beginning.

But for now - Obsidian reached out feebly with her hoof and, with a sigh of relief, touched the throne.

[Ah, fuck.]

There was a flash of light, and Obsidian suddenly found herself laying on a floor of loamy black dirt. Towering above her was the spire of what seemed to be an ancient Umbral temple; sinister points and shiny black stone, twisting and writhing into a strange sort of pattern - one that made the mind itself blink at how strange, yet oddly fascinating it was.

She was still wounded, and could feel every bit of damage given to her on her trek...

But she had done it. She'd won.

Sitting at the doorway to the inside of the temple, Flurry Heart gave a sardonic slow clap as she looked at Obsidian with a smirk. "Bra-VO, Sids - had to beat your way through three of your friends, retreat from another, and you actually got that fucking idiot to slip my control for a moment. I have to say, I am impressed."

She got to her hooves and, slinking like a snake, she stepped closer. "Yo, not to be rude or some shit, but you look fucking awful, Sids; bet you feel twice as bad, right? Might be the blood loss... ooh, or that half-an-ear you're sporting... or that nasty burn on your flank... honestly, you look worn the fuck out."

She then grinned broadly. "Good! I'm so glad you enjoyed my game!"

'Enjoyed' was too strong of a word... and 'worn out' would be far too weak. Obsidian could only nod once again, barely listening to her sister's taunts. In fact, Amber was pretty much wasting her breath at the moment.

"Awwwww... are you THAT close to broken? Well, then I guess I should get my show on the road, shall I?" She giggled, then turned to face behind her, and as she spoke, Flur's horn flashed an unhealthy green, boiling glow; Amber had perverted Flurry Heart's Light Magic.

"Uoy fo sdnammoc esruc ruoy sa, yebo dna pu esir!" Amber called out in a powerful voice that seemed to echo back at them from multiple angles.

The last time Obsidian had heard those words, she was having her magic forcibly sucked out of her and into an evil shard of Darkheart that had empowered the spell... but Flurry Heart was so powerful, she didn't need the amulet. Behind them both, the black waters of the pool began to bubble...

Close to broken? If Obsidian could still talk, she would've scoffed at that notion. Since she woke up from her last proper rest, she'd dealt with quite a few war machines, fought a frantic battle against a terribly powerful mechanical spider, managed to survive Amber's tortures AND her friends' various attacks... and yet, she was still able to breathe.

Of course, she was in a rather foul mood after all of this chaos, but the main factor with her current behaviour was overwhelming exhaustion. Oh... and plenty of pain.

And here we go again with the Umbrals. Meh.

Author's Notes:

This was one of the more difficult chapters to do while Wungiel and I were writing it - it HURT to send Siddy's friends after her, and I agonized over some of this part due to feeling horrible at having Amber do this to her, via her friends. But, dramatically speaking, it was appropriate to occur within the story... and, as stated, that's just how Amber rolls.

A grand total of FOUR songs went into the creation of this chapter, during the original plotting:

* Beastmode by Teminite was the impetus for Gypsy's attempt at revenge, misguided as it was.

* Firepower by Judas Priest helped me come up with Clap and Mica's shot at taking 'Jack Knife' down.

* Seven Nation Army (The Glitch Mob Remix) by The White Stripes was all Stalwart Stance, including the CLANKS in time to the beat.

* Stillborn by The Black Label Society... because it was the LYRICS that brought the scene to life, in my mind.

And yes - because I was a fan of the Adult Swim show 'SUPERJAIL', I decided that Obsidian's stallion appearance is basically a ponified version of the Jack Knife character from the show (the one who's always sent back at the beginning, yet always escapes again before the end).

Fifty Eight: A Study In Onyx

Amber stepped in close and ran a hoof through Obsidian's mane in passing, smirking evilly.

"And so, the army's covered... now, to get them suited up and piloting, then to get them ready to storm..." she laughed, "well, everywhere!"

The possessed alicorn strutted out to the pools, admiring the sight of the horrific undead rising up from the waters and sighing happily before turning back to face Obsidian.

"Now, I also have a special present in store for Equestria," she began. "You see, the Crystal Empire is still going to be MINE... but first, there's the problem of who's in charge right now. I mean, I can't just take an empire whose ruler could stop me at any time, so... I simply came up with how to solve the problem."

Amber smiled sweetly, like a completely innocent mare. "It shouldn't take much to convince the Princess of Love that her youngest is hurt and needs her mother's care..." Now, Flur's smile curdled into a twisted, cruel smirk. "Of course, she doesn't know it, but that child she's going to heal is none other than our dear brother... Jade..."

She began to giggle. "And her magic will set him free... and kill her for being so close to his curse!"

"... whatever..." Obsidian mumbled in pain; at the moment, she was hardly the most attentive pony to mock - and Amber's words, no matter how cruel, weren't cutting as deeply as some of her wounds already were.

Amber lifted an eyebrow curiously, then shook her head with an exasperated sigh. "Oh, fine - since you're going to be so difficult..."

Flur's horn flashed, and Obsidian suddenly found herself on the floor of a large metal cage, big enough to be half the size of her old room.

[If you're going to be a BABY about it all, then you can stay here with the rest; I'll be back to play soon enough, don't you worry. Ciao, Sids!]

"Well, damnation... there goes our proverbial ace-in-the-hole." She knew that voice... was that... Quartz?

That uptight bitch hadn't ever been beaten so badly, eh? It was a cold comfort, but Siddy would gladly take all the comfort she could stand right now.

Obsidian gave out a pained groan of agony from where she was. Hopefully, Diamond was here as well - she rather liked that tooth... and her lost ear tip. And her blood. And her flesh. She would MUCH rather prefer if, during future excursions, she could manage to keep those things from harm.

"Knew I should've stayed where I was, dammit..." Aquamarine.

"Right, like you would have been in any less of a situation, eventually? Think, you old fool - she would've come along for you eventually." Tourmaline.

"Well, er, you don't, um, know that for, ah, c-certain..." Opal.

"{Please - Obsidyan seems gravely injured; we must help her at once!}" Diamond.

"I concur, Mundy... however, it will be quite a feat to perform Healing Spells from so far away; longshots, I can abide by... but miracles? That's asking too much - at least for this family." Quartz.

Aqua, Tourmy, Quartz, Opal... wait, Opal? And Diamond was here as well, luckily... though it seemed he was too far away to actually help her, which was... not good. At this point, even simply losing conciousness would be a mercy.

"Am.. e... thyst..?" she asked softly to no one in particular.

"... yeah. Me too." Amethyst.

"{Oh, Obsidyan! We have discovered that Amethyst was the purple mare!}"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU LITTLE ASSHOLE!"
"You watch your tongue, you bitch! I ain't too old to kick your ass!"
"Please, really, there's no need for all of this nonsense; fillies and gentlecolts, we're merely exhausted and somewhat chagrined from Amber's-"
"Now, er, that's n-not right, uh, you know - you shouldn't, well, say such things, right, abou-"
"YOU CAN BITE ME TOO, TWO-FER!"
"How DARE you refer to us in such a manner, you persnickety pool of pus - you and your faulty brother are both wastes of horseflesh and rotten grey matter!"
"YOU can GO to TARtarUS, you ASS!"
"{Obsidyan! Obsidyaaaaaan!!! Speak to me, Obsidyan, PLEASE!}"

Ha... so Obsidian had been right, even if off-hoovedly. But then, as soon as she had heard that Amy could use her magic, everything had become crystal clear.

"I... l-love... you all..." And with that, Obsidian's eyes closed of their own volition.

Oh, Cupcake... why did you have to aim for her jaw? Even talking was painful...

~>-<~

The library was in shambles.

Everywhere she looked, Obsidian saw nothing but destruction; shelves torn apart, books in shreds, tables broken into pieces, chairs bent and splintered... it was as if a hurricane had made its way into her head, and had ravaged the little library completely, without removing the walls or ceiling - but leaving practically everything else broken, shredded and ruined.

And seated in the very center of the devastation was Onyx - fully herself in her sleek, dark form - on her knees, sobbing loudly and pitifully into her own hooves. Dark mist was practically pouring from her eyes and the tip of her horn... but her sobs sounded as hopeless and exhausted as Obsidian's had, not too long ago.

Considering all the throbbing that Obsidian had felt in her head lately, it was only to be expected that Onyx would be a rather unhappy mare at the moment. Still, Siddy hadn't expected such utter chaos in the halls of her mental library.

Any desire she had to mock her older sister without mercy - starting with some congratulations for 'a well-executed plan to get rid of Sombra for good' - vanished from Obsidian almost immediately when she laid eyes on the pitiful, wailing creature the once-proud mare had become.

Well, what was the worst thing that could happen to her in her own dreams? She made her way closer, to at least try to comfort Onyx with a pat on the back... yet Onyx flinched away from her before she could connect.

"... i... i m e s s e d u p... s - s o b a d l y..." she said, so softly Obsidian could barely hear her. "... w h y... w h y c o u l d n t i j u s t... j - j u s t h a v e h i m B A C K ?" She sobbed anew into her hooves.

"T h e w a y h e U S E D t o b e ! ?" she shrieked suddenly, now making very vocal, loud and heartbreaking sobs.

"Er... the way he used to be? As Sombra or as the possessed King Sombra?" Obsidian asked carefully. Diamond hated the 'parasite', as he'd called it... but Onyx wanted to bring back the 'Umbral Empire' for him. What did this mare truly want from all of this?

She finally looked up at Obsidian. Even though Onyx was supposed to be this pillar of villainous intensity... all Siddy could see was a mare who had been pushed to the brink and beyond, only to watch it all explode in her face.

Yeah - rubbing it in would be a bit much; Onyx looked like she was already suffering enough.

"... i... i w a n t..." she shut her eyes, then continued in a clearer voice, "... I wanted the stallion who I remember; the one who cared about me. The one who told me I could conquer the world, if I wanted to. The one who told me that he... t h a t h e..."

She held her breath, trying not to break out into sobs again. "... there is... no hope, now... none... Father is gone, possibly forever... and it's ALL MY FAULT!"

She threw her hooves to the floor in frustration, and simply began sobbing aloud again. "I failed him! I FAILED HIM! I was his daughter, and he loved me - AND I FAILED HIM!!!"

The whole mess with their parentage - the person of their supposed 'maker' and the fact that he was possessed by some sort of ancient evil - was really confusing sometimes... not to mention the question of the Simulacrum Spell and what had happened from it.

But for now, Obsidian only knew that she had a broken mare in front of her; Onyx was far too proud to pretend to be a crying ball of sadness.

So she stepped in close, knelt down and wrapped her hooves carefully around Onyx, hugging her tightly. "Shhhhhhhh, dear sister... there is always hope." It felt really strange to be comforting Onyx, but... well, all things considered, it was a strange day.

And Onyx, surprisingly, leaned into her embrace.

The sobbing went on for a good while, no further words being spoken for a bit... and Siddy even got the unexpected reward of Onyx's hooves sliding around her barrel as well, squeezing tightly as she cried her eyes out in the middle of the ruined library.

It felt like hours, but eventually her oldest sister's wailing wound down into occasional sniffles as she simply sat there, curled into Obsidian's embrace.

"... i... i m s o r r y..."

What? Did Onyx just-

"... f o r... a l l o f i t."

Wow. Just... wow.

"O-oh, well, I... oh, I forgive you, sis - for everything you tried to do to me." Well, Butter Churn might have something different to say about that. "Do you... feel a bit better, now?"

"... I... I should've... not just seen you... as the problem... but as a... a solution..." Onyx looked up at her with misty eyes. "But I kept blaming you, Obsidian... I kept putting the blame for my failure on you, because every time Father would-... w-would..."

She hung her head. "I was there for every birth... every time. Every. Thrice. Damned. Time." She looked up at Obsidian again, so much sorrow in her muzzle. "... except for yours."

"Well, everything could be better - especially if we would at least talk. And perhaps discuss this whole 'Umbral Invasion' idea you have?" Obsidian gave a half-shrug as she continued to hold her sister. "I mean, when we first met, I didn't even know that there was something inside our creator that apparently changed him..."

In fact, Obsidian still had issues with it. Diamond kept calling the real Sombra 'Father'; Obsidian had never even met him before - she'd only known the vile and wicked King Sombra. He may have created them all, but... where did Sombra end, and King Sombra begin?

"Yes... y-yes, I... I can do that much for you." Onyx sat upright, trying to regain a bit of her dignity... but it was obvious she wasn't quite the same mare she'd first met sitting on a throne of stone at the Black Pool. "What do you want to know, Obsidian? I'll..." she sighed resignedly, "... I'll tell you whatever I know, no lies, no fooling around anymore. I'm... done with that, now."

Whatever she knew, eh? Maybe it was a bit too late, but hopefully Onyx would at least enlighten Obsidian with a few actual answers. "Okay, so the first question - what's the difference between Sombra's death after the Crystal Heart's blast, and his current situation? You were very keen to bring him back before, and now... well..."

Onyx ran a hoof over her eyes to wipe away some of the residual tear-trails. "When the Crystal Heart blasted him, it was The Umbra who was fully in control; Father was his puppet already, and he was helpless to whatever it wished to do with his body... Father was nothing but his tool, a glove to touch the world with."

"This time, I'd... I'd wanted to bring them BOTH back, so I could have a chance to separate them - don't you see all these miracles around us, Obsidian? Can you imagine what we might be able to accomplish with Umbral Magic and Modern Equestrian applications?"

She sighed. "But, it... i-it was a pipe dream... I just never let myself see that. I wanted him back so badly, I was willing to bring IT back, as well - and honestly, once they were separated, I was going to use that vile thing to power a night-light battery."

She gave a light smirk, but it died quickly... and was replaced with a cold seriousness. "And it was MY fault for choosing Amber as my second; I should have known the temptation was too great for her to resist; I thought she would have more willpower than that... but, to be fair, I also had NO IDEA she'd been creating a mental backdoor into an alicorn, all this time. That was diabolical of her."

Well, fuck. "I stopped you then, Onyx - and I'll stop her now," Obsidian said with a ripple of determination, "and I'm glad you've come to the realization that bringing an ancient evil back to life is NOT a good idea. Does this also mean that you and I could possibly forge an alliance now... or do you still want to murder and eat all of my friends?"

Onyx looked up at her for a moment, then sighed. "Obsidian... I still want to bring Father back, and I still want there to be an Umbral Empire..."

She grew a ponderous look. "But maybe... maybe... it can be done..." she rolled her eyes, "without killing hordes of Equestrians, I suppose. IF we can figure out a way to do it."

She now gazed at Obsidian with a slight grin. "Oh, and the Simulacrum Spell? I've got it - ALL of it - and it's yours whenever you need it - no strings attached. And Amber may be powerful... but I promise you, she doesn't have the sort of mind that I do."

Wiping her eyes clear, she looked around at the destruction surrounding them both and nodded. "Well... I suppose I have work to do here, if I'm going to be the brains behind the Siddy Six; I might redecorate, though..."

Onyx looked... different, now. She didn't feel as... desperate... as she had before, nor did she seem to be complaining or snarking off. Instead, she held out her forehooves and her eyes and horn began to glow. The debris in the blasted-out waste of a room began to hover and gather in a slow-moving whirlpool of clouds over their heads.

As she watched, Obsidian saw broken things mended, bent things straightened and books reformed - then things began to drift back into place. And as a nice little side note, Obsidian's head had finally stopped throbbing.

"Next question," Onyx said as she directed things, looking like some sort of conductor in the midst of directing her own orchestra.

"Who is the last presence in my mind?" Obsidian almost instantly piped up. "Do you know what it could possibly be?"

Onyx cast a look at her for a bit... then sighed and resumed her sorting. "Probably the same presence in all our minds, Obsidian - The Umbra itself."

She continued to direct objects, making Siddy's sorting runs in the library look like foal's play in comparison. "We were all created on the Umbral Altars; that means we each have a piece of that vile thing inside us - and I have concluded that it's the connection he possibly uses to enter us for ressurrecton. And when I-"

Onyx gave a visible shudder. "... when I experienced it, it was just a small sensation that just... grew. Instantly. As if he'd just teleported into m-"

She shuddered again, and a few of the objects fumbled a bit. But she regained control, and kept going. "I think it wants to reclaim us, Obsidian... and I'm not ready to go just yet. Are you?"

Well that was... unexpected. She'd thought it could possibly be Radiant Hope... or mayhaps a part of their other maker; after all, they were made out of a piece of his very soul, weren't they? The Umbra, however...

"I'm ready to send that fucking thing back to the pits of the Tartarus it crawled out from," Obsidian replied with a deadly calm voice. But Onyx still wanted an Umbral Empire, eh? Did that mean she was simply going to accept that this thing might one day harvest them all?

"Did you... ever have any dreams where you were in Sombra's body, looking through his eyes, maybe?" It was worth a shot.

Onyx risked a look at her. "No... but I have had some dreams from the viewpoint of Radiant Hope herself. Not... often... but I certainly have in the past." She then blinked. "Why... are you dreaming that you're Sombra? Because that's something Peridot spoke of before..."

What in Tartarus was going on here? "Peridot dreams about Sombra... and we two dream of Hope..." Was it because they were mares and Peridot was a stallion? But why were Hope's memories here in the first place? "That... surprises me."

"You... you're dreaming about her as well?" The few things she held in the air with her magic crashed to the floor, and she trotted right over to Obsidian, excitement written all over her muzzle; it was the same expression as she'd seen when Onyx had felt their 'Father' returning; sheer wonder. It looked kinda weird on Onyx.

"Did you dream about the altars? And the fight between them?" Onyx sounded desperate for answers, "And oh please, TELL ME you know where Whistlewhite took her, because I always wake up before that part!"

Should she tell her? Should she keep it to herself?

You know what..?

Fuck it.

Equestria was almost completely mind-controlled, and Obsidian had been beaten nearly to death; she could, at the very least, sate Onyx's curiosity.

She told her older sister almost the entire last dream she'd witnessed - though she avoided mentioning The Moochick, however. If Onyx was able to see the scene, then she'd know that part anyway - and if she hadn't, well... there might have been a good reason.

Onyx listened intently, interjecting when she couldn't understand, and also adding a few bits as well:

The rune that Hope had recognized on the altar had translated to SACRIFICE, and the two of them had continued on to examine more of it, leading to the words SPELL, CAST and POWER being inscribed and studied. All of them were noted in Hope's Spellbook, supposedly.

And surprisingly, Onyx knew another little tidbit that Obsidian truly didn't expect... "Now, would you like to know about the Kayfadd Spell?" she smirked.

FINALLY! Obsidian eagerly nodded her head; those two had known it before they came to the altars - what could it possibly be?

Onyx gave her youngest sister a bit of a grin. "Now, don't be upset... but it's not what you may think it is."

She gestured with her hooves as she explained. "Radiant Hope, as an orphan in an empire that no longer cared about it's citizens, was always begging for food and whatnot. This problem doubled when Sombra began to join her - they tended to get chased off, as nobody wanted to give them any part of the precious little food available."

The unicorn mare then grinned in spite of herself. "Hence, using her gifted magical knowhow, she created the Kayfadd Spell, as we know it... or K.F.A.D., as they did."

She held up a hoof. "It stands for 'King For A Day'; the spell lasts for a full day, and while it's in effect, everyone you meet will be glad to share with you - a few bits, a loaf of bread, a few pieces of candy... not enough to break anyone's wallet, mind you, but enough for the two to survive on when the orphanage ran short on food."

She spoke dramatically. "THIS was the spell Hope cast at the Umbral Altars on Father... and nothing happened. At first. But then, Sombra found himself in a number of advantageous positions, which eventually led to his leading the revolution against King Crest, overthrowing him, and being unanimously named King by those who he led. He was a glorious example of righteous nobility!"

She then sighed mildly. "But, it was all due to a spell meant simply to feed a pair of hungry orphans. Imagine that."

Interesting... "I'd think she'd have had better luck coming up with a spell that simply made food; I didn't suspect it would be a spell that could actually... control other minds," Obsidian admitted. "so, then... were YOU created by Radiant Hope, perhaps?"

Onyx frowned and shook her head. "No... I was made by Father... we all were."

Obsidian growled in annoyance. "Then who was the shard that she created using that stolen bit of Sombra's soul? It existed! I've seen it!" Not that Obsidian didn't consider making Sombra into a father without his approval and participation rather horrifying... though there was also the possibility that this new artificial pony was instantly killed in the process.

Onyx looked at her. "Obsidian... Hope's spell failed."

She looked down and seemed to actively try to recall what she could remember. "Hope had put everything together, but at the last second, Father stepped in and accidentally caused her to make a mistake during her conjuring - and it cost her life. YOU'VE seen it in her memories, right?"

She sighed. "If he would have waited one more second... then Hope might still be alive today..." Then a sour scowl crossed her features. "Not that I miss her; I HATE Radiant Hope for what she did to Father."

Well that was anticlimactic; Obsidian felt like a deflated balloon. Well, she didn't care much for Radiant Hope either, but she was still curious as to what had happened. "Oh," was all Obsidian could say in response.

Onyx gave a slight grumble before she spoke up again "He spent the better part of his remaining existence trying to get her back... and THAT eventually cost him his body."

She got up and began to pace as she talked. "Father was INTENT that he was going to find her, and he used the Umbral Altar to try to get her back... again, and again, and AGAIN..."

Now she looked at Obsidian with a grim visage. "... which is how WE were created, Obsidian. All of us were the results of Father's attempts to ressurrect Radiant Hope... and each and every one of us is a FAILURE, a botched attempt to bring back the one pony he cared about."

Her gaze went to the floor. "And I was there and aware for every one of them... except for mine, of course... and yours, because you were apparently a last minute attempt."

Such a situation could explain why Obsidian apparently looked a lot like her. "Well, that could possibly explain why some of us dream of her memories. So it turns out that we have two parents, and not just a father," she said eventually, still rather disappointed.

"Yes, it took two of them, so to speak, so I would assume she had a hoof in it... but I will never call her that - she did too much damage for me to look past..." Onyx grit her teeth for a moment, then gave a huff of a sigh.

Regardless, first things first. And the firstest thing of all was... "So how do we stop our new enemy, then?"

Onyx shook her head to clear it, then looked at Obsidian seriously. "Honestly? I've been too busy feeling sorry for myself to organize anything yet... but I think I might just be in the proper mindset now, so give me some time, and I might be able to come up with something..."

She paused. "... and I already have something brewing... Obsidian, you're still waiting to hear from Twilight about the jail cell runes, yes? IF you can get those details to Quartz, he might be able to incorporate them into some outfits - some form of clothing - that might protect the wearer from Amber's influence."

She grinned. "And that's just my first thought."

So ask Quartz for assitance - got it. Too bad he didn't have the time to make them those superhero outfits! "So, Princess Twilight is still alive, then?"

"Hmmm... as far as I know, she's locked her and her friends up somewhere... or killed them, but she's most likely holding onto them for leverage. Still, it means we'll have to gather together anyone who isn't affected, and try to see if there IS anything we can do."

The library around them now was back into it's usual look... mostly. There were still slight signs of the earlier destruction, such as scuffs on the floor and a few marks on the walls... but now, it looked functional enough to be usable. Onyx walked over towards her desk, and wisps of shadow whirled around her as she did...

"Now," said Miss Tome as she sat down, "genius takes time, and first things first - as long as you keep feeding me information as you learn it, I can work from here to put together a plan to get us out of this hole."

She looked at her. "Your job is to stay alive, learn as much as you can, and wait for your opportunity to escape - and seeing as you're currently surrounded by our siblings, maybe try to recruit as many of them as you can to our cause..."

She gave a light smirk. "Heh... our cause... that sounds... right."

She picked up a sheet of paper, grabbed a pen with her magic, and began to write with the intensity of someone in the middle of an exam. Onyx was already hard at work on a plan... for some reason, it felt relieving, knowing that she was now working for Obsidian's side now. Maybe they had a chance after all?

"Well, fine and good. So, anything else that's been bothering you, question-wise?" she asked while she got to work.

Of course there was a small issue, here - Onyx's plans might possibly be an advantage to her more than Obsidian. However, as far as she was concerned, it was her only chance here. Alone, she wouldn't have a chance to defeat Amber....

Anything else to ask her... anything that bothered her... hmmmmm... "You... love us, sister. Don't you? Your siblings, I mean?"

Miss Tome paused in her writing, but didn't look up. "... I care about them enough to have included them in my plans. I care enough to not have killed Amethyst and Tourmaline for their mistakes. I care enough to be sitting here right now, dead as a doornail, and try to come up with a plan to save us all."

She sighed. "I suppose, in my own way, I do love them... everyone but you."

She held up a hoof to stop any protests. "You're the only one I wasn't there for, the only one I never knew much about... so, naturally, I always had an aversion to you. Even in my plans, you weren't set to be released for years - and even then, I was working on a plan to put you back into shard form when it was done."

"So yes, I suppose I DO love my siblings..." Now, she looked up with a slight grin. "And I believe you're starting to grow on me, Obsidian."

Well, it was reassuring to know that, during what may end up being her next fight with Onyx, she might actually like her. "Let's hope we can keep it this way, my sister. Er... is there anything YOU want to know?" If she was done here, maybe there would be some time to chat with Peri or Ruby?

"Yes, actually... a few questions, since you're offering." She continued to write as she spoke; just like her, always working. "I want to know how the lot of you managed to eascape my Nightmare Spell; it's been driving me crazy, trying to ponder how the lot of you miserab-..."

She actually stopped herself, then chuckled. "Old habits; sorry... but I kept trying to think of what possible gap could I have left for you to exploit?"

How did they..? Well, it had been a while, hadn't it? "First off, I'm too stupid and stubborn to give up. I can whine, complain and crave the sweet embrace of death... but I'm not really giving up. Second, the power of friendship; it may sound cheesy, but let's face the facts - Nightmare Moon, Discord, King Sombra, Chrysalis and so on... it really works. And as soon as I reached Cupcake, the results were obvious," Obsidian admitted. Though giving up when her body almost gave up didn't count. At the end of Amber's torture, she had been simply too exhausted to even think.

"So... friendship got you out of it? Just... THAT?" Onyx scowled, "I was hoping it would be more complex than that, but... well, I suppose I have noted just how much Equestria shoves the concept down everyone's throats, so..."

