Coarse Diamonds

by Darkonshadows

-53-

“So what is it that you think you can do for my crew Crystal… or is it Chrysalis that you prefer?” The question of the hour to ask and Rarity was feeling a large mental strain. Could Chrysalis ever possibly ease back on the innuendos? Rarity didn’t think so and that was when it wasn’t related to Changeling names.

“Chrysalis, since I’m going to be a queen until I die… which would take me starving to death and being thrown into a star which is subsequently swallowed by a black hole approximately five seconds afterwards. You wouldn’t happen to have an open position for a sex slave right?” Seeing the no nonsense look she received, giving off a large sigh and a pout Chrysalis slumped a little. “Well you’re no fun… how about I work for you as a hair stylist?”

“It will be over my dead body that I ever let you touch my mane! Though I will save some for you if I need to trim my mane a bit, I’m not completely heartless to your particular needs.” If looks could talk, the one Rarity was giving Chrysalis would make an entire planet implode. “I also hope you have an idea of how you are going to feed yourself before you leave the planet and hope that you will at least have an ample supply of food for yourself stocked up if I do hire you. Please note when I mean an ample supply for yourself, I mean that it isn’t stolen from a ponies head or tail and is quite legally given to you with no strings involved that could come back to bite me or the other crew members later.”

“For a Baroness barely a day old you’re pretty good at this.” Complimented Chrysalis who thought Rarity was being quite pragmatic in setting her boundaries early. “Oh, I could be the ships match maker!”

“Definitely not helpful, think of something less ridiculous if you will or I will not take hiring you into consideration at all.” Rarity wouldn’t hire Chrysalis unless she could prove that she had a sufficiently useful talent aside from being the queen of her people. “Is there anything at all that you can do that is actually helpful to me? If not we’re done here.”

“Fine, I’ll stop suggesting things I know would harm your delicate Pony sensibilities. I’m a proud Changeling Queen and I know when to fold it.” Taking a particularly tall standing stance while putting her hoof up to her chest, taking a breath of air Chrysalis decided to stop holding back and being silly by stating quite a few things she was good at. She tapped at her jagged sharp horn with a hole filled leg with a smile on her face. “If you seriously want to know how helpful I can be to you then let me just state them. I can be a translator and can learn any biologically spoken language given enough time and reason to do so. I’m empathic and can sense danger from quite a distance away. I’m an expert spy when technology that can detect me isn’t involved. I can be a good security consultant to make sure nobody can get away with much provided I’m not involved in fixing security systems personally. I’m quite the politician if you haven’t heard of my feats already. I’m a pretty good lawyer if I’m given time to prepare and also an equally good prosecutor to be fair. I can be the most expendable member of the crew concerning the fact that I can survive a lot except I really haven’t faced any dangers in space and am only rated to survive what almost anything on Equus can possibly do to me, an example would be me going through a Hydra’s stomach. I’m as powerful as an Alicorn when well fed and will recover from things like one; I will also live just as long. Until I am outright killed, I won’t die and I’ve had a meteor crush all the bones in my body once thanks to Celestia and Luna. Just know if there isn’t a body, I’m likely not dead yet. If there is a body and there are other Changelings around, then my death can certainly be called into question if someone announces as I’ve probably sadly lost a body double which never have the same capabilities of a real queen. I’m good at coming up with plans of action if you need help with thinking of a way out of a situation, so I’m good as a tactician. If you need a first mate… well do you have a strap-on we can use? I’m capable of and can teach twenty forms of combat to Ponies of all races, Griffons, Ahuizotl, Changelings and basically anything four legged and born on Equus like a Buffalo or Yak. I once even taught a Mauve Mare-auder personally, but we kind of had a falling out after it was discovered that I was a Changeling and she took me being her teacher kind of personally. I can even teach other beings how to fight to their full advantage and since I’m really quite tough to kill as Celestia very well knows, I can be your high quality meat shield. I can also be a public relations councilor, because everyone’s heard about how good I am with getting the common pony to do what I want. I’m an expert with a sniper related fire arms, plus know how to wield just about any gun and am a decent marks mare when I have Changelings sighting targets for me. Plus I have various other minor skills, including being a blue ribbon arts and crafts master with macaroni and only macaroni. Usually Changelings are a bit more artistic in their endeavors, but aside from macaroni art I’m not very good at much else in arts and craft. You already know I’m a qualified hair stylist, what you probably don’t know is that I’m an honorary Wonder Bolt which upset Celestia greatly because they didn’t find me until I was asked to start teaching a class and goofed up slightly by using Changeling related teaching methods. That day will certainly go down in infamy… they are still using my teaching methods after all. So I’m also a good coach when needed and can aid anyone in plenty of academic subjects because I’m quite well read and have a good memory for things. As far as spell work goes I’m good at offensive and supportive type spells, I have no defensive spells whatsoever. I don’t need to tell you how awesome a model I would be given my shape shifting abilities; I can model in just about anything be it for male, female or otherwise. Just think, you’ll have all of that plus my great leadership skills! All my Changelings will agree that I’m a beloved and possibly the most absolutely hated leader to ever exist thus far in my races history.”

“Well, ignoring the strap-on comment, that sounds like quite a list of things you can do that would be quite useful… is there anything that you happen to be bad at?” To Rarity it sounded like Chrysalis had a lot of qualifications, but for some reason Chrysalis started sweating profusely.

“This is by far the toughest question you’ve ever asked me, because I honestly can’t improve on being almost perfect and can only pursue the possibility of becoming as such. Though since you wanted to know… I’m really, really bad with most forms of technology. I really don’t know what my problem is, as other Changelings really don’t have this same issue that I do. I mean simple technology is mostly fine by me, but anything else is really beyond me as to how I cause so many issues.” Chrysalis was less about technology and more about improving the already existing biology; it was kind of a Changeling thing. “If you happen to need a computer to start acting buggy, then I’m your mare at least. Cyber espionage is the one area I’m really quite horrible at when it comes to being a spy, give me thirty seconds with a computer and I can easily make it explode and quite violently at that. That would mostly be because I’m really that bad at that kind of thing.”

“Right then, I’ll get back to you after I’m done with my commissions tomorrow.” Rarity stood up and gathered the paperwork; before she set off she had to ask. “Is there anything else you wish to say before I set off?”

“Yes, I actually wanted to get to my personal commission right now. I want you to make a necklace out of a very unusual material.” Chrysalis pulled out a plastic bag filled with hair, both from a tail and mane of a particular pony. “I just wanted something to remember one of my good friends by.”

“I take it that that is all of Cadence’s shorn off hair, so you didn’t just eat it after all. Do you want this commission to last a lifetime? I am assuming that’s the case.” Having asked that Rarity started haggling and talking shop as this commission was a rather unusual one as she was working with a limited amount of fabric. Mostly Rarity was asking Chrysalis of what exactly she expected of her and whether or not it could be achieved.

It could be achieved and frankly Rarity has worked with weirder materials, but she was a clothier and a fashion master. She didn’t just make dresses, she also did accessories and Chrysalis wanted one fashioned from Alicorn hair for whatever reason. Chrysalis had an appointment to give Cadence a trim tomorrow morning because her hair was growing back quite fast, so Rarity couldn’t start the commission until after Chrysalis was done shearing Princess Cadence again. Rarity didn’t want Chrysalis to do anything relating to styling hair on her ship.

-

“Okay what is it about Opal and should I personally worry about it?” There were only two crew members on The Shining Jewel at the moment and it made Rarity wonder if Opal was keeping a careful watch on Sassy’s status. She’d check that before she went to bed but first she had to check in with Vera about what she wanted. Spending a night in the castle for free was rather nice and it earned her a few points among the other nobles. She wasn’t exactly famous yet nor did she have a fortune, especially if she kept hiring so many to work with her as she was.

“Well I have a theory. The basis of this theory is that Opal was an AI, but she’s not anymore and is something completely different from what we actually think she is. The only thing limiting her at the moment is the fact that she thinks she’s the same program you gave birth to… in a way it wouldn’t be incorrect to say that she was that or that you did in fact give her existence.” Vera was the psychological investigator here. Opal had some disturbing implications behind her, given her emotional range and the awareness she had when she didn’t have any power going to her or the systems she controlled.

“How is she not an AI? I ask because I’m a little confused by what you mean Vera, what is she if not my sweet little Opalescence that I spent hours programming?” Rarity wasn’t exactly sure what emotion to use yet, but she hoped Vera would explain herself.

“I’m still not one hundred percent sure on whether or not my theory is the correct one, but I have to ask for clarification to make sure that I have enough reason to test for it.” The mare looked Rarity in the eyes and asked slowly. “Were you using magic at all times when you were programming Opal?”

“Well yes, I used my magic to levitate my data pad and manipulate it while programming her. What does that have to do with anything though?” There was a moment of silence that made Rarity feel a bit on edge. “Is what I’m about to hear a bad thing?”

“Not necessarily a bad thing, but don’t be surprised when Opal starts doing things that are impossible for an AI to accomplish.” Vera had talked with Coco and even Gilda about Opal’s unusual nature, but she had yet to tell them what she thought was going on with Opal. She wasn’t going to tell Opal what she was until she was sure that the cat could actually handle the stress, especially if it were to turn out to be ultimately true. Opal needed to be eased into it subtly and carefully; Vera didn’t want to hurt her emotionally. “Did you know she was entirely aware even when you turned off the data pad?”

“Well she always did seem a bit overly joyous every time I turned the data pad on before she ended up in the Shining Jewel. She must really enjoy having more leg room to work with up there.” Thinking about it, Rarity decided to narrow her eyes at Vera. “I always thought that she was happy to see me. Are you saying I’m wrong? Also how could she have possibly been aware, if she were a program and turned off then she shouldn’t be an able to function. Though it is rather odd that she could tell that time has passed between the points my data pad was off now that I think of it.”

“Not wrong at all, but not the entire story.” Walking over to the door to the room and opening it to look out in the hallways of the castle, no one was out there. Vera pulled back inside and turned to Rarity. “Do you want to hear what I think Opal is?”

“Please do tell me, because I’m certainly intrigued as to where you are going with this.” Tapping a hoof to her chin Rarity did give it some thought that Opal was normal to her; she looked to the floor before looking to Vera’s eyes in a searching manner. She was a busy mare and needed to get some sleep so she had to address Vera about that. “Also please hurry up; I need to get my beauty sleep tonight. I got a lot of commissions to get through tomorrow with Coco’s help, plus I need to start plotting a course towards the next planet to visit. I can’t say that business hasn’t been too bad here and I would love to stay as Canterlot certainly is… or rather was charming before the attack. I think I’ve stayed near the home world long enough and I don’t want to tempt the chance of running into my parents any further, Sweetie Belle was enough for me thought it was nice to see her. Which reminds me of something important; I want you to remind me to inform Sassy’s parents about how she’s been doing lately. So if you could summarize Opal’s state of existence for me.”

“Okay, here’s what I think Opal is… she’s a familiar and not just any familiar, she’s your familiar.” The flat look Vera received made her hold up her hooves in a gesture of holding Rarity tongue. Not saying anything Rarity nodded to Vera. “Before you say it, yes I know that is impossible for artificial beings and or machines to become familiars as they have no actual life to form said bond with.”

“Well if you know that, then why would you say Opal is my familiar, much less tell me that she is for want of a better term… actually alive?” Rarity didn’t think Opal could possibly be a familiar, but it would explain her mile wide protective streak as familiars and their bond partner tended to take on all manner of relationships, though rarely was a familiar bond ever formed as lovers between the two partners. She and Opal were family such as a manner of parent and child, well Opal certainly thought of her as a mother and that wouldn’t be wrong for an AI to think. “I don’t quite see how she could be my familiar.”

“If you’re thinking in terms of her still being an AI sure, that would be plainly impossible. However if she were a ghost in the machine…” Trailing off Vera waited for Rarity to pick up on where she was going with this.

“It seems you are both almost aware of Guardians Soul’s true nature, but a ghost she is not. I would like to ask if Reviving Spirit is okay Living Ghost.” Tree Hugger walked into the room and looked to Rarity and followed that by sweeping her sight through the area that Vera was standing in. “If ‘The Maker’ could please point her out to me, I wish to address Living Ghost personally.”

The two ponies had been startled by Tree Huggers sudden appearance, which led to both of them wanting to know why she was here. Rarity politely pointed to Vera and Tree Hugger started pointing at Vera personally and nodded to Rarity who slowly lowered her hoof.

“Um… who’s Reviving Spirit?” It was always a surprise to see one of the top SNUGGLES member wandering about at this late time and Vera was curious. “Also what do you mean Guardian Soul’s true nature, do you mean Opal? She’s not a ghost?”

“Reviving Spirit is she who sleeps in a cocoon of healing, watched by Guardian Soul alone and is above us right now as we speak.” The dopey smiling Tree Hugger was needed here and here she was right where she should be. Though she did want to cuddle up to Sky Child, this was more important and she didn’t have the time to do so. There was a promise of Earth and Sky meeting later and Tree trusted in that occurrence happening. “In a simple and single word, yes, that is why I am here.”

