//------------------------------// // Double Diamond // Story: Chronicles of the Cutie Markless // by StoryDragon //------------------------------// I love the cold! I grew up in the snowy mountains; it was an exciting life. Me and the other ponies would go sledding, snowboarding and skiing every day, we used to hold competitions and race each other. We would even create trophies out of ice and award them to the winners. They lasted quite a while, so long as we always kept them outside. Me and my four best friends were still pretty young when we created the Snow Games; a series of fun activities rolled into one event. Whoever won the most trophies was considered the overall champion. Our first Snow Games was just a fun little project for us mountain ponies, but it soon became much more than that! Once we had finished each one of the fun challenges and races, we celebrated by putting our ice trophies together on a podium - which was admittedly nothing more than a large rock. Then, as we stepped back to admire them, the five of us amazingly gained our cutie marks at the exact same time! Each one somehow represented the event we had created together, at the frozen paradise we called home. My pal Glacier particularly enjoyed the snowball fight tournament, and was blessed with five snowballs upon her rump. Snowdrift acquired a cute snow-mare; she used to build small ones and place them in each of her ice trophies! Speaking of which, the oldest among us, Black Ice - who was the champion of our first snow games - actually had an ice trophy as his cutie mark, representing his great victory! Finally, my friend Sprinkle received a cute picture of a snow cone. She had spent the majority of the Snow Games making them for the spectators. As for me, I gained three beautiful snowflakes. I was pretty happy, because they were similar to the design I’d created for the flag on my sled. At that moment, we all knew that these cutie marks meant we were destined to host the Snow Games and compete in them every year. Over time, more and more ponies attended the annual event. Some even traveled from distant towns to watch or compete. We started including fun games for the fillies, and more difficult challenges for the experienced athletes. I got pretty used to winning, as our lifestyles gave us an edge over most of the other ponies, who weren’t used to the cold, snowy, and often windy weather conditions. On the tenth anniversary of the Snow Games, we were all raring to go. I entered myself into pretty much everything, but it was the skiing I was particularly looking forward to. I hadn’t lost a skiing race to date, and we had a bunch of new challengers that year. When it was time for the race, we took our places atop one of the steepest mountains; this particular event was for experienced skier’s only. Black Ice had entered - as I knew he would. Like me, he never backed out of a challenge. The two of us considered one another friendly rivals, but he somehow always beat me, just by a few trophies. However, this year we were currently tied, and winning the race would finally put me in the lead! The referee blew the whistle, and with a huge push I set off down the mountain, passing most of the other ponies with great ease. The snow was particularly thick on this course, and it was tougher to steer, some of the other competitors were having a hard time. I maneuvered left and right, dodging tree’s and rocks, and finally overtook Black Ice. It was then that I knew, the race was in the bag. As I imagined the trophy that I would receive for my 10 year winning streak in this event, I suddenly noticed a blue pegasus pony swerve across my line of vision on her ski's. I had never seen her before, but she was pretty skilled, making light tracks as she gracefully passed by. That’s when I realised that I was no longer in the lead! So I pushed with all my might and caught up to the mare, but as one of us glided to the left, the other glided to the right, and we were pretty much neck on neck. The mare winked as she crossed in front of me once more, “Oh, you’re on!” I gave a forceful push, and accelerated at great speed. I had never traveled so fast before. My ski’s dug into the snow, creating a deep trail as I furiously pushed harder and harder, trying to regain my first place. I was the running champion; I couldn’t lose to some outsider! I had to admit though, she was pretty fast, and by the time I had finally overtaken her, I actually felt myself starting to sweat. Nevertheless, I was the lead once again, but this time I didn’t let my guard down. I ski'd like I had never ski'd before, from left to right down the mountain, heavily kicking up snow… and then once again, she passed me. “What the… how is she….” I couldn’t