She sighed. "Beaten by being buddies... bleah."

She wrote for a moment more, then spoke again. "Alright, here's one that's been baffling me... why am I in your head?" She gestured with her free hoof. "Ruby, Peridot and myself, the only three who have actually DIED, all stored safely away within your cranium... but why? And, perhaps MORE importantly, how?"

To be fair, it was kind of worrying to Obsidian as well. "I suppose I, uh... am apparently made this way. A safe haven for my siblings' souls, right?" Meh - while all the rest of them got these awesome powers, she became some sort of a 'spirit dump'. Yippee. Skippy.

Onyx gave her a skeptical look. "Riiiiiiiiiiiight... so you don't know either, then? That's bothersome - there should be an explanation for it, but one isn't available. Annoying." She murmured the last word to herself. "Well then, on to my next question..."

She actually put the pen down and looked Obsidian squarely in the eyes. "Cupcake Sprinkles... WHY? Just explain to me why you found him to be... desirable... because honestly, I can't see it - I can't fathom how you could find yourself attracted to... him!"

It was such an unexpected question that Obsidian stared blankly at Onyx for a moment, not believing her own ears. When she realized that she didn't imagine it, she chuckled. "He's kind, pleasant, knows when and how to help me and, overall, embodies everything that I lacked, a thousand years ago."

Onyx facehoofed, then gave her a sardonic look. "But he's obnoxious! He won't stop talking, he actively tries not to make sense, and he's... he's like a big colt! How can you... I mean, I can't... you..."

She closed her eyes and sighed. "... fine. Since I've never experienced anything like... love... before, then I suppose I'll just have to take your word for it. Not like I'll ever know what it's like... being dead and such... I may have to find myself living vicariously through you."

Onyx shrugged. "Not that I'll miss things like pain, and starving, and the need for sleep..."

Her muzzle fell for just a moment. "... though there are things I'll miss..."

"Hey, if everything goes right, you will live again." Obsidian noticed this small admission that there were things that Onyx missed. It would probably take some time to accomplish, as she really wanted to bring Ruby back first... but Onyx obviously had her place in the proverbial queue. Peridot... well, he didn't - unless they found a way to get him back into the world without that infernal pain in his head.

Onyx shook herself out of it and continued writing. "Alright, then... if I'm going to come up with a plan, I'll need to know what resources I'll have available; who is going to be a part of your little Fan Club? I need names, so that I can research them in your head, and figure out where they'll fit best. This means MORE than just your..."

She paused. "While I'm on the subject, who came up with such a ridiculous title as The Siddy Six?"

"I have no idea! The name just started to appear everywhere! Suddenly, everycreature knew it!" At least they could both agree that it was utterly ridiculous. "Okay, so... Markannus the changeling... our other siblings, of course - including Amethyst, who became a hero on her own, as you've no doubt noticed. Lemon Custard, Peppermint Patty and the rest of the Pie family... and it would be good to find Midnight's whereabouts as well..."

It had been a while... Obsidian really felt as if she'd saved him from his possession at least a few years ago.

"Markannus... was he the one who was injured, going after Sapphire? Hmmm... it'd be best if I knew his current condition, but noted. Our siblings... well, they DO count, yes. However, I wouldn't be too certain on their battle readiness; as you've seen, they hardly agree on anything. It's one of the reasons I HAD to be so hard on them... if nobody takes charge, they devolve into arguements and squabbles."

She gave Obsidian a pointed look. "Remember that."

She then pondered a moment. "The Pies... yes, as I recall, they were most effective at opening a path through the Umbrals. Granted, Amber might be expecting that, but she wouldn't expect us to expect her expecting us..."

She wrote a bit more. "Midnight Star, I'm afraid, has seemingly fallen off the edge of the world; Amber and I BOTH had been looking to find him... MY assumption is that he's in hiding - hopefully, somewhere YOU don't know about."

She sighed, but kept writing. "And... yes, it was an underhooved act, relaying everything you learned back to her. It was also completely unexpected - we BOTH thought I was simply dead, and that was it. It took a bit to realize I wasn't gone yet - that's why it took a while for me to manifest." She glanced up at her sister. "Getting Luna to stifle your dreams didn't help, by the way."

Working again, she got up and made her way over to her desk, took another notebook from a drawer, and took up another pen to write in it with. Now, she was doing double the writing... was she a workaholic? "But still, I... I'll attempt to make up for it here. Besides..."

Her eyes flashed red for a moment. "... I WANT AMBER TO KNOW... I WANT HER TO KNOW IT WAS ME WHO HELPED STOP HER. THAT SHE WILL NOT GET AWAY WITH THIS. NOT FOR A SECOND."

"Dear sister of mine, Amber will pay - in spades. After all, I liked this tooth," she said as she checked it with her tongue. Maybe Diamond would be able to regrow it... though obviously, her ribs were the first priority. "Princess Luna was also promising a batpony armada for us."

Onyx's eyebrow raised. "A Thestral Army? That will be useful indeed...

More jotting, more writing... and now, with a small notepad added to the mix. "Not to mention the princesses themselves... though, I have to wonder if they're even capable of helping any further than they already have; rumour has it that they were both curiously absent from many of Equestria's major threats, particularly during Twilight Sparkle's rise to power..."

Onyx scoffed. "My excuse was that I was quite busy... I wonder if either of them can say the same? Eh, no matter - I'll put them down as a 'mayhaps', and we'll work with it from there."

Now, there were no less than five different things hovering about 'Miss Tome' that were being written on, not including the one in front of her. "This is a good start - something to work with that I can slide into place... something new, after almost five years of writing out the same plan. I must admit, I'm actually looking forward to it."

She now looked up at Obsidian... and honestly, genuinely smiled. "Obsidian-"

~>O<~

"... better be working! This hurts like TARTARUS!"
"{YES! Yes, it is working! Obsidyan is alive!}"
"... rrrrrgh... mmmmmmph..."
"Keep holding out!"

Obsidian awoke to what sounded like her siblings... struggling? And more importantly, she awoke to find that she was in NO pain whatsoever. Her flank, her hooves, her tooth... everything was as it should have been, nothing out of place. And no pain!

"We... are... NOT... pleased... with this... for the... proverbial... record..."

Would it be possible to make her dreams end a little less abruptly? Maybe some kind of dream training, to be sure that nothing short of a magical missile could wake her up suddenly enough to force her to leave a conversation in the middle of it? It was probably somewhat rude to Onyx...

But hey, hello again, tooth - Obsidian was missing you! Wait... waaaaiiiit... what were the others doing? Obsidian opened her eyes, both curious and worried at what might be occurring.

Obsidian herself was surrounded by a white aura of magic - a bright one - and she could feel the unmistakable tingle of Diamond's Healing Spell coursing through her. The aura was being cast through a beam from the little stallion's horn...

... and all of her other captured siblings, all of them, were straining and pushing against the restraint rings they had on their own horns while they cast their own magic onto Diamond.

Her siblings - Quartz, Opal, Aquamarine, Tourmaline, and even Amethyst - were all lending their power to the little stallion, so that his healing spell could reach her.

Diamond began to cry as he saw Siddy' eyes open. "{Obsidyan! Obsidyan! Oh, Obsidyan - you had died! You ceased to breathe after you said goodbye, and my magic couldn't reach you, and I panicked, and-}"

"And then WE stepped in... and managed to... make it happen," Quartz added as he continued to struggle.

"{Yes! If they had not helped me, I would not have reached you in time! Oh, Obsidyan!}" he gushed, wiping away tears that simply kept coming as he looked at her.

Obsidian's heart sunk quite a bit as she heard Diamond's words. While she was initially in a pretty good mood after waking up, after her nice chat with Onyx and supposedly surviving Amber's torturous game, his words hit her consciousness like a stone.

She had... died?

She could only stare at them all with visible shock in her eyes; it was quite a lot to digest, to be fair.

Diamond gave a cry, and his beam of magic broke away from her; he and the others all collapsed in their cages, all at the same time.

"Oh... oh that was dreadful," Quartz groaned as he got up and dusted himself off.

"But TOTALLY worthwhile," Tourmaline grinned at her.

"{And we have Obsidyan back! Oh, I am SO thankful for all of your help - thank you! Oh, I am so... so glad...}" Diamond slowly sat himself down on the floor of his cell, leaning against the bars as he panted.

"We are STILL uncertain as to why we participated in this," Opal Lapo said, her red eyes staring at Obsidian.

Obsidian pointed her hoof at all of them in turn, her mind going completely blank. She'd died? Her friends killed her by accident? And she survived only because her siblings helped to heal her?

"I... beat three members of the Siddy Six... without magic," she stated blankly. Was she bragging or complaining? Both? Well, Tourmy already got defeated by one member of their group... it probably meant that, as a villain, Obsidian could be the most succesful of them all.

"Th-thank you, my brothers and sisters..." She was somewhat speechless.

Diamond just smiled tiredly at her. Quartz gave her a polite bow and a grin. Lapo stared for a moment... then her eyes went blue, and Opal simply stared at the floor, embarrassed.

"You're in the middle of this whole thing - we weren't gonna let you off the hook that easily," Tourmaline quipped, the look of utter relief on his muzzle plain and evident.

Aquamarine simply shrugged. "Look, I did it because, for some reason, she started crying... and I've never seen her do that before."

He pointed a hoof at Amethyst, who was turned and facing away from everyone. The purple suit she wore had been stripped bare of everything but fabric - even her boots were gone. She looked as though she were waiting for her execution... and with Amber in charge, she may not have been far from the truth of it.

"Whatever you did to Amethyst," Aqua warned, "it scares me senseless - just don't do it to me, and we'll get along just fine."

"Oh, you should have seen what I did with Onyx..." Obsidian mused, rather surprised at the current turn of events. Her friends killing her, Amethyst crying, Onyx smiling, apologizing and hugging. "My apologies, Aqua - but I'm afraid you've already been infested with 'Obsidianism'."

At this rate, they could possibly have an almost-normal family, one day. She rose up onto all four legs, enjoying the ability to walk without problems once again, and walked to the bars of her cage. "Amy? Sister? I'm sorry I didn't listen to your last command..." Don't die and don't be stupid, right?

Amethyst didn't say anything; she simply glanced over her shoulder at Obsidian - and she could certainly see the traces of tears on her muzzle as she just stared back, her expression unfathomable.

"Obsidian," Lapo suddenly spoke up, "we would like a word with you... if, er, that would be, ah, okay, hmm?" Opal finished.

Wow... Amy had apparently gotten rather used to her, it seemed. "Of course, Opal - what is it?"

Opal looked... strange. One of her eyes was a blood red color, but the other was a cool, soft blue. "We are NOT pleased that we ended up in this precarious situation... but, um, we still aren't sure, um, oh dear, about you yet, sorry, er... y-yes."

She gestured to the others. "If you can, ah, get us all to, mmm, do what we just did... then perhaps there is further worth to your presence beyond this infuriating setback..."

"Opal, for Darkness' sake, this is the one who beat Onyx! Who bested Father! She revealed me, and she outright stopped you..." Quartz spoke up, "do you honestly believe she isn't worth saving?"

Opal/Lapo seemed uncertain. "We, ah, still don't, ooh, know just yet... yet we are observing closely, even at this particular moment."

Strange... VERY strange. So her issue wasn't a simple binary system, where only one side of a personality could assume control? Not something she ever really expected from her dual-sister... but then, they were all rather unique, right?

"Oh, don't worry about anything, sister Opal; soon enough, you'll be back in your factory... though I would appreciate it greatly if you wouldn't build any more giant mechanical spiders... or at least make one for me first..."

Obsidian looked around the small stone room, counting the cells. "Wait... where's Sapphire, if I may ask? And now that I think about it, why are you here, Opal? I thought your battle with me would have been more appreciated by Amber?"

"Amber has decided that our assistance was no longer viable; now that she possesses the practically unlimited power of an alicorn, she doesn't find us worth keeping," Quartz told her, "so she has said that she plans to have us as 'entertainment'... whatever horrific torture that may end up being..."

"So in other words," Aquamarine snarked as he looked at Siddy, "you pretty much pulled my flank from the frying pan, just to be thrown straight into the fire? Lovely. Great way to welcome me back to the group-"

"Family," Amethyst said softly.

"What now?" Aqua put a hoof behind his ear. "I can't hear too good - what did you say?"

[SILENCE. The One In Charge wants to speak... and that means the lot of you will shut up, now.]

Well, that situation in Clearwater wasn't exactly Siddy's fault, was it? Besides, Amber could have ended up dragging Aquamarine out of his forest hideout anyway, so...

The one in charge, hunh? Obsidian could only hope that - soon enough - Amber would join the choir of voices in her head... utterly and completely powerless.

The others got quiet... and, Obsidian noticed, they also had scowls on their muzzles - even Diamond.

[Good. Now, this is the part where I tell each of you... oh, still alive, Obsidian? - each of you that I no longer have need of your services, and that I will be presenting each of you with a fine 'seperation package'...]

There was a giggle in their heads.

[... as in, to separate you from your lives, of course.]

"Amber, please," Quartz said with obvious disdain, "we all know you're just an opportunistic thief who spit on her family once she gained control... even Onyx had principles."

[And so do schools - and yet, neither one are in charge here - I AM. Now, wouldn't you all like to hear the wonderful game I have planned for you?]

Groans came from everyone gathered.

[Aw, I knew you would! Well, it just so happens that my new captial has its' own coliseum - and I am just overjoyed to put it to use! So, I'll be pairing you all off with another sibling, and each pair will fight each other for their freedom.]

She gave a low, ominous chuckle.

[To the DEATH, of course.]

Tourmaline rolled his eyes. "Of course."

Amber was a rather bored pony, apparently... and rather boring, herself; without her mind powers, she'd be merely a petty, stupid idiot - too bad that she'd gotten the most useful magic of them all.

"Oh, come on..." Obsidian groaned. Fight to the death, fight to the death, fight to the death... what was her ultimate end-goal, anyhow? Giving herself a sore ass from sitting on the throne all day?

[You know... the less fun you make this for me, the more I have to invent my own fun. And I'm sure you know what happens when I have to invent my OWN fun, don't you?]

Tourmy sighed loudly. "Yeah, that's how you end up with a plunger handle shoved up your ass, saying 'I just wanted to know what it felt like', right? Look, Amber, quit screwing with us; we're all worn-out, and we jus-"

>POP<

And Tourmaline was gone.

[And so, we have our first contestant! And who else would be the perfect foil for dearest Tourmaline, buuuuut...]

>POP<

And Amethyst was gone.

"{Oh, no...}" Diamond gasped.

[And after that round, Quartz versus Opal!]

"Uh, ah, n-no, please, umm, ah... you wretched, fetid little stain on the rectum of LIfe!" Quartz just looked ill.

[Then, it's Big Bad Sister Obsidian versus Aquamarine, The Killing Machine!]

Aqua simply hung his head and groaned. "Well that's just fucking peachy," he muttered, worry and frustration both writ large on his muzzle.

[Now... five minutes to magic time, so behave yourselves, you little shits... and I'll be right back!]

Part of the wall next to them suddenly rearranged itself in a glow of Flur's stolen magic, and Obsidian and her remaining siblings could now see the arena clearly; it was a vast atrium, surrounded by risen and separated seats of stone in concentric circles, blocked from the area itself by a low stone wall. The ceiling was quite a ways up, and was decorated with cracks and missing chunks. Around the edges, there seemed to be ancient stains of unknown origin... though, knowing what sort of books the Umbrals used to write, Obsidian could probably take a fairly accurate guess that it wasn't old tomato paste.

Obsidian didn't even know how to comment on that, to be fair. She was rather curious about the amphitheatre where they were; they were all in a city which had remained hidden from the world at large for ages... and DAMNATION, she couldn't even get a decent peek at it!

"I'm starting to think that some of the ponies in our family line have some serious issues, you know? The good news is that it should be possible to recreate us..." The Simulacrum Spell might come in handy earlier than expected.

"If there's any of us left to do the rebuilding... unless Amber manages to find a way to keep ressurrecting us for her cruel and sick amusement." Quartz shuddered. "I would hate to think of what that mare would do if she had access to Necromantic Magic like that..."

"Oh, I can tell you what she'd do, Quarty," Aqua said, "she'd kill the entire world, then bring them back as zombies for her to play with... or worse."

Quartz gave a distaseful sigh. "As uncouth as that sounds, I won't argue it - after all, I respect my elders."

Aqua's eyes narrowed. "Yes, laugh it up, funny fellow... and while you're at it, you should get yourself ready to either slaughter your sister, or give up your life."

"Well," the courtly stallion smirked at Obsidian, "wouldn't be the first time I'd offer to give my life for a sibling."

"{Obsidyan, what are we going to do?}" Diamond looked at her hopefully, "{Do you have a plan to get us out of here?"}

It seemed as if it was time to tell them a bit of the honest truth - of course, by definition, the truth was already honest. "Onyx and Peridot are doing the thinking, at the moment... so, let's try not to kill each other, okay? Diamond, can you do anything about the bars in your cell?"

Diamond looked at her grimly. "{Unfortunately no, I do not think I am capable of such - Jade was the escape artist, not I.}"

Opal simply stared. "You're, umm... you're having, er, dead ponies, ah, doing your planning for you, what, really?"

Diamond looked to her. "{Oh, yes - she holds our dear Sister Ruby, as well! Obsidyan is our safety net, as she will catch us when we fall!}"

"I wasn't thinking about picking the lock or anything as such, Diamond - just give them a bit of a kick, perhaps? You are exceptionally strong, brother. And yes, Opal - each of my siblings souls seem to end up within me if anything goes... er, south? I think it was south..?" Ah, idioms... the bane of her vocabulary.

The blonde mare balked, her red eyes wide with disbelief. "You... you simply cannot DO such unbelievable acts as that! It rivals the very laws of nature!"

Quartz shrugged. "State the impossibility of it all you want to; it doesn't negate the fact that it seems to be honestly happening. I can only imagine the stress of what poor Obsidian is feeling, having to house all three of them like that. I feel for you, my dear, truly."

"Fascinating..." Opal's eyes shifted suddenly to blue, "... utterly, um, fascinating, yes."

[FILLIES AND GENTLECOLTS... WELCOME to the First Annual KILL YOUR SIBLINGS CELEBRATION! There might not be another after this one... ooh, unless I find a way to bring you back for MORE fun!]

Quartz shuddered again.

[But, for now, we have tonight's first matchup! In the red corner, hailing from the Crystal Empire... it's the queer-bait who NEV-er LO-ses his COOL!]

Aqua smirked at that. "He still does that when he gets mad? Some habits die hard, I guess..."

[I give you... TOURMALIIIIIIIIIIINE!]

A >POP< of magic, and Tourmaline was standing in the center of the ring, looking about for some form of help in his situation. He looked a bit harried; considering his opponent, it came as no surprise.

"Oh, Tour - I don't know if I can even bear to watch this bloody spectacle," Quartz said as he looked away from the fight.

If she was a betting mare, Obsidian would surely choose Amethyst as the possible winner of this brawl. However, it was more in her best interest to prevent this fight - especially as she didn't even get the chance to properly thank Amy for her rescue - twice, due to her help in Manehattan. And... well, the fact she had her magic and didn't slaughter them all in their sleep.

"Opal, our very existence rivals the laws of nature, in case you haven't noticed." Their hopes were now in Diamond's little hooves...

Diamond was looking at the bars carefully. He slowly reached up and, using his hooves, he pushed on the bars tenatively.

And his cage shrank, just a bit.

Not noticing the fact, Diamond pushed at the bars... making the ceiling of his cage grow even closer to him. But when he tried to bend them open and the cage closed up by nearly half its' current size, he noticed that. For all his experimenting, now Diamond was in a cage that was more the size of a large oven - he didn't even have room to walk around anymore.

"{Obsidyan, I...}" Mundy hung his head in shame. "{Sister Amber is very clever; I am sorry.}"

[And in the blue corner, also hailing from the Crystal Emprie, she's the Mare of Mayhem, the Bitch of Beatings... AMETHYYYYST!]

Another >POP<, and now Amethyst was now standing on the other end of the arena. She looked around a bit, trying to take in everything she was seeing. Then, her eyes landed on Tourmaline...

The two of them just looked at each other with a bit of confusion shared between them, trying to figure out what was going on.

[And, just because Tourmaline wants to act like a snarky bitch and such, I have a special surprise for Amethyst...]

Another, smaller flash went off next to Amethyst, and lying on the ground was a very familiar-looking blade.

[Appearing directly from Twilight Sparkle's vault... it's Amethyst's FOCI DAGGER!]

Amy looked down at the dagger in shock, while Tourmy looked on in despair as she slowly wrapped her magic around it, lifted it into the air to examine it closely.

Then, she looked up at Tourmaline... and her lips slowly curled into a wicked smile.

Author's Notes:

Never a dull moment, right?

So Obsidian has managed to finally recruit the wily Onyx to her cause - a good sign, and perhaps a step in the right direction? Honestly, she may be right to be suspicious, but I'd say that Amber's gone quite a long way towards making enemies. And as the past has shown, having Onyx as an enemy is a baaaaaad thing.

And OH YEAH, those who've been reading since the first book already know what sort of attitudes Amy and Tourmy have toward each other... and this fight has been long overdue. Bets, anyone?

The next chapter... oh, I have been waiting for SO LONG to put this particular chapter out. It may take a few extra days to do this one properly, folks... but rest assured; the next chapter brings answers - AND HOW. With everything that's been speculated about Obsidian, Sombra, Radiant Hope and the Simulacrum Spell... the next chapter will FINALLY give you the full, complete truth...

Fifty Nine: And The Truth Shall Set You Free

It would be fine, it would all be fine - Amy would make the right decision...

"Amethyst... listen, Amy, we're a long way from the pones we used to be..." Tourmaline attempted to appeal to her. "We don't need to take any steps backward, here..."

"Backward?" Amy gave a bark of a laugh. "You're implying that BOTH of our lives ever went forward - besides, now that we ARE free... I think it's time I knew for sure who the better of us is... and which of us is most likely dead weight, waiting to expire."

Amy now stepped forward, her stance becoming tight and alert, her dagger circling her head in a slow orbit as her smile grew more and more feral. "And now, finally, we get the chance to find out for sure - who's the stronger of us both... and I promise you, I haven't been lacking in my training... have you?"

Amethyst faced off towards Tourmaline, and the two locked eyes.

"Amy... don't do thi-"
"Shut the FUCK up, and come get me!" Amethyst screeched at him.

"Amy saved my life... she knows that our lives all moved forward, and that we can be better than we were... though I really don't think she could consider our current situation to be very 'free'," the Grey Princess mused... unless, of course, Amber was making a salad out of her mind.

"AMY! I BELIEVE IN YOU!" Obsidian cheered to her.

"Not HELping OBsidiAN!" Tourmaline yelled back at her.

Which is when Amethyst lunged for him. He managed to stay out of her range, but the dagger was another matter as it stabbed and sliced at him, keeping him in a defensive stance as she worked her way around his side, bound to try to flank him... which Tourmy wasn't having, as he kept himself facing her, no matter what direction she moved in.

Amethyst was the aggressor; she left zero room for her brother to counter-attack from, and managed to herd him towards one end or the other, not leaving him even room to think. But it was when he went to dip around her, and she sent him flying with a simple buck that Obsidian could see the determination and rage in her eyes.

Tourmaline, to his credit, wasn't using his magic against her and didn't attack back until she began to use her dagger more and more... then, he began to take on a fighting stance as well, and even managed to sling a hoof at her which actually connected with her jaw...

And made her angry.

She turned and simply charged in on him, hooves flying and connecting with him as he went as fully defensive as he could. The blows and blocks began to blur together, until the two of them had gone from fighting on their hooves to rolling in the dirt and dust of the ancient fighting ground.

"ARE you SUCH a FOOL? You KNOW she LIES about your FREEDOM!" Tourmy yelled as he continued to dance around Amy's strikes as best as he could.

"And?" Amy scornfully replied, "At least she lies to my face, and not behind my back like others I could think of! And what have YOU done to improve yourself, Tourmaline? Anything?"

His look faltered as he tried to strike close to her, but she was far too nimble, and had been keeping up with her training even while Tourmaline had enjoyed his hammock and his radio... which, now that it was down to the wire, meant that he was quite possibly going to be a dead pony, very shortly.

Tourmy moved like a trained fighter, but his moves were sluggish - the times he did connect, however, Amy let out a yelp of pain and anger; his time working outside hadn't done his speed any favors, but he most certainly seemed to be stronger. A fact that wasn't lost on Amy, as she began planning her strikes during his wind-ups.

After a number of hits, Amy upped the ante and actively stabbed Tourmy in the upper right flank and in the lower left foreleg. Though they were both showing an incredible degree of skill, Amethyst had speed on Tourmy... and though he was strong, his inability to connect as often slowly began to wear him down. Obsidian could see him becoming more and more beaten and winded as things progressed.

The entire time, Amy wore a severe grimace as she began to slowly best her brother.

Oh shit - perhaps her shout was misinterpreted! Obsidian started to panic at the sight of her brother enduring blow after blow. Damnation! What was Amber doing to Amy's head? Shouldn't mind control be almost impossible in Amy's case? 'Like breaking through wet paper', she'd said!

"AMETHYST! I'VE ALREADY ASKED THE PRINCESS TO RESTORE YOUR MAGIC BEFORE I LEFT TO MEET OPAL! TOURMALINE HOPED YOU WOULD START ENJOYING THE MODERN WORLD - AND I DO TOO!" Obsidian's throat was having a difficult time with all of this yelling.

"Listen to her, Amy!" Tourmy pleaded as he narrowly missed a blade in the ribs. "You have the chance to be something MORE than just a killer! There's a chance at a real damned family here! Are you going to just THROW that AWAY after SO much WORK!?"

"SHUT UUUUUUUP!!!" she screamed, and jumped at him. His hooves connected with her muzzle just as her knife jammed itself into his right foreleg, making them both yell out with pain and surprise... but she reeled back, even as he regained himself and lunged to take her down.

A lunge he totally telegraphed, due mostly to how beaten he already was. Amethyst, looking considerably worse for the wear as well, brought her front end down, then brought her rear hooves under her and launched herself upward into her brother's barrel - knocking the wind out of him and making him stagger back, collapsing to the ground.

