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Sketcha-Holic


A goofy little miss that's here to write and draw to her heart's content. Her imagination doesn't know when to shut off.

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  • 78 weeks
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    1 comments · 312 views
  • 105 weeks
    Okay

    Thanks to those who gave condolences on my last blog post.

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    0 comments · 271 views
  • 106 weeks
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  • 117 weeks
    And Now, A Newsletter

    Huh, back in July I said I oughta talk more around here. It's now the day after Christmas and I have not, in fact, talked more around here.

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    0 comments · 247 views
Jan
17th
2016

Birthday Bios: Alta · 5:37pm Jan 17th, 2016

And here, you see that I created the mother of Double Diamond. And named her after a place in Utah. Why? Because I can.


Born in the mountains overlooking the Salt Lick Valley, Alta was a active filly since she started walking (given that she's a pony, it was certainly less than a month, though whether or not it's immediately after birth like real horses is up in the air). Her parents, a pair of rock farmers living near a granite quarry in one of the canyons, and her older brothers were always concerned about her running around, worried that she'd end up cracking her head open on one of the rocks in one way or another. Being a foal, she had a few mishaps and plenty of stitches.

Still, that didn't stop her from climbing around both the quarry and the surrounding area. She always enjoyed hiking one of the many trails in the mountains, and she was always playing the "mountain goat", climbing on whatever rocks she could find. Naturally, when she managed to climb the biggest boulder in the canyon at the age of twelve, she earned her cutie mark.

In addition to her climbing talent, Alta also took up skiing as a hobby when she was a teenager. Running through the powder was nearly as satisfying as managing to scale a mountain, and she always alternated between mountain-climbing in the summer and skiing in the winter.

One winter when she was nearly 20, she met a big, shy lug named Powder Snow, hailing from a northeastern Equestrian town near the Crystal Mountains. He had heard of the Salt Lick snow and was going to check it out. While everypony else was a little nervous around him due to his massive size, Alta was interested in him and was willing to show him around. She was often wanting to climb onto his back, since he seemed like good climbing practice. But, it was his gentle nature and good sense of humor that made her fall in love with him over the course of two years. When Powder decided to stay, the two wed, and settled in the town of Paddock City.

There, Powder would often knit and sew for his wife, and Alta would love the scarfs and blankets that he'd make. She in return would arrange the furniture in manners that would make him comfortable, and cook some nice meals for him, eventually teaching him how to cook. Hearth's Warming had them making dolls of each other (Powder making a knitted doll of his wife and Alta chiseling a rock figurine of her husband). They'd be the couple to go running around in the rain, and still having snowball fights. At the end of the day, they liked to cuddle.

At first, their new neighbors thought they were father and daughter, bringing a shock when they revealed that they were husband and wife, and explaining that he was big, and she was just a shorty. Nopony wanted to think about the size issue in one particular area, and they tried to keep it out of mind, especially after the birth of Powder and Alta's first son, Double Diamond.

Alta considered little Double Diamond as an early birthday present, being born just a few days before her 24th birthday. Letting him play in the snow, bringing him on some of her hikes, and taking him and Powder sledding, she was already conditioning him to be an athlete. The toddler's enthusiasm for outdoor sport made her proud, though she had to keep an eye on him to keep him from doing stuff he wasn't ready for.

A couple more years passed before Double Diamond was given a brother, Black Diamond. Alta soon discovered that her rock farmer heritage got into Black Diamond when he developed a fascination for rocks, though he always tried to break them open in thinking that there was something inside. Alta tried to see if Black Diamond was interested in climbing the rocks, but the colt was more interested in what could be found in them or what the rocks could be used for.

Alta gave birth to Son Number Three five years later, and named him Blue Square. Unlike his brothers, who were interested in the outdoors, Blue was more content to stay inside and look at books. He quickly learned how to read this way, and he was interested in gaining knowledge. Though, he learned a lot of big words and kept using them, much to his brothers' annoyance. Alta didn't quite know what some of the words meant, so she had trouble teaching him how to use them correctly. She was also rather frustrated when Blue would complain about how "unorganized" the rocks on the mountain were when they hiked, or how their footprints in the snow would ruin a beautiful wintry landscape. She tried teaching him that not everything has to be perfect, but with little success.

Finally, several more years passed before she and Powder had a daughter, who they named Green Circle. Teenaged Double and Black Diamond adored their cheery sister, and while Blue Square was relieved to not be the youngest anymore and found Greenie rather cute, he still didn't like having to change diapers and being puked on (granted, none of them did, but he complained about it the most). Alta was glad not to be the only female in the family, and took any mother-daughter times she could get. The two usually took hikes together, with Greenie taking interest in the flora and wanting to bring every flower they found home.

She and her husband managed to get all four of their children to take an interest in skiing, and they were all pretty good in their own right. Naturally, their oldest was the best one, and in fact had a special talent relating to that. Aside from skiing, the family enjoying camping (and fighting with their squirrely nemesis Chipparooney), hiking, and mountain climbing, and on occasion, they'd go traveling to elsewhere. The Salt Flats were memorable for the time Double Diamond licked the ground and had the taste linger in his mouth for weeks.

Later in life, Alta noticed the cocky and condescending attitude that Double Diamond was developing, seeing as he was the best in town at skiing and was boasting about how he could outrun an avalanche if he wanted to. He seemed to relish in Black Diamond's jealousy, and the jealousy of several others in town. She became even more concerned when Double Diamond would disappear for hours at a time during the winter, returning later on and not telling anyone where he was. She soon found out that he was going out to the backcountry, which was dangerous due to unstable snow and nopony to control it. She tried to reason with him, but he wouldn't have it, and always managed to sneak out. Alta came to the realization that he had inherited a reckless part of her personality.

One day, an avalanche literally rolled into town. Ponies on the streets were injured, homes and businesses were blocked, and generally, everypony was miserable. The avalanche was soon traced back to unauthorized skiers in one of the mountains, and much to Powder Snow and Alta's great disappointment, Double Diamond was the culprit.

Even when all was cleaned up in a relatively early Winter Wrap-Up, some of the neighbors were rather condescending about Powder and Alta's parenting ability, and many more were not trusting Double Diamond. Feeling ostracized for his mistake, a depressed Double Diamond decided to leave in order to rethink his life. Promising that he'd write, he set off on his own.

Alta enjoyed receiving Double Diamond's letters, hearing of the places he been to and what adventures he had. She felt a little sad that he wasn't home or that hadn't quite found another purpose in his life besides skiing, but knowing he was safe made her feel warm inside. She often wrote back about events back home, such as Black Diamond getting a job in the nearby mines, Blue Square being top of his class, and Green Circle just growing up. Alta herself still liked to hike to the top of one of the mountains and just gaze out over the valley, and Powder would sometimes join her.

However, when several months went by without Double Diamond writing a letter, Alta panicked, and wrote to old friends and extended family to keep an eye out for her son, hoping he could be found. As the years passed, she'd be pacing back and forth, worrying and assuming the worst about what happened to Double Diamond. Powder often tried to calm her down, hugging and petting her in order to make sure she was all right. They would await news about DD's whereabouts, and Alta considered going out to find him herself, only to be stopped by not wanting to leave her other three children behind. Whenever Powder went out on business trips, he promised to keep an eye out for Double Diamond.

She still kept up her habit of climbing mountains, though this time it was usually to sulk and cry where nopony can see her. Not a day would pass by without thinking of her missing son, and sometimes she feared the worst.

It was a few years before another letter from Double Diamond had arrived, and Alta nearly ripped it apart in her frantic rush to read it. The whole family was surprised to discover that he had been in that village in the news, the one that was a cult founded on the premise of equality and how "cutie marks were evil." They were even more surprised that after they got their cutie marks back and chased Starlight Glimmer away, they voted Double Diamond in as the new mayor. The whole family liked reading about the friends Double Diamond made, named Party Favor, Sugar Belle, and Night Glider. Alta was especially relieved that he was safe, and was glad that he found a new purpose.

They wondered why he had gotten rid of his cutie mark, but decided that it was a question better asked in person.

The family reunited with him that Hearth's Warming season, with all being at peace, and got to meet DD's friends. Alta especially was happy to meet her son again, though she wanted to keep cool in front of him, seeing her panicky state for the past few years as embarrassing. She made new friends that week, and they all agreed to have it be a tradition for the three families to come together as one, especially since one of DD's friends, Sugar Belle, didn't have any family of her own.

After that, Alta's climbs on the mountain were to have moments of peace, and watching the sunset in contentment.

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