“Oh, Sassy was doing alright the last time I saw her. She was healing pretty well, but it will still be at least two more weeks before she gets out and I have to put her through physical therapy and maybe some mental.” Now for the question that Vera hoped wouldn’t be answered in moon speaking, however knowing Tree, that was almost impossible for her. “So what do you need to say?”

“That is good to hear, Reviving Spirit is on the right path. Her broken edges will smooth over in time and pain will temper her into a strong sword against fracturing further and when the time comes her name will change. It is good to hear she will be fine spiritually and that her chakras will balance out. Though she will need the aid of the Lustful Jester if she is to be kept from a path of self destruction, I would advise taking her onboard even if you have your doubts of her nature.” Closing her eyes Tree Hugger of the Earth started to hum a nice tune, which made the room seem far more peaceful then it should be and it made the two other ponies rather drowsy. She stopped and opened her eyes slightly. “As for Guardian Soul, her true form will reveal itself when it is needed. You must trust that she will protect you Maker, along with those you decide to keep close to your heart. As Living Ghost said, she is far more than she appears. It is not my place to tell you what that true form will be, as it is ever shifting until the time comes. Blessings, to the both of you for your time, I must go now as I have much to do and much to say. You will sleep pleasantly tonight.”

Tree Hugger spun about and walked out of the room humming her soft sounding tune, which brought peace to all who heard it. The two mares sat in silence for a moment until the tune faded into the night; they knew that Tree Hugger had truly left at that point.

Rarity knew Tree was at the gala as was Fluttershy, but they didn’t really get a chance to talk much. Fluttershy was apparently on a date with the lord of chaos Discord and Tree Hugger was busy helping Thorax through what sounded like anxiety problems all night. There was also that prophecy Tree spoke of, it actually happened now that Rarity remembered what was said and what had actually happened.

“From the way she says it, Opal can’t be a ghost. Though I’m wondering if she has a soul based on what Tree Hugger calls her. No matter what Opal might turn out to be, we both already know who she is and I personally know that she will always be Opal to me. On a different manner, I would like to schedule a mental therapy session with you about the incident with Mind Field.” The exhaustion Rarity felt was quite unique and she let out a long drawn out yawn. Maybe it was something Tree Hugger did, Rarity really wanted to go straight to bed right now. “I need you to talk with Opal and find a good time for a session, then she can tell me when you need me to come in. I’m getting quite tired Vera, this is quite an interesting thing to think on.”

“Right, I’ll find a time to pencil you in for and Opal will make sure you get there.” Now Vera was yawning, there was something supernatural about the way Tree Hugger hummed that made her want to snuggle down in a bed right that instant.

-

Breakfast was a quite affair before Rarity would start working on all the commissions; Coco noticed something off about the soon to be crowned Twilight.

“Is something wrong with the banana chunks in the cereal?” Innocently enough Coco didn’t see anything that could be a problem with a cereal though apparently Twilight had a strange reaction every time she ate the banana chunks floating in the milk.

“What did you just say?!” Celestia had been taking a sip of coffee when she calmly stopped and shouted this; turning her head towards Twilight to notice that she was finishing up her bowl.

“I feel kind of funny… why does my tongue tingle?” The protégé of the sun Twilight Sparkle started to wobble slightly in her seat and blush a bit.

“I can’t believe you would pull something like this again so soon!” The accusing hoof Celestia pointed at Chrysalis was met with a blank look of innocence.

“I didn’t do it and I’m willing to be put in a truth circle to prove it.” Answered a slightly bored Chrysalis, she obviously wasn’t lying.

“I know you had something to do with this, but I’ll have to deal with you later! I have to go attend to Twilight; she will need help through her first time.” Celestia swiftly picked Twilight up bodily in her magic and flew from the room with haste.

“But wouldn’t this be her second time though?” Chrysalis asked in a highly confused manner.

“So, did you spike the cereal with bananas?” Despite having been sandwiched between a Pegasus and a cuddling Griffon with provocative intentions, Gilda had oddly enough slept very well last night despite waking up to an uncomfortable position.

“No, of course not… Spike is the one who spiked it.” This is where Chrysalis raised a portion of her carapace and pulled out the bag of bits she received from Luna and passed it to Spike. “Our transaction is complete my good sir and might I add that you should probably lay low for a while. I know a good child friendly place in a Changeling Ghetto you can hide.”