The fight, technically, was over - they'd both taken a lot of damage, but Amy had been fast enough to avoid the worst of the blows, while Tourmy had tried to soak it all up and had succeeded... for a while. His wounds eventually caught up to him, and now he was laying on the ground at Amethyst's hooves, panting from exhaustion.

Gasping to catch her breath, she loomed over him, the Foci Dagger hovering over her own head like a scorpion's stinger at the extreme ready. Tourmaline tried to stand up, but his head was reeling from the solid hit, plus the rest of the compiled damage made for a poor attempt at best.

Obsidian couldn't even say anything more. In fact, she was afraid that whatever she might say would make the situation worse! Amber would make Amy think they didn't trust her, or, or...

Amber... that bitch would pay for everything... EVERYTHING SHE WAS DOING TO THEM ALL!

Tourmaline started to get up, but a band of boiling green energy shoved his face back down into the dirt again. Amethyst, with a deadly serious expression on her muzzle, slowly walked up to him, looking down with disdain, her breathing labored from the fight.

"I have been waiting... YEARS... for the chance... to prove... I'm not a failure... and now... you know... Tourmaline... that I am... better... than you..."

She floated the dagger down until the tip of the blade was resting lightly between his eyes.

"... and you... are... beaten..."

The dagger drew back... then suddenly flipped around, and thumped him lightly on the tip of his snout with the blunt end of the handle.

"... boop," she smiled.

[ ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING MEEEEEEEE!? ]

Amethyst turned to where Flurry was seated on a stone throne at ringside... and the magic holding Tourmaline down disappated. He sat up, just staring at his sister as she fixed her gaze on Amber.

"I've done it. I finally managed to win at something... for once in my life... and... a-and it feels GOOD. All the time spent training under Father's pains, then dealing with Onyx's crap... I never thought I ever had a chance to win. Ever."

She now looked over at Obsidian. "It's amazing, what a little love and encouragement can do." The smile she wore was just for her.

"And you?" Amy turned her attention back to Amber. "You're enjoying this only because you're so fucking pathetic, you had to steal your success from Father and an alicorn. You can't succeed on your own..."

Her smile was lovely, as she looked as though she was honestly happy, possibly for the first time in her entire life. "But I just proved that I can. And that was all I ever really wanted - to win. And I just won against YOU, Princess Skullfuck."

[You're as bad as Sids! She's contagious! Fuck, she BROKE you!]

"No," Amy said, "she fixed me."

It was extremely satisfying to see and hear Amethyst throwing her defiance in Amber's stupid face! Tourmy would probably brood about his defeat for a while, but it was the best thing that could have happened to him, in this case.

"Thank you, sister! Thank you for EVERYTHING!" Obsidian shouted to her - for saving her life, for sparing Tourmaline, for such a compliment...

Obsidian? Contagious? Heh heh - just like she told Aqua.

Amy redoubled her stare at Amber. "And the best part? You will never take that from me, you leech!"

"I BEG TO FUCKING DIFFER!" she screamed out loud in that strange double-voice, and fired a massive blast of corrupted Dark Magic energy at Amethyst, determined to destroy her...

And Amethyst smiled, then raised her dagger with her magic and blocked the shot. And with a strange sense of coming full circle, the beam from the blast just kept coming, pouring into the Foci Dagger exactly the same way it had poured from Siddy's own horn when Onyx had fooled her into blasting her. Flurry's muzzle wore a look of utter shock as she struggled to stop her energy from being syphoned away... but to no avail.

Amethyst gave a snide laugh. "Dear Princess Twilight, I learned today that those who never bother learning a damned thing from history are DOOMED to repeat it... and that something as easy as goading someone into using magic is even easier when the one doing the casting is a fucking moron!"

She now turned to Siddy and the others. "We need to go - NOW!"

A few blasts from her own horn popped open their siblings' cage doors, and they were all free to try to esca-

[OH... NO... YOU... DON'T... YOU... BITCH...]

And like that, they all began to hear the sounds of mechanical devices whirring rapidly; the stomping of steel, the hissing of hydraulics and the pounding of pistons. The Umbral Harnesses were coming.

"Hoschyiit," said Diamond.

A moron, eh? Well, that might explain how Onyx was able to goad Obsidian into casting such powerful magic at her - twice. Everything would have gone so much more smoothly if she would have taken a bow on that specific meeting. Miss Applejack would probably still be alive too...

However, when such a sight was seen from the perspective of a pony who WASN'T the target, it looked epic. For a moment, Obsidian was actually inclined to try to call for them all to quickly dispose of Amber while she was held fast - but how could they do it? She was in Flurry Heart's body, and it would be rather unfair to simply kill the alicorn for being posessed.

"Does anypony see any way out?" Obsidian said as she practically bolted out of her cell. Damned robotic harnesses! She'd been having far too many problems with them lately!

Her siblings all ran out of their cages, while Amethyst helped Tourmaline to his hooves. Quartz gathered the others by himself, while Amy looked towards Obsidian.

"Help me get him up!" she yelled; Tourmy was winded, but it seemed as though he was more taken by the change of heart his sister had.

Quartz began to speak with the rest. "Alright, stay together, no running off. Now Mundy, if you'll get up on my back... we might not know the way out, but anywhere is better than HERE!"

Being a pony who just recently managed to (not) survive being sliced, exploded, fried and overall abused, Obsidian could surely understand Tourmy's problem with getting back onto his hooves. She dashed to Amy to help her.

"You're absolutely wonderful - both of you," Siddy felt as though she just had to say that. On another note - damnation, Tourmaline! Did you have to eat so many of Cup's sweets?

Tourmaline looked at her with a grin. "And you, dear sister, are-"

[NO] "THIS..." [DOESN'T] "END..." [HERE!]

A stray ripple of Dark Magic energy lashed out towards Obsidian and Amethyst, but it went wild and slammed into the ceiling instead. Chunks of ancient masonry rained down, and one of the massive stone columns toppled over and smashed into the center of the arena next to them, knocking a sizable hole in the floor. The smell of cool, dank air wafted up from below - was it a way out?

Unfortunately, the collapsing of the ceiling also brought down a TON of debris between Obsidian, Amethyst, Tourmaline and the rest. There was a moment of panic as the dust settled, then...

"{Obsidyan!}" Diamond's voice called out, echoing through the chamber as pebbles and stones clattered to the floor from above, "{Obsidyan! Did the roof fall on you? Oh, PLEASE say it has not...}"

It seemed that Amber was a pretty sore loser who got quite mad when her toys began breaking in ways she didn't intend for them to. And she apparently wanted to display this soreness by devastating ancient buildings that would be of empirical interest to any archeologist in the world.

"We're fine, Diamond!" Siddy called out in response, "If we can't find each other, somepony has to go to Ponyville and ask Twilight about those jail cell glyphs!"

She then turned to Amy and Tourmy. "The hole - quickly!"

"JUST GO," bellowed Aqua, who even at his age could speak with the inherent volume of authority, "WE'RE HEADED OUT THIS WAY!"

Amethyst looked back at Obsidian as she jumped down onto one of the lower outcroppings of rock. "The Foci Dagger won't hold her forever - chances are, I just lost my favorite weapon! Don't let it be in vain; move!"

Tourmaline, getting a second wind from the adrenaline, also made his way down into the hole, Amethyst helping him keep his hooves as he crept down as quickly as his wounded body could handle.

"NO! YOU DON'T GET TO GET AWAY! YOU FUCKING BITCHES - YOU WILL PAY FOR THIIIIIIS!!!"

The Foci Dagger, hovering in place, was beginning to grow a network of glowing cracks and was starting to vibrate in the air; Amy was right - it wouldn't last too much longer.

But as Obsidian made her way to the hole where her brother and sister were looking up to help her down, Amber let out a dual shriek that harmonized with itself, and another stray bolt shot out of her horn... hitting Obsidian squarely in the back.

There was a momentary twinge of pain, then all she could feel was the world around her slowing down and fading from view... and the last thing she saw was Amethyst and Tourmaline, their eyes wide as they stared at her, their voices screaming out her name in shock and horror.

-=[ ????? ]=-

Obsidian opened her eyes, and she found herself in the center of a great devastation.

All around her was barren, lifeless rock and dust. The sun itself almost looked a vile red color, and the air was stale and quiet. Nothing moved, nothing stirred, nothing existed...

Except for the cloaked mare facing away from her, painting a picture on an easel.

She was covered in a simple brown cloak from head to hoof, and her stark white mane seemed to pour out of her hood like a waterfall. She had a hoof raised, and tied to it with a bit of twine was a paintbrush, which she used to daintily dot and swipe on the canvas.

Simply sitting on a wooden stool - painting - in the middle of all of this nothingness.

Obsidian was frankly sick and tired of being treated this way by life; when she had read about the magical past adventures of Princess Twilight and her friends, what happened to them? Normal problems: a bit of fighting from time to time, maybe a villain or two rearing their ugly heads, but everything ended up fine, eventually.

Ironically, the only death in the team they had ever had to endure happened years after their original days of glory - which meant that Obsidian herself had more experience with this not-really-alive state than mares far, far older than her had ever known.

Hopefully this time, it wasn't death; it would be terrible to die twice the same day.

Taking great care not to disturb the painter at work, Obsidian silently walked towards the cloaked artist to see what she was painting.

The mare was drawing her brush across a breathtakingly beautiful picture of Ponyville, complete with the cutesy trim on the houses, the central fountain, and even a few ponies painted along in the backgrou-

Her friends!

Each of them was painted into the picture: Clap was flying by with a wink, Mica and Gypsy were sitting outside Sugarcube Corner talking, Wart was patrolling the street in her Royal Guard armor and Cupcake was laughing and dancing in the fountain. They all looked happy and healthy, and very much the way she always wanted to remember them.

But the painting, from her angle, also had another feature... as she was looking at it, the actual area behind the canvas - the windblasted world around them - seemed to match with it, almost exactly; it was like a small window in the middle of all this desolation, that looked into a world she wanted to be in.

It was so real that Obsidian had to peek behind the canvas, just to be sure that there was nothing there. She also couldn't help but notice that the painting lacked her own humble personage. There was only one thing she could do...

"Good afternoon... er, beautiful painting," she said aloud, though a bit hesitantly. This whole thing... so real and yet so surreal...

The artist gave a little giggle. "You address paintings before the artist? I like you already."

She turned to face Obsidian; all she could see was the mare's lovely smile. "Obsidian of the Greyheart... I believe that's what Stalwart called you, yes? I liked that, honestly... sounds regal." She turned back to the painting and began to work some more.

"I have been waiting for you for a looooooooooong time, Siddy - a LONG time - but it's been worth the wait, from what I've seen. Finding your self worth, making your first friends, beating back The Umbra..." She gave another chuckle. "You've been fairly busy, haven't you?"

Now Obsidian saw that she was painting what looked like a blot of grey... for now. "But it's time for you to know, Siddy... about everything."

She turned to face her again, the artist's muzzle still shrouded in mystery. "And seeing as how you're a crystal shard right now, I figured it would be the perfect time to talk, yes!"

Finding her self-worth... well... lately, she'd mostly been admonishing herself for her misgivings and calling herself rather disheartening names. Ironically, it was still a net positive compared to her old days as King Sombra's royal slave.

"Good - I was afraid I died again... a-and I like knowledge." So, Amber had sharded her again... and apparently, an ancient being decided to visit her mind while she was locked into the form she'd been originally awakened from?

Eeyup - just another typical day.

The cloaked mare gave a soft giggle that sounded delightful. "I know you do... it's a solid part of who you are."

As Obsidian watched, the little grey blob in the painting began to take on more of a familiar shape as she continued; she'd brushed it out so that it appeared to have legs, a head, and a horn.

"So," the artist went on as she continued to brush the canvas lovingly, "I suppose you're wondering what we're doing in the middle of such a barren place, hmmmm? I mean, it's nothing like Ponyville, is it? Is it?"

Obsidian shrugged slightly. "I didn't even notice when I was sharded the first time; considering that, as far as I could say, in one moment I was standing next to 'father' and in another I was staring at armed Equestrians... so yes, it kind of surprises me. I first thought this was to be my afterlife... obviously, that's not the case."

Hopefully being sharded meant that this time, nopony could interrupt her.

The painter laughed, which was a melodious sound that was full of joy. "Oh, no - this isn't any sort of afterlife; you're too important to die right now, Siddy... FAR too important, yes yes."

She gave a light stretch, then reached over and got a dab of red on her brush and continued with her painting. "But yes... your Father certainly did what I expected he'd do with you, but I had no idea you would turn out so very lovely; Cupcake is one lucky stallion to have you. Of course, he's just lucky for the most part anyway - you're just the best luck he's ever had, is all."

The wind picked up a bit around them, and the air was thick, hot and humid... and it tasted like sulfur.

"But really, who can blame him? You've got brains, you've got brawn in your Grey Magic, you've got style... you've even managed quite a bit of class. I must admit, I never thought you'd be quite what you are." The smile returned. "But I'm glad for it."

Now, the grey blob was a pony-shaped blob, and the artist was apparently giving it a red mane, with a little bit of red on the horn. "At any rate, now that you're here, I can set you straight - Harmony knows you've been told so many lies and half-truths, your poor head is probably full of questions, right? That's okay, that's okay..."

She nodded, seemingly to herself. "Because it's time, Obsidian. Time you knew the truth... all of it."

Now, the pony-blob looked suspiciously like a Siddy blob, and as if to confirm, the artist now took up a small dollop of black paint onto her brush. "Now... where should we start, dear?"

Well, Obsidian really couldn't deny that Cupcake was lucky - and she was lucky to have him, too. Considering that she was born a thousand years before him, it was truly a match made by Destiny. Hopefully not literally, too...

What was wrong with this foul air?

Being flooded with compliments by an ancient being was, um... well, it would be rude to deny her. She was far more experienced and older than Obsidian herself was. The same respect that King Sombra had beaten into her was almost forcing her to accept that, despite her own opinions, perhaps she DID have more brains and brawn that she was giving herself credit for. It actually improved her mood a bit.

"Radiant Hope - let's start with Radiant Hope. Why do I look like her? If we're all Sombra's attempts to bring her back, then what went wrong with those like Aquamarine or Tourmy? I mean, I love them, they are great, yes... but they're not exactly too 'Hope-like', methinks." Unless Hope became a berserker when she was furious. "Please, tell me... what really happened to her and the shard she'd created?"

The artist stopped in mid-stroke. "... always have to take the hard stuff first, don't you? Well, it was to be expected."

She sighed before she finished her last stroke... and there was Obsidian, centered in the painting, looking almost as if she could leap right out of it! Also, now that she had been added to the artwork, she saw that each of her friends were all looking in her direction.

As if the artist had wanted her there from the very beginning.

"Sombra and Radiant Hope were two of the closest souls in the history of ancient Equestria; they had a love for each other, but it wasn't romance love; it was a friendship that couldn't - and wouldn't - be denied. Radiant Hope was a genius when it came to magic, so she had that going for her. And Sombra? Well, he was a tool of The Umbra, made for nothing more than to serve... sound familiar?"

She chuckled. "In fact, you have just as much in common with him as you do with Hope, believe it or not... 'useful tool, kept in the dark, used for nefarious purposes'... yes yes, you two are far more alike than you'll ever really know."

"Anyhow, Hope's plight was that she was actually one of the first ponies EVER to understand Grey Magic enough to use it - nobody in the HISTORY of Equus had ever even tried before... and yet, here she was, making Kings out of Paupers."

The artist grinned. "The Kayfadd Spell? She created that from scratch... at the age of six summers. Oh, she was so very talented, and had such a long life ahead of her..."

The smile faltered, then fell. "Until those damnable altars came into the mix... THAT was where she made the only mistake I ever felt angry at her about."

She stood up from her stool, dabbed a bit of paint onto her brush then slung it at the barren ground... and a swirling, colored portal opened up in front of them both.

"Okay, Obsidian," she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "let's show you what you've been missing. Come on - it's time to visit the past."

Obsidian couldn't deny that she had at least some resemblance to Sombra... however, she was still drawing a bold red line between Sombra and King Sombra. One was, as far as she could tell, the closest thing to a 'biological' father she could have.... and the other one was the entity known to her as 'father'. She'd never even met the first one, after all... and she had grown to rather dislike the second one.

"Another dream with her memories?" Obsidian tried to guess as she approached the portal cautiously.

"Not a dream - a revisiting." The mare nodded. "You'll see..."

As she stepped through the portal, Obsidian felt a shifting that was disorienting... then, she heard voices slowly fading in as her vision cleared.

"... don't know if it'll even work... and yet, here we are."

It was Sombra, in his teenaged years. He was standing in the center of the frosty chamber, and a number of items and equipment-looking things were all set up at the altars where Hope stood with a smirk on her muzzle.

"Oh, shush - if YOU had the knowledge of the spell like I do, you'd be up here, and I'd be down there."

Sombra tossed her a chagrined glance. "Yes, yes... can we just do this, please? My ears feel frozen solid!"

Whistlewhite's voice was audible to Siddy, but only inside her head - a soft and direct narration to what she saw before her.

This was the moment it all went so very wrong. Radiant Hope, Grey Magician Adept, was destined to be the next great ruler of Equestria. She was going to have a kingdom that would live in peace and Harmony for many, many generations, and she was going to be remembered as the greatest leader in the history of the Empire...

Hope lit up her horn, and a tightly-bound stick of incense sparked a small flame, then began to smoke. She nodded. "Okay, everything's in place... now, close your eyes and wait."

Sombra scoffed. "It's all I've been DOING for the past few hours, Hope! When are you-"

"Right now, if you'll shush!" Hope's horn began to glow, and her magic enveloped all three altars simultaneously.

But The Umbra stole that from her. It had managed to get a book about the altars into her hooves, and had fooled her into thinking that the power the altars granted would change history... and it did...

She leaned down, and began to focus her energies on the central altar, aiming her view directly at her Soul Friend.

Here... I'll let you in on the part she never told him about...

Suddenly, the altars began to glow with a foreboding red energy.

YOU SEEK THE POWER OF THE UMBRAL.

The words echoed through Obsidian's skull and startled Hope.

NAME THY SACRIFICE.

Hope's eyes went wide. Sacrifice? But I gave the oils and the herbs... a-and I lit the incesne, just like in the boo-

MORE... OR WE SHALL TAKE THE STALLION.

Hope's mind flew into a panic.

What she didn't know was that the entity in the altars and the entity in Sombra were the same entity... so she thought he was in grave peril - there was a chance it might have taken him... but as useful as he was, it was more likely not to have done a thing. But poor Hope didn't know that...

More? Hope's mind asked timidly.

MORE... NOW.

She looked at her Soul Friend, eyes closed and waiting, and asked, then what is the proper sacrifice?

The response she got was a rumble... so, panicking, she spoke to it within her mind. Okay, alright, fine! Just don't take him, please!

NAME THY SACRIFICE!

M-my power? My wealth, because I don't h-have any... my mind? My-

A red aura grew rapidly behind Sombra, seeming to reach hungily for him as he stood there, oblivious, with his eyes closed in complete trust. Hope saw the vision reaching for him and blurted out the only thing she could think of:

MY DESTINY!

There was a BURST of red light from her horn, and arcs of red energy shot from the middle altar directly into Sombra, who gasped and cried out in alarm... yet kept his eyes closed, as per his Soul Friend's instructions.

Hope, still standing at the altar, now wore a look on her muzzle that spoke VOLUMES about what she'd just realized she'd done.

When she did that, her entire future as a leader and a ruler was gone - GONE - forfeit to The Umbra, to save her friend's skin... which was what it had wanted, all along. It TOOK her future from me, and I couldn't get it back for her...

Obsidian stood there, watching the events that were unfolding in front of her in silence, trying to comprehend what was happening. She couldn't say that she didn't understand Hope's decision - if she thought that something was going to happen to Cupcake, she would go quite a long way to help him as well... and it was a similar thing for the rest of her friends, of course.

For Hope and Sombra? Well, they were fairly close friends...

"Equestria, or the Empire? You aren't very clear about that," Siddy said quietly - even though Sombra and Hope couldn't hear her. "What is it that the Umbrals want, anyway? As far as I've seen, it was simply cruelty for the sake of cruelty and pain for the sake of pain."

Hope would have led a united nation; the Crystal Empire, Equestria, Troy, Dragon's Peak, Griffonstone... ALL of it would have been under one flag, one ruler, one Harmony.

Hope steadied herself against the altar, then realized what she was touching and jerked her hooves off of it quickly.

Sombra, the arcs having ceased, opened his eyes. "I felt... something... did it work?"

Hope just looked at him with scared eyes for a second... then, slowly, she smiled and shrugged. "It... doesn't look like anything's different... so... no, maybe?"

Sombra sighed. "Great. Well, there goes that idea. C'mon - let's get back to the orphanage before they find us gone."

Hope began to methodiaclly gather her things together, and Sombra spoke on... but her mind was far elsewhere.

The spell itself didn't begin to manifest until about a month later, when Sombra began looking into King Crest's rule... and began to point it out to anyone who would listen. He was like a stallion possessed, spreading his message of revolution and change. He was even arrested for it, on three separate occasions. But he was doing something active, and the citizens rallied to his cause.

"Hope? You okay? You look... haunted." Sombra said to his friend, who shook her head and smiled as if she hadn't just sold her destiny to The Umbra.

"Naaaaaaah... just not looking forward to going back out in the cold again, is all!" she said with a slightly forced joviality. Sombra gave her a skeptical look, but said nothing further about it.

Now, you've seen what brought the need for you about - I couldn't help Hope, but I could prepare for a future where she could get peace at last...

Whistlewhite, who'd been at her side the entire time, flicked her brush again and another portal opened against the wall. "Now," she said to Obsidian, "we move along to the part where you get your answers... and I get to relive the pain. This... isn't pretty, but in the name of the Truth... you have to know."

So.. these two were going to mess with the entire fate of the entire world, plunging it into absolute chaos and disarray, just because one mare made an honest mistake? Destiny was apparently a more fleeting thing than Obsidian had once thought.

"Let's go, then," Obsidian said with a determined nod. "I need to know."

The Grey Princess stepped through the portal and ended up hovering ghost-like outside of the cavern she had just been standing in, fully exposed to the blasting snowdrift, yet she felt no cold. What she saw was a fully-grown Sombra, climbing the frayed ropes that had been there for so long, the look on his muzzle one of determination.

"... never meant to ignore her, by damnation! How could I have been so selfish!?" His voice was loud and harsh, even in the blast of the fierce winds surrounding him.

You are as we wish you to be...

"And YOU!" he argued with himself, "YOU have no right to tell me what I can and cannot do when it comes to Hope! Trying to tell me she needed to be executed for what she did is NOT going to happen!"

She is useless to us.

"To you, perhaps... but there is NO replacement for Radiant Hope, and I wouldn't want one even if it was possible!"

You deny us?

"YES, I DENY YOU! YOU AND YOUR LIES! YOU AND YOUR 'UMBRAL EMPIRE'! When I get to Hope and we do this spell like she wanted, YOU will be the next focus of my purge! I will cut you out of me, if necessary!"

He reached the top, and saw the extra rope hanging there. "... she's already casting the spell, I'm sure of it."

Leave here now. Turn back. OBEY.

"NO MORE! NEVER MORE!" He made his way through the opening, and slid down the rope to the floor. "I'm going to tell her how important she really is to me... and if that means she'll want to do this spell a hundred times, I'll be right there with her!"

Turn away... or SUFFER.

"I've suffered you enough, already... now shut up; I have to find her..." He walked to the edge of the room, and saw the light blazing from around the corner. "Damnation, she HAS already started!"

He galloped to the edge, just in time to see the shard floating directly in front of Hope, her eyes glowing with power. "... wish to cast this spell! FOR US! I present to thee... my-"

And Sombra saw the dark red aura surround her - the same one that had scared Hope into action - with tendrils of vile crimson, looking like claws about to snatch her up.

"HOPE!" he yelled, attempting to warn her...

Her muzzle snapped over to look at him, surprise filling her eyes... then a bright white energy enveloped her and shunted into the crystal itself, which took Radiant Hope with it. The shard, now glowing with a white aura, fell to the floor with a barely audible >TINK<.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

It was a scream of pure agony and heartbreak. He ran forward and fell to his knees in front of the glowing crystal, sobbing hysterically as he just stared at it.

That day, Sombra lost his Soul Friend - all because he was too busy being a kind and just ruler to see what treachery The Umbra had planned for him. But, he didn't just surrender to what had happened, oh no no no...

Agonizing, he looked up towards the ceiling as if there were answers there... then his gaze flicked over to the altars. He got to his hooves as if in a daze, walking over directly to Hope' Spellbook where it lie on the central altar and flipping pages as he read, his look going from one of despair to one of desperate interest.

He still had her research, and he wasn't exactly any sort of slouch himself at magic... so, after studying what she'd written down about the Simulacrum Spell, he decided to try to use the altars to bring his friend back.

Now, the scene had an eerie doubling as the sight of the heartbroken Sombra faded away... and was replaced by a hopeful-looking one. The altars had a number of new devices and tools in place, and it looked as though he were set up to cast another spell.

Resting in an iron stand on the middle altar was the original shard, still retaining its' soft glow.

So, he studied her magics, and in a year's time, he made his first attempt.

He was concentrating fiercely, red energy pulsing from his horn as he set about casting the spell... which was when the voice spoke into his head.

YOU SEEK THE POWER OF THE UMBRAL.

"Yes," he said without hesitation, his muzzle grim and determined.

NAME THY SACRIFICE.

He gazed soulfully at the shard, and tears rolled down his muzzle as he sighed.

"I give you my POWER," he said softly, "for my Soul Friend is worth more to me than my own ability to use magic."

But it did not take that power - he was already The Umbra's tool - so instead, it TWISTED that power within him, and took control of it completely from this moment onward. But, his casting did have a residual effect...

As she watched, a pulse of red energy from the shard grew brighter and brighter, then shot out into the middle of the cavern...

The glow pulsed, wavered, then began to fade... and when it cleared enough to see again, there was what looked to be a filly of about ten summers, lying there and sleeping peacefully. She had a pitch black coat with red flares from her hooves fading into the inkiness of her dark fur, and a bright red mane and tail that flowed from her like strands of bloody water. On her flank was a dark crystal heart with, of all things, Sombra's crown surrounding it.

