Double Parties and Glimmering Diamonds: Options and Consequances

by AlexWolfy03

Talent and Diligence

Skis were extension of himself.

The wind was hitting him in the muzzle with terrible force, but it gave him immense pleasure. It seemed that his own mane could barely keep up with him as he cut through the endless snowy sea, conquered one slope after another, and nothing could stop him — he knew that he was no longer expected at home. Nevertheless, his eyes, which were not watering at all from the wind (he was wearing protective glasses), had dried up tears for a long time and were only looking for a new goal, a new slope, a new obstacle. He had already forgotten the thrill of conquering new heights and new places, and now it was time to remember long-forgotten sensations: delight, butterflies in his stomach, incomparable lightness in his whole body and soul. And also belonging. Undoubtedly, he belonged to this place, upon his name is Double Diamond, and his cutie mark — three blue snowflakes — announced with its appearance that skiing, snow and freedom are his constant companions, his destiny, his whole life.

A steep high slope without a single obstacle caught his eye. The catch was that the slope ended with a narrow path, beyond which a deep abyss was. Any other pony would have been scared, but when it came to skiing, Double Diamond didn't know the word "danger", he only knew the word "challenge".

He changed his trajectory and raced towards the slope at an angle of thirty degrees. If everything goes according to plan, he will drive straight along the slope and effectively finish the race on the trail.

Already at the very edge, he silently offered a prayer to Celestia — he was not afraid, but he liked to think that the good goddess rejoiced at his success.

The world turned almost ninety degrees, but the stallion stood firmly on his hooves, cutting through the snow surface. The slope was shaking — an avalanche was coming down, and he was its surfer. It was like flying, goosebumps of incomparable pleasure passed through his body. If adrenaline is a drug, then he was definitely an addict.

All joy abruptly evaporated when something pink loomed right ahead... a stone?

Disappointment, bewilderment, fright... horror... it's not a stone, it's... a pony! A live pony!

Terror gave way to determination. There were fractions of seconds to think, but it was enough to make the only right decision for him.

He turned sharply. The world spun around; balance was lost, and with it — a chance for a perfect outcome.

For a moment he saw a blue sky without a single cloud, and then — the darkness into which he was rapidly falling.

"Celestia!" was all he had time to think before madness finally overwhelmed his mind.

When he landed, he didn't feel any pain or the slightest discomfort — except that his side hurt a little after he fell down the slope.

It was scary to open eyes. He didn't know where he would end up — in hell or in heaven, and whether it would hurt him. What if he was lying at the very bottom of the abyss, shattered into pieces, and now he was experiencing his last seconds of life. If so, then he definitely wouldn't want to see what happened to him…

"Hey, I know you're alive!" a mare's voice rang out above him and definitely could not belong to an inhabitant of hell. "Get up! Don't wait for me to start poking you with a stick."

He slowly opened his eyes and once again made sure that he was at least not in hell. He saw a young mare, as if she had recently graduated from school. Her short purple mane with a turquoise strand was very elegantly combined with the pink color of the pony itself. A pair of saddlebags were slung over her back. An angry ocean seemed to be raging in the blue eyes.

"Am I... alive?"

"Alive?! Of course you're alive, I just saved you, damn you! Have you decided to kill us all?! If you got tired of living, you could immediately jump into the cliff, and not rush at ME! Unlike you, I have PLANS, and by the way... you caused an avalanche. How do you suggest I go further now?! Should I put a saddle on you?!"

In any other situation, he would have snapped back. After all, if at the last moment he had not made the decision to prevent a collision at the cost of his own life, they would both have already been lying at the bottom of the abyss. However, he didn't want to argue at all, and it wasn't even the thunderous tone of the angry mare, or the fact that just a moment ago he was so close to death. He just somehow... didn't want to argue with Her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to put your life in danger. I thought there was no one here."

"And this is a reason to block roads? What the hay were you thinking?"

The mare snorted angrily and turned away, giving the stallion the opportunity to contemplate her flank, on which there was a sign in the form of a purple-white star with two multicolored ribbons. A symbol of magