Chapter 9 - Parting Ways
Black Diamond’s eyes fluttered as she regained consciousness. A wave of panic washed over her and she sat upright. She then promptly collapsed with a groan as a second wave (this one of nausea) washed over her.
“Easy there child, don’t hurt yourself.”
Diamond lifted her head to see Gra… No, Zap Apple standing there. “You’re back.” Not the most stunning observation, but she was still trying to restart her brain.
“I am.”
“You left me.”
“I did. You needed privacy for the Forging.”
“…Where was I?”
“My bet would be that you went into the Nightforge, but I can’t be sure. I do know you weren’t in your body for a while there.”
“You mean I was–”
“No. The dead don’t come back, not like this. You were alive, you just… left your body behind.”
“Oh.”
“It’s a lot to take in, I know. Priorities now, let’s get some of this down you.” The mare slid a tray off of her back and onto a small table.
Diamond slowly lifted herself to said table, continuing with her questions, “How long was I out?”
“Only overnight, now eat this.”
“What is it?” Diamond looked at the proffered spoon warily.
“Apple Soup,” Zap Apple sighed at the raised eyebrow, “Just try it.”
Diamond accepted. It was better than she was expecting, like a really thin applesauce. It was warm, and made her a bit tingly. “What’s in this?”
“Various apples, but what makes it special is the zap apple juice. Don’t finish that thought; I’ve heard that joke more times than you want to know.”
“Why not change your name then?”
Zap gave a weary smile. “Honestly not sure I would if I could. But I can’t anyway. The names are more than that. It’s not just something for other ponies to call you, it’s an identity.”
“I don’t get it.”
“You will someday.”
Diamond finished her meal in silence, emptying the soup bowl as well as draining all the apple juice from her cup and devouring the two slices of toast. She sat there for a moment, staring at the empty tray. “So what now?” She finally asked.
“Well, I think the next order of business is to open up that forge, don’t you?”
The filly let out an excited yelp, “I forgot!”
Zap winked at her. “Don’t worry, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a pony not forgetting for a few minutes after they wake up.”
The mare circled around the table to join Diamond at the box. “The forge won’t open for me, not until you take your weapon out. That way it’s a lot harder for somepony to take it away from you. You need to put your hoof on the crystal in the door to unlock it, then you can open it just like you saw me do to put the Nightsteel in.”
Diamond did as she was told, and felt something shift when her hoof touched the crystal.
“Wait. I almost forgot to warn you first. This weapon is… different. Special. It won’t be like the weapons you see others use. It’s not just unique, it’s intimately personal. When you forged it, you put a piece of your soul into it. I don’t know how literally you should take that. Be very careful with this weapon. It can do much good in your hooves, but if enemies got a hold of it… there’s a lot of damage that they could do with something bound to you on this level.
“So. This is your last chance. If you want to back out, just leave the weapon in the Nightforge and never look back.”
Diamond blinked. In response, she gave not a word, simply turning and opening the door. Inside were her blades. She felt a strange connection to them… recognizing them as familiar, despite having never… almost never seen them before.
“Why do I feel…”
“Connected? Because you are. You’re bound to those blades, there’s a part of you in them. It’s close to the feeling you’ll get when you have children.”
“Oh.” That didn’t really answer her question, but something told her that it was the best answer she was going to get. Gently, Diamond reached out and picked up the contraption of metal and… “Is that leather?”
She knew what leather was of course, most ponies did. It was always a part of something in campfire horror stories – the witch’s spellbook, the murderer’s mask, etc. – but she hadn’t personally encountered it before.
“Yes, sometimes that happens.”
“So you mean I have to wear somepony’s–”
“No. Everything in there except the metal itself came from you. Even part of the metal is from you, since you helped forge the alloy. Analyze the situation. Where did the leather come from?”
“…Me? But I don’t… oh.”
“Yeah, it’s yours. It grew like this, your body sacrificed a few cells so that it could contribute.”
“I thought I wasn’t in my body.”
“You weren’t. Not for the last little bit. Your body came out about an hour before you did.”
“Oh.”
“Now then, how do these go on?”