Behold... the birth of Onyx.

She looked so young and cute... it was hard to compare this sweet-looking filly to the snide and dangerous mare she had eventually grown to become. Sombra stared at her for a moment, a look of pure shock writ large across his muzzle... then slowly, he came forward and placed a gentle hoof on her side, his eyes filled with wonder.

And so, his quest to regain his Hope began in earnest, now that he saw there was an effect - which, in his mind, meant there was a chance.

The scene doubled and faded again; this time, Sombra was there at the altar again... and off to the side, watching with solemn attention and wide eyes, was a young and reverent Onyx, observing her father's doings as he prepared the spell again.

NAME THY SACRIFICE.

Sombra steeled himself, and spoke with determination in his powerful voice. "In the name of all that is good in this world... I give you my STRENGTH."

The crystal shard let out another flash of light... but this time, there was a bulky and muscular colt standing there, who fought to stay on his hooves for a moment before finding his balance and keeping it. Though he was obviously young, he looked to be built for brute strength, and muscle rippled across his barrel and down his legs. Even at his age, he looked ready to utterly destroy whatever unwisely got in his way. His coal black mane and tail fit with his dappled light grey coat, and his blue-green eyes were intense and hard. There was another dark crystal heart on his flank, but it had twin golden chains around it, both of which were shattering in front of it.

And so it continued with Aquamarine.

Another fading flash-forward, this one coalescing with a decidedly more grim-looking Sombra, with a young Onyx still nearby and watching with an intent expression.

NAME THY SACRIFICE.

Sombra closed his eyes and spoke firmly, yet a bit more hesitantly than last time. "I... I give unto you... my INDEPENDENCE... with the wish of Hope's return... please..."

The light grew and flashed again... and this time, a rather tall and broad colt with exquisitely beautiful emerald eyes appeared, looking around in obvious confusion. His coat was a smooth charcoal grey, with a darker black mane and tail flowing from him. Even at his age he was quite handsome, and the dark crystal heart on his flank was framed in steel, with metallic wings outstreched from it - looking both strong and free. He turned his bewitching eyes toward Sombra and Onyx, a question filling them immediately without him speaking a word.

And Jade.

Another flash, another doubling, another scene.

NAME THY SACRIFICE.

An older, more unhinged-seeming Sombra, flanked by a quiet and observant Onyx, spoke up. "Take my LOGIC from me; I can't seem to use it properly anymore without her..."

A pulsing flash, and the form of a frail-looking stallion glanced upwards at them both curiously. He was thin and reedy, as if he'd blow over in a hard wind, but his rich red eyes were filled with intelligence. His black mane and tail matched his soft grey coat - much like Aquamarine's had been - and he bore a cutie mark of an ancient tome bearing a dark crystal heart on its' cover. The colt only stared at them for a moment, then he squeezed his eyes shut and put his hooves to his head, giving out a low moan as he did.

And Peridot.

Another flash, and now there was a look on Sombra's muzzle that seemed to relay an almost visceral hunger for what he was seeking. Onyx was now a bit older, and she seemed to be standing back a few paces back from the agonized king, though her eyes followed him like they were sewn to his shadow.

NAME THY SACRIFICE.

His face twisted into a rictus of pain and anger as he spoke, the tremors in his speech betraying his barely-contained rage. "Take my WISDOM, you damnable thing! Take it, and give me back my Soul Friend!"

A flash, and another young colt quivered in the cold of the cavern where he had appeared, almost looking as if he was about to run like a rabbit. His coat was a solid grey, and he had a shock of a red mane and tail - as well as some rather pointy canines, which he unknowingly displayed as he looked around the cave in both open-mouthed wonder and wary paranoia. His cutie mark was a dark crystal heart surrounded with sharp, bristle-like spines that seemed ready to draw blood.

And Tourmaline.

Another flash, another scene, another demand. By now, Onyx was almost standing against the wall of the massive cavern, but her eyes were locked on Sombra, regardless of the look of fear on her face.

"I... please... please..." he pleaded to the altars, his muzzle showing a cavalcade of lines that spoke of sleepless nights and dark dreams, "take my WILLPOWER from me if you will... but give me my friend back!"

With this flash, a filly appeared with a palomino coat of greys and blacks separated by blood red patches. Her mane and tail were a deep purple color, and when she opened her yellowish-orange eyes to witness the scene before her, she began to cry as if she'd been bitten. Her cutie mark was an open dark crystal heart with what looked like a darkly-glowing brain lobe pictured within.

Amber.

After this shift, a rather dull and listless Sombra was left standing there with Onyx behind him, ever observant and totally silent as he cast the spell yet again, his movements practised and sure... even as the expression on his muzzle was one of agony and stubborn, if pale, hope.

NAME THY SACRIFICE.

He gave a great gust of a sigh, then looked up at the crystal shard within the stand, whose glow seemed a bit dimmer than Obsidian recalled it being to begin with. "... since you ask for more, then take my KINDNESS - it only hurts me now."

And THAT was where The Umbra began to take hold in earnest.

Another flash filled the cavern and when it faded, a tiny, almost doll-sized colt lie there, shivering from the cold. His loose lavender mane and tail sat against his light grey coat, almost voluminous enough to cover his entire form. He blinked his eyes open, then gave the room a quick scan until he saw Sombra looking down at him... and he smiled kindly back at the stallion. The dark crystal heart on his flank was bound with a bandage, as if healing the wound that was possibly there.

Diamond.

Now, the scenes were becoming quick and fluid, nearly overlapping each other - done over and over in front of Obsidian; each time, Sombra becoming less and less like he once was, and more and more like the one she was familiar with.

"I sacrifice my HEART, as it beats no longer without her."

A flash, and standing there was a skinny, scrawny-looking mare with a soft purple coat - very close to Radiant Hope's color - and a mane and tail which started black, yet faded to white as it reached the tips. She blinked, looking completely out-of-touch with the world around her. Obsidian got a fleeting glance at the dark crystal heart on her flank, surrounded in blue fire, before the filly stiffly teetered sideways and fell over.

Sapphire.

"I give you what I seek, that she might come back... I give you my own HOPE, pleading for her safe return to me."

A flash, and now a lovely tan-coated filly stood there. She had slashes of black and red across her legs and back, and she had a most beautiful mane and tail that seemed to sparkle with flecks of shimmering red. Her cutie mark was an open dark crystal heart holding a pool of calm water, surrounded by strands of ivy. She looked upon Sombra and smiled sweetly at him, even as a look of pain crossed his own muzzle.

Ruby.

"I give unto you... my master... the INGENUITY within my mind, so that you might use it to benefit your empire... and perhaps I might... might...?"

A flash, and a little blonde-maned filly stood there, trembling. She was lean and wiry, and her luminous purple eyes went wide with fear when she beheld her creator. On her flank was a hollowed-out dark crystal heart, filled with clockwork gears and metal. Her ears flattened against her skull as Sombra gave a strangled cry of frustration.

Opal.

"I give unto you, my most gracious master, the CHARISMA that drives me... and I beg you, beseech you, PLEAD to you... please... please... please..."

A flash, and a stallion was revealed - young, gangly and almost sickly-looking due to his thin frame. His grey coat and thick black mane and tail almost seemed to have been styled before his appearance, and he held himself with a shaky sort of dignity as he looked determined to remain on his hooves. On his flank was a dark crystal heart, surrounded by golden scrimshaw. He looked at Sombra and gulped nervously... but did not look away, even as Sombra frowned at the results of his casting.

Quartz.

So that was how it looked - their creations. It was a bit different than Obsidian had originally thought - and she was still unsure about the fine details. So... he was demanding the return of Radiant Hope, and offering bits of his soul as a sacrifice to that end - did she get it right? All this time, she was sure that he had intentionally moved their forms into a crystal-shaped format...

Did he really believe he would get her back, though? It was the same, every time, again and again - offering bits of himself, in order to have a chance to bring his Soul Friend back to him.

He didn't even seem to truly want any of his children; he only sought the return of Radiant Hope... and they were all merely unwanted side-effects. Honestly, after two or three fiascos, he should have just given up, saving whatever remained of his precious essence within the rapidly-devolving form of King Sombra.

Opal and Quartz were at least created to achieve a specific goal - the benefit of the Umbral Empire, but... was there anything left for Obsidian herself? Charisma, ingenuity, power, logic... even hope itself.

Was there anything left for her?

Now the next scene faded in, and it showed Sombra pacing the floor, his rage evident in every hoofstep and written all over his face. Onyx, wisely, was back as far as she could get from him while still able to see what was happening before her. She looked far more serious and solemn than Obsidian had seen her yet.

After this, it gets weird...

"What do you mean 'weird'? It's all weird!" Obsidian protested aloud, flinching slightly at the sound of her own voice. If some ancient entity was referring to anything as weird, then she was already bracing for what would probably be some sort of mind-blowing discovery. The last few she'd had sent her straight into a mental breakdown, so this HAD to be serious...

Sombra, by now, was evidencing almost every visible trait Obsidian could remember of her father from those 'good old days'; the purple mist seeping from his eyes, the unique and familiar armor, the stern, cold visage... almost exactly like she remembered.

Onyx, for her part, was standing back from the altars and keeping her eyes glued to her father, as usual. Obsidian could now see why she'd gone into a ball of jagged weeping with his destruction - as she had stated herself, Onyx had been here the entire time, and had seen it all... except for Obsidian's birth, she'd said.

Sombra suddenly whirled to face the Umbral Altars, and when he spoke, his voice only had the barest hint of who he once was.

"I shall NOT tolerate any further excuses, do you hear me! I will have her BACK, mark my words on it!"

You have failed, time and again... will this be the one, perhaps?

"SILENCE!" he yelled loudly enough to echo through the cavern, not even of enough focus to realize he was speaking out loud. Onyx, now almost the age Obsidian knew her to be, continued to observe... but not interact.

"This WILL be the right time! This WILL be it!" He moved to the middle altar, arranged with so much equipment she almost couldn't see it. He cast the spell, and again, the crystal flashed.

YOU SEEK THE POWER OF THE UMBRAL.

"Yes! ONE LAST TIME!" he screamed defiantly, his breathing ragged and laboured as he stared balefully into the dim glow that just barely surrounded the crystal shard.

NAME THY SACRIFICE.

He lowered his head until he was glaring only at the crystal shard in front of him, everything else in his view ignored and forgotten.

"I give you the ONE thing I have left to give, my master..." He grit his teeth, and the purple mist redoubled. "I GIVE YOU MY ANGER! THIS IS MY SACRIFICE, MY ANGER AT YOU FOR TAKING HER FROM ME!"

There was a repeat of the same pulse, then the same flash of light... and there, on the floor, was a rather runty-looking filly - roughly twelve summers in age, but scrawny and quivering with the obvious cold and lack of experience for her situation. Her off-white coat was thick and full, and her black mane and tail fell loosely along her side as she lie there. Her cutie mark was a dark crystal heart with an ornate-looking dagger stuck through the center of it.

Sombra stared for a moment... then, tears silently rolled down his muzzle - but the expression he wore was ALL seriousness. He walked over to the sleeping form on the floor and stared at her for a solid minute.

Then, he turned slightly towards the ever-watchful Onyx. "Get her OUT of here... and leave me here to mourn my failure."

Onyx, not even saying a word, came and helped the scrawny mare to her hooves - which she instantly fell off of, though Onyx caught her before she hit the ground. The two stumbled off towards the entrance, but Onyx did look back one single time before they left sight of him.

Sombra had originally taken each of his children in, and had tutors and scholars for them... and I got to be their nursemaid, so to speak. I was the one who taught them what love was... and he taught them scholastics and mathematics.

But as he sold off more and more parts of himself in his attempt to retrieve his Soul Friend, he became less and less of what he once was, and more and more of what IT was. Each trait he sacrificed never actually left him, but was instead perverted and scarred by The Umbra, so as to get more of a hoofhold on his body.

When he gave up his Kindness was when the Empire truly began to suffer; the taxes he suddenly levied, the slaves he gathered from his own subjects, the heartless tortures he committed... ALL of those were actions made by The Umbra, marking its' territory and making sure he knew who was in charge.

All the while, poor Sombra kept howling his protests from inside the prison of his own flesh. It's as if he needed to scream... and yet, he no longer had a mouth to do so with.

Sombra now focused his attention on the shard in the stand. "Hope... if you had only waited a bit longer... or if I had only put things aside for just a little while... if I had known..."

Now, his eyes lit up with smouldering rage. "I WISH SHE HAD NEVER CAST THE DAMNED KAYFADD SPELL! I WISH I'D NEVER MET HER! I WISH I COULD JUST DIE... BUT I'LL GO FOR THE NEXT BEST THING!"

With that, his horn was almost instantly alight with Dark Magic, and he blasted the altar to the left; it was blown to pieces in a single shot. "I'LL MAKE YOU SUFFER! MAKE YOU BLEED!"

His horn fired off another bolt, this one at the right side altar, reducing it to a pile of rubble. "RRRRRRRRAAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!!!" he roared as he directed his final bolt, not at the altar... but at the crystal shard in the metal stand upon it.

The raging beam slammed into the shard and sent it flying from its' stand, which had completely slagged and melted in response to the blast. The crystal fell to the floor, and it quickly began to glow bright and white, filling the entire cavern with blinding light that caused Sombra to shield his eyes...

And when it faded, lying there in a smoking crater, was Obsidian herself, a darling young filly of about twelve summers.

The final part of Sombra's soul was apparently sold to make Sister Amy - which left nothing at all to make Obsidian with. She had been expecting that he would have showed up there and perhaps offered his Magic to the thing in the altars. After all, she recalled having quite a lot of it - at least, that was before Sister Onyx had decided to steal it from her.

But this unexpected moment in time?

"I have to say that I have noticed that there seem to be a few serious differences between my own creation and the creation of my siblings," she said quietly. It most certainly wasn't a normal sacrifice - what had just happened? Why did Hope's crystal shard, after so much time, free, not a soul-starved Hope, but Obsidian instead?

Yes... you see, the blast was supposed to shatter that shard... but, I admit, I may have stepped in at the last moment to ensure you came to be. That white flash? Yours truly, doing my part for the world.

Hope's shard used to house her soul in it... but, like Sombra, each time a creation happened, it took parts of her soul to bring them to life, so she was whittled away, little by little, until she now only exists as a sliver of herself, inside all of your minds, trying to guide you to the best possible lives... though, to be fair, none of you really listen to her anyway, so... good intentions, wasted effort?

Sombra walked over and looked down at Obsidian's sleeping form. "You may CRUSH her; she is NOT whom you seek."

No. As we agreed, you will NOT kill my children; my full cooperation depends on you following that one rule - break it, and I'll fight you with every last breath I take.

Now, Sombra's voice was internal, while The Umbra spoke aloud; the role reversal was disconcerting.

He stared down at her for a moment... then slowly, he turned away and walked to the remaining altar. He took up Hope's Spellbook in his boiling Dark Magical grip, staring at it intensely. "The information in this is ours - it does not need to find other hooves."

With that, his horn flashed and the spellbook - Hope's repository of countless magical studies and theories - burst into flame instantly. King Sombra lazily tossed it onto the middle altar, and with it burning away right in front of Obsidian, he turned to leave.

Well... it seemed that Sombra had actually saved her from King Sombra immediately after her 'birth'. She should probably thank him, if she ever met him. Onyx had known everything the entire time, and-

Curses! Hope's Spellbook was destroyed forever! Obsidian could at least console herself with the fact she'd learned about the spellbook's fate before she got the chance to look for it; at least she didn't have to waste any time on searching for a book that no longer existed.

Onyx, who was returning from wherever she had stashed Amethyst, stopped at the cavern's entrance and stared at Obsidian with obvious surprise. Sombra, however, walked right past her.

"Fetch this one as well, and bring them both back to the palace... we shall NOT be returning here without the preparations being complete. Tambelon shall rise again... and WE shall fill its' throne." He walked off, striding like a conqueror instead of the kind king he had once been - the transformation was complete.

Onyx, with a sad little sigh, watched him go... then turned towards Obsidian, and began to gather her up upon her back. Once secured, she turned and carried her newest sister down through the tunnel and towards the exit as she began soundlessly crying.

"So, in a way... I am Hope?" Obsidian didn't exactly know what to think of that. It, well... it certainly went a long way towards explaining why she looked like Hope - even though she was released far younger than Hope went into it. "Is this the reason why, contrary to my siblings, I don't have any flashy superpowers like they do? Or perhaps is it why I'm able to gather their souls into me - because I'm the closest thing to the original body of Hope's soul?"

The mare in the cloak smiled. "No, Obsidian... you're YOU, always know that. But know this as well - in a perfect world, where The Umbra never existed, you were the perfect daughter that Sombra and Hope had always wanted."

She then giggled. "Superpowers? Obsidian, you've been gifted with the greatest power of them all... haven't you noticed that your siblings aren't exactly good at making friends? Even Quartz, with his charisma and charm, only knew others - he didn't have any actual friends. But you do... you alone, among your siblings, have had the ability to bring others together, just like Sombra did... and you have a brilliant mind, which is from Hope's contribution."

Whistlewhite then reached up and pulled down her hood... and she was even more beautiful in person than any dream or image could properly convey. Her eyes were the kind of blue you'd see in the ocean, and her coat was as stark white as her mane was. Her muzzle was pert and lovely, her cheekbones were perfect, and her entire face was a joy to behold; she almost seemed to glow...

"And MY contribution as well... because you're just as much a part of me as you are of them, Obsidian."

She began to walk a bit, lazily making her way towards the remaining altar. "You see, when The Umbra stole Hope's destiny from me, I saw what was going to become the future of Equus... that place we first met? That was Ponyville... six months after King Sombra takes his throne in Tambelon. In fact, that's all of Equus - a barren, desolate wasteland, the planet stripped dry of any kind of energy... all to feed The Umbra's endless hunger for power."

"So, since he had his 'ace in the hole' with Sombra... I just decided that you would be MY ace, and stacked things in your favor to see to it that you made it to the future, and that you survived up until this point... and that now, knowing the truth, you're hopefully willing to accept your Destiny..." She sighed happily. "To destroy The Umbra, once and for all!"

Obsidian knew that she was herself - nothing could change that - though it didn't change the fact that she was apparently... er... well, what she was? How should she put her thoughts into words...

"So... I wasn't even a planned creation, contrary to the rest. Not some kind of back-up plan - just an accident, at least on King Sombra's part and thanks to your timely intervention. A mix of what remained of Radiant Hope, with that bit of Sombra's soul she took from him during her last night alive... with a body made in her image?" Obsidian asked with a surprisingly calm voice for somepony who just witnessed her own birth. "I'm merely trying to understand. I've spent quite a while wondering if I was literally the new owner of her old body, so I'm naturally curious about the details."

Whistlewhite truly looked amazing. Breathtaking. Obsidian had seen a similar beauty in both Celestia and Luna, as well as Cadence herself... but Whistlewhite had an exceptional aura about her, something pure and good that made the alicorns she'd met only pale comparisons to what she felt rolling off the painter in waves.

"As much of you as of them... does that possibly mean I have three parents?" Siddy's confusion was only growing from what she'd learned.

Ah, what an intense day this was! Fighting against an armada of mechanical horrors, fighting against her own friends, her death, her rebirth, her sharding, bearing witness to her own birth... it was quite a lot for one day! In fact, the only thing that she felt she now understood anything more about was The Umbra.

A living, scheming hunger for nothing but more power - no matter what the source was, or what costs it would bring. Why did this beast want so much power? It didn't matter; it had corrupted everything it had ever touched and had purposely warped the destiny of the entire world... and for what?

"And I promise you, here and now... I shall destroy The Umbra, or die trying," she eventually concluded with a serious tone to her voice. "But... it's currently hidden in our minds, isn't it? All of us?"

Whistle smiled broadly and clapped her hooves with delight as Obsidian accepted her quest. "Oh, you have no idea - NO IDEA - how long I've been waiting to hear you say those words to me! I've been sweating and worrying, doing whatever I could to see this very day come to be!"

She smiled sweetly, and gave Siddy a sympathetic look. "Obsidian, you weren't leftovers - you were the product of two souls' last efforts at creating something that could have a Destiny; technically speaking, the other siblings are the accidental ones... YOU are exactly what they wanted in a daughter... both of them."

"And I'm more like a guide, so to speak... of course, thats a good portion of my job - making sure all of you creatures fit together in this world. The Moochick was my favorite form, but I've existed as many, many different things." She gave a light giggle. "In fact, this body you're seeing? I haven't been Whistlewhite in AGES! And it does feel just as good as I recall... plus, at least I'm FAR more mobile in this form."

She smiled knowingly. "The last time I set myself to a physical form? I was a tree..."

A tree? Now, wait a second... "A Tree of Harmony, I presume?" she asked as she remembered some mention of it in the books about all the past events from Princess Twilight's history.

The artist wiggled her eyebrows emphatically. "You catch on fast, filly."

Whistlewhite got to the altar and sighed unhappily at the ashes of Hope's Spellbook. "Such a shame - all her notes, her postulations, her personal thoughts... gone in an instant. Just like she was."

Then, a sly smile crept into place. "But, you see... Sombra already had all of her information. Her theories are what brought him to try to bring her back - in fact, her theories survived and were explored all the way into Modern Times."

She now looked a bit excited as she continued. "From Hope's work, a number of theories and spells actually managed to make it out of the Crystal Empire; they were smuggled out of the palace in my paintings, because I'm ALWAYS about sharing... and THAT was what Jade was punished for, to set you straight."

She walked around the altar, her hoofsteps light and dainty. "Jade had worked with me to share some of Hope's more useful spells and theories... and, in a sense, a version of the Simulacum Spell." She now turned to Obsidian and grinned. "A version that, after much debate and testing, was found to be able to produce offspring inside mares - even those who were unable to produce their own children. Or, to be direct, Hope's notes made it possible for the creation of Spell Foals..."

Now she let out a happy giggle, and gave Obsidian a light prod in her side. "Which means that it was because of Hope that Cupcake Sprinkles was even born..."

Then she sighed. "And when King Sombra discovered what had been going on... well, he wanted to kill us both, but your father's rule stood firm, so Jade was cursed instead..."

Now, she looked a bit sad. "... and I was dealt with accordingly. That was also part of why The Umbra put a ban on artwork - no art, no smuggling... at least, that was his plan, anyhow. A STUPID plan... but a plan."

She gave a single, light bubble of a chuckle. "Heh... you know, when he found out about it, he destroyed Hope's picture in the royal portrait - which sincerely irks me, as that was what I felt to be one of my better works."

"And here I was, thinking that it was merely done in a fit of cruelty, insanity or both," Obsidian couldn't help but smile at the mention of Cupcake and his own connection to Radiant Hope and her own history. "I'm glad you helped, then."

To be fair, it was a bit of a strange case - after all, Miss Pie could always have had foals on her own; she just got impatient... or something like that, right? So everything seemed to have an explanation behind it, even Jade's final fate. She doubted he was very grateful for his opportunity to survive, though... at least at the moment.

Then it hit her. "So... Radiant Hope is gone forever... Sombra, after his statue was destroyed, is now gone too... which would mean the only thing that left is... The Umbra. Am I correct?"

Whistlewhite sighed. "It's... not that simple."

"Sombra was, is, and always will be a product of The Umbra - that won't change, not in a million years. In essence, his soul is simply a part of The Umbra... but it's a part that developed things like empathy, morals and a conscience, all in part through the friendship Sombra forged with Radiant Hope."

She then scowled, which looked immensely out-of-place on the mare's muzzle. "And those were things it didn't want in a tool."

She now walked around the altar again, stopping right in front of Obsidian. "Things are happening, even now, to put The Umbra right where it needs to be... and to put YOU where YOU need to be, as well as your dear companions."

Whistle smiled again. "The Umbra took Equestria's Destiny... now, through you and your wonderful friends, it's time to take ITS' Destiny - the world you saw - and make certain it can no longer fool or manipulate ANYONE, anymore."

She reached back and pulled her hood up again, hiding her perfect muzzle from the world once again. "Now, with all of that out in the open where it needs to be, we ca-"

Whistlewhite suddenly gave out a sharp gasp, clutched a hoof to her chest and stumbled back until she connected with the wall, where she was holding herself up on shaky legs.

"... oh... ohhhhhh, that hurts..." she murmured, her expression one of sorrow and pain. "But it always hurts when they're so important, especially when it's WELL before their time... oh, poor, poor Flurry Heart..."

Obsidian was startled by the sudden reaction of Whistlewhite... however, she went into a full-fledged panic as soon as she heard her words. She practically jumped to the beautiful mare's side, grabbing her with one hoof, worry and anxiety painted loudly all over her muzzle. "What's wrong with Flurry Heart!?"

Whistle's hood fell partially away... and the sight of the tears perched in the beautiful mare's eyes was simply heart-shattering.

"Amber... she made her mother, Cadence, go to Jade... and..." She sighed. "Oh, I do so mourn when I lose of of the better ones... and Amber made certain that Flurry saw it ALL - every moment, as her mother freed Jade from his crystal... then, died from exposure to him... in such a horrific, HORRIFIC manner, too..."

She closed her eyes. "Cadenza Mi Amore... you will be sorely missed, my dearest Princess of Love."

She did it. Amber really did it.

There were no words Obsidian felt that she could say that would accurately describe her feelings after hearing this tragic news. Oh, she sometimes made little comments and snarks in the act of foolishness, of being evil merely for the sake of being evil - murdering, torturing and so on. Every conqueror that kept trying to defeat Equestria and rule it was eventually undone by the mere fact that they never seemed to know when to STOP being so evil.

Amber, however, was always too evil. Her father. Her own siblings. Cadance. Poor Flurry...

"I... I should have thrown her damned shard... into the crusher!" she said, her voice wavering with a mix of anguish and sheer, unmitigated fury.

Attacking Obsidian? Meh, she could survive that. Attacking her friends? Opal, Quartz and all the others had the excuse of being stuck on the other side of the fence when they did that stuff. Attacking her friends when they weren't a danger, then torturing them with the sight of their own mother being murdered horribly in front of them?

No. No, that would NOT do.