The little dragon was grinning maliciously as he took the bag of bits and dropped it in his lap; he continued to eat his ruby encrusted waffles drenched in strawberry syrup without a single word. He was going to get himself a nice snack later with the Equestrian currency he just got passed off to him. Luna and Rarity just gave Spike a disapproving look, Rarity didn’t know what it meant to eat bananas but it was obviously a serious problem.

Speaking of dragons, now that Rarity thought of it, Spike’s egg story kind of remaindered her of… could it be? Spike could be Ember’s long lost little brother, but she wasn’t exactly sure. She’d needed a bit of blood or at least something genetic of Spike to put into stasis for a biological sibling test, because if she ever found Ember again she could learn whether or not they were related in some way. She was sure she could wheedle something like that out of Spike with some charm.

“Spike, darling, I hope you know I do not approve of such heinous acts against a lady, especially not against your mother figure.” It was time to set up a method to get some genetic material without have to resort to bribery, because Rarity would certainly do that if it is to help a friend find closure. Then again, maybe she didn’t need genetic material if the shell from Spike’s egg had been save and she could get a picture of that to show to Ember the next time she saw her.

-

“Chrysalis against my better judgment, and all my instincts screaming bloody murder at me to say no to actually hiring you, I would like to regretfully state, welcome aboard.” With a bowed head Rarity couldn’t believe she was letting Chrysalis into her crew, this was going to be problematic depending on how far Chrysalis was willing to push things. “We will hash out your paycheck and what you will be doing later; I will most likely have you acting as my personal meat shield since you happily volunteered.”

“What can I say; I’m a naughty girl for being so big and meaty.” Chrysalis had a cheesy grin on her face.

“Yes well, you are not the only one I will be hiring if they agree.” Two ponies came into the room and Rarity turned her attention to them. “So what have the two of you decided?”

“I and my father have decided… to join your crew. We will take up positions as chefs and I want to take a secondary position as a security officer on this I will not budge.” It was Saffron speaking and with her was Coriander. They had talked about it for a long time, but Saffron couldn’t continue to use her Mare-Do-Well disguise after both Daring Do and Spitfire got a close look at her particular species. She didn’t want to be taken up on charges of being a vigilante if they figured out her identity. That didn’t mean that Mare-Do-Well wanted to quit doing good deeds, it meant she was going intergalactic with her own legend and would be a mild mannered chef on a ship in dire need of proper nutritionists. Most importantly she would be doing bounty hunter work on the side, as bounty hunters didn’t necessarily have to show their faces to cash in on a bounty. They just needed an account to send money to and a recommendation from a political figure to acquire a license to make the job legal, the second was the problem.

“Good call, Mare-Do-Well. That should keep them from finding your identity. Incidentally I have someone working in Saddle Arabia that can help keep your legend alive and move around while you’re off being a hero elsewhere.” Chrysalis noticed Saffron’s shock at her words and she glared at Rarity. “Hey don’t glare at her like that, she didn’t tell me. I figured it out myself, my Changeling detail watching out for Rarity caught wind of your injuries. Only they never saw you get into a row with a customer and I had them watching for trouble everywhere, my guys are a good information network. It wasn’t exactly hard to figure give your name. Your ancestor was one of the better Mauve Mare-auders who kicked my ass so badly that it left me close to the brink of death. Needless to say I can respect a mare that wants to hide her face behind a secret identity; you know Changeling and being able to identify with that and all. If you need any training, I can help you with it.”

“You actually knew a Mauve Mare-auder personally.” Saffron didn’t look angry any more, now she looked positively intrigued, she looked to Coriander who smiled gently and motioned for her to go on. “I mean did you know my Ancestor personally?”

“Her name was Paneer Tikka Masala, when I heard your name I knew you were related to her. She was from your mother’s side of the family. Specialized in spicy cheese based food dishes that were as strong in flavor as she was personally, she was quite the Earth Pony.” There was a look of reminiscence on Chrysalis’s face. “Your entire family on your mother’s side has a history of being known for three things. The first is good looks, the second is good cooking and the final one is proving that you are more than just your special talent.”

Comments

[Razzy]

Snrk, never change, Chryssie.

Hahah, dammit, Spike.

Wow, that's a long list of abilities. And with Chryssie around, we don't have to worry about Skynet.

Wait ,she took that meteor to the face back then? Holy shit she's hard to kill.

Huh, her being able to help Sassy actually makes sense, since she can change into a male and acclimate her to their presence again.

Opal is SkyNet!

'jagged sharp hone' - horn

'started too wobbled' - started to wobble

'had been save' - saved.