Dust to Diamonds

by reiyo_oki

Chapter 2 – Arrival

It isn’t the squeal of the train’s brakes or the sudden jolt as it stops that wakes me. Nor is it the voice of the conductor as he calls out the Ponyville stop. No, it’s the voice of a young filly sitting across from me in the compartment. She seems to be more excited than one would normally be at arriving somewhere, though that might just be my twisted interpretation of life.

“We’re here! We’re here!” she squeaked in that overexcited little voice, bouncing up and down on the seat as she tried to hurry the mare sitting next to her out of the train as well.

“Yes, Sweetie Belle. We’re here. Now please calm down. You’ve disturbed our neighbor there.” The mare nudged her younger counterpart to calm her down, and nodded in my direction as she spoke. “Sorry about that, Darling. She does get overexcited quite easily. She is right, though, we’re at Ponyville. Are you getting off at this stop?” The pearly white mare slides off her seat as she continues and heads to the door, leading the filly behind her.

“Yes, I am. Don’t worry about it though, she didn’t really bother me. I was just a bit exhausted. I ran all the way across Canterlot to make the train.” I grunt softly as I get up and hop off the bench. Tossing the suitcase from beneath the seat onto my back, I pick up the jewelry case in my mouth and follow the two out of the compartment.

“Well then, I’m glad you didn’t miss your stop oversleeping! That would have been just awful!” Exclaims the mare in what I can only interpret as distress. “How long are you going to be staying here in Ponyville, dear? It’s not that big of a town, but we do have a few niceties. I’d love to show you around… if you’re interested that is.” She says cheerily as we exit the train car, and the little filly darts past her.

“I’m going to go find Apple Bloom and Scootaloo! See you later, Rarity!” She calls as she disappears around a corner.

“I swear that girl is going to be the death of me… How am I supposed to take care of her if she’s always dashing off like that?” Rarity says more to herself than me.

All I can do is stare at her in surprise. At the mention of her name I stopped, and now find myself looking at her with something akin to shock in my eyes. This is Rarity? I wasn’t expecting to see her yet. I must look a terrible mess… Hopefully she doesn’t realize who I am. “That… That would be nice, yes. I’m actually going to be here indefinitely. I’m a new resident here as of today.”

“Oh how wonderful! Let me be the first to welcome you to the town. Though I must warn you, you shouldn’t be surprised if you see a pink blur appear sometime soon. That’ll be our unofficial ‘welcoming committee’ who goes by the name Pinkie Pie. She makes it a point to know everypony in town.” Rarity smiles warmly and continues off the platform and into town as she speaks, and I follow her without even realizing I’m doing so. We trot past houses and storefronts and finally end up in front of the one building in town I recognize, albeit I’ve only seen the place in one or two pictures; Carousel Boutique.

Realizing where I am, I look around briefly then back to Rarity. “I really should go check on the movers at my new home. They’re expecting me, and I’d rather not keep them waiting. Can I take a rain check on that tour of the town?” I ask Rarity with a feeling of nervousness. After all, this was my potential employer, I didn’t want to offend her the first time we met.

“Of course darling. You run along and I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again soon enough.” She winks at me and glances at the jewelry case in my mouth before turning to unlock the door to Carousel Boutique with her magic. Almost as an afterthought she adds “Oh, and one more thing, dear. Don’t forget our little meeting later. You still need to show me what’s in that case before I decide if you’re going to work here. Though I’m sure it won’t be a problem from what I’ve seen around Canterlot.”

Well, there goes that hope. And she’s been scouting my work it would seem… At least she liked what she’s seen so far. “Yes, of course. I didn’t know if you realized who I was. Heck, I didn’t realize who you were until Sweetie Belle called you by name. Though I suppose I should have, with your reputation as a designer…” I say a bit nervously as I watch her enter the shop. “I’ll be around sometime this afternoon once I’ve met with the movers and made sure everything is well in hoof. They should be finished by now anyway.”

Rarity nods over her shoulder at me and continues into the shop, flipping the sign from “Closed” to “Open” on the door with her magic as she does so. “Of course, of course. Drop by any time. I’ve been quite looking forward to this. I’ve heard the most delightful rumors about what you carry around in that case of yours.” She says with a slight squee in her voice. With that she smiles, nods, and heads off towards the back of the shop, the door swinging shut after her.

Well, that didn’t go as badly as I expected. Maybe I was nervous over nothing. I think cheerily as I trot through town, eyeing street signs as I go, looking for the small cottage I’ve managed to purchase with what was left of the bits from selling my shop and its contents after all the insurance charges. I finally spot it near what looks to be a giant old oak tree somepony has hollowed out and turned into a house.

As I approach I can hear some movement inside, but I’m not really that surprised. The movers could still be cleaning up after all. I stop at the door and set down the jewelry case so I can open it and get the key out, then I realize what I’m doing and chuckle. No keys here. Not unless I buy locks first anyway… As I place a hoof on the doorknob, I hear a muffled hiss, then silence from inside, which seems a bit odd. The movers should be expecting me, and I know there’s practically zero crime here in Ponyville. Hesitantly, I turn the knob and push the door open. It’s not dark inside, there’s light coming from the windows, but the lights aren’t on either, which leaves the room in a semi-shadowed state. All my things are neatly stacked in piles of boxes, the furniture arranged just like it had been in my apartment. As I pick up the jewelry case again and take a few steps inside, the door swings shut on its hinges and I’m left standing in the semi-darkness.

“Is… anypony here?” I ask tentatively into the seemingly empty room. I can hear nothing but the muffled silence of the room in response. Set the jewelry case down near the door and take another couple of steps into the room, not sure what to make of the strange situation. Maybe I’m just crazy and there’s nopony here after all. I think chidingly to myself. As I reach the center of the room, I spot something that doesn’t seem right - A tuft of something pink and curly sticking up around a box in the far corner of the room.

As I turn to face the out-of-place color, I spot what I think is movement out of the corner of my eye, but when I turn my head to look there’s nothing visible. Turning back to the offending pinkness, I speak clearly, if quietly. “I know you’re over there. Come on out. Nopony’s going to hurt you. I just want to know why you’re in my home before I’ve even been in here.” I slowly walk forward, each hoof tapping on the floor as I do so. When I’m no more than three hoofsteps from the box, a violently pink “something” erupts from behind the box and all I can hear is “SURPRISE!” from all around me. The lights have somehow come on, I assume from one of the numerous ponies now visible Where did they all come from?! I wonder. As the pink mass lands in front of me I realize it’s a mare. This must be the “Welcoming Committee” I was warned about. “Let me guess. You’re Pinkie Pie?” I say in an even tone. I’m not upset really, just a bit surprised that she managed all this just since my arrival in town.

The mare looks at me and gives me an almost manic grin. If I didn’t know better I’d think she was crazy. “Yup! That’s me! The bestest party pony in all of Equestria, and this party is all for you! It’s your ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party! Everyone who moves here gets one!” Looking around I see a host of faces I don’t know, but for some reason I spot Rarity there too. She just winks at me and continues talking to the other mares she’s standing with.

“Well, I’m honored, thank you. Though I really should be letting the movers know they can go… “ I say as I look around for them.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. They’ve been gone for hours now. They finished up around lunchtime and headed home while I was getting the party ready!” Pinkie chirps happily. Without warning, she zips across the room and grabs a cupcake, then appears in front of me again as if by some form of magic, but that can’t be, she’s clearly not a unicorn. I glance around for some means of her doing this and I just hear a chuckle from behind me.

“Don’t try to rationalize it darling, it’s just Pinkie Pie. She can do… things one wouldn’t expect sometimes.” Rarity smiles at Pinkie before off again to talk to some other friends.
When I look back at Pinkie, she quickly pushes the cupcake into my hoof and I can do little but accept her offering with a small smile. “Truth be told, it’s been a long time since I had any fun. I suppose a little relaxing would do me some good. Thank you very much, Pinkie.” I say before taking a bite of the confection she’s provided. It’s surprisingly good. Not overly sweet as one would expect from a cake, but with just the right amount of sweetness in the icing to fit the moist cake beneath. “Considering my situation, I haven’t had anything this good in quite some time. All I’m used to is salads, and the occasional donut from Donut Joe’s.”

Pinkie beams at the praise and starts rambling on about how much she loves Donut Joe’s shop. “It’s the most wonderful place in Canterlot isn’t it? It’s not as good as Sugarcube Corner here though! That’s where I work! I baked most of these myself, with a little help from the Cakes of course! You should come by some time, they always like to meet new ponies, and we could always use more customers!” Her excited voice turns into a buzzing in my ears as I listen to her talk at what seems an impossible rate about all the delicious things Sugarcube Corner has to offer. I snap out of it when I see someone poke her from the side with an ivory-white hoof.

“Pinkie, I think we should let our new friend get settled, don’t you? He’s barely been here an hour and hasn’t even had a chance to unpack yet!” Rarity is standing next to Pinkie, and giving her a very stern look. Not hostile at all, just stern, as if trying to tell her You’re doing it again without words. She glances at me as she does so and gives me a small wink. Clearly she realizes I can hardly get prepared for my other business later if I’m stuck here in a welcoming party all day.

“Aw, but Rarity! The party just started! It’s no fun if we have to end It so soon!” Pinkie says with a pouty look on her face.

“I know Pinkie dear, but it really is a bit soon for this party. Let’s allow our new friend some time to unpack and relax. I’m sure he’ll come to Sugarcube Corner and you can stuff him full of all the sweets you want then.” Rarity responds in a dry tone with a roll of her eyes. “Besides, he has other business he needs to tend to this afternoon, and it wouldn’t do for him to be late!” She punctuates her sentence with another look towards my jewelry case, still sitting near the door unattended.

“Oh alright…” Pinkie mutters almost sadly before walking to the door. With what I can only describe as boneless fluidity, she opens the door and ushers everyone out. Each of the visiting townsponies smiling at me and offering me a muttered “Welcome to town.” As they pass. Pinkie follows the last of them out, looking over her shoulder and saying “Come and visit the bakery when you can, okay?” in a much more subdued tone than before. She seems almost… sad.

“Don’t worry about Pinkie. She’s just depressed I made her call off the party so soon. I just didn’t want you to be tied up all day with one of her parties. They can last for hours!” Rarity’s voice says from behind me. I had been watching the ponies leave through the door and didn’t realize she hadn’t gone with them. “I’ll let you get to unpacking. Just remember, we have an arrangement later!”

As the white unicorn reaches the door, I make a decision. Why am I nervous about this? She seems considerate enough. “Rarity, wait.” As she stop and looks back at me with one eyebrow raised I indicate the case next to her with a hoof. “Why don’t I show you what’s in there now. I don’t see any reason to wait, since you’re here. I have everything I need in there anyway.” I step calmly towards the case, and pick it up by its handle with my teeth, taking it into the living area and setting it atop my coffee table, which thankfully isn’t covered in boxes (or confections from Pinkie’s party.) With deft hooves, I poke the latches and they pop open, allowing the top of the case to be lifted, revealing its contents to the world. On either side are a range of simple earrings, nothing garish in my opinion, though some do have gems in them. Next to them on either side rest a pair of hoof adornments front and rear, in lilac-colored metal, each one studded with an amethyst. In the very center of the case, near the back is the one thing I’ve shown to precious few ponies. The piece which made me realize what I was meant to do, and earned me my cutie mark. A large fire ruby, carved into the shape of a heart and set as the centerpiece of a brooch rimmed with gold. As the top of the case settles into a stable position, I pull away a simple felt panel covering it, and behind are a range of necklaces ranging from simple chains to intricate and ornate strings of jewels and spun precious metals of various types. Gold, Silver, Platinum, and other darker metals. A small intake of breath is all I can hear from Rarity as she gazes at the contents of the case. Glancing at her, I see her eyes fixed on the lower section of the case, specifically the brooch at its rear. With a hoof, I pop the piece out of the case and from beside it, a simple jewelers’ loupe, I offer her the eyepiece first, and once she’s got it in place allow her to take the precious piece from my hoof.

“This is simply exquisite… I hadn’t known you could do work of this quality… I thought you were just in the buying and selling market… Do you make all of your pieces?” She asks as she looks intently at the piece in her hoof, scrutinizing it for the imperfections which I know are not there.

“Yes, I do. Every piece in this case I made myself. I used to buy my materials from various sources in Canterlot, before… Well, before I had to leave. Some of the more exotic ones I had to order from outside Equestria. The griffons were able to supply some of the harder to find metals, and a few of the gems came from the Crystal Empire. That ruby you’re holding though… That was special. When I was just a little colt, a young Diamond Dog wound up lost in Canterlot one night, and I found him hiding down an alley near my parents home. Rather than let the guards take him and lock him up, I let the poor thing come with me for the night. To thank me, he left me that stone, albeit uncut, before vanishing while I was asleep. I found it just sitting on my bedside table when I awoke the next morning. Never did hear if the little guy got out of town safely. Though I didn’t hear any rumors saying the guards had caught him either, so I guess he probably did.”

