private Tale of Two Princesses (1x1 with Caligula)

[Flurry Heart]

@Caligula

"What do you mean you have detected some of Sombra's dark magic behind this door?" Shining Armor demanded, "Didn't we defeat Sombra well over 18 years ago? How could there still be traces of his magic here?"

Flurry Heart had noticed that her father had gotten a significant portion of the royal guard in a dusty old section of the castle that she never noticed before. Usually, this many royal guards gathered in one place wouldn't be a cause for concern given that Shining Armor is the captain of the royal guard, but when Shining Armor mentioned something about Sombra, Flurry Heart was intrigued. From what she heard, Sombra was defeated before she was born, so there shouldn't be any of Sombra's magic behind that door.

"We don't know sir. Some of the royal guards were investigating this disused section of the castle looking for the textbooks needed for the School of Friendship. We couldn't find them, but and we kept on getting the strangest detections of magic. They seem to concentrate from behind that door. We figured it would be best to inform you and summon the majority of the royal guards in order to neutralize any threat that might be behind that door." One of the royal guards explained.

"Alright then, in three, two, one," Shining Armor practically kicked down the door as he barged through, "Hooves up Sombra, we're on to you!" he shouted. What he saw caused him to stammer. "What in Equestria... ?"

Flurry Heart had managed to disguise herself as a royal guard and had snuck up to the front to see what was going on. What she saw made her jaw drop. It appeared to be a unicorn mare that looked eerily similar to how the crystal ponies described Sombra.

[Obsidian]

To say that Obsidian was surprised would be an understatement. When her glorious father put her in this room - without a word of explanations, though she was suspecting that it could be caused by rumors of alicorn tyrants approaching their northern fiefdom - she expected that he would be the one to release her as well. The spell he was going to put at her was simple - as soon as the doors would close behind him, she would be put into stasis, waiting patiently for his victorious return. The mere act of opening the doors was enough to wake her up once again.

To her it looked as if king Sombra left the room only a few seconds ago - and then, in a blink of an eye, he was replaced by a white unicorn, barging there and shouting angrily something about her glorious father. 

She stepped back, startled and confused. What in Tartarus...? Who was this stallion? Why did he have guards with him, none of them wearing the signs of the true lord of the Crystal Empire? Were they invaders or assassins...?

Her horn flashed with a sickly green aura, creating a transparent barrier around her - but as soon as she did it she felt a sting of anger at herself. Shouldn't she attack instead of setting up defences? 

"It's king Sombra, worm" Obsidian spoke quietly. The thoughts were racing desperately in her confused mind - should she fight? Run? Call for help? Her father would notice a band of invaders in his castle, right? So where was he? Why didn't he free her? She could try to maintain a calm facade - but the truth was, she was terrified. "Touch me and you will suffer his wrath."

[Flurry Heart]

"Well, Ahem, out of all the things I was expecting, I certainly wasn't expecting this. So, uh, what is your relationship to king Sombra and what are you doing here?" Shining Armor asked, observing the other pony carefully from a distance. The other guards had given Shining Armor plenty of space, but were alert in case anything went awry.

Princess Flurry Heart managed to get a good view of the whole scene. She did note that the mysterious unicorn didn't immediately attack Shining Armor, but she could sense the tension in the air. If that mysterious unicorn is as powerful as Sombra was, then the two unicorns could easily annulate the place fighting each other. She noticed that the other guards were holding up their crystal shields so she copied them, holding the shield so her eyes just peered over them.

(The other guards knew that Flurry Heart was pretending to be one of them, but it was easier to just let her join.)

From what Flurry Heart could tell, this unicorn looked eerily similar to Sombra, with a dark coat and mane (hers was dark red though) and a curved horn that faded to red. 

Edited January 8, 2022 by Ocean Wavedream

[Obsidian]

So... they seemed to have a stalemate. Both sides were protecting themselves with shields, either magical or crystal, apparently unwilling to start a spell fight. On another hoof, Obsidian was frustratingly aware that her tactical position was far worse than theirs - first of all, she was alone. They were also blocking the way out, and even if she would defeat one of them, the rest would be still standing between her and the rest of palace. She had nothing to hide behind, except for her own shield... her room was annoyingly empty, with nothing but a simple bed and desk. She didn't know it yet, but in modern Equestria even prison cells were cozier than that. 