"Miss Whistlewhite... I want to kill Amber - I really do. Even when I fought against Onyx or King Sombra, I wanted to merely defeat them, not kill them... but right now, I want to crush her soul... into dust." By Darkness! Flurry!

Whistlewhite sighed and gave a tired nod. "And THAT will put her right where she can learn some manners... with you."

She now seemed as if she was a bit winded, but she continued on, all the same. "As to that... yes, being the shard that helped create them, you're the one their souls go to when they die... because they BELONG there, as a whole, with the other pieces of Hope. But even in her weakened state, she refuses to reabsorb them."

"Because she knows that THAT act will kill them permanently... and, regardless of what they've done, she STILL loves all of you... even Amber. So, if you can destroy her shard, she'll be where she can no longer cause any harm... and where she can get lots of attention from the sibling she hates most right now."

Whistle shook her head slowly, sadly. "It won't bring back the dead, though. Except..."

She now put on a smile. "The Simulacrum Spell was only as good as the materials it used, which were archaic during her time. But modern technology and magic are more advanced than Hope would have ever known in her lifetime... and because of that, someone exceedingly brilliant might be able to make the spell work now - without an Umbral Altar!"

The white mare nudged Obsidian. "Someone like, oh, I don't know, say a mechanical genius who was recently ousted from her diligent factory work?"

Siddy lifted an eyebrow. "She refuses to reabsorb them, you say? As in, it's a conscious decision? Would that mean that there's still enough of Hope somewhere inside us to - in theory - bring her back to the realm of living?" Obsidian tried to divert her own fury with another question about her fallen mother. "But... if what you say is true, then I should be able to bring back all of my dead siblings without exposing myself to The Umbra's influence. Good to know."

By Darkness, it was only because of Cadence's words to her that Obsidian even looked into this strange thing called a 'wedding' in the first place; it had been the final nudge in that direction. She had even wanted Cadence in on her wedding; maybe she could even have wed them herself?

And now she was gone. Despite the fact that Obsidian had been, at the time of their only meeting, feeling a bit too attached to the idea of being the rightful heir to the Crystal Empire, Cadance had simply been too beautiful and too kind to NOT like her.

And now she was gone.

"At first, after I noticed Ruby's spirit in my dreams for the first time, I thought it would be possible to do this trick with any pony. That perhaps I could... I could..." By Darkness, poor Flurry. Poor... what was her sister's name? Poor...

Obsidian didn't even notice that she had started to cry, as her anger was subdued and replaced by sheer heartbreak.

Whistle came to her and put her forehooves around her in a warm, soft embrace. "Imagine feeling that way, but for a thousand years... and that is why I'm so happy to see you... because it means that The Umbra's end is near, and that you and your friends are going to step up and become the heroes that all of you deserve to be, so very much."

She looked at Obsidian directly in the eyes. "I'm not going to say any platitudes like 'it'll be okay' or 'things will work out'... because honestly, I have no idea if they will or not. All these past centuries, I've been waiting and hedging my bets on you - just as ANGRY at The Umbra as you are at Amber, right now. And I've had to live with that anger for FAR too long."

"But don't let it pull you down into despair - that's The Umbra's realm, and feelings of hopelessness and sorrow are it's food and drink. Use that anger to bolster yourself, to help push you to do what needs to be done." Whistlewhite then hugged her lovingly, like a mother would.

"Obsidian... whatever has happened and whatever may come, keep in mind that you're setting out to destroy an evil that very well may be older than even I am - and that's saying something. Take comfort in the idea that the perpetuator of all this pain will soon be dead... by your own hooves."

By Harmony, being hugged by Whistlewhite was probably the best thing that had happened to Obsidian today. It didn't end her sadness or anger, but it did calm her down a bit - and gave her a good opportunity to cry in more comfortable conditions. "I will deal with Amber, then go straight for The Umbra. But... how? Onyx said it lives inside all of our minds - that it was the last presence that I felt there. That it can use us in the same way it used Sombra. So, er... a-any tips?"

Whistle gave her a smirk. "Onyx is unknowledgable about everything that went on... YOU now know more than SHE does. She honestly thinks that's The Umbra n your heads... but it isn't." She smiled again. "That is Hope, guiding and trying to see to it her children have lives that will be worth living. The Umbra wants others to think it has that much control over you all... but it never did. It was Onyx's educated guess... but it was still wrong."

"The ONLY way The Umbra can use ANYONE is if they willingly give themselves to IT... or were born from IT, such as your true father was. But you and your siblings won't be controllable by IT, not at all - unless any of you invite IT in."

"Well, that's just another reason to stop Amber as quickly as possible," Obsidian said, almost calm and collected again.

Then it dawned on her. "Does... does that mean it could be possible... in theory, at least... to talk to Hope?" She felt strange asking about such a thing... and it gave her such a strange squeeze around her heart and throat, too. She really didn't even like her too much, considering that she'd wanted to use some cursed ancient altars and some newly-developed magic just to do something as simple as create a foal... but it might be nice to be able to chat with her from time to time, perhaps?

Now the artist's smile turned sad. "If she could, I'm sure she would LOVE to meet you - all of you - but..."

She sighed. "The creation process is HARSH; there's really not even enough left of her to know how to talk. She's more like a primal force for good inside you - she no longer has enough of her soul left to actually exist; bringing her back to life would be more like trying to make a toothpick back into a full-grown tree."

Whistle now wore a look of sorrow. "The stuff's just not there anymore; it's spread between all of you, and it'll likely never be whole again..." She then gave a small grin. "But she knows that you exist, and she's so happy that you do. I can tell you that much, at least."

Awwwww... so Hope was gone for good, and Sombra's ultimate fate was more or less unknown - he had a lot of Umbral in him, and he survived his own death once already, so...

Wait. Waaaaaaait... now, wait a second!

"Likely? What does that mean?" Siddy asked carefully. After all, one of their parents (or rather, the evil incarnation inhabiting one of their parents) wanted to use their bodies for nothing more than his own return.

Whistle gave a half-shrug. "It means that, yes, there might be some sort of miracle that might allow her to speak to you... but most likely, it'll never happen; I'm simply trying to keep you from seeking something you won't ever find..."

She smirked. "Or are you just like your father, in that respect?"

Obsidian scoffed lightly. "Oh, you need not worry about that; I'm a bit disappointed, but I've already accepted the fact that the only mother I'll ever be able to speak with is my future mother-in-law." Unless Amber decided to be more insane and genocidal, of course - but in that case, Obsidian would have to deal with a moral dilemma of her own: would feeding Amber's soul to Hope, just to restore her a bit more, be considered a justified punishment?

The painter turned and looked towards the cavern's entrance passage. "Nonetheless, you and I? Our time grows short, now - won't be long before you go back to the realm of the living, and I will be relegated to a bunch of branches again. Although... speaking of that..."

Whistle reached a hoof into her cloak, and came out with a single, small white seed. "Here... take this with you; when things seem the bleakest for you and your friends, simply drop this on the ground and say, 'friendship is magic'... but ONLY in the direst of dire situations, because it only works ONCE."

Obsidian reached for the seed and took it, not questioning how it could possibly move from the dream-realm and into the real world. "Thank you. I promise I shall do my best to visit the Tree of Harmony from time to time, to pay my respects... but first things first, right?" She smiled - perhaps it was a bit forced, but she did her best.

Amber had to pay; this was non-negotiable.

"Yes... first things first." Whistlewhite smiled and stepped back from her; she was just so fragile-looking and lovely... of course she was the embodiment of Harmony - who else would be a better choice?

"Obsidian... you'll have to go soon, so now's the time to ask anything else you might want to know - because after this? I'm fairly certain you and I will never get the chance to speak again like this. It's..." She wiped away a tear. "It's like watching your children leave the nest, and make their own lives without you... but I'll ALWAYS be with you. Wherever there is even the smallest scrap of Harmony, I'll be there with you."

She sighed. "Okay, last call for questions, Siddy - make it count."

Oh dear, her final question? There were so many things Obsidian wanted to know about, so many she had to know, like with The Umbra. She had a feeling, however, that she would need to find most of those answers for herself.

"What happened to Butter Churn's brother - Washburn Washington?" Somehow, it was the first thing that appeared in her mind, and she didn't want to waste any time figuring out what else she could ask. Obsidian could at least get one more question answered - after all, she'd just gotten a LOT of answers from what she'd witnessed; one more coudn't possibly hurt... unless, of course, the answer she got was 'he died', and that was all.

Whistlewhite smiled at that. "Funny you should mention that..."

She began to walk along, and motioned for Obsidian to follow with a hoof. "Washburn was set upon by timberwolves, and he fought back hard... and lost. Sort of."

"You see, he didn't die - though he did lose a foreleg - but instead, he made a new place for himself in Ghastly Gorge. You may hear rumours about strange noises in the night, or hear someone talk about seeing the Ghastly Ghost... well, that's Washburn. Only Washburn."

"He just coudn't go home and lay the burden of his missing limb on his family. Yes, not exactly the brightest of moves, but his heart was in the right place, bless him."

She nodded. "And now, he's the survivalist he's grown to be... and honestly? The missing limb hardly bothers him anymore. He has a hidden home in the Gorge..." She then let loose with another beautiful smile. "A home that will soon house the first guests he's had in... well, ever! I suppose the upshot of all of this is that he exists, he's out there... and most likely, you WILL see him before it's all over with."

They reached the area where the ropes hung limply against the wall, but Whistlewhite simply slung her paintbrush again, creating another colorful, swirling portal.

"Oh, Obsidian... I wish we had more time. I'd talk to you about all the things I've experienced during my many, many years of life, and you could tell me all about your friends and your own adventures..." She then sighed. "But it's time to go."

She reached up and hugged Obsidian tightly. "I do so love you, Siddy - you're the hero Equestria needs right now - you and your friends. Go to them, and always remember that friendship is a magic all its' own..."

Now tears began to slide down her perfect features. "... and that, no matter what anyone else tries to say, your mother and father love you very, very much... and so do I. Now..."

She gestured to the portal. "... go be incredible."

Obsidian hugged Whistlewhite back tightly, feeling considerably good - both with this whole discussion and with the choice of her last question.

"I will, Miss Whistlewhite - I'll do my best, as always; I'm too stubborn to do otherwise." Obsidian smiled a bit once again, though each time her thoughts even merely wandered around topic of Flurry Heart, she had to force herself not to scrunch her expression into an angry scowl.

Oh, Amber... you simply have no chance in Tartarus. After all, had anypony ever told you lately that your parents loved you? HA!

"Bye... and thank you!" Siddy said simply, then she untangled herself from the hug and trotted into the portal.

Whistlewhite smiled sweetly as she watched her go... and her final words to her echoed into Obsidian's ears:

... and HOPE shall guide the Grey into the Light...

Author's Notes:

And now you know... and knowing is half the battle. And TRUST ME, that's coming, too.

And so, HERE is my attempt at rewriting Sombra's history, explaining the darkness & basically taking all that nasty Season 9 crap and flushing it thoroughly. A villain like him deserved better than what he got, and THIS is my best shot at making it more bearable & more interesting. Did I do well? Was it satisfactory? Do I need to go back to Magic Kindergarten? Let me know.

And yet ANOTHER victim of Amber's control... one which was completely innocent in this situation. As she promised, there will be scars... and as of this situation, I'd say there'll be at least ONE alicorn who'll bear a Tartarus of a scar from all of this.

As an aside, I have to say that - even with all the revelations in this chapter - the best part about it was Amethyst and her show of defiance against Princess Skullfuck; when it came up in the original tale, I was so full of pride for her - it was worth the wait to get there, in my humble opinion. Y'all agree?

And so, back to the real world she goes, now armed with the knowledge of the TRUTH of her origins... but will Obsidian be able to deal with Amber? And even if she does, will she be ready to take on The Umbra itself?

'Meeting Whistlewhite' artwork by the incredibly talented Rutkotka; as always, she was an absolute joy to work with, and I feel she did quite a nice job on bringing the mysterious artist to life. Bravo, Ru - totally worth the wait!

Sixty: Getting Along (Finally)

-=[ ????? ]=-

It was... quiet. And cold. And... and...

And that was pretty much it.

Obsidian couldn't see, couldn't hear, and couldn't interact; so THIS was why shards often slept? It made sense; this could be either extremely unnerving... or as boring as could be.

But she could still feel energies; there was a calm and methodical sensation nearby... and one that was just barely holding back a flood of pure rage - Amy and Tourmy, most likely. Curious, as she didn't remember anything like this during her first time turning into a shard. Did King Sombra put her into some sort of coma when he cast the spell? She couldn't think of any other reason something like this might happen.

She tried to reach out to Sister Amy, trying to calm her down. That brazen bitch Amber was able to use her skills so diversely, so perhaps...

And besides, if not... then it was apparently sleep time! Maybe meeting with Sister Onyx or Ruby! Yeah!

Damnation... hopefully they would figure out how to get her out of this shard form quickly.

There was a tingle... and then, something muffled came through! She couldn't make out the words, but she could hear someone speaking! Then, the angry energies suddenly shifted, and Obsidian felt... warm?

"- ---- ---------... --.. -- --- ---- ---- -----!"
"---... --- ---'- -- --ard form; how can you think that she's communicating from in there?"

That was Tourmaline! She could hear!

"I don't know, dammit! I never did anything like this before!"

Amy! Blessed Amethyst! They were both HERE!

"Sorry, sorry... I'm just... what can we do with her? I have zero ideas as to how to reach an alicorn to let her out. Supposedly, any of us should be able to restore her, but... it's not working."
"You don't think... Amber could have cursed her into the shard?"
"Oh, shit... I hope to Tartarus NOT!"
"Well... as soon as we find the others, we can figure out what to do to get her back from there."
"Amethyst?"
"What?"
"... are you... okay?"

There was a light sigh. "NONE of us are 'okay', Tourm - that's why we NEED her; she brings us balance, and she adds that 'affection' thing she's so good at..."

"Is THAT why you made a Mare-Do-Well costume?"
"I didn't make it, dummy... I found it, hiding in the bottom of that ridiculous dresser I bought; there was this hidden compartment in the bottom drawer, so I bought it and brought it home to check out what I'd found... and it was the damned suit!"
"So... that dresser..?"
"Probably belonged to whoever this Mare-Do-Well before was."

May Harmony bless whoever had owned this dresser before Amethyst - Obsidian's bet, of course, was on Miss Rarity. Okay, she could hear them and apparently throw some sort of affect at them a bit. She concentrated her focus and reached out to Tourmaline to let him feel the sensation as well.

Can you hear me? Can you hear me at all?

"Wait..."
"What?"
"Did... d-did you feel something... warm?"
"She's trying to talk to you too!"
"I... I don't kn-know - I'm new to this too, y'know."
"Well, DO something!"
"What - you expect me to do what, exactly?"
"I... I don't fucking know! Just... anything!"

There was a pause, then... "... Obsidian? Is that weird sensation you?"

Perhaps she could communicate with them using... well, for lack of a better term, mental boops? She tried reaching out to him again, then stopped. Reached to him, then stopped again after a longer moment. Short. Long. Short.

"... now it just feels weird."
"You're not doing it right, then! Dammit, give her back to me!"

Again, cold, then warm. "Obsidian! You're still alive in there? GOOD - I didn't want to have to come in there and drag you out! We got out of the tunnels, but... well, there was some, uh... weird shit that happened..."
"And all we got were a bunch of colored stones-"
"AND our freedom, don't forget that."

Bunch of colored stones? What, did they find some ancient treasure chest full of gems? She tried the same with Amy; short, long, short. Perhaps she could figure out that Obsidian was trying to find a way to communicate with them.

"Whoa... wait."
"What, she sending at you again?"
"I think so, yeah... but, in bursts."
"Bursts?"
"Yeah... a little one, then a BIG one, then little again..."
"She IS trying to communicate! Oh you're ALIVE and AWARE in there!"
"Oh, fuck..."
"What?"
"How do we know she's not in pain?"

Silence for a moment, then... "Obsidian... if you can hear my voice, try for two bursts..."

Short short.

"AAAH! I FELT IT! I FELT IT!"
"Sweet Darkness, YES! Oh, I'm SO glad you're alive in there!"
"We both are!"
"Yeah! So... if this is going to be ANY part of helpful, we need to establish some guidelines - one burst for yes, two for no, can you do that?"

Oh, for crying out loud... Whistlewhite's voice rolled through her thoughts, and she felt something... shift... within her. There - a parting gift. Enjoy!

"Obsidian? One for yes, two for no?"

Enjoy? Enjoy what exactly?, Obsidian thought with a touch of confusion. Then, she simply decided to see if there were changes made which she could actually use.

She thought at them: Can I... Can I think to you now? Guys?

"SHADES ALIVE!"
"FUCKING SHIT!"

Silence for a moment, then...

"Obsidian? Was that... you?"
"How could THAT be possible? The only one of us who could ever do anything like that was Amber!"
"Yeah... but don't forget - Obsidian's special."

Apparently, Whistlewhite gave her the gift of gab as a shard.

"Yes indeed, special - but this is apparently a parting gift from a being so ancient that I can barely wrap my head around it. We had a nice, long talk - got a quest to kill The Umbra. Are you sure you can't free me from this shard? All I had to do with Diamond was envelop him with magic and, um... follow the flow."

"Following the flow? What do you mean, 'follow the flow'? WHAT flow?"
"Amy - calm down. We'll figure this out, don't worry... now..."

She felt her weight shift a bit. "... what in Tartarus was all that stuff you just said?"

"Apparently, it's my duty to destroy The Umbra - the parasite which possesses our father. Oh, and I also saw our creations... every single one of us. Overall, I've seen quite a lot." And heard a lot, too.

For murdering Princess Cadance in front of Flurry Heart... for setting The Siddy Six against her... for her blatant disregard of anything and everything good and just... Amber. Would. PAY.

After Obsidian's words, it was quiet for a moment. Then:

"I TOLD you not to drop her!"
"I was TRYING not to drop her! Besides, you had her too, at one point! Why did YOU drop her!?"
"I was running for my life, Tourmaline!"
"We BOTH were, Amethyst! That and when RUBY showed up-..."

Then it got quiet. Very quiet.

"... I thought we weren't going to mention that to her, because it was too weird."

More silence, now. However, there was a strange sensation going on, as Obsidian began to 'see' a subtle shifting of what looked like light. Even more strange was the fact that it was coming from around her, as if her eyes now had perfect 360 degree sight - but they were just being used for the first time. She couldn't make out much more than shades of light and not-light, but did it mean she was going to be able to see, eventually?

At this rate, Obsidian was going to be able to hear and see her surroundings... and even talk with others! The next step would be returning access to her magic; then she would be pretty content with sitting here, just like this, for a long time.
Well... except for the fact that she wouldn't be able to snuggle with Cup.

"Er... what did you say about dropping me? And what's this about Ruby?" Siddy asked, genuinely concerned.

Again, an awkward silence for a moment while light was beginning to show a slight touch of color; she could tell either they were outside, or someplace very bright.

"We... h-had to escape, but we were waiting for you. When the blast hit you, we thought you were... w-were..."
"DEAD, okay? We thought she was DEAD, Tourmy."
"Yeah, but when we saw the shard, I grabbed you up and we ran."
"Shit, the tunnels under that place; they seemed to go on forever!"
"And we, uhm... got trapped. By the harnesses..."
"Yeah, seems they had more than just the hole to get down there from, so they were coming at us from almost every angle! And-"

There was a little spark that jumped through Obsidian's 'vision', and she got a single picture: Amy and Tourmy, in what looked like a massive cavern, surrounded on all sides by incoming Umbral Harnesses. But it was fleeting, and it vanished almost as quickly as it had come.

"And then, YOU dropped her."
"I'd been hit with a boulder, Amy! I'm glad she didn't shatter when it struck us!"

By Darkness - what boulder? "Okay, go on - I think I'm starting to see something as well. Are we outside, perchance?"

There was a pause, and she saw light shapes moving around each other, at both her sides; beneath her was only black, and above was all the bright.

"See something? You mean... you're using receptive telepathy?"
"Night of the WHAT?"
"It means she might be able to see our thoughts, if we think them at her!"
"Oh, what, like..."

Now there was a flash of a picture of Amethyst, snarking off at Obsidian in the kitchen.

"Like..? Oh, you're trying to..."

Now, it was like she was seeing a double exposure; on top of Amy and Siddy in the kitchen, there was now a second image overlapping the first, of Tourmaline doing yard work at their house. The sight was weird, and it made Obsidian feel like she was being flooded with TOO MUCH information.

It was like having a completely new sense; she was starting to feel overloaded with information. Did Peridot feel like this, except all the time? It would certainly explain his mindset. "Yes, I apparently do. But don't think too much at me - I seem to be having one or two issues with figuring out how it works. Tell me, what happened after you were struck with this boulder you mentioned?"

"Okay, only ONE of us? Well... Amy, you mind if I..?"
"Go ahead; I have no damned clue what to do with that stuff."
"Okay then - if you can keep an eye out, I'll let her know what happened."
"Fine by me."
"Okay, great... and, uh, Amy?"
"What?"

It was quiet for a moment. "Thank you."

Amy didn't reply, but Obsidan could now make out that she might have been the blur a few steps away, while the blur next to her was Tourmaline, most likely.

"Yeah," she replied softly, then the distant blob moved away.

Tourmaline sat down and placed Obsidian in both his hooves, and she could feel him concentrating on her...

And it was as if she was THERE; she saw herself start to make her way down, then get struck by the beam. Her siblings screamed her name and she glowed a distinct red for a second, but it quickly turned white, and with a flash, a crystal shard tinked to the floor as both Amy and Tourmy stared, jaws hanging open.

Then, a barrage of rivets fired down into the hole, and Tourmy grabbed up her shard as the two of them took off into the underground tunnel.

The tunnels looked like part of what must have been a HUGE catacomb of passages, pits, tunnels and natural bridges - as if it had been its' own network before whatever happened had happened. And Tourmy and Amy were dashing for their very lives as the harnesses piled into the hole behind them, all moving to try to catch them. Blasts of rivets and thrown rocks the size of cars whizzed by them as they simply took whatever path was in front of them.

When they came to a split path, they hesitated... and a large boulder flew from behind them and slammed into Tourmy's side - and he grunted in pain as he dropped Obsidian's shard into the dirt. He and Amy were now facing the tunnel they'd come from, where all sorts of mechanical sounds were issuing from.

But Obsidian's shard began to glow... and a ripple of RED energy rolled out in a ring from it as what looked like tiny red gems flowed out from the crystal itself, then whirled around it as they formed themselves up into what looked like a Crystal Pony with a long, luxurious mane and tail.

"... RUBY?" Amethyst asked incredulously.

The red crystal pony turned to them both. "RUN!"

The three of them began to dash down one of the paths, just as the harnesses caught up to them.

So Ruby was getting a bit bolder, it seemed. It would also explain that strange teleportation that moved her away from Stalwart, during Amber's game. In the midst of it all, she didn't really have much time to think about it - being busy dying and so on - but it made sense. After all, the light had been the correct colour.

"I didn't think anything like that was even remotely possible. Good thing that Onyx is now on our side, and that she even learned to hug; otherwise, I would be considerably concerned." Well, uh... all those little stones... did it mean her shard was all crumbly now?

The three of them ran through the tunnels together while being chased by the Umbral Harnesses, barely keeping ahead of the advancing mechanical monstrosities. Shots from the rivet cannons were both coming close and going wild, knocking loose some of the stalactites that fell to the ground, shattering into chunks of stone around them. When it looked as though a pillar of rock was about to fall right on top of them, Ruby's horn flashed and all three of them appeared ahead of it, the collapsing column smashing a few harnesses as it struck where the three of them had once been running.

This happened a few times, with Ruby 'porting them out of trouble with unerring accuracy until they reached a natural bridge that they started pelting across, only to have the harnesses attempt to knock it out from under them. Ruby popped them to the halfway point, and they flat-out scrambled the rest of the way across as it slowly collapsed almost directly out from under their hooves.

Reaching the other side, a hailstorm of rivets greeted them from a side tunnel, where more Umbral Harnesses were waiting for them. Ruby threw up a quick shield, but in mere seconds she said "aw, crap," and the rivets chewed through. Struck with flying steel, her form shattered with her shield, with pieces of red gemstone going everywhere.

The shard fell towards the ground again, but Amy scooped her out of the air with her mouth, and she and Tourmy kept running.

Eventually, they came to a steep incline, and Tourmaline fell to the floor in a heap, gasping for air. He was still sporting the wounds from his fight with Amethyst; he might not make it much farther. Amy tossed the shard to him, then turned around - fully intent on covering his exit...

But instead, a green ripple of energy rolled out from the shard, and now there were little green gems that issued forth from it, swirling around in until a green Crystal Pony stood there with what looked like spectacles on his muzzle.

"This plan has a 43.8% chance of working out - get moving," the green pony said to them as orbs of flaming emerald magic began to form and swirl in a circle around his head.

Tourmy just stared, but Amy grabbed him off the floor as there were now six small, green balls of energy orbiting the crystal pony as he began to follow along behind the two at a steady pace.

As they dashed along through the cavern, one of the spheres dropped out of its' orbit and hit the floor, where it burst and out rolled a veritable carpet of green flames. Anything they touched burned, and it seemed to be especially effective on the harnesses as they scorched quickly, leaving little behind but a crispy chunk of melted steel and Umbral gore.

He ran on, gaining ground until he had Amy and Tourmy right on his heels as he dropped another sphere on occasion behind the three of them, turning the path behind into a green inferno.

When they reached an outcropping, the last sphere was fired off and blazed a trail behind them. But the harnesses had multiple ways in; a single burst of rivets at the green crystal pony and he shattered like Ruby had, with chunks of green jewel flying in every direction.

Tourmaline grabbed up the shard from the ground and the two of them continued on, after sharing a look between themselves that said neither of them understood what was happening... but they were just glad to still be alive.

Okay, this was getting weirder with each passing moment. They never did anything like that before, and while Ruby alone didn't concern her too much (as they'd spent plenty of time together already), Ruby and Peri figuring it out at the same time?

Some ponies have interesting internal lives; Obsidian technically counted as FOUR of them. What was next - Onyx?

When they barreled around a corner and found themselves at a dead end, Amy and Tourmy skidded to a halt and turned to leave... but the entire cavern behind them was FILLED with Umbral Harnesses. There was no way out, no way to avoid them, and no possible hope.