“I…” Diamond was about to say she didn’t know, but a memory floated to the surface. Right before she faded, when she figured out what the light was. “Like this. This goes here, and then that there, and…”
It took a good fifteen minutes, but they finally managed to get the blades strapped on. There were four of them, one on each leg. The front two were each mounted on a pair of rings, a thick one at her ankle and a thinner one at her knee. The rings were connected by a thin metal rod on the inside of her leg, and swiveled. When she was standing normally, the blades faced away from each other, out to either side. If she reared up though, they swiveled to parallel. She had to be careful of that and the release feature.
That was the other thing her forward blades could do. There was a hinge on the thick ring and a catch on the thin one, so both blades could swing out perpendicular to her hooves.
Her rear blades were a lot less fancy, but probably just as dangerous once she used them. They were on hinges too, but worked completely differently. The blades ran up the length of her legs, attaching to a harness that wove around her flanks in a way that left her cutie mark and tail free. The blades were hollow, a hole cutting almost all the way along them. There were metal rings hooked through these holes so that when she bent a leg, the blade attached to it would rise.
Diamond walked around the room a few laps. Her awkward gait soon shifted to something far more natural, and soon she was walking as if she was born wearing her blades.
“Alright then Ranger.” The mare’s voice broke Diamond out of her thought. “One last lesson from old Zap Apple before I go back into retirement. I need to teach you how to send your blades into your shadow.”
“Okay.”
“The first thing is that it needs a name. Until it’s got an identity of its own, you’ll have to store it using physical means. Once you do that though–”
“I already did.”
“No kid, I’m not asking you to just pick one. This takes a lot of thought and–”
“No, Zap Apple, I already know it. His name is Blacklight.”
“His?”
Diamond flushed. “That’s what it felt like, when I was in the forge.”
“When you were in the forge?!”
Diamond nodded, slowly tilting her gaze downward. “Uh-huh. He asked me if I knew what his name was, and when I thought about it… I did. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?!” Zap shook her head. “Diamond, what… No, don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong, I’m just surprised. I think you set a record. Most Rangers went months before figuring out their weapons’ names. And some went their entire lives before finding out what gender their weapon was.”
The mare shook her head gently as the filly’s mood lightened again. “Oh, okay. So what now?”
“Well, he has a name, but you still need to Name him. Say his name, but… say it to him, like you would if you were trying to get a friend’s attention.”
There was a pause, and then: “Blacklight.”
I am here.
“He’s answering.”
“Good. No you’re going to finish binding yourself to him, make the one-way connection that already exists into a two-way one. This is ritual magic, so it has to be done in a certain way. Don’t get weirded out it if two of us say the same thing at the same time.”
Diamond nodded.
“Let’s begin then. Talk to him, but repeat after me: I, insert your name, name you, insert weapon’s name, and call upon you.”
“I, Black Diamond, name you, Blacklight, and call upon you.”
I, Blacklight, name you, Black Diamond, and call upon you.
“Now answer the questions. Why is your name Black Diamond?”
“Because I am the diamond that almost fell to darkness. I am the one who now stands in the shadows unseen. I will be the strength that my friends can rely on, and I will never break when they need me.”
“Why is your weapon’s name Blacklight?”
Why is my name Blacklight?
“Because… He is a light of shadows. I am Black Diamond and he is my light. But more, he is a quiet light, one unseen in day. One that reveals hidden things. The edge of light that keeps the darkness back.”
“Cunning… How did we arrive at this point?”
“I… apologize sir. I don’t know. We sent four agents as planned… Devastation was nearby, so he even joined the group.”
“It is good that he did, or you might have failed completely. Deception was a useful servant, his loss… is inconvenient.”
“I am aware Lord. But you were right, he had to be disposed of. If they had tracked him…”
“You dealt with the remains appropriately.” It was not a question.
“Yes. We left him outside of Canterlot. Vengeance is confident that our enemies will be searching for us there now. We can operate freely.”
“Do not become overconfident. We may have the Warrior of Night, and the alicorns may be looking elsewhere, but be wary. Heroes have a way of… happening.”
“Yes M’Lord. Also, Technique has finished his work. Both fillies are already having their energy farmed.”
“Good. Stand ready to move the alicorn though, it may prove dangerous to keep her so close.”
“Shall we dispose of her?”
“…No. I am loathe to destroy a sister so readily. She has connection to the moon, have Technique attempt to imprison her within it.”
“And if he cannot?”
“Do as you must.”
Zap gave a final nod, Blacklight’s glow faded, and Diamond sank to her haunches. “That was exhausting.” It had been an hour since they started.