Well, it didn't look good.

"You barged into my room. YOU should answer to MY questions!" she growled, trying to at least maintain a facade that she is acting decisively. "Where's king? What are you doing there?!"

[Flurry Heart]

"Well, King Sombra is no longer around, and we are here because we have detected Sombra's magic in your room, which appears to be coming from you. However, I have questions too and we can all wait until you answer them. Who are you, why are you here, and what is your relation to Sombra?" Shining Armor pushed, creating a magical shield of his own to protect himself.

Shining Armor noted that it seemed that whoever this pony was, they had no idea that Sombra was no longer around, which meant that she must have stayed there for quite a while. "How long have you been in there?" Shining Armor added. He had a feeling that they were currently in a better position than her, so they were in the position to ask questions. 

[Obsidian]

...no longer around? What could he mean? Was he participating in a military campaign right now? That could explain the presence of - she assumed - his enemies here. Assassins, murderers, agents of enemy! And she was stuck there with them - quite big number of them. All of them well-armed... and no guards were coming to help her... To be fair they didn't look like assassins - more like average soldiers, but she couldn't hear any sounds of fighting. What was happening?

But wait. He barged in shouting for her father. He didn't expect her to be here. So, coupled with this 'no longer around' it meant...

"...I'm princess Obsidian, daughter of the most illustrious king Sombra. How many days passed since my glorious father fought against assault of Celestia and Luna?" she asked, trying to stay calm - at least outwardly. That was it, right? Alicorns came, and they... they somehow defeated him. How long was she stuck in this room? For week? Two?

Edited January 10, 2022 by Caligula

[Flurry Heart]

“Well that certainly explains the magic detected from within here. Sombra last fought Celestia and Luna 1018 years ago, so yes, I suppose that means that you were in there for at least 1018 years.  I’m sure you already figured this out by now but the Crystal Empire has a new ruler,” Shining Armor explained.

There was some murmuring among he guards when Obsidian stayed that she was he daughter of Sombra, and while some had assumed it at first, there was something about the way that she confidently confirmed it that seemed to caused quite he stir. The crystal pony guards, who were just starting to get over the tyranny of Sombra’s rule were quite nervous to discover that he had a daughter. They seemed to lose their shine just a little.

Flurry Heart was also quite afraid. From when she was quite young, ponies have constantly told her about he awful things Sombra did during his tyrannical rule. Now, she was facing his daughter. She hadn’t heard about anything that Obsidian had done, but she was still nervous about the influence that Obsidian’s father would have had on her. 

“Since you haven’t done anything, we can’t keep you in-prisoned, but if you try anything against the current government, we will have to stop you,” Shining Armor finished.

[Obsidian]

Okay, so a quick calculation - 1018 days... that was a lot, almost three yea-

No. Wait a moment. This stallion didn't say 'days'. He said 'years'. Why would he say 'years'? He even repeated it, leaving no place for doubt or for any hope that she didn't hear it properly for the first time. WHY WOULD HE SAY 'YEARS'?! Cold seeped into Obsidian's veins as she was trying to process what she just heard - it had to be a mockery, or perhaps an explicit psychological attack. There was no way she could spend ten centuries trapped there, He was the enemy of her father, so it was only obvious that he was lying through his teeth in an attempt to confuse her! Besides, would he be worried about the ruler that lived thousand years ago? 

Of course her glorious father was powerful, mighty, wise, intelligent - but she didn't know if 'immortal' would fit his long list of positive traits. Considering the horror that washed over the faces of the traitorous guards, she could assume that they knew him well enough to know that his wrath is the most terrifying thing in the world - and that they will face it as soon as he will return. Or something.

...yes, that's had to be that. But why 1018? It was oddly specific number...

"You are lying" she said eventually, with wrath bubbling below the thin layer of calmness. "Only weaklings lie. If your words would be true, would your renegades and traitors cover in terror at the mere mention of my glorious father, who ruled thousand years ago? Would this 'new ruler' send his thugs at the mere trace of true king's magic?"