Tourmy carefully put the shard down, and turned and stepped up with Amy, at her side. "Looks like this is it," he said to her, "and here we are. Together."

"I never really hated you, you know," Amy said sidelong as she watched the oncoming hordes, "I just HAD to beat you - you'd mocked me one too many times, and I told myself I simply HAD to beat you."

"Just beat? Not kill?" Tourmaline said with a knowing smirk.

Amethyst grinned stoically. "You know me too well, I guess."

They faced their opponents, obviously outgunned and outnumbered, and were ready to die for each other. Then, a purple ripple rolled out from behind them, followed by a sigh. "If you want anything done right, you have to do it yourself, I suppose..."

They turned, and a dark purple crystal pony was indeed there, hovering in mid-air and surrounded by an aura of Dark Magic as her horn pulsed with energy of a decidedly BLACK color.

"Move, you idiots!" she yelled... and, wearing matching dumbfounded looks, they moved.

A MASSIVE blast of Dark Energy practically ROARED out of her horn, sending a column of boiling energy directly at the oncoming horde - and levelling half of it in a single shot! She blasted at them a few more times, then saw the absolute pointlessness of it all and turned to face the wall - then blasted that.

The wall exploded outward, leaving a gaping hole that led to more tunnels. Onyx hovered through the hole, Amy & Tourmy right behind her, as she blasted more walls in front of them, leaving a trail of rubble in their wake as they continued putting distance between themselves and the undead machinations.

Eventually, Onyx blasted a hole in a wall that streamed in daylight once the dust cleared. She stopped and looked back at her siblings... just in time for a thrown boulder to smash into her form from behind, sending shards of purple gemstone all over.

Tourmy again grabbed the falling Obsidian shard and as the cavern entrance collapsed behind them they ran for the hills, the scene fading away into the weird light/dark blurs that made up her surroundings.

"... and that's what happened," Tourmy said as he finished sending his thoughts to her. "Weird, right?"

"Meh - looks like an average day, to me." As soon as Obsidian had seen Onyx appear, she knew that something really strange had happened; she would need to have a nice, long talk with her fallen siblings when she saw them again. In a way, it was kinda awesome; she sort of had the powers of all three of her more powerful siblings!

But did it mean her very soul was safe? Should she risk putting Amber in here too?

"Obsidian... how is that average for you? Granted, until recently, being yelled at and given orders was what was average for ME, but..." He sighed, then she felt him stroke her shard gently. "... you've been through FAR too much, sister; if this is average, YOU need a break. When this is all over with, I'd suggest a vacation - maybe with Cupcake - to someplace where you won't even have to THINK about anything like this being 'average'."

"Hey," Amy's voice broke in as a pony blur came back over the ridge, "I think I saw a means to get us out of here; there's a signpost that says were about five miles from the closest actual place - Ghastly Gorge."

"Well, it's something, I'll give you that." Tour stood up and groaned a bit as he rubbed a sore spot on his side. "Okay, Siddy... shall we hit the road?"

Now that she thought about it, it really was an average day - no sarcasm or irony. Long, drawn out battles? Check. Discovering strange and mind-blowing truths? Check. Realizing that your dead siblings were a bit more active than you originally thought? Check.

"Oh, yes! I wanted to visit Ghastly Gorge with Amy anyway, and I was told we would find somepony there who could help us - Applejack's colt, Washburn Washington. Tell me if you happen to spot a pony missing one leg. And yes, brother - I agree about a vacation. After all of this mess, I think I deserve one."

Tourmaline stared at her shard... at least, it looked like he was doing so; she could now make out his eyes, but just barely, and he seemed to be looking at her...

"Uh, right. Okay. So... Ghastly Gorge, I suppose?"
"Obsidian said we would go hunting there... I guess we are, just not like we'd planned on."
"Well, uhhhh... would you like to hold her, then?"

A pause. "Umm... yeah, okay. Sure."

Movement between them - she could now make out mane colors - then warm went to cool, then back to warm as Amy took her in hoof. "I guess... here we go, then. You okay in there?"

"Oh yes, surprisingly so," Obsidian said cheerfully, "It's almost like being exceedingly lazy to the point that you're having to carry me... but I'd say I have a fairly good excuse. Compared to my last few hours, it's quite pleasant. I'm also starting to see colours! If I could just figure out how to use my magic in this form, you could simply strap me to your chest and we would be able to cause a good bit of mayhem - just like we planned!"

Unlike Tourmaline, Amethyst laughed out loud. "You wanna be strapped to my barrel, and the two of us go hunt? Obsidian... I had no clue you were such a daredevil!"

Amethyst's magic flashed, and Obsidian was surrounded by it. It felt... different. She could tell it was an ANGRY energy, but it felt tempered with... something... that was keeping that anger in check. It was a hot sensation, but not uncomfortably so; it was almost like being back in the sauna at the spa.

Then, she felt something else touch her - but whatever it was wasn't alive, so it gave off zero energy. There was a weird disorientation, then she was surrounded on three sides by light... and trees! She could see the trees now! In fact, much of her vision was clearing up... and she found herself hanging around Amy's neck on a length of cord, tied around her middle.

"There we go - that should work," Amethyst said.

Obsidian could see her now, and she looked rough... but strangely, she was smiling a little, conservative grin as she walked along. Tourmaline looked like Tartarus warmed-over, but he was keeping up well enough, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.

Amethyst glanced down at the Siddy-shard. "So, when we get there... are we going to hunt for animals, or for this Washboard character?"

"Sadly, first things first, Amy. We need to reunite with the others - hopefully at Washington's place - and hunting anything down might give me too much release; I need every single scrap of anger I can manage for Amber, as you can expect."

Being a shard wasn't too bad, in this situation. "I can seeeeeeee youuuuuu..." she playfully called out in a sing-song voice.

Amy looked down at the shard, and gave it a little pat. "Yeah - I see you, too."

She then sighed and looked a bit... forlorn? "Obsidian... what do we really mean to each other? Like, are we just supposed to be friends now? Rivals with a sense of loyalty? Are we supposed to bond and stuff, or are we supposed to work together for this, then go back to ourselves?"

She then looked away. "Because I don't think I wanna be THAT, again - I... I actually like having someone to talk with better. Nobody really ever wanted to talk to me before..." Now, she smirked. "Of course, not like I was trying to be very approachable. But with how HE treated me, I just sort of thought everyone was supposed to hate, so that's what I did..."

She brought a hoof up to touch the shard. "But you... you spoke to me, even when I didn't want to talk. You were so kind, even when I was being a bitch. You even told me you hoped I would be happy someday..."

Amy shrugged. "I'm not sure about 'happy'... but I don't think I'm considering suicide anymore, so that's a good thing, right?"

Oh dear - so she really had been thinking about it; good thing that was over with.

"What do we mean to each other? Well, we're siblings, first and foremost - and we can try this mentality out in a non-umbral version, for the first time in history. I've seen friendly siblings, others with a bit of rivalry... and without a parasite sitting in our father's head and torturing us for its own sick goals, we can actually discover our true selves. Not as tools, not as weapons, but as brothers, sisters, friends and so on... the sky's the limit, sis."

If she could smirk, she would have done so now. "Besides, even if you would, as you put it, 'go back to yourself'... it won't change the fact that I will be myself as well, and you KNOW that I wil continue to pester you."

Amy laughed at that. "Yeah... and really? I'd let you... because it was that picking at me that finally got through."

"When I'd found the suit, I'd just thought I'd made some sort of magical discovery. So, I put it on and went to see what I could figure out... and, well, it did NOTHING magical. That was when you found me in the kitchen, looking busted up; I'd been testing to see if the suit would do anything magical, including fly..."

She now put on a bit of a grump-face. "It didn't do shit, except hide who I was. And when I went looking for anything about it, I came across some kids' book... and there was a mare on the cover, wearing the same suit." She sighed. "That's when I found out she was a hero... and I figured that nobody would EVER give me a chance to do good things, so... I just decided to wear the suit when I followed you and your friends."

"Manehattan was WEIRD... but I had a lot of places to hide, so it worked out well enough. Cincineighti, though... I was pretty sure you'd take care of it, like you did with Quarty, but you actually needed me, back there."

She now blushed, just slightly. "I've never, ever been needed before..."

Amy had been testing to see if she could fly in the Mare-Do-Well suit? The thought of such was kind of hilarious. "I was sure you'd gotten into a brawl. And I've needed you before, sis - I actually hoped for a bit of Dark Magic training, but there's been no time for it lately."

At the words 'Dark Magic training', Amy's eyes lit up. "Wait... you mean, even after all that talk about Light Magic and such, you still want to learn the Dark parts? A-and you want... me... to teach you? I..."

Her smile was something to see, as it was so very rare that it made her entire muzzle pleasant - as if she were a different pony entirely. "... I want to say yes, but... Siddy, I've never taught anyone anything before; I don't even know where to begin! Why would you want ME to teach you, when you have access to Aqua, Peri and Opal right now?"

"Well, I need to learn more about Dark Magic, as a part of my Grey Magic studies. I have to admit that I've had issues, er... properly appreciating either kind. Especially considering that the last time I used Light Magic, I destroyed an entire Umbral horde with a single spell - now that was firepower, girl! - but it's even more important now, considering that those Umbral monsters now have Quartz's antimagical suits." Who would have thought that Light Magic was so simple to counter?

"For my Grey Magic, I plan to look for a kirin teacher - but for the Darkness, I need to ask you for help. And as for the sources you mentioned, well... Peri is still dead, officially... I don't really know Opal too well... nor Lapo... and I feel a bit insecure about asking an ancient berserker for lessons. You are the best choice, especially as I trust you won't go easy on me, sis."

Amethyst didn't say anything at first, but with her sight now fully restored, Obsidian could see the beginnings of tears standing in Amethyst's eyes. "The Best Choice... I think I like being the Best Choice; never been that before... not to anyone..."

She paused and reached up, wrapped her forelegs around her own middle - embracing Obsidian's shard - and actually hugged her. "I think I'm gonna like being needed... it makes me feel like I'm important, at least to someone."

It was a long walk, but Obsidian and Amethyst chatted during the trip, so it wasn't so bad. They were bonding, and if you'd have asked Obsidian about such a possibility during her time in the Rarity Suite, she'd have never imagined such a thing would come to pass.

Her new sense of sight, however, was going to take some getting used to. It was like she had eyes, but all over her body... and she didn't blink. But still, she had a perfect 360 degree view of everything around her - and it was a bit disorienting, to say the least.

As the sun was slowly setting, the three of them reached an old, rickety sign that proclaimed that they had finally arrived at Ghastly Gorge.

What a strange day: Hugging Onyx, then hugging Amethyst - only Amber had refused, which was a clear sign that she was thoroughly evil. Damnation, they needed to take care of her as quickly as possible before she could traumatize Flurry even further... not to mention Equestria as a whole.

"... and with all of that in mind, I could use some physical training as well, sis - so if I end up with time to spare, it would be nice to spend it training with you." She would have to ask Quartz for fencing lessons, though - he'd been downright effective with a kitchen knife; if he trained her properly, she'd be just as versatile... though she doubted many sword fights took place in a kitchen.

"Someone wanting to spend time with me?" Amy looked a bit stunned. "The only one who ever wanted to before was Peri, but that was because I could silence those voices in his head. You know... by killing the ones making them..."

She then gave a chuckle. "Of course, if I'm going good now, I don't think I should do that so much anymore. Maybe only once a month, you know? Just a routine to get it out of my system..." Was... was she joking with Obsidian now?

"You could kill Amber once a month - I think I know everything I need to bring back our dead siblings, so she could be my guinea pig... as soon as we drag her out of that blasted shard." It wasn't exactly a show of repentant remorse for wholesale slaughter, but at least Siddy's mass-murdering sister was getting better. By degrees.

"HA! I'd kill her three times a day, before each meal, to work up an appetite!" It was strange, but most of Obsidian's dark humor was lost on her friends... but Amethyst seemed to open right up to it. How could she have known that, out of all the ponies she would meet, her formerly-wicked sister would be the one who got it?

The gorge itself was rocky, barren and mostly featureless - it was almost like another world. The crags and stony outcroppings lent an almost surreal feel to the area, and the only swatch of color to be seen in the entire area was what looked to be a cactus, which was almost as tall as a house.

"Can we stop, please?" Tourmy spoke up. "We've been walking for a while now, and I'm still feeling that beating you gave me earlier."

Amy smirked at him. "Well, then next time, don't let me beat you as much, simple as that!"

However, she found an outcropping that left shade beneath it, and the two ponies and their magical shard sister were resting under it comfortably within minutes. Tourmaline was exhausted, and he was asleep within moments after he laid himself down. Amethyst was still awake, though, and sat there looking out over the rocks as she absentmindedly held Obsidian in her hoof.

"It's weird... I'd never succeeded at anything before, so I was always angry that I couldn't prove myself... even TO myself. Now that I've actually WON at something, I feel... it's weird, but it's like a... not-angry feeling. I'm not sure if it's 'happy', really - though it might be, as I don't know what it is."

She sighed. "I'll bet you didn't have a single problem with adjusting to Equestrian life, did you?"

"Amy... I started out by screaming at Cupcake so harshly that he ran away crying." Hopefully Diamond and the rest were already here somewhere; Tourmy needed help. Perhaps not as much as Obsidian had needed earlier, but Amy didn't exactly tickle him, either.

She laughed. "What? You screamed at him? AND he ran away crying?" Then she quirked an eyebrow. "So... how in the world did you end up getting engaged to him? I mean, did he cast a spell on you, or did he do something that you really liked, or... I mean, how did you end up with the likes of him?"

Ah, in theory, it was a simple question; in practice, it was a bit more difficult to explain. "A lot had changed since our first meeting. In the beginning, I had a head filled with whatever lessons King Sombra had put there. Mica felt outright insulted when I explained to him that things such as 'love', 'mercy' or 'friendship' were useless ideas, fitting only for slaves. I saw Stalwart merely as a useful little mare who, for some reason, was the only pony around who kept treating me in a way that I felt I deserved - she was practically worshipping every royal, myself included."

"The only reason why I chose Cupcake as my liaison was the fact that he had been talking quite a lot, so I'd hoped to get a lot of useful information from him - a decision I regretted, three minutes later. When I started to look around on my own, I read some history books where it seemed as if every single force that came fighting against friendship kept being soundly defeated. But when Tourmy showed up and tried to kill me, it was enough to push me towards the Equestrians' direction. When Onyx, er... exploded, I was changed enough to make my stand against our creator."

"And Cupcake represents the incarnation of everything that I didn't have in my old life. He was just... there, showing me that this world was quite different than my old one." Hunh - she was now a bit curious how Cup himself would reply to this question. However, that was how she saw her first days of modern life - a pragmatic turn that allowed her to taste a bit of friendship... and contrary to Nightmare Moon and the other baddies, she had tasted it in a non-violent, non-rainbow-lasery way.

"Well," Amy said hesitantly, "if you can find someone to be a Special Somepony with, then... then maybe I have a chance at that too, someday? I mean, I've seen you two around the house, and when I'm not busy griping at you or him about how sickly sweet it is..."

She then looked at the shard directly. "... I have to admit, you two seem happy together." She smiled a bit. "It looks like you're both having a lot of fun... and that 'kissing' thing looks interesting, too; what's that like?"

Oh. That may have been an issue that was too difficult to explain; the technical description was simple enough, but the feelings it evoked were not. "Depends on the kiss; it usually feels as if something is starting to pleasantly melt your spine into a very happy puddle of goo." If Obsidian could smirk, she would do it now. "Maybe I should try to introduce you to Prince Midnight...?"

"Prince... err..." She cleared her throat. "After all that's happened, I don't know that he'd be allowed to see the likes of me. You want my honesty, I don't even really know what I want. I mean, I've just... never thought about it before."

With her amazing 360 degree vision, Obsidian could see in all directions at once, which meant she was taking in quite a bit: The sunset, Amy's muzzle, Tourmy's sleeping form, rocks, the one cactus again, a pair of eyes staring at them from a cave, more rocks, a pinkish sky, and occasionally a bug or insect of som- ... pair of eyes?

Yes, in a cavern near where Amethyst was seated, there were a large pair of eyes staring at Amy. They were far too big to be a pony, but perhaps too small for an Ursa Minor. Perhaps.

"Amy? Don't make any sudden movements... there's something in that cave behind us, and I believe it's possibly a bit bigger than a pony," Obsidian said very, very carefully. She had no doubts that her sister would be able to take care of any danger they came across, but it was always better NOT to be surprised by a sudden attack, especially as they still had to take care of Tourmaline.

Amy didn't do anything but blink and nod. "Okay then," she said slowly and methodically, as she carefully laid Obsidian down in the lee of the stone she was sitting on, out of the sunlight, before slowly standing up and casually making her way over to where Tourmy was. Reaching him, she looked him over a bit, nodded, then walked directly towards the cave itself!

The eyes kept looking at Amy, but she didn't look up at them yet; she was focused on the ground beneath her, seemingly seeking something. When she got close enough to the cave, however, Obsidian suddenly saw what looked like a humongous worm with a gaping maw of teeth lurch out of its' hiding place, headed straight at her sister.

Amy slid sideways, then leapt up onto the worm's back as it passed her, as if she were simply stepping onto a slow-moving platform. It shrieked in an ear-piercing wail, and attempted to shake her off by swaying wildly and even rolling over a few times.

And each time, Amy came out of it in control of the situation, still atop the massive worm, still out of reach of it's nasty-looking gullet. After a minute or two of this, the mare simply raised a forehoof and stomped down HARD on its' head; the thing squealed timidly before she leapt in front of it to buck it full in the face. There was the grunt of effort from the mare, a wet crack... and the worm fell over dead, sporting a fresh pair of deep, hoof-shaped impressions imbedded in what could be generously called its' 'forehead'.

By Darkness! Since when were worms ever that huge? It was a good thing that Sister Amethyst reacted with so much speed and experience; otherwise, they could have been in serious trouble. "Have you ever seen anything like that before, sister?" she asked Amy, once it was obvious the current danger was thoroughly and completely dead.

The violent mare looked at the fleshy corpse for a moment. "Nope - but I can kill it; good enough for me."

She walked over to it and began to examine it a bit more. "Hmmmmm... the meat might be viable, but the flesh is awful - can't make leather from it. Not exactly a trophy kill, but a kill is a kill... and this one was going to kill me, so I just pre-empted that."

She then sighed and gave the side of the worm a meaty thump with a forehoof. "... if I still had my Foci Dagger..."

She sighed again and came back to the rock and sat down, picking Siddy's shard up with care. "You know, that dagger was the only thing I ever cared about for a long time. It didn't yell at me, or hate me, or find me stupid... it just helped me to shed blood. But I LOVED it, like family to me."

She then gave a rueful chuckle. "Even though I traded it for our freedom... I miss it already."

"To be fair, sister, we have a technological genius in our family, as well as a research genius AND a just-plain genius; I'm sure we would be able to make a suitable replacement for you." It might not fill the dagger-shaped void in Amy's heart, but it was all that Obsidian could do right now.

Amy considered it for a moment, then shook her head. "No - no she couldn't... not one like THAT."

Amy sat back on the rock and watched the sunset for a moment... then looked sideways at the corpse of the worm and grinned lightly. "You know... dead things have a tendency to attract more animals. We could either wait here and let me grab us some dinner... or we need to move on before something else shows up."

Obsidian thought about it: Tourmaline was in rather bad shape, so she had to consider that. There was no guarantee that the worm wouldn't be poisonous...

"Let's go - somewhere around here, there must be a nice, civilized hut waiting for us. The sooner we get there, the sooner we'll be able to eat something that we can be certain won't kill us, and perhaps Tourmy can get some medical attention."

Amy stood up and put the cord holding Obsidian around her neck. "Alright... lemme get him up."

She came over to Tourmaline and nudged him with a hoof. "Hey... wake up, stu-..." She checked herself. "... Tourmaline. Up time."

Tourmaline groaned, and slowly sat up. "Did you even let me get an hour of WHAT THE TARTARUS IS THAT!?"

"Something that tried to eat me; I think it learned its' lesson. C'mon, we gotta go before other things show up to eat it."

Tourmaline stared at the worm for a bit, then shivered a bit before getting up, stretching lightly (due to still stiff and bruised muscles) and joining them both as they continued onward through the rocky canyon.

They walked on for a while more, crossing the gorge little by little. There was a moment when Amy almost found a pitfall the hard way, and the (many) times Tourmaline asked to sit for a few minutes... but otherwise, most of it was just travel. Occasionally, they came across another singular cactus or scrub bush... but otherwise, the gorge was almost completely barren of any other plantlife.

Hours later, after Tourmaline swore he was going to die on his hooves for the sixteenth time, they finally found a shallow cavern that wasn't already occupied by something living... or didn't smell as if it once had. Tourmaline built and lit a small fire while Amy sought out kindling. It took some doing, but they eventually managed to set up a decent little camp, where her brother went right to sleep at the far end of the cave and Amethyst sat up a bit longer.

She'd relocated to right outside of the cave, and was lying on her back - Obsidian imbedded in her chest fluff - looking up at the stars. It was warm and soothing to be here like this; as angry as she had been, this side of Amethyst was certainly much better. And a lot safer, too.

Okay, confession time: while travelling in shard form was much less taxing, it was also pretty boring.

"Too bad we can't turn Tourmy into a shard," she mused with no hostility or irony in her voice. As far as she was aware, Amy didn't seem to show any signs of being tired of her company. Shards were a pretty efficient way to move ponies around; putting criminals in this form could be useful too, as Princess Twilight had implied. A shard was considerably smaller than a statue, after all.

"Admittedly, I thought that finding Mister Washington would be a little easier than it's turned out to be," Obsidian sighed.

"Hey, if he's been living out here for so long, he's probably a master of staying hidden; you saw the size of that worm - imagine living with it near you." Amy shrugged non-committedly. "What am I supposed to do with my life now, hunh? I'm not under anyone's hoof, really... and I've never really known that before. It's freedom, yeah... but it's... kinda scary, too. No experience with this aspect of being free... I mean, I was used to being... well, being a tool for others to use. Now that I'm on my own... I don't know what to do with my life."

"Well, if you're asking me, I think that you were pretty good back there as Mare Do-Well," Obsidian noted. "The fact that somepony had helped us and I didn't know who it was had been driving me mad. I'm glad it turned out to be you... I'm so, so glad it turned out to be you."

Amy gave a small grin. "Yeah? Well... maybe I should keep doing it, then? Like, a vigilante and stuff? Righting wrongs and saving lives?" She was quiet for a moment, then, "It doesn't sound boring, I'll give you that."

Her silence stretched out for a while after that... until Obsidian realized she'd fallen asleep looking at the stars. From the angle she was at, Amy looked kind of cute while she was sleeping.

Also from the angle she was at, she could see the one lone cactus outside suddenly wiggle, then tilt to the right... and from underneath it came some sort of form; it was too shadowy out there to see what it was, but once it was free of the hole it came from, it began to slink it's way slowly towards the cave they were at.

Oh, shit.

Author's Notes:

Amethyst and Tourmaline were originally set at odds with one another... and now, after all this time and experience, it seems as though they've finally accepted each other. And Amy REALLY accepts Siddy - most likely because the Grey Princess isn't calling her names or screaming about orders or incompetence.

I enjoyed the self-searching Amy did in this chapter - once again, proof that not every character has to stay within their roots, and that expanding one's horizons can be both daunting and exciting at the same time. I hope I conveyed that idea through Amy here, at least a little bit.

Now... what in Tartarus is going on with the souls in Siddy's head? Actual appearances? Has something changed, perhaps? Will those changes be permanent? Did those trapped souls survive the incident? Is this newcomer going to be a hero, or a hassle?

That's right gang, you know the lyrics - no spoilers.

Sixty One: Together Again

"Amy..? Amy..! AMY!!!" Obsidian pressed her presence at her sister's mind, trying desperately to wake her up... but unfortunately, Amy simply mumbled in her sleep, smacked her lips and kept right on snoozing.

The form was utterly silent as it made its' way around Amy and headed into the cave itself, where Tourmaline was asleep. And, after a few nerve-racking minutes, it snuck back out and came over to where Amy and Obsidian were, then looked down at them.

From this close, Obsidian could make out a lot more detail; he was tall and broad, had a very long mane which was done up in a single, long, thick braid. He was also quite muscular; there was no hiding that fact. His legs looked thick and sturdy...

... all three of them.

Could she talk to him as well, or maybe only her own siblings were able to hear her? Well, it was time to find out!

"Washburn Washington, right? We've been searching for you!" she attempted to reach out to him as she had with her brother and sister before she received her speaking gift.

The form continued to stare for a bit, showing not the first sign he'd even heard her. Then the form leaned back a bit, using his mouth to reach into a pocket or some such and produced...

A knife. A BIG knife.

A knife which he began to bring towards Amy's throat!

"WASHINGTON!" Obsidian SCREAMED at the towering stallion with every bit of force that she could; even if she couldn't get his attention, perhaps at the very least she could awaken Amethyst!

The knife came down to her sister's pretty neck... then slid upward smoothly, cutting through the cord that held Obsidian. The knife then came back, and was put away... and he reached down and carefully picked Siddy up off of Amy's chest, placing her inside a pocket or such which was warm and smelled thickly of salt.

That done, she couldn't see anymore... but she could feel the sensation of moving - he was shardnapping her!

"Hey!" she called out, "Put me down! What do you think you're doing? Since when do Apples engage in stealing?!"

The movement continued on for a while, bouncing and jouncing along until it suddenly stopped. Light returned to Siddy's life as she was removed from whatever she was carried in and placed on a table, next to a number of other uncut gems and precious stones.

She was in a cavern, but this one was considerably bigger - and it was also filled with all manner of junk. Everything in this cave was piece-mealed together; couches made of canvas, wood and part of a grocery cart, a bed made from boxes and a thick-looking blanket of indeterminate age, shelves made of what looked to be carved rocks, and an actual wooden barrel that she saw water from a stalactite on the ceiling drip into.

Washburn Washington looked like a rugged stallion. His body was strong and capable, his body language spoke of a coiled spring about to strike, and his muzzle was a mess of scars - his big, almost radiant green eyes being the only thing unmarred about his face. He sat at a chair made of bent steel and a worn pillow, and just looked at her for a moment.