I look up as I speak, eyes misting over as I remember the fear of my parents discovering a diamond dog in my bedroom. They would never have understood why I saved him, they would have just taken the poor pup to the guards and been done with it. “Well, after that, I took the stone and tried to make something of it. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that stone is completely flawless. I’ve never seen another like it. Even as my small and untrained hooves held it, I knew I could do something special with it. I found a jewelry shop in town that made their own pieces and asked to use their tools; Nothing more, just the use of their tools. The mare who owned the place, Diamond Dust I would later learn was her name, was skeptical at first, but I learned quickly how to handle each one with almost no effort, earning my time there by helping her with the day to day work of repairs and the like. When I finally felt like I knew what I was doing, I brought the ruby with me. It had been about six months, and Diamond Dust had long since realized I wasn’t going to be deterred from learning how to make jewelry, though when she saw what I had brought with me that day she nearly fainted. ‘You’re going to use that? But you’ll destroy it! There’s no way someone with so little experience can cut a gem that perfect without destroying it!’ she said. Well, I worked for hours. Each movement measured, each stroke of a tool deliberate. I would do this. What you see before you is the single best piece I have ever created, as well as the source of my cutie mark. It signifies my dedication to my work, and the kindness and care I put into each piece. Without that care and dedication, all that would result would be shiny lumps of metal and stone.”

I lift the stone from her hoof and tap the side gently before settling it back into its place in the jewelry case. “It’s been a long time since I was a colt learning what I was meant to do. Despite all the rumors you may have heard, I am known for making some of the best jewelry in Canterlot. I won’t deny the rumors are tru either though. Many of them are. I don’t know how any of it happened, but I’m hoping a new start will change things.” As I speak, I look down at the case with a wistful expression, the hoof adornments foremost in my thoughts. “I had created these and intended them as a gift to our newest Princess, though I never got the chance to give them to her. I’ve seen her a few times in Canterlot for special functions, but always noticed she lacked a few of the things ponies notice first about the other Princesses. These in particular – One of the first things most ponies notice about others is the condition of their hooves. Princesses Celestia and Cadance have golden sets, and Luna has Cobalt. I couldn’t find a naturally occurring metal that matched her coloration, so I had to create one. This is a special alloy made from gold, aluminum, and a few other more durable metals to alleviate the brittle nature of the metal. Normally something made from purple gold would shatter with any sharp strike, such that simply walking around in these would probably destroy them if it weren’t for the special alloy they’ve been combined with. It took me quite a while to find the right combination of metals to keep the color as well as the durability.”

Rarity blinks, then smiles widely as she looks at the pieces I’m describing. “I’m sure Twilight would love them, even though she’s not really the type of mare for jewelry. She actually hates having to wear her crown, and insists her friends not address her by title.” With a hoof, she gently nudges the pieces before continuing. “You know, she does live here in Ponyville. I’d be more than happy to introduce you. Twilight would definitely enjoy talking to you about your methods for creating new metals.” Blinking a couple of times, Rarity takes a step back and coughs slightly. “Oh I’m such a goose! Here you are showing me all these beautiful pieces you’ve created and all I can do is wonder how you do it without magic. I don’t think I need to see any more. The position at my shop is yours if you want it. Though I really think you’d be far better off opening your own store. You clearly have the knowhow to do so.” Hoofing the jewelers’ loupe back into its slot in my case, she smiles. “I won’t insist on any specific hours from you right now. You clearly have some unpacking and settling in to do. Once you feel up to it, just let me know and we’ll get a more regular schedule set for you.” Nodding smartly Rarity turns towards the door. “Oh, and one more thing dear - Try not to be so nervous! We’re all friends here in Ponyville! Nopony’s going to make fun of you. I daresay nopony even knows about any of those nasty rumors floating around Canterlot. I certainly didn’t believe them, and I know nopony here will either.” On that note, and with a swish of her violet tail, Rarity slipped out the door, leaving me alone in my new home to contemplate what I would do next.