Birthday Bios: Black Diamond · 2:45pm Jul 2nd, 2016
You suppose he could get along with the Pie Sisters? They could talk rocks.
Heh, I made Blackie here share a birthday with my sister (Artsy Notes). Yes, I did that on purpose, because I’m certain that he’d be a favorite of hers if she knew more of his character (heck, when I showed her the design, she really liked it).
Now, onward to the story of the grouchy miner!
Black Diamond was born in Paddock City to Powder Snow and Alta, preceded in birth by brother Double Diamond. From the beginning, he was a serious baby who just wanted to mind his own business. Being picked up often had him fighting back, often to the point of biting. He also has a history of biting his big brother, who still has scars from a couple of incidents (DD doesn’t like to talk about them).
As a toddler, he liked to play in the dirt. He’d roll in it, dig in it, build his own dirt hills out of it, throw it at Double Diamond, and even eat it. Eventually, he discovered that it was mostly made out of tiny bits of rock, and tried breaking rocks apart to create his own dirt. However, his tiny self wasn’t strong enough to crush rocks, but he was willing to learn more about how they could break apart.
He has tried to show baby brother Blue Square the wonders of dirt, but that fell through due to Blue not really caring for being dirty (or rather, crying about it). And while Double Diamond agreed that it was moldable, he preferred to build with snow instead of dirt and rocks. So, usually Black Diamond would be investigating things on his own.
When he started school, he got into a bit of trouble for getting into fights with some of the meaner foals. He typically would be slinging mud at them when they bothered some of the weaker or shyer foals on the playground which may have earned him his parents’ ire for starting trouble, but also earned respect from the smarter foals. A lot of them were his science buddies over the years.
Still, those bullies liked to come and try to rough him up as revenge. As a way to keep his temper in check and to keep his mouth occupied so that he didn’t resort to biting, he started a habit of chewing gum. It was later a way for him to focus on subjects he didn’t care for. He could often be seen chewing at any given time, though these days it’s more of a hobby.
Between school and visiting his grandparents’ quarry in the canyon, Black Diamond discovered a lot about geology over the years—as well as himself. He learned about the history of how granite was hauled to Salt Lick City in order to build the Salt Spires, and about cutting and carving techniques. He had a keen eye that helped him spot irregularities in any sort of earth, even in the dark, so he could pick out when something was wrong with a certain rock, preparing the others for a rock slide.
He was also taught that earth pony magic could manifest as strength and cultivation of pretty much anything. Some even developed senses for any certain thing that they were interested in. He honed his magic in order to not only get stronger for rock breaking and cutting, but for also detecting anything precious—gem or metal—stored within the earth. Once he developed that power at about age eleven and used it and his good eyesight to find some gems to glue together in a necklace for grandma, he got his cutie mark.
While his main interest is in geology, he often liked to go with his big brother for some winter sport fun. Black Diamond and Double Diamond didn’t always get along (Blackie’s moodiness often annoyed DD, while Blackie got irritated when DD was in a cocky mood), they did agree that skiing was fun. Their brotherly playtimes usually consisted of racing down the mountain and having snowball fights. Sometimes, they teamed up to pick on Blue Square.
All three brothers got along for a time after their sister, Green Circle, was born, and were often eager to babysit her. Black Diamond was especially happy to bond with his sister over the wonders of dirt, though her interests eventually blossomed into an appreciation for plant life instead of geology. Still, they also liked art and he helped her build stuff, though Black Diamond was more of a carver while Greenie became a weaver.
The family all enjoyed the outdoors together—even Blue Square, who was known for complaining about every sort of chaotic arrangements he spotted anywhere (to the point that Blackie often fought with him), could appreciate fresh air and nature. What they didn’t appreciate was an enemy at a favorite campground, Chipparooney the Squirrel, throwing acorns at them. Black Diamond often threw rocks back.
He discovered the new music genre of rock and roll later on, and started listening to it often. Double Diamond was okay with it, Blue Square hated it, and baby Green Circle had no idea what that noise was. Sometimes he played it so loud, his parents had to demand that he turn it down.
As teenagers, Blackie started butting heads with Double Diamond more and more. As much as he hated to admit it, Black Diamond was starting to get jealous that his older brother was more athletic and popular with ponies in town, while he tended to spook ponies out with his moodiness. While he still had his nerd friends and a couple of similarly moody friends, they weren’t exactly focused on in a ski town.
He was also getting increasingly fed up with how much DD picked on him for not being able to catch up with him in the winter sports department. Black Diamond’s skills in skiing were third tier (in skiing terms, down trails that matched Blackie’s name), but they could measure up to Double Diamond’s. Blackie wanted to punch that smug brother of his every time he bragged. He wished something would happen to humble DD and make him shut up.
He got his wish in one of the messiest ways possible. In sneaking out and skiing in the backcountry, DD accidentally triggered an avalanche that rolled into town and stuffed the streets with snow and debris, injuring some ponies in the process. Black Diamond helped with the cleanup significantly thanks to his strength, and he was the kid that was out the most in the streets clearing away the snow.
Meanwhile, he watched as many of the townsponies lost their trust in Double Diamond, and often wondered about Powder Snow and Alta’s parenting skills. He could see that it seriously wounded DD’s pride, and after wallowing in guilt, shame, and the feeling of not being trusted, the older brother left.
Black Diamond didn’t like to admit it, but he was really concerned that after a few months of letters, they just suddenly stopped. While his family worried, Black Diamond was certain that his older brother was dead, and started resigning himself to being the oldest of the family now. He started to move on, learning the finer details about geology and detecting things in the earth, to the point that rock farmers in the nearby canyon heard about him and took an interest.
When he was of age, he was approached by Mr. Mineral Stone of the canyon, who offered him a job at his quarry and mines. Black Diamond was really happy to take the job, and set off to work as soon as he could. As dangerous as the job could be (which often worried his parents), Black Diamond still enjoyed working with his good eyes and the magic he honed in order to mine effectively. He wasn’t nearly as strong as those who had done it their whole life, but he’s eager to learn more.
A few years passed before he came home to learn that his older brother was alive and why he wasn’t contacting them for some time. Black Diamond wondered how ashamed DD had been in order to let some crazy unicorn take his cutie mark and join an equality cult. Just imagining a society like that creeped Blackie out, and he didn’t usually mind creepy things. At least DD and the other ponies in that town got their cutie marks back. The most surprising thing about that letter was that DD was now mayor of that town.
They got to visit him that Hearth’s Warming, and despite things getting a bit tense both within the family and with a couple of other families that visited, it was ultimately kind of fun. While Blackie still bears a bit of a grudge against Double Diamond for being an arrogant jerk, he’s glad that his big brother has outgrown it and has become a pretty cool fellow.
Currently, he still works with the rock farmers in the canyon. He’s made good friends with the sons of Mineral Stone, and he’s friendly with the little twin daughters. He’s even introduced them to his own sister, since they’re around the same age. He does partially wish that Mr. Stone had a daughter around his age, since he has a bit of trouble with mares in town.
Perhaps someday he’ll find a mare to connect to in some way.
Cool bio. I wonder if Black Diamond and his family are somehow related to Diamond Tiara and the Riches?
I could definitely see Blackie getting along with the Pie sisters. I give him and Limestone roughly even odds of either falling in love or trying to kill one another. Possibly one, then the other.