Zap chuckled. “Not surprised. Never heard of anypony doing both of those one after the other. Congratulation Black Diamond, you’re now a full-fledged Shadow Ranger.”
“Awesome. Can I go to sleep now?”
Zap nodded. “That ya can Diamond, that ya can. Also, you should probably know now, Blacklight won’t be talking in your head much more. On occasion, when you really need him to, he will, but… There’re only two more times where you can know he’ll speak up.”
“When are they?”
“When you decide to get married, and when you go through this again from the other end.”
It was just past sunset when Black Diamond snuck out of Sweet Apple Acres. Silent as the shadow she was, she flitted down the road, a bent pile of metal and gemstones in her magical grasp. Magic was weird, if somepony else had been wearing or carrying the tiara, it would have melted into shadow just fine, but if she tried to take it herself, that was something else entirely!
Diamond had never before realized that it was possible to roll your eyes without having eyes to roll.
Her first stop was her house. Her parents were gone, and she couldn’t honestly say she was surprised. Their fight had been two days ago, they would have had no reason to stay. She left her tiara in a bush and slipped into the house. Randolph was in the library, sitting in that big old armchair. The book on the floor in front of him said that he’d fallen asleep while reading, possibly watching for her.
She moved on quietly.
In her room, she found what she was looking for quickly. She hadn’t really expected her parents to take it, but there was that one niggling little fear… On her way out, she paused, then grabbed another item before closing her door.
Before she left the house, she stopped to drape the blanket that usually covered her bed over her faithful butler.
Since she was inside this time, she didn’t have to shadow her way under the door. Instead, she reached up, flicked the deadbolt open, and waltzed out.
Diamond’s next stop was almost as familiar. Barnyard Bargains, her father’s store. No magic needed this time, just her access code. Daddy had given her several codes, most of which she was about to use. He had told her that these were for emergencies…
To be blunt, if this didn’t qualify as an emergency, she didn’t know what did.
She went to his office and disabled the security systems. Then she went out on the floor and pulled a single box off the shelves.
She booted up the register, exactly like she had been shown. “Employee” code… Scan item barcode… ID Check override code… Security override code… The “Special” code for the “Special” customers… Write check…
BILL
Transaction XXXXXX3097
Total: 1520 Bits
Payment
3 Gold Bits … 300
14 Silver Bits … 700
1 Bronze Bit … 25
5 Iron Bits … 62.5
9 Brass Bits … 90
26 Nickel Bits … 130
53 Copper … 53
0 Wood … 0
1 IOU … 212.5
Diamond smirked to herself as she wrapped the package in plain brown paper. A few years back, Daddy had tried to teach her the value of money and the way interest worked. Every bit she still had from her allowance at the end of the month, he would double on top of her usual allowance. At the end of the year he had informed her that she had learned the lesson so well that she didn’t need it anymore.
He had still left her allowance pretty high though.
She used the codes to open up a tab in her name, completed the transaction, and left her piggy bank on the counter with the receipt/IOU and one of the diamonds from her tiara.
Her next stop was brief. She didn’t even go inside. She just left the paper wrapped box leaning up against the doorframe with a short note attached.
Silver Spoon,
I remember you winning that ribbon with one of these at Filly Scouts camp last summer. Take care of yourself.
–Diamond
Cheerilee’s annoyance at somepony knocking this late at night fled when she realized who was at the door. “Diamond?”
“Hi Miss Cheerilee, sorry it’s so late.”
“No, not at all. Please, come in.”
Diamond stepped over the threshold almost hesitantly. “I can’t stay very long Miss Cheerilee, I just wanted to say goodbye before I left. And thank you.”
“Oh don’t worry about it sweetheart, teaching all of you foals is my pleasure. I must say though that this is a bit of a surprise. I honestly thought your family left the day before yesterday.”
“My parents did.”
“What? But then who…” Cheerilee trailed off as she realized the most likely answer. A block of ice settled in her stomach as she realized that with everything going on with The Blood’s Eye, she had completely neglected her responsibilities to Diamond Tiara. “You’ve been staying with Midnight Star, haven’t you?”
Diamond thought about it. “Kinda, yeah. In a roundabout way. I can’t say too much about it, but… I know you’re mad at him Miss Cheerilee, and I wish I knew why, but please believe me, he’s a good pony.”