Obsidian narrowed her eyes, trying to assess the threat. It seemed that the white unicorn was surrounded by cowards - they would probably flee at the first sign of dark magic, begging for mercy and forgiveness. Their leader - well, he had a magical shield on his own, but she had no idea about his offensive skills. However, she could asses her own fighting streght - and, sadly, her father was always finding it lacking. Thin streams of purple smoke started to come from the corners of her eyes, as the unhealthy mix of confusion, wrath and fear started to fuel her dark magic. 

"WHY DO YOU LIE?!"

 

 

[Flurry Heart]

"Well Sombra definitely has experience with freezing ponies in time. That would explain why you haven't aged at all during your stay. The entire crystal empire was frozen in time for 1000 years, so the crystal ponies here are only 18 years older than they were during the battle between Sombra and the two princesses," Shining Armor explained. "I'm sure you recognize some of the ponies here."

"Which pony has the textbooks for the School of Friendship? I remember that there was a history textbook in there," Shining Armor said, turning towards one of the guards. That guard handed the text book to him and Shining Armor opened it, scanning the contents for something that would prove that a significant amount of time had passed.

"Ah, here," Shining Armor said, pointing to pictures of Canterlot. "During those 1018 years, Luna got banished, and then returned 1000 years later. She got banished in a major battle between her and Celestia. They used to rule in a castle down on the plains, but during the battle, Luna had destroyed the castle, so now, the new capital is up on a mountain. There are many more things that happened during those 1018 years. I'm sure that this textbook can prove that those years actually happened."

Edited January 14, 2022 by Ocean Wavedream

[Obsidian]

Chances for that were slim - Obsidian didn't know too many slaves, and didn't pay attention to their appearances. She looked without any sliver of trust at the textbook.

...frozen in time? Entire Empire? But... Why? How? She had no doubt that her great father would be able to do so, but what would be the reason for that? And - what? Luna destroyed something and got banished?

It had to be another deception. Right?

"Give this book to me!" She barked an order. "Throw it to my shield!"

[Flurry Heart]

“Sure, you can look at it, but don’t destroy it. Flurry Heart needs it for her school,” Shining Armor said. He slid the textbook across the floor, but not before turning the textbook to the last chapter.

The last chapter was about inter-species relationships, and it extensively talked about Princess Twilight’s discovery of other species that lived in the different realms of Equestria. Some of the species mentioned were the yaks, the changelings, the dragons, the hippogriffs, the griffins, and cows for some strange reason. It also talked a lot about the relationships that the species’ governments have with he three princesses of Equestria. (Celestia, Luna, and Twilight.)

If Obsidian observes the book carefully, she would have noticed that the technology needed to create a book like this wouldn’t have existed 1018 years ago. The kind of paper used didn’t exist back then, and without the invention of the printing press around 500 years ago, mass producing textbooks this thick would have costed a fortune.

[Obsidian]

Obsidian, without taking her eyes off the guardians, slowly took the book from the floor - it didn't look like a trap, she couldn't feel any malicious magic coming from it, and overall, it really seemed like an average, normal object - and peeked at it. Its quality was surprising, to be fair - strange paper, colorful pages... oh, and the letters! They looked very similar to each other - it was obvious that it was not written with a hoof. Frankly, she had never seen anything like that. It should have costed a fortune!

Then there was its content. Description of thousand years, alongside with pictures. Celestia and Luna...? After thousand years? But there was also another alicorn. So many different species, living around Equestria. So much history...

Would they consider her important enough to craft such elaborate forgery? Was she that important? 

No. Probably not. Even the smell was different from the old scrolls she was reading a few days ago. A few days and ten ages ago.

By Darkness, did she really spend thousand years trapped there?

"You weren't lying, were you?" she asked with voice so dead and devoid of any emotion that it could belong to a golem or machine. 

[Flurry Heart]

"No, I wasn't," Shining Armor replied. "Now that we have established that, what are your intentions? Are you planning on following your father's hoofsteps, or would you try to maintain a more friendly relation with the crystal ponies?" Shining Armor asked, glancing at Obsidian with his piercing blue eyes. He pulled out a notebook and pen to record what Obsidian would say. Shining Armor knew that whatever she said would have wide-ranging impacts about what should be done next, and he wanted to make sure to have a written record of it.

This question seemed to peak the attention of the royal guards, and while they were quite focused on Obsidian before, this question turned it up to eleven. Flurry Heart looked over at Obsidian, quite intent on finding out the answer. She could feel the adrenaline surging through her blood waiting to hear how Obsidian would reply. Maybe she would be just like her father, and she would want to take over the Crystal Empire through force. Or maybe she would try to do it subtlety. Maybe she would try to find her father, or maybe she just wanted to be a normal citizen.

[Obsidian]

A teenage mare, who saw her father last time fifteen minutes ago, only to find out that more than thousand years passed since that fateful moment, could only stare at Shining. Her intentions? Right now she knew nothing - not even what she should do. Bah, she didn't even know what she wanted to do! In a span of few minutes her room was invaded by unknown guards and she learned that everything she knew in the world had changed, apparently including her own role. Was she going to die? She didn't want to. A retreat into more safe place would be preferable, but way out was blocked.

She could feel a sickening, nervous pain in stomach, coupled with the faster breathing rate. What should she do? For her whole life she depended on her illustrious father to make decisions and provide meaning for her life. If those thugs were right and he was truly gone...  if the entire world she knew was gone... damnation.  Mighty king Sombra would kill them all for their insolence, but she didn't possess his powers, and never intentionally hurt anyone.

Probably the only thing keeping her from a complete mental breakdown was the fact that, well, she was surrounded by group of enemies. What in Tartarus did they want from her? Why they didn't simply try to kill her yet instead of asking her nonsensical questions? It would make everything easier. Obsidian didn't even know what they meant by 'more friendly relation'. 

"You tell me, thug. I don't think my intentions mean anything right now" she said eventually.

 

[Flurry Heart]

"I cannot say I didn't see that one coming. These questions are all protocol, ok?" Shining Armor explained as he recorded Obsidian's answer in his notebook. It reminded him of his younger sister and her love of checklists. "I would say that she's interested in reintegrating with society, even though she has some tensions with me and the royal guard. I think that sending her to the School of Friendship would be the perfect solution to that," Shining Armor mostly said to himself as he took down more notes.

The royal guards looked disappointed. While Shining Armor seemed to expect what Obsidian was going to say, they didn't. The royal guards thought that she either was going to say that she was going to take over the Crystal Empire, or that she didn't want anything to do with that idea. This, well, it wasn't really either.

Then, he pulled out a letter, wrote something down on it, and threw it into the air as it burst into green flame. The smoke of the letter drifted out the window unnaturally quickly. He turned back towards Obsidian. "You continue to see us as the enemy, however, we are not interested in detaining you if you do not disturb the status quo. I have sent a letter to the school of friendship to help you reintegrate into society. You are to catch the next train to Ponyville with the rest of the new students from the Crystal Empire," Shining Armor explained. "There will be ponies making sure that you actually make it to the school."

Shining Armor turned to the guards. "You are to gather a second set of textbooks and make sure Obsidian here makes it to Ponyville." Most of the royal guards looked relived to be able to step away from Obsidian, and they went to gather a second copy of the textbooks needed. However, a few of them were stuck watching Obsidian.

What Shining Armor said caused Flurry Heart to realize something. Obsidian would be going to school with her, and from what she knew so far, they seemed like polar opposites. When most of the guards dispersed, she took the chance to leave and went to make sure that all her textbooks were in order.

[Obsidian]

Wait. Waitwaitwaitwait, what were they doing? WHAT WHERE THEY DOING?! Why couldn't they act in a normal way - trying to arrest or kill her? That's what, logically, should be done with the members of the fallen dynasties! Was she going to become some kind of hostage or something? Not resisting would be probably the best idea, considering everything she learned right now, but it didn't change fact that she was hardly happy with it... or that she didn't have to act fully logically.

"Hey! School? Friendship? Train? Reintegrate? What are you talking about?!" Obsidian asked with a quavering voice, when thugs that invaded her room once again started talking utter nonsense. Did they want to kidnap her? Or, uh, to be fair the better term would be 'exile', probably. What was this 'Ponyville' he mentioned? A prison colony? 

When some of the guards left, Obsidian saw it both as mockery - did they really think she was so weak that they could just walk out? - and an opportunity. Maybe not the wisest one... but an opportunity nonetheless.

She wasn't going to just let them force her out of Empire.