Then, slowly, he leaned over and took up what looked to be... oh Darkness preserve... a chisel!

"TOUCH ME WITH THAT THING AND I WILL BITE YOUR EARS OFF!" Damnation, so that's how he lived all these years? Separated from his family, merely because he thought, for some strange reason, that loss of a single leg would make him that much less useful to them? Was he always this level of crazy, or was it just the effect of sudden shock and blood loss from a missing limb?

The broad stallion lifted the chisel and touched it lightly to her, about mid-way... then, seeming to be pleased with his assessment, he brought his head back, aiming to bring it down on her with a firm blow...

And THAT was when she heard a large thump from above them both - and apparently, Wash heard it too, as he stopped before he could strike her. He slowly put the chisel down, and got up from the table. His scar-of-a-face was difficult to read, but his body language said he was going into defensive mode.

Then, there was another loud thump, and a muffled ripping sound... and dirt skittered down onto the table from overhead. Wash looked up... and found a hole in his ceiling. He frowned deeply. And when he heard voices, he began to creep out of her sight.

"I do not believe that is how you get water from a cactus, brother - in fact, I would dare say you've murdered the poor thing..." That sounded like... Quartz?

"{Oh no! I did not wish to commit a murder!}" And there was NO mistaking that voice - it was her siblings!

"Now, now... no fretting. We can possibly just replant it; no harm done, correct?"
"{Oh, I do hope so... I am so sorry, Mister Cactus!}"

Then, a face popped into sight at the hole - it was the grey and wrinkled muzzle of an old stallion who she KNEW to be a berserker. "Looks like some kinda cave or something... can't see a damned thing down he-... wait. Hold up. There's..."

He pulled his head back out of the hole. "There's someone living down there!"

"Living, er, underground, excuse us, you say?" And there was Opal - that accounted for everyone at the arena; they had ALL made it out alive, thank Harmony!

"HELP!" Obsidian cried out, not daring to calm herself down even a touch, due to relief - she was trapped here while this maniac was holding a chisel! She had no idea if it would be enough to damage a Sombra shard - probably not.

Hopefully not - otherwise she would feel pretty fucking stupid for not destroying Amber earlier.

"What was that!?"
"It sounded like..."
"{OBSIDYAN! IT WAS OBSIDYAN! I CAN HEAR HER!}"
"We think, um, that Diamond is, ah, correct in his assumption, yes."
"Where? Down there?"
"Indeed - and I shall volunteer to scout the premesis first; I can make up for how powerless I currently feel."

There was a scrabbling at the hole that made it a bit wider, then Quartz popped his head in to look around. "Well, I can certainly see what you mean - this is someone's home... and yet, they don't seem to be currently present."

He then cleared his throat. "Obsidian? Are you possibly down there, sister?"

"YES! I'M A SHARD! JUST GET DOWN HERE AND GET THIS MANIAC AWAY FROM ME!" Powerless, did he say? At least HE could move on his own... that, and nopony was trying to chisel him into a toothpick or something worse!

"A SHARD!? Oh sweet Darkness, just a moment!" He pulled his head up. "It IS Obsidian - and she's been sharded!"

"Oh, for cryin' out loud..."
"{Oh, my...}"
"HAAAAhahahahahahahahaaaaa... we mean, er, oh dear."
"If we could possibly find a less restrictive path downward, then we could-"
"MOVE, colt."

There was a solid, meaty >THUD<, and a LOT of dirt fell down into the cave, followed by spears of silvery moonlight.

"THERE! Now, we have a damned path - happy?"
"Brother, your brutishness knows no bounds..."
"You're welcome, Quarty. Now, you first."
"As you wish... er, may I possibly get some support, or shall I merely break only the bones I land on when I fall?"
"You big pussy..."

As she watched, a glow came from above as Quartz was being lifted by four sets of magic into the hole, then began to float down. "A moment, please - once I touch down, let me know where I am in reference to you, so that I may find you quickly, Obsidian."

This was nice and all... but Wash was possibly still hiding somewhere down here - and he was FAR bigger than Quartz was.

"Bring Aqua with you! This guy is BIG! And he has a knife and CHISEL!" At the moment, the chisel seemed to be a bit more intimidating to Siddy than the blade.

Quartz's eyes went wide, and he began to look around quickly. Spotting something that kept his interest, he waited until he was close to the floor before using his magic to lift what looked like a long, thin piece of scrap metal, holding it like a sword in front of him as his hooves touched down and he began to scan the area.

"Words, Quarty! What's news?" Aquamarine bellowed down from above.

Quartz, remaining alert, replied sidelong to the ceiling. "I am on the ground, yet Obsidian tells me there may be a dangerous interloper about - I could possibly use some assistance, perhaps?"

A shadow fell over the hole, then elderly Aquamarine swung himself down into the cavern, dropped, and used his magic to cushion his fall.

"Brother," Quartz said as Aqua lightly touched down, "why could you not have just told me to do that?"

Aqua smiled. "And you didn't think of it yourself because..?"

Quartz gave a light chuckle. "Touche`, my sibling."

They both began to look around the room, seeking whatever might be hidden in here. "Table, rocks, chair, rocks, sofa, rocks, barrel..." Aqua listed off things off-hoofedly as his eyes looked over the surrounding furniture/refuse.

"AH! Excellent!" Quartz said with a grin as he came to the table, looking directly at Obsidian's dark crystal shard with a chuckle. "And so, your cavalry arrives, madam!"

"{You both need to watch out for this guy - he's the lost son of Applejack.}" Obsidian switched to ancient Crystallian, making sure she wasn't just blabbing away their plans in front of Washburn, regardless if he heard her or not. "{He only has three legs, but he's been living here for ages, so he is incredibly dangerous! I don't know why he didn't want to talk with me, though...}"

Maybe he lived here by himself for too long and forgot how to speak? She had no idea how long he had actually been living here...

And oh, by Darkness, it was so good to see these two! "{Tell Diamond he needs to check on Tourmaline; Washburn went into the cave where he was sleeping, but I don't know what he did with him! Or TO him!"

"Tourmy? Eh... {Tourmaline?}" Quartz said, catching on, "{Hopefully, nothing sinister... if the cad has wounded him or worse...}" Quartz sounded as defensive about his brother as Obsidian felt. Had they always cared about each other in secret? Or was this something that was, as Whistlewhite said, a product of her being involved?

There was a blur of movement from behind them, but Quartz was exceptionally astute, as he whirled and presented the metal as a sword, leveling it vertically in front of him as he scanned the area tightly. Another blur of motion and a YELL from Aqua, and the two of them stomped into view.

The strong, tall and exceedingly muscular stallion had his single, thick foreleg up, which was pushing on Aqua's own dual forehooves as they were apparently trying to shove each other backwards... and to Wash's visible surprise, Aqua was winning.

"There's no stallion born yet who wins at THIS game with ME!" Aqua laughed, even as Wash's expression grew angrier. It was a bit surreal, seeing the elderly pony pushing on the huge stallion hard enough to leave grooves in the dirt from the backwards progression of Washburn's rear hooves... but it was also a silent testament to Aqua's raw strength.

Quartz, in the meantime, took Obsidian up in his magic and planted her in the chest pocket of his maroon suit; this close to him, Obsidian could swear she smelled cologne, and the bright colors were even brighter than before. "Not to worry, o sister of mine - you have been retrieved!"

At that moment, there was a hard >WHUMP<, and Aqua went sailing through the air past them as Washburn simply dropped down and bucked from underneath himself, his powerful rear hooves slamming into the elderly pony's barrel. Wash then stood up, facing Quartz.

"Wary yourself, stranger," Quartz said as he took a defensive stance, "and know that I shall take no mercy on thee, should you happen to attack me!"

"Mmmmrrrr..." Wash said, sounding like a cross between a grinding stone and a creaking door; obviously, the stallion hadn't spoken much for quite some time.

Quartz whispered softly, "Oh dear, sweet Darkness, don't tell me he's a simpleton..."

They had to stop him somehow! She certainly hadn't expected this encounter to turn out as it was turning out! "Washburn! I know your sister, Butter Churn! And Applejack!" She tried to appeal to his family again, hoping he'd simply been paying her no attention previously due to distraction, or thinking, or...

Well, maybe he COULDN'T hear her - but it wasn't going to stop her from fucking TRYING!

"Mmmmmmrrrrrrr...." he growled again, and Obsidian felt Quartz shivering, just a bit.

"I warn you!" he said, clearly using nothing but bold bravado... even though he was scared enough to shake. Pussy indeed... Aqua didn't know Quartz's courage.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmaaaaaybe ya ought not break inta someun's HOME..." he finally ground out, his voice confirming the idea he hadn't used it in so long, as it sounded more like a Timberwolf's growl than a stallion's voice.

Quartz stared for a moment... then spoke up. "Since you can speak, then I beseech you to have mercy - this shard of crystal holds my dear sister, and I would most enjoy having her back among us! We seek shelter from the pain of war, and-"

"WHAR?" he said, a bit shocked, "Whut WHAR?"

"The war of-" Quartz began, but Aqua interrupted him.

"KICKING YOUR BIG FLANK, ASSHOLE!" he cried as he suddenly leapt onto Wash's back and slammed his hooves onto either side of his head.

Washburn Washington ROARED in anger, and instantly ran backwards into the table, breaking it and sending uncut gems flying everywhere. Aquamarine was taken a bit by surprise and grunted, but he didn't let go.

As she and Quartz watched, Wash went down on all fours threes and began to buck and jump as if he were having a fit; Aqua held on for dear life, looking a bit taken by surprise at the sheer POWER of the stallion!

"THE WAR OF UMBRALS! DAMNATION, CAN'T YOU CALM THE TARTARUS DOWN?!" Obsidian was now regretting not having access to her magic; it would be easier to separate them if she could reach out and simply pluck them apart. And why was it that everypony always had to attack when a situation was DE-escalating? Ruby and Thunderclap... Aquamarine and that one guardian... and now, Aqua and Washburn!

Wash kept bucking, and when his hooves connected with the wall, the whole cavern shook! Aqua held on tightly... but he was laughing? "That's IT, COLT! Gimme a ride I won't ever forget! YEEEE-HAAAA!"

She could see the first wisps of red coming from Aqua's eyes... and this wasn't lost on Quartz either. "Oh, darkness preserve, if he rages in this tiny cave..."

But it became a moot point as Obsidian heard a light thump, and Diamond poked his head up from behind the wreckage of the table. "{Owwwww...}"

He then stood up and marched his little self right over to where Wash and Aqua were having their rodeo.

"{That... will be...} ENUFF!" He said as his horn gave a bright glow; as soon as Wash turned to face him, he simply leapt up and lightly, delicately touched his glowing horn to the angry stallion's forehead. The horn flashed, Wash's eyes crossed, then he groaned and collapsed in a heap onto the cavern floor.

Aqua came up with a jump, irritation writ large on his elderly muzzle. "I was enjoying that, you littl-"

And before he could finish, Diamond did the exact same thing to Aqua; the wisps instantly vanished, and the elderly pony let out a hiccup as he hit the floor too.

"Er... Mundy?" Quartz asked, looking a bit surprised at his brother's actions.

The little stallion smiled. {"An Anesthetic Spell, straight to the head, makes anyone behave."}

Hmmmm... useful. Perhaps she could learn that one? But first things first, and she still had to learn LOTS of things - so Siddy added it to her mental list with an internal sigh. "{Thank you, brother; now, could you perchance take hold of me? And did you manage to check on Tourmy yet?}"

Diamond came over to Quartz, who carefully gave Obsidian over with his magic as he lowered his makeshift sword.

"{Oh, Obsidyan,}" Diamond hugged the shard to his warm, soft little chest. "{We were so worried about you! What has happened to Tourmaline and Amethyst, though?}"

Quartz, in the meantime, grabbed up some of the used rope and cable lying around, and began to tie up Washburn with it as he moaned in his state of numbness.

"{They fell asleep, since we were wandering in the gorge for a long, long time. Tourmy went to sleep at the back end of the cave, but we need to check on him, Diamond. Washburn went into that cave and I didn't see what he was doing!}" Why was he asking about Amy, though? She wasn't that far away... was she? Just how far off did the massive stallion carry her?

"Which cave?" Quartz broke in as he finished tying Wash up. "Obsidian, we must have passed a hundred different caves since we got to this place! How could we possibly have known which one held them?"

Diamond sighed. "{Oh... oh my... I hope that Brother Tourmaline is okay...}"

"And Sister Amethyst, as well?" Quartz asked.

Diamond said nothing... yet after a moment, he gave a small nod.

"Well then," Quartz said with a grin, "it seems as if we have some searching to do as well, eh? Perhaps we could base ourselves from here, and make outward-expansive rings to locate where they may be at."

"If we might possibly turn your attention to the fact that WE are still present up here in a solo capacity!" Lapo yelled down at them from the hole above.

Quartz sighed. "And retrieve Opal from outside." He then smirked. "... mayhaps."

"We heard that, you sickening sycophant!"

"GOOD - then perhaps it would teach you a touch of humility, dear sister." Quartz winked at Mundy and Siddy. "But yes, we should fetch her before something dreadful can happ-"

There was a sudden shriek from above, and the sound of something heavy slamming into the ground made a few scant particles of dirt sprinkle down from above them.

"Tryin' ta get away, hunh? WHERE'S SIDDY, YOU ROTTEN SHARDSTER!?" That was THUNDERCLAP! And what was worse, she had no idea that Opal was (more or less) on their side now! The pegasus would likely beat Opal to a pulp without her mechanical defenses!

"{We were near this really tall cactus; I saw Washburn leaving his hideout from the place where Amy slept. You shouldn't have any trouble spotting her...}" Now Obsidian was starting to become a bit more anxious; who knew what Washburn possibly could have done to poor Tourmaline?

"CLAP! I'M FINE!" Obsidian was really starting to miss her magic... and her body.

There were indistinct noises from above, then the hole BURST inwards, and the pegasus landed squarely in the center of the room, taking a martial arts-style stance.

"Nobody move! Thunderclap Dash is HERE!" she bellowed.

Oooooooooh... something was going on that was decidedly new; when Clap hit the ground, Obsidian felt a tingle inside her, as if there was something particular that was drawing her to Thunderclap, directly. It felt like the pegasus was a magnet, and Siddy was a pile of metal shavings; she felt like she wanted nothing more than to hug her brash yet charitable friend...

Obsidian had no idea that she'd truly missed her so much.

Quartz, nonplussed, simply blinked at her. "Yes, yes, that's nice... and do you plan to be of any help, while you're here?"

Clap spun to face Quartz. "YOU! Now I know something's up! The suitmaker and the egghead up there, and..." Now, she caught sight of Diamond and blinked. "... a-and Mundy? Plus, I KNOW I heard Siddy somewhere in all this - don't you lie to me!"

Diamond lifted the shard up to be seen. "{Here she is!}"

Clap looked... and her entire muzzzle fell at the sight of the simple little shard. "Oh... oh, no no... Siddy? Sidster? Is... i-is that YOU?" She looked heartbroken.

It was SO good to see her! And this time, she wasn't hostile! "Ha! I beat both you and Mica! One shot, double win!" Siddy obviously wasn't going to miss an opportunity to brag about it... just a little bit - especially as she really managed to beat them quite fairly. "And you know what? Now we can fly together - which we should do, since we need to find Tourmaline and Amethyst. I don't know where Washburn took me... can you help us find them somehow?" She sounded a bit more cheerful than one could normally reasonably expect from a shard. If one expected things from shards.

Her eyes flew open as Obsidian spoke. "HOLY HIGH ALTITUDE! S... S-S-SIDDY!? How in the buck can I HEAR you from in there!? Oh, Sids-"

She grabbed the shard from Diamond's hooves and cradled it in her powerful forelegs as she gave a crushing hug that Siddy, for once, wasn't crushed in. "When that bimbo let us think again, Mikey and I were SO SORRY! We thought you were HIM, and when HE showed up, we wanted him DONE! We wanted him DEAD! WE TRIED TO KILL YOU, SIDDEEEEEE..."

Clap began to sob, hugging the shard to her barrel for all she was worth. "Oh, please please PLEASE say you don't hate us! I couldn't STAND it if you hated us, PLEASE tell me you're okay, and we didn't hurt you too much, PLEEE-HEE-HEEEEESE!!!"

Quartz lifted an eyebrow. "... tried to... oh, yes, Amber. Well, at least she isn't under the influence; no sickly glow in her eyes."

HOORAY! A hug that didn't bend her skeleton! Being a shard certainly had its advantages! "Clappy! ME, hating YOU? I love you, girl - ALL of you! And don't worry; you and Mica didn't damage me too much! And damnation, you won't believe what's been happening as of la-"

Wait a second. "Uhm... Quartz? Does a Sharding Spell include our clothing as well? I wonder where my wedding necklace got to, or if it's here with me..."

Clap's muzzle broke out in a teary grin. "Oh Sids, I love ya too, oh my friend..."

She then stopped cold, pulled the shard from her and glared at her with a playful smirk. "Heeeeyyyyyy... you can't count that as a win! We were under mind control! We didn't really have much of a plan! I mean, I'm already in trouble for stealing those lightning rods from the Weather Factory..." She then sighed, "... which means I'm probably out of a job... fudge bars..."

Clap looked back up at the shard with a challenging grin as she continued. "You wanna know if you can do it for real, you gotta do it without help from your stupid sister!"

She then turned to Quartz, and her muzzle hardened. "You. Let her out."

Quartz shrugged. "I assure you, madam, that I would if I knew how. Normally, interaction with either an alicorn or one of us is required, yet... well, she hasn't reformed from the touch of MY magic, so it doesn't seem to be working that way, this time..."

And yet, she definitely felt a tingle from Thunderclap's simple touch...

"And I didn't have my magic and was already tired after my fight with Gypsy! Now, Clappy - where's the rest of the team? We need to reunite... and find Amy and Tourmy, of course."

"The team's hiding out - all of us - at Sugarcube Corner, duh! Since things went sideways, there's been a TON of those harness things out there - and they've got Umbrals in 'em! This is SERIOUSLY SCREWED, Siddy..." Clap then sighed as her muzzle fell a bit. "Worse? She's got a LOT of ponies under her control - Princess Twilight, Professor Fluttershy, Miss Rarity, Pinkie AND my mom are all missing, and I'm scared to death that she... she..."

The pegasus suddenly stood up straight, and angrily wiped away the tears that were trying to fall from her eyes. "Siddy, she's got my mom... I don't know WHAT to do!"

"Try, perhaps, doing as she was suggesting; find Amethyst and Tourmaline, then take Obsidian back to your friends. I don't believe that would be out of line, as I've met Cupcake personally... and I am certain he misses his love." Quartz grinned.

Clap looked at him skepticatlly. "But... you're the Bad Guy; why are you being so nice?"

Quartz chuckled at the comment. "Have you not heard of rehabilitation, my dear? Besides, 'evil' isn't very fashionable, this season," he then frowned to himself, "contrary to the apparent popular belief of some siblings..."

"Rehal... rehabul... you mean, you're gonna switch sides, then?" Clap asked.

Quartz smiled in return. "I believe we ALL are ready to do so, in order to stop Amber's inherent madness - she was going to have us all fight to the death, until she was stopped by some rather clever thinking on Amethyst's part."

Clap's jaw dropped open. "Queen Cranky bested the bimbo!?"

Well, the situation was terribly serious: Ponyville was under enemy occupation, key figures had been lost to undead mechanical forces... apparently including Princess Twilight Sparkle, who held the secret of how to stop Amber's mind-controlling powers...

Overall, they were outnumbered, outgunned and outsmarted... just another, boring day in Equestria. Nothing new.

"Yes, Clap, she did indeed - she also was the one who helped us in Manehattan and in Cin... Cin... uh, that city with the strange name. Mare Do-Well? That was her! She could use magic the entire time, and yet she didn't. Wonderful, isn't it?" Obsidian still had some leftover happiness in her voice, but it wasn't going to last for long. "I also met Whistlewhite, and Onyx is on our side as well! Overall, Amber made a terrible mistake by threatening our entire family at once; we are now all united against the oncoming enemy... well, except for Amber, of course. And Sapphire as well, because I frankly have no idea where she could be... but we will save Equestria, Clap. Again."

Clap just stared as she talked, then gave a low whistle as she finished. "Sids, whoa... that's, like, WOW. Mare-Do-Well was Amy? A-and ONYX!? I mean, what... how..."

Then she took a deep breath, and laughed. "Eeyup! Totally just another day for the Siddy Six! Ha-HA!"

She stood up and looked to Quartz. "Okay, suitguy - I guess I gotta go find Tourmy and Amy! You, uhhh..." She now noticed the tied-up stallion, and walked over to look at him. "This one's a BIG fella... how did-"

Her eyes stopped cold as they reached his cutie mark: an apple with a heart cut into it, seeds visible in the center.

"... that... TH-THAT'S WASHBURN WASHINGTON! WHAT IN THE CUMULONIMBUS..." She stared for a moment more before shaking herself out of it, then looked at the shard. "Siddy... we've got a LOT of catching up to do, you and me! Tell ya what, my friend..."

She then struck a dramatic pose, wings fully extended and a foreleg pointed to the sky. "Let's DASH!"

And with a single, powerful flap, Siddy felt like she was suddenly airborne! Clap flew straight up through the hole, making Opal yelp in surprise as she shot by, and flared her wings in the moonlight when she reached the skies.

"HA-HAAA! Clap and Siddy, together again!" she cried out, and took off over the gorge. The sight was breathtaking - they were high up, and Obsidian had a complete view of it all as Clap tied the broken ends of the cord together and tossed it around her own neck.

WOO-HOOOOOOO! FLYYYYIIIIING! Obsidian had only once gotten an opportunity to really fly - and it was in a dream where she was an alicorn, and it only lasted for a fleeting moment. Other, smaller flights - like her failed attempt to invade Opal's spider mech - didn't really count; too many things prevented her from enjoying that experience very much.

Now, however? She could see exactly how flying looked for a pegasus like Thunderclap Dash. She didn't have to worry about crashing, her weight wasn't bothering her friend's flight...

Being a shard definitely had its' advantages.

"Clap, Clap! I saw my own birth!" she decided to inform her, in case Clap didn't already consider this day to be among the very strangest of their lives.

"Whaaaaaaat? That sounds kinda... messy, Siddy! Or were you made in a lab? I only know how it goes for normal pones; you, girl, are WAAAAAAAY beyond normal - but in the best way!" She sailed over the gorge; it looked so small from up here... had they really walked it for so long? She had to admit that having wings was definitely an incredible advantage!

"So you saw all that stuff... but did you finally get to see what Radiant Hope was up to? I know that was bothering you for a long time... was she as dumb as you thought she was? Did she goof it up somehow?"

Obsidian spoke excitedly. "I was created in a dark cavern where Hope accidentally turned herself into a shard; Sombra was trying to drag her back into the world, but each time he tried, he kept getting a different foal until eventually, when he tried to break the shard - which was when I appeared! Which, to be fair, feels kind of strange... especially considering that part of her lives on in each of us. Myself included. I can even kind of feel her, but she's not in any shape to chat, sadly."

Clap stared down at her for a moment with a patented Thunderclap-style confused look on her muzzle, then shook her head slowly. "Geez, I can't even... that's harsh, Siddy. I mean, it's a lot to take in, y'know? I gotta get Mica to help put this where I can understand it better!"

Clap suddenly changed direction, and it felt as natural as taking a step. "Saw that - movement down there." What movement? Obsidian didn't see any...

"RRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHH!!!" came from below in a screeching, violent voice that was the aural equivalent of glass shattering. Beneath them, Obsidian saw what looked to be a whirling dervish of destruction, tearing at rocks and ground equally, while another figure stood waaaaaay back, but observing.

"That can't be good," Clap said, displaying her gift for stating the obvious - DAMNATION, Siddy had really MISSED her! "Should we check it out?"

What was the worst thing that could happen to them? They were absolutely awesome, after all! Clap could crush their foes with powerful divebomb attacks from the air! And Obsidian could - er... um, sparkle prettily? The worst thing would be falling into Amber's tender embrace once again... "Yes, but be careful - don't get too close, and if you'll even think you see poor Flurry Heart down there, we need to get out of here QUICKLY."

Clap nodded in response (it was a good thing Siddy could see) and began to make a lazy spiral downward, observing as she came to a better vantage point.

The cyclone of destruction was pony-shaped, and sounded a LOT like Amethyst in the midst of a screaming fit, while the other presence was Tourmaline; he had a canvas tarp wrapped around him like a cloak. He looked as though he was crying... but Amethyst was absolutely livid; apparently, they had awoken to discover Obsidian gone. Which, with the way she and Amy had been bonding lately, must have been quite a shock for her.

"Oh good, we've found them!" Obsidian was exceedingly happy to realize that the first part of their mission was already finished. "Let's land; we need to point them towards the rest of the family and assure them that I'm fine."

Clap hovered for a moment. "Uhhhhhh... Sids? I'm not landing where she can get to me... but..."

She swooped low over Tourmaline, and hovered over his head, out of reach. "Yo, Tourms!" she called out, "Look what I gooooot!"

Tourmaline looked up, gave a start at what he saw, then tuned to face Amy's direction. "AMETHYST! WE FOUND HER!"

Amy came to a dead stop, looking more like Aquamarine right now than herself, panting for breath and wearing a grimace that made her look utterly insane. But she took one look at Clap, saw the shard around her neck and rushed over to where they both were.

"DID YOU TAKE HER!? DID YOU TAKE HER!?!?" she sceamed, her voice cracking as tears flowed from her purple-misting eyes.

"No, geez!" Clap called back, "She was with the others - the egghead, the suitmaker, the elder and Mundy! They found her with someone I haven't seen in a decade, at least! And she's fine, Amy! CHILL!"

Amethyst looked utterly relieved and drained, and she sunk to the ground in a heap, gasping for breath as she kept her eyes glued to the shard.

"Uhhhh, Sids? That mare could use some comfort, I think - tell her you're okay, okay?"

"Yup! Comfort her! I will comfort her! We need to have a bit of a chat!" Obisidan practically chirped, relieved that Amy was better now... and secretly pleased that she managed to get into the violent mare's heart so much. Who would have thought that Amy, her dear sister Amethyst, could behave like that?

