The coming on Diamond Shadow

Seeing how I detailed my thought process for my OC Autumn Galerina three years ago and how I am yet again huffed up on painkillers and I kinda want to have a more positive Blog-wall for the new year, I think it is time to explain how I developed Diamond Shadow and ultimately, how her relationship with Autumn "works".

DS was a bit more tricky to get going than Autumn. Autumn had a lot of personality, even before he had a name. DS on the other hand came off... twisted. Let me put this in perspective: We are talking about a pony who had infiltrated an organization for years, became lovers with her target and literally kept betraying him during his entire moment of self-perceived greatness.
That's pretty messed up.

So I had the choice: Retcon her actions or accept that she was a deeply twisted individual.

Ultimately, I decided that the latter would be both more interesting and more "authentic" to her occupation. Let's be clear: Secret Agents, spies, infiltrators may be cool in fiction, but even Ian Flemming characterized his James Bond as a cold-hearted alcoholic who drowns the faces of his victims in alcohol and debauchery.
So this is the ground work I had for Diamond Shadow. Her name, her slightly snarky attitude and the fact that she was a psychopath, if a very well adjusted one.
I attributed the latter to my little interpretation of the cute-ceañera as a ritualized way of informing everyone what a foal's cutie mark is all about. And it worked out for her. The crown got her out of the place where she might have become a serious criminal and gave her choices in life. She found her niche in life and while she was uncaring and lacked actual empathy, she was smart enough to compensate for that shortcoming through understanding the social contract.

Now I had her personality done, I had to delve into how she worked with Autumn. Defining this relationship was REALLY tough. Autumn is kind and caring, loves things that make him feel strong emotions (be it cuteness or Luna being sinister) and does huge things for little apparent reason. For Diamond Shadow, this guy is a mysterious world of joy and wonder. And somewhere along the way, she was apparently swept up in it. Its a bit of a symbiosis: Autumn is so sweet, kind and does grandiose things that tickle even the stony cockles of DS's heart. Meanwhile, DS is cold enough not to get swept up in his endless enthusiasm. She grounds him. Luckily for both of them, DS is well aware that she is a fundamentally damaged individual and that is what keeps her from being outright abusive to Autumn.

Finally, I had to come up with her looks... And honestly, that was very easy. I always imagined her as a pegasus pony, even before we had the concept of bat-ponies. Even her colours were a given. I couldn't imagine her in any other way than the way she turned out.
Finally, her cutie mark. Three pieces of coal, cut like Rarity's diamonds seemed logical. Coal, the shadow of diamond, black as her heart but capable of being set ablaze.

And that is how Diamond Shadow came into being. Now, those were all major OCs revealed. I hope you enjoy their bickering and general disfunctional...ness as much as I do.