“A good pony? Diamond, the kinds of things he’s doing to you are wrong.”
The filly closed her eyes and shook her head. “Miss Cheerilee…” She sighed, “I know that you think you know what’s best, and I know I’m a bit young for all this, but… I don’t think there are any other options. This is something I have to do.”
Suddenly she felt metal rings wrap around her hooves for the second time that day. “I’m sorry Diamond,” Cheerilee whispered, “But you’re right about us being out of options.”
Diamond found herself staring at the hoofcuffs as her teacher continued, “Diamond Tiara, I hereby take you into protective custody. You will remain in my custody until a guard dispatch which I will signal for presently comes to collect you. At the earliest possible convenience, a hearing will be held before the appropriate court – in this case, one of the princesses – to determine further action.”
Diamond was numb for several minutes, thoughts flying across her mind. Was Cheerilee working with the cultists? Was it worse than she thought that her parents had left her? Did Cheerilee know what was going on and thought it was too dangerous?
In the aftermath of the entire debacle, several residents of Ponyville would find themselves sitting across the table from a dark alicorn having a frank discussion about communication.
Diamond barely noticed when Cheerilee picked her up and carried her into a spare bedroom. She did notice when the mare set her down however, coming out of her daze with a start. “Diamond…” Cheerilee paused. “Diamond, do you understand why I’m doing this?”
The filly mutely shook her head, not trusting her voice. Her teacher sighed again.
“Just… trust me, this is for the best.” The mare turned to close the door.
“Cheerilee?”
She stopped, looking over at her student. “Yes Diamond?”
“Will you promise me something please?”
“That depends on the promise.”
“Please, just… No matter what else happens, make sure the rest of the foals stay safe, please?”
“Of course Diamond. I’m not going to let some cult out of Manehatten hurt my students any more than I am Midnight Star.” The mare shut the door and locked the filly in the room.
When Cheerilee returned a half hour later, Diamond was long gone, leaving only three things in her place. The first was the hoofcuffs, still in the closed position Cheerilee had put them in. The second was a brief note: “Take care of my friends.” Something about that struck a familiar chord. It took Cheerilee a moment to realize that Twilight had said almost those exact words, meaning that exact thing.
It was while she was pondering this that Cheerilee found herself staring at the third item as it sparkled gently in a shat of moonlight. It took even longer to realize what exactly it was, and when she did, Cheerilee felt funny. Like she had discovered a secret, but she wasn’t sure what it was.
Realizing that the filly would never let her catch her again tonight, especially since an escape that easy meant she probably had help, the fuchsia mare walked over and picked up the mangled remains of the Tiara that Diamond had left behind.
Okay, fun. Well, next chapter Diamond will finally get out of Ponyville, although her exit will have... interesting effects. I'll admit, I honestly expected this chapter to have more in it, but... it was getting long, so I split it. Anyway.
Diamond has a lot ahead of her, but she's also got her first travelling companion, so everything's looking alright.
And Blood's Eye! It's been awhile since we've seen their end of things. We'll be seeing more of them now that Ponyville's (mostly) dropping out of the picture.
Leave a comment!
-NPP6
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I can't but feel, leaving her tiara behind, a part of her is gone for good. It's kinda sad...
It does beg the question, though. Is she Black Diamond all the time , now? If not, what is she known as when she's not in her shadow form? Just plain Diamond? Or, something else?
Anyway, great chapter, well worth the week long wait. I wonder what's going to happen in Ponyville before her departure. I also dwell on what she picked up from Barnyard Bargains on the way out. We shall find out soon enough....
7038162 She's still Diamond Tiara when she's not Black Diamond, it's just going to be a little while before that happens again. More of putting her old life on the shelf for a while than leaving it behind entirely.
7038197 Yes, but can she ever return to her old life again? We shall see..
You got an excellent point here. It makes too much sense.
Still, they don't need Sweetie Belle anymore. I fear for her safety.
Is this the item she buys at BB ?
Flowers is truely the ultimate teacher. Celestia should take exemple. DT and Flowers interactions are my favorite.
Did she lefts her tiara as a gift. I get she takes the rhinestones as a mean of money. She will need money, so why not sell the remains, the metal is a still valuable.
7038162 I am more interested in knowing what item she picked in her bedroom.
7041424 Her piggy bank. Sorry if I wasn't clear on that.