Amy gave a soft, barely controlled sob and held out her forelegs... and Clap, with a soft smile, generously placed Obsidian's shard into her trembling hooves, where Amy fiercely embraced the sliver of crystal. "Not when I was just starting to love you... no no no... not when I'd finally found someone who wants me here... not... no no no... no..."

Wow. Even Clap was taken aback by the teary display of affection. "Uhhhhh... yeah, she's good. So..." she turned to Tourmy, "like, what happened?"

Tourmaline dried his own eyes on his makeshift cloak. "Well, when... when I woke up, I was covered in this piece of canvas, like a blanket - which felt good, as I was a bit cold. When I came out to see what had happened to Obsidian and Amethyst, I found her lying on a rock asleep... and no shard around her neck."

"I searched a bit, then panicked when I realized she wasn't here - that's when I woke Amy, and when she reached for a shard that wasn't there... she, well..." He gestured to the still sobbing Amy. "She lost it."

"Yeeeeaaaaahhhh... I kinda figured that one out. So, now that we found ya, we can help you two make it to where the rest are, and reunite with everyone in the family, right?" Clap asked.

Tourmaline scowled. "Almost everyone; I know of at least ONE who won't be invited..."

Oh dear; Amy was really getting into this whole 'sisterly love' thing. And Obsidian sadly didn't have any legs that could help her return her sister's hug - what a terrible loss.

"Hey, Amy! I missed you, and I love you too!" It felt a bit strange to say out loud, but apparently Amy had been keeping her emotions all to herself for so long; now that she'd found out that she can actually show them to the world, it was no surprise that she seemed to be going a bit overboard.

"Oh, don't worry, brother - sooner or later, Amber will be invited as well... as the main course." Obsidian didn't even have a mouth to make a predatory grin with - another great loss. "But yes, I was taken away by the pony I was talking about. He wasn't, er... too talktative, but he apparently gave you this canvas to cover up with and, well... Quartz and Aqua rescued me from him and his chisel. *ahem* We left the rest of them back in his hideout, safe underground for the time being. I would gladly point it out to you but, uh... I don't exactly have anything to point with, at the moment."

Clap chuckled. "C'mon you two - let's get you back to the others."

She made her way over to Amethyst and after a bit of mental debate, she placed a tenative hoof on Amy's shoulder, ready to flinch away at any moment. "Hey, uhhhh... you wanna hold onto her while I guide you guys to the cave?"

Amy wordlessly nodded her head vigorously, and Clap smiled. "Yeah, you stay with Amy, Siddy - keep her company while we head back."

Amy slowly got up and slipped the repaired cord around her neck, but kept Siddy next to her barrel with a foreleg, as if she was afraid the entire world was trying to steal her sister away. Clap led the way, and Tourmy and Amy followed. Amethyst managed to get herself under control after a bit, but she still held Siddy tightly to her.

It was a surprising amount of walking, but they reached the hole in the ground soon enough; no Opal above, so they had likely gotten her down into the cavern with the rest of them. Clap brought them to the hole itself, then smiled as she dropped down into it, presumably to inform the others.

Above ground, Tourmy sat down and patted the rock next to him, where Amy parked herself. The two of them then simply sat there, both looking at Obsidian's shard.

"We thought we'd lost you for good," he sighed, "and I'm glad we haven't. You're the one thing that makes me believe our little gathering of misfits might actually become a family, someday. And now that I know how that feels," he glanced at Amy with a gentle smile, "I don't want to give it up. Not for anything."

Amy simply nodded... then, as she looked at Obsidian, she leaned ever-so-slightly on Toumaline's shoulder. And he didn't push her away; he placed a foreleg around her shoulders, and she placed one on his chest. The two of them, finally acting as brother and sister, looking sweetly down at their favorite sibling.

"I'm glad we met you," Amy whispered, "and I'm glad you care about us... I think we needed that more than any of us even knew."

Walking was far less tiresome when somepony was carrying you all the way and family reunions were far more pleasant when nopony was trying to kill each other... which was kind of surprising. Obsidian knew that Tourmy and Amy had been getting along a bit more lately, but she didn't expect them to have bonded so rapidly, even in such drastic circumstances.

"I thank you, dear sister and brother of mine; I'm glad I could do something like that for you both." Even though they couldn't see it, Obsidian smiled mentally. And awwww... really, it was kind of cute - so cute that if Obsidian had teeth right now, she would probably already be suffering a nasty toothache. "Soon enough, we'll be able to get Ruby back, too... maybe even Onyx as well - would you believe she apologized and hugged me? No resurrection for Peridot yet, though... at least until we find a way to deal with his unique problem."

Amy nodded in understanding. "Yeah... the voices..."

Tourmaline cocked his head. "Onyx? Apologizing? Hugging? Well... from anyone else, I'd call bullshit... but from you? Astounding... how do you DO it? How can you be so good at bringing everyone together like this?"

"She said so earlier," Amy added, smiling, "it's her Destiny."

Clap shot back up out of the hole, and landed deftly in front of them. "Alright - I'm takin' Siddy with me to go gather up and see the others; they kinda NEED her, too. You two okay now?"

Tourmy and Amy both nodded. Clap smiled. "Awesome. Now, can I have Siddy back, please?" And she held out her hoof.

Amy hesitantly took off the cord, and placed the shard carefully into Clap's hoof, where she placed the cord around her own neck. "Don't worry," the blue pegasus said to them, "she's safe with me."

"We know," Tourmaline smirked, "or we wouldn't let you take her."

"Be careful," Amy added.

Clap smartly saluted them both, then shot into the sky once again. "Next stop - Sugarcube Corner! Now, let's wreck this route!" And with that, she took off across the skies, leaving Siddy a breathtakingly beautiful sight of the land below, shrouded in moonlight.

"Until later, my dear siblings! If I had hooves, I would be waving to youuuuu!" she called out as she was forced to describe herself. To be fair, Obsidian wanted to understand how it was possible that Onyx had done so as well; perhaps she'd just needed somepony to talk to instead of screaming at?

Then she was flying again! Oh dear - quickly flying! Regarding the world below her, she realized it would be such a waste if a world so beautiful would fall into Amber's or - Harmony forbid - The Umbra's hooves... er, paws? What exactly did The Umbra have at the end of its limbs? Did it even have limbs?

The flight was fascinating, as they passed over many different fields and towns. The view was grand, and it seemed like Equestria itself was so beautiful... until they reached a bridge, which was ablaze with fire; Umbral Harnesses on on end, and townsponies with torches on the other.

Then a farmhouse with every possible opening boarded shut, and not a single soul in sight.

And a small shopping center that had ponies on the rooftop, blasting with both magic and rifles at the amassed harnesses below them, desperately trying to hold them back.

And then there was the occasional march of Umbral Harnesses - some of whom took occasional potshots at Clap as she stuck her tongue out at them while they flew by.

Then, there was Ponyville itself...

There were a number of quick-shot walls constructed of junk and carts surrounding the town... and with good reason, as there were what looked like a veritable ring of harnesses surrounding the borders - not attacking, but patrolling the outskirts in groups of fifteen. The town itself didn't look as bad as the damage from the previous attacks had once left it, but there seemed to be a lack of some sort, and she could feel the fear and worry that seemed to radiate from almost every shuttered house there.

Sugarcube Corner stood where it always had, but the window shutters were closed and locked, as well as the front door - a rare sight during normal business hours. Clap dropped down in front of that door, and knocked loudly. "Yo, it's me - and I brought a guest! Open up!"

There was the sound of latches and chains being moved, then the doorway cracked a bit, and a single blue eye looked out.

"C-C-Clap?" spoke an all-too-familiar canine voice, "you have returned; any n-n-news?"

"Lemme in, Gypper! I found Siddy!" Thunderclap said proudly.

The door instantly flew open, and the diamond dog grabbed her and pulled her inside. "Obsidian!? Wh-where? Where i-i-i-is she, C-Cl-Clap?"

Now, the tingle she felt when she'd first seen her pegasus friend became even moreso, and she felt as if she was beginning to get a light surge of energy from his presence...

Did Amy's sucking of Amber's magic hamper her ability to control everyone simultaneously more than Obsidian thought it had? She had honestly already expected Equestria to be on its knees by now, fully conquered. Ponyville itself wasn't even occupied! One would think that with such a massive amount of firepower alone, Amber could easily conquer everything and anything in her path!

Ah - home, sweet home. "I'm here, Gypsy! I met Whistlewhite!" She was practically beaming with happiness and pride at the sight of her canine friend. "Where's everyone else?"

Gypsy's ears lifted when she spoke, and he looked around for a moment...

"Yo," Clap said, and pointed a hoof at the shard.

Gypsy's eyes went wide. "Ob-b-b-b... O-b-b-b-b-b..." Tears in his eyes, he stared at it, then threw his forearms around Clap and hugged them both tightly. "Ob-b-b... {Obsidian! Oh, Obsidian! This one is a HORRIBLE friend for doing what he did! He feels nothing but shame and pain for what he put you through! Please, please forgive this humble fool for what he could not see...}"

"I dunno what you said there," Clap grinned, "but if it's what I think you were saying, I don't think Siddy's gonna hold a grudge for the whole 'Jacknife' thing."

"Gypsy, you have to imagine it, but I'm patting you right now; you haven't done anything that would even require my forgiveness. It's all Amber's fault, really." Besides, Gypsy had been the least problematic of her friends to deal with. "By the way, how's your head? I hope you weren't injured too badly..."

The diamond dog began to whimper and cry, but he was smiling and his tail was wagging a mile a minute. "Y-y-your f-f-forg-g-giveness i-i-is am-mazing, Obs-s-sidian," he said through his tears.

Clap smirked. "C'mon Gypsy - we've got a reunion to attend!"

He smiled and nodded, and they both went to the counter, and with the tilt of a cookie jar, they were sliding down the twisty tubes and into the ball pit at the bottom. However, now there was a bit of a difference...

The shelves, once piled high with party supplies, were now filled with canned goods, packaged food, bottled waters and other acoutrements that would be key in surviving a siege. There was also a workbench, filled with all manner of devices and gadgets - though all of them looked only half-complete to her... um... 'eyes'.

From the back room, she could hear other voices she knew very well indeed:

"Canterlot, maybe? Would there be any place to work from there?" The erudite Mica Chip.

"Oh, that's a big old nope; she's got that already - no point in trying to find help there. Well, not help that would actually, you know, help us; more like they'd report us to her to get out of torture, or maybe she'd even make them try to take us in themselves!" Her wonderful Cupcake Sprinkles.

"There shall be no mercy, once we find that harlot - mark my words." The stoic voice of Stalwart Stance.

As she was brought closer and closer to the room they were all in, Obsidian felt that previous energy GROWING inside her, like some sort of force or power was beginning to become quite noticable...

And it felt good.

"Alright folks," Clap said as she walked right into the meeting room, "who wants to say hi?"

And there they were.

Mica was wearing a bandage around his left foreleg and was sporting a slightly blackened eye, but otherwise looked as okay as he could; he seemed listless and tired, though. Wart looked like she was nothing but serious, even a bit cold. And Cupcake - HER Cupcake - looked like a sight for sore eyes; he was just as handsome as ever, even moreso to her.

"Well, then," Clap looked at the shard, "why don't YOU say hi?"

Mercy? Oh, Amber would have to beg for it - and she would find not the first scrap; it seemed that at least Stalwart had the same intentions.

"Hi everyone!" she chirped, "It's me, Obsidian! Now, can I possibly get a long-overdue group hug?"

With all this energy she kept feeling tingling inside her, she was expecting something good to happen during their reunion. Besides, group hugs were nice - and she found them far more acceptable than she used to.

Cupcake and Mica stood up instantly, both shocked and overjoyed at the sound of her voice.

"Obsidian!"
"SIDDY! MY SIDDY!"

The two of them came right over and both took turns taking hold of Obsidian, Mica hugging her tightly and Cup practically covering the shard in kisses.

"Oh, SIDDY! Oh, you're a shard, but I DON'T CARE, IT'S YOUUUUUUU!!!" Cupcake couldn't seem to keep from kissing every facet of her crystalline form.

Mica laughed and smiled broadly, very much unlike his usual expression. "I'd say you most certainly look thinner; have you been dieting?" he laughed.

Wart, however, only hung her head low, then turned and walked out of the room.

Hah! Siddy had no idea that, as a shard, she would be able to feel so much! It was an absolute relief to be in company of her best friends once more, laughing and enjoying her presence and...

"Now that you mention it, Mica, I don't remember when I last had a good meal! But for now... er, could you possibly throw me at Stalwart, please?"

Both Cup and Mica looked back to where the little mare had been standing... but she wasn't there.

Cup sighed. "Yeah... Siddy, we're all super-duper sorry for the whole thing with Jacknife... but Wart? I think she took it harder than any of us. I felt awful for my part, all of us do, but..." He looked to the others and sighed again. "She's really... I mean, she... she just..."

Mica stepped up. "She feels it's HER fault completely; mind control or no. She attacked you - WART attacked you - and she can't deal with it, because she thinks the world of you. We've tried to convince her, but-"

"Yeah," Clap added, "Wart's PISSED at Amber, and wants her ground into fine powder... but I think she's taking it waaaaaay too hard on herself."

"Well, believe me when I say it's hard not to be too pissed at Amber," Obsidian said seriously, "she murdered Princess Cadance." Mind control or not... oh Stalwart, why were you always expecting so much out of yourself?

The look that slapped itself onto the muzzle of everyone present was one of outrage and sorrow at this devastating news.

"N-no, not... she murdered her?" Mica looked thunderstruck.

Cupcake's smile vanished, and he shut his eyes tightly. "Auntie Cadey... oh no..."

Clap turned and slammed a hoof into the wall, then just hung her head and began to cry as Mica went to her and embraced her tightly.

Gypsy whimpered, then went to Clap to hug her as well, his tail hanging all the way to the floor.

Cupcake held Obsidian's shard to his chest and cradled it like a foal. "Why would she do that? Why would she-"

"Cup, Amber wants the Crystal Empire, remember?" Mica looked back at him with a solemn look on his face once more. "And now that..." he choked back a sob, "... that the way is clear, nothing can stop her from succeeding where Sombra failed-"

"Nuh-uh," Clap raised her head, a spark of fire in her eyes, "no, we're NOT going out like that."

She turned to the rest of them. "That's IT, guys - that's just IT! With all the crap we've had to go through to get to this point, where the Bad Girl wins, and we all become slaves or fodder or something..."

She then defiantly puffed her chest out - which, with her muscles, was a heckuva sight. "But no - SCREW THAT. I'm DONE being mind-controlled, or misled, or lied to, or just plain FOOLED... I have had enough! WE are gonna stop that craptacular creep from taking over anything! WE are gonna beat the living snot out of anything she throws at us! WE are gonna be her downfall, and revenge like that will be SOOOOOOOO SWEET!"

She looked at them all. "We're the Siddy Six... and we're the best shot Equestria has at winning this nightmare! We've got something that punk WISHES she had..."

She smiled now. "... each other."

"Why? Because Amber has proven to be only one thing - an evil pony. Even Onyx simply wanted to earn Sombra's praise and she more-or-less cared about her siblings... but Amber? She killed our father, then she wanted us to fight to the death - and I mean both The Siddy Six and Sombra's shards - and then she cruelly murdered Princess Cadance. She even betrayed Onyx!"

"Unless she is under the very strong influence of The Umbra, an ancient evil from Tambelon... she is just that - a bad pony." Clap gave a nice speech, there; somewhat plain, but it was good for rousing their spirits.

"We're already working on plans for how to defeat her, and almost all of my siblings are on our side - even Onyx. As soon as we reach Princess Twilight, we may actually be in a good position to kick Amber's ass all the way back into the ancient age! But for now... we all need each other - and that means Stalwart, too. Could anypony go after her - with me in hoof, preferably?"

Cup nodded, and with the others all watching, he slowly went into the warehouse with Siddy in his grasp.

It was dark and quiet in here, and it took him a moment before he located the little mare; she was standing all the way at the back, at full attention, looking over the supplies they had.

Cup stepped forward lightly. "Ummm... Wart?"

"Yes, Cupcake," she replied in a neutral, emotionless voice, "what is it?"

"We... we got Siddy back..." he said hesitantly.

"And I am exceedingly glad you have," she still didn't look in their direction.

"Don't you, um... don't you wanna say hello?" Cupcake's voice held a fragile question in it.

Wart paused for a moment... then continued looking over their supplies. "I do not deserve to, Cupcake; leave me alone, please."

Cup looked at the shard, sighed, then gently placed it on a nearby table. "Good luck," he whispered to the shard as he backed away, then with a sad glance at Wart, he walked off to give them some privacy.

The little mare set the clipboard down as soon as he was gone, and simply hung her head.

Oh, Stalwart and her pride... and her standards... and her everything. Usually it was exceedingly noble of her, but from time to time it got in their way... such as now.

"Stalwart, I've seen that you love me... and I love you too, my dear friend. You have no reason to feel bad for anything that Amber made you do," Obsidian stated firmly, right from the beginning.

Wart jumped when she heard the voice... but didn't turn around.

"... hello, Your Majesty." Oh, no - was she back to THAT again?

"I am... very glad you are alive. I..." Obsidian, from inside her shard, colud almost feel the palpable pain the mare was putting herself through.

"... our s-supplies are at their peak, due to Cupcake and Gypsy's diligence, and Thunderclap has brought her smuggled Lightning Rods as well. We have access to anything that Pinkie Pie has available here, as well as a hidden entrance to Twilight's Palace that we can utilize." She straightened her stance. "As is such, we will be able to hold out here for a number of months."

She was actively trying NOT to speak about it... but Wart was hurting, and it was as obvious to Obsidian as the mare's size was.

Obsidian gave a soft sigh. "Listen, the only reason why I'm not hugging you right now is the fact that I lack legs at the moment. Warty, please - we're friends. You stopped calling me that weeks ago." Ooooooooh... a hidden entrance? Now that was a pleasant surprise! "And I need you in your best condition - the kind of condition that can exist only when properly supplied by the magic of friendship."

Stalwart finally turned at the words 'I lack legs'... and Wart's expression was one of inconsolable anguish. It looked terrible on the little mare, and her emerald eyes were shiny with tears. She noticed that Wart was wearing only her worn saddlebags and some flimsy cloth armor... and Obsidian also noticed that Wart only had a single ear, the other cut cleanly in half - just like Obsidian's had been.

"You... you're..." She took a step towards the shard... then shied back.

"No, Your Majesty - I am a DANGER to you, and I shall not be placed in a position to FAIL you yet again; you deserve better than I, and I have even... e-even made a list of those who could replace me with the best chance of being the most useful... t-to you..."

She squeezed her eyes shut, sending more tears down her muzzle. "... but I am UNWORTHY of such a designation; I am a HORRIBLE friend to have, and I shall do my utmost best to keep my distance from you, Your Majesty, so that you might find another protector who IS capable... and not have to suffer my incompetence and betrayal any longer!"

"Stalwart... Amber made Princess Cadance kill herself - right in front of Flurry Heart. Do you think anypony could resist her direct mind control? You were hurting, and had merely wanted to avenge my death - that's all."

"And I could not SEE you! All I saw was RAGE, and... a-and I WOUNDED you! I couldn't-" Then what she'd said hit the little guardmare fully.

"... Princess... Cadence? No... no..." She wavered in place, and had to place her hooves on the table to keep herself upright. "... that... that cur... that cowardly cur... to do such a thing... to a Princess... OF LOVE..."

She gritted her teeth, then slammed her hoof into the flroor hard enough to leave cracks in the concrete. "... unforgivable... inexcusable... reprehensible..."

She then finally sat down on the nearby chair, and covered her face with her hooves, her mane and her ear-and-a-half being the only parts of her head Siddy could see now. "... I wish... I wish I was... was..."

Her sob told Obsidian what that last word was... and it was the very LAST thing she would ever have thought the little mare to say, to even IMPLY.

"Stalwart, she wanted to kill us all; she did what she did to Princess Cadance, and even murdered our father as well, right in front of my eyes. She is too strong for any ONE of us to take down - we need to do this together. As brothers, sisters... and as friends. We need you, Stalwart - I need you..."

Was her attempt to ignite anger in Wart's heart an example of manipulation? Did Obsidian subconsciously consider her as a tool? Hopefully not... but she just had to shake her friend out of this piss-poor mental state!

"NO!" Wart jumped back from the table as if she had been bitten by a snake. "I WILL NOT! I DO NOT DESERVE FORGIVENESS! MY EAR WAS NOT ENOUGH! MY LIFE IS NOT ENOUGH! I HARMED YOU, AND TRIED TO KILL YOU! I CANNOT THINK OF ANYTHING ELSE BUT WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN SHOULD SHE TAKE ME AGAIN!!"

She sobbed as she spoke, "YOU ARE MY BEST FRIEND, OBSIDIAN - WHICH IS WHY I CAN NO LONGER SERVE YOU! IF SHE MADE ME MURDER YOU, I WOULD MURDER MYSELF!"

Her heart finally given voice, the unicorn mare hit the floor, sobbing hysterically. Obsidian could now see, from the back, that the others had gathered there and were all moving towards them, all of them with only eyes for little Wart. They came around the table, Cup laying a hoof on the shard as they all stood there.

"... I am worthless..." she moaned pitifully.

"Bullshit," Mica spoke up, "you held back two whole waves of Umbrals, singlehoofedly."

"And you busted Tourmaline's ribs when he tied to kill Siddy," Clap added.

"Not to mention keeping the fans at bay, in the museum... with a fire extinguisher," Cup said.

"A-a-and the defeat of Q-Q-Quartz, with a vent grill, if th-this one has heard correctly," Gypsy offered.

Stalwart Stance lie on the floor, trembling and crying. She slowly looked up at them all. "... I... I don't..." she started, but Gypsy cut her off.

"W-we love you, St-Stalwart," he said simply.

"Yeah, Warty - we love you." Clap.

"Yes, we love you," Mica.

"We love our little friend," Cup.

She just looked at them all, dumbfounded.

Did she have to cut off half of her ear to understand that it wasn't her fault? Worse - she still didn't seem to understand it! Perhaps it would be wise not to mention to them all that Obsidian actually died for a moment, just yet...

"Stalwart, we will get something that will protect us from Amber's mind control - so you won't kill me. But if you don't stay by our side, I'd say that the chances of our demise will only rise." Obsidian's voice was firm, yet cautious. "And besides, I want nopony else in our little group to take your place but you. You know your value - we know your value.... and we are your friends."

Her eyes washed over with tears again. "But I don't deserve you..."

"Nuh-uh," Clap countered, "we don't deserve you, girl - but we've got each other, all of us... and that's what'll win this thing. All of us. Together."

Cup gave a light grin. "Besides... the Siddy Five just doesn't have the same ring to it, you know?"

Wart slowly stood up and looked at them all. "... thank you. ALL of you."

With that, Cup picked Siddy up, and they all came in to completely bury Wart in their group hug... which she accepted.

"... thank you..." she said softly, finally giving in to the warm hearts of the rest of the Siddy Six.

Magic Tiiiiiiiiiime! Obsidian suddenly heard Whistlewhite's voice as if in her ear, and then her entire world went white...

... and when it cleared, she was standing there - actually STANDING there - in her own body, right in the middle of the group hug! Her siblings hadn't been able to free her... but her closest, dearest friends had succeeded. She was WHOLE again... and fully healed up, she noticed - not a single scratch on her.

Obsidian smiled - really, truly smiled. She even reached up and placed a hoof to her mouth, just to be sure that she had her lips again and they were actually curving upwards.

Then she laughed aloud happily and grabbed Stalwart up in a strong, powerful hug, using all of energy she saved up when her siblings had been carrying her around. Then, just for good measure, she kissed her on the forehead next to her horn.

Every member of their group received a similar treatment - with the notable and obvious exception of Cup, who received a more proper welcome from his lovely unicorn mare.

Being a shard had some advantages; having a real body had even more.

"Ha! Thank you, guys!" Obsidian laughed aloud. "Friendship really is magic - literally!"

Stunned at first, her return was then greeted by the rest of The Siddy Six with tears, laughter, smiles and QUITE a kiss from Cupcake - so much so that even Mica blushed a bit.

"Siddy... oh, Siddy..."
"MY Siddy..."
"OUR Siddy..."
"Y-yes Cup - sh-share."
"... Lady... S-Siddy..."

They were all together. They had their fiery determination, they had their stockpiled supplies, they had each other... and most important of all, they had hope. The surge of power inside Obsidian's very core told her that THIS was where she belonged, THIS was where she would make a difference, THIS was where the final stand would be made...

... and she was finally, finally ready.

Amber's going down.

-=[ To Be Concluded... ]=-

Author's Notes:

And so, we reach the conclusion of Shards Of Sombra; the siblings are all here to play, The Siddy Six is whole once more, and the stage is set for one Tartarus of a fight. The situation is dire, but the seeds of hope have begun to sprout, and things now teeter on shoulders of the resistance left in the wake of such sorrow and pain.

And OH, is it gonna be EPIC.

Being the largest of the three books, there are a few who have asked why I didn't carve this story into two or more books. My answer is that each story tells itself in its own time and pace; Daughter was a self-contained story, for the most part. Shards expanded the universe and added more characters to the mix. And now, the final tale in the saga will bring everything to an apex, and eventual resolution.

And I've been waiting a LOOOOOONG time to bring you fine folks to this point.

I wanna thank the fine folks who helped bring the artwork into this tale, and the wonderful commenters who help drive my fire for seeing this story all the way to the end - this tale is for you folks. And of course, a shout-out to my wonderful partner-in-crime, Wungiel; it just wouldn't have been the same without you - really, it wouldn't have been at all without you!

Okay folks... a short respite for me, then I'll be back on the scene with the third and final tale in the series, Obsidian: Legacy Of Sombra, to bring the entire ordeal to its' thorough and most satisfactory ending. Hope you're all willing to join me for the final act... because it'll be insane. It'll be wonderful. It'll be fun...

But no matter how much I want to share even a smidge about what's in store for our intrepid crew... I have to give the mantra, because it's the last time I can do so in this particular story.

You've got it... no spoilers.

- Randimaxis