Her horn flashed for a split of second with sickly, dark light - and a bolt of dark magic flashed upwards, right at the crystals that were lightening the windowless room. Crystal shattered, immediately bathing everything in the darkness - a situation that Obsidian really appreciated. She immediately dropped her magical shield and ran forward, with the shadows encompassing her body until it was hard to notice where flesh was ending and where shadows were beginning.

She didn't need to hurt anyone - she just wanted to scare guards... and run out of her room. Then she just had to find a good hideout somewhere in the castle.

[Flurry Heart]

"Well, a school is a place where you go to learn things. Friendship is about getting along with other ponies. Trains are a form of transportation. Reintegrate? Hmm, I know what it means but I don't know how to describe it," One of the more outgoing royal guards said to Obsidian. The other royal guards didn't seem to mind. Noting confidential was being said, and it would probably help for her to know a bit more about modern society.

When Obsidian shattered the light crystal, the royal guards panicked. "Hey! Who turned out the lights?" "I think I have a lantern here. Let me light it." "Wait, she's trying to escape. Get her!" "Oof," "Somepony get her!" "I got her!" "You got me, not her. I'm not Obsidian." "Someone block the door!" "I got it! Oof. I think she just trampled me and escaped."

The royal guards got eerie quiet as they realized what just happened sink in. "We are going to be in so much trouble." "Agreed."

Flurry Heart finished packing her bags. She was glad aunt Twilight created that packing spell. With that packing spell, putting in a dozen textbooks in her bags was a breeze. Not only that, but it didn't feel like she was carrying around a dozen textbooks either. She levitated the bags onto her back and headed out of her suite to catch the train, only to run right into Obsidian. "Oof, sorry about that," she said. She glanced at who she ran into and gasped. It was the pony Shining Armor confronted earlier.

Edited January 17, 2022 by Ocean Wavedream

[Obsidian]

Why was she even worried in the first place? It was nothing! She didn't even break a sweat! They barely noticed she already left the room, with their shouts and screams bidding her farewell. With just a bit of luck they would just beat each and thus let her score an important victory in a psychological warfare.

Sadly, the easy part ended here. Crystal Palace changed a lot since her times - and each piece of bright wall, every paint or sculpture, were confirming that a lot of time passed since her father's rule. She even managed to peek behind a window - and find out that city was... different. A lot. Not a single trace of dark crystals, no guardian towers, she couldn't see even a single line of slaves walking to or from quarry. A terrible sight to behold.

Perhaps this made her a bit less careful - and eventually she literally ran into another guardian. By this time she already dropped her shadow spell, returning to her usual appearance... but, sadly, it was hardly common.

"Nothing to see here, soldier, move along" she said with a confidence, trying to walk past Flurry. She didn't realize that this particular pony was in her room just a moment ago - and decided to simply pretend that she can be here. After all guards are stupid, they shouldn't suspect anypony who doesn't act in a suspicious way, right?

[Flurry Heart]

"No," Flurry Heart said, blocking Obsidian. "Who are you and what are you doing here? Why do I hear royal guards chasing you? You aren't a crystal pony, are you?" She questioned. She wasn't sure what Obsidian might do, but she had her magic ready just in case. She could also hear the royal guards shouting something about Obsidian as their hoofsteps echoed off of the crystal walls. She could tell that the guards were quite close, which meant that Obsidian wouldn't have much time to stall.

Flurry Heart didn't look like any of the royal guards. She had a long and curly two toned mane and tail, and her horn and wings would immediately give away her royal status even though she didn't have her royal regalia on. Her coat was an almost pure white, and despite the fact that she was a teen, she was still dangerously cute. Plus, she had her saddlebags on her back, which went under her wings. As far as she knew, the royal guards didn't walk around with saddlebags.

She copied Obsidian's moves closely, making sure that Obsidian couldn't walk any further without knocking her over. "Well?" she pressed.

[Obsidian]

Uh-oh. It wasn't a guardian. It was... an alicorn. As far as she know - a being of great power, able to pretend to possess god-like qualities to make plebeians believe that they were quasi-deities. Charming.

Alicorn? Of all creatures, what was the chance of meeting THIS ONE in a middle of palace, during a daring escape attempt? Obsidian never met one, and would be much happier without this questionable pleasure. She stepped back, her eyes darting to the side in the search of opening. Sadly, she seemed to be agile enough to counter any of her moves. 