believe my eyes. Then I noticed that the pegasus wasn’t swiftly gliding any more. She looked as though she was in a state of panic, and was forcing herself forwards as though her life depended on it. “Look out!” She shouted in my direction. That’s when I heard a rumbling noise, gradually getting louder and louder. It was coming from behind me… My careless competitive attitude had caused me to forget the most important rule of skiing: where the snow is thick, you must ski lightly and as streamline as possible. If you take too much snow with you, it can cause an avalanche! Turns out that is exactly what my reckless racing had done. A sheet of snow was heading straight for us. Black Ice was going as fast as he could, but to my utter horror he was soon caught up in it, and came tumbling down the mountain as the avalanche gathered more and more snow, growing in size as it approached me and the pegasus. It was no use; we couldn’t escape it, and we soon suffered the same fate as Black Ice. What was worse, the snow continued down the mountain, heading towards the crowds below. Some of the ponies scrambled just in time, and some of the pegasi lifted unicorn's and earth ponies into the air out of danger; but many others were impounded. When finally I regained consciousness, I looked around to see my friends slowly coming around too. Most of them were holding their heads; they had been injured by the avalanche. “I think my wings broken!” The pegasus pony was trying to fly, but couldn’t. "My head.... hurts!" Cried a stallion. “We need to call an ambulance!” A mare shouted. “No, a bunch of ambulances!” As I looked around at my fellow ponies writhing in pain, tears filled my eyes. I was careless, and put winning the race before the safety of my friends. I couldn’t stand to look at the damage I had caused, and so I shakily got to my feet and quietly left the scene, to curse myself in private. When I was sure that I was out of sight, I took a backwards glance at the catastrophe, and then at my ski’s, which had landed upright in the snow. I couldn’t believe what I had done. There was no way I could ever go back there, or be a part of the Snow Games ever again. So, with tears now streaming from my eyes, I left. I didn’t get far however, before bumping into a brightly coloured unicorn, with a rather odd cutie mark that looked like an equal’s sign. “Double Diamond… what on earth happened here?” She tilted her head, “It… it was an avalanche!” I whimpered, “an avalanche that I caused… wait, how do you know my name?” “You… caused this?” She looked up at the humongous piles of snow which now lay around the base of the mountain. Then proceeded to answer my question, “Of course I know your name. You and your friends founded the Snow Games, and you hold them every year!” “I… I don’t want to have anything to do with the Snow Games anymore.” I said, “I got way too obsessed. I wanted to become the champion so badly, that I didn’t consider the safety of any pony.” “So, you’re leaving the mountains?” She asked, I nodded. “If I stay here, my competitiveness might get the better of me again. And even if it didn’t, it would be heart breaking to watch. I just want to get away from here, and forget that any of this ever happened.” “But Double Diamond, isn't this your destiny? Why, even your cutie mark represents your passion for the Snow Games!” She seemed awfully curious, My cutie mark? I glanced sadly at my rump. “Yeah. I guess no matter where I go, this symbol will always be here, to remind me that today, I put my friends in danger.” “That’s going to make it pretty tough for you to move on…” The unicorn pondered, “cutie marks can be such burdens. Frequently reminding you of who are supposed to be, even if you no longer wish to be that pony. Why don’t you just let me remove it for you?” “Huh? Remove my cutie mark?” I didn't understand. “Why of course!" The mare reassured me, "I’ve removed the cutie marks of many ponies. We have our own little community, where we have all started a new life, free from our past mistakes. I replace every cutie mark with a wonderful symbol, representing nothing but equality. There are no challenges in our town; no winners, and no losers.” “No winners…” I was hesitant for a while, “my competitive nature would never get the better of me again. I would never put any pony at risk, and I wouldn’t be burdened by this mark, reminding me of my past.” The more I considered the unicorn’s offer, the more it sounded like my best option. I had nowhere else to go, after all. “I’ll do it.” I replied, “I’ll give up my cutie mark if it means getting a fresh start, and living a life where I cannot cause any harm to my fellow ponies.” She smiled and hugged me, “Then Double Diamond, welcome to our family.”