Well, in this case she could either let guardians catch her - guardians that just had some problems with her, including that one that literally was kicked by her on her way out - or try to force her way through unknown royalty. Fighting was out of question - she had to resort to good, old intimidation and a bit of illusion magic. 

"OUT OF MY WAY!" she growled, with streams of purple smoke practically bursting out of the corners of her eyes. Her shadow grew bigger, in a threatening way rising on the wall. Meanwhile Obsidian herself stepped back to rush forward - if it was necessary, she was going to literally try to run over Flurry. 

[Flurry Heart]

“Hey where are you going? You didn’t answer my questions yet,” Flurry Heart questioned. She had already seen a bit of Obsidian from earlier when she pretended to be a royal guard, but revealing her knowledge of this information would tell Obsidian that she was part of the group that stormed her room. In addition, being a princess, she wasn't used to not being respected and immediately found it quite suspicious that Obsidian wasn’t answering her questions.

She knew that Obsidian would get in trouble with the royal guards if they caught her. She also figured that her magic would be slightly stronger than Obsidian’s, so she was in a favorable position to ask Obsidian questions.

When Obsidian created large shadows using magic to try and confuse her and slip around her, Flurry Heart creates a magical barrier spanning he whole length of he hallway between her and Obsidian.

Since the Crystal Empire was quite nervous about he idea of Sombra returning, Flurry Heart has some training for defusing dark magic and how it worked. She didn't see how Obsidian had escaped from the royal guards, but it wasn't hard to assume that she used dark magic. Flurry Heart figured that just blocking Obsidian from running away would work, and put up a magical shield.

Edited January 17, 2022 by Ocean Wavedream

[Obsidian]

Damnation! Another shield! And it didn't look like she could quickly breach it. Behind her guards were coming closer and closer - maybe she should have threatened them a bit more? A few little nightmares hidden in the shadows would keep them away from her for longer time. Now, sadly, it was too late - corridor was too bright. The last viable option was jumping out of window - maybe she would survive, maybe not. Probably not. As far as she was aware, gravity was very dangerous and unpleasant lady.

"My name is Obsidian, and those thugs want to send me somewhere! And no, half-crystal pony at the best!" Frankly, she had no idea. Her father didn't want any unnecessary questions about her other parent. She could only guess it was one of the more lucky slaves. "Either let me go or I will have to go through you!" 

[Flurry Heart]

"Tell me: Where exactly do you think the royal guards are going to send you? You haven't done anything wrong, have you? And you are trying to escape, but even if you do escape the castle, wouldn't the citizens notice and summon the royal guards to chase after you?" Flurry Heart questioned. Her normally cute eyes with large cyan  irises glared at Obsidian like lasers. She had the feeling that Obsidian was trying to bluff and maintained her force field. She also gathered the magic needed to defuse any dark magic should it be necessary.

[Obsidian]

Window was becoming more and more tempting option with each moment. Eh, if only it would be past twilight! With the darkness reigning over the entire Empire she could use her powers more freely, without worrying about little inconvenientes, like falling to her death! It wasn't the level of the mastery over shadows and crystals that her father achieved, but it should be enough... probably.

"To Ponyville! And I'm not going to negotiate about that with armed thugs that invaded my bedroom!" she hissed. The sounds of guards were coming closer and closer - just a bit more and she would have to use strength to move past this shield, and consequences be damned!

[Flurry Heart]

"Oh. I'm heading there too. It seems like the royal guards want to send you to the School of Friendship so that way you are more friendly with others. Don't worry, it isn't like prison or exile or some other form of punishment you are thinking about. I think you will grow to enjoy it. According to my parents, I'm also going to be a student at the School of Friendship because they were like 'You need to learn about friendship' even though I already have quite a few friends here in the crystal empire," Flurry Heart explained.

"You do realize that I'm royalty, right? And the royal guards are supposed to listen to me, right? So stop antagonizing me and treat me with some respect and I can clear up any misunderstanding between you and the royal guards. Your past doesn't have to define you, ok?" Flurry Heart said giving Obsidian an empathetic look.

" Or you know, we could always jump out the window," Flurry Heart said, leaping up onto the windowsill and flaring her wings. "So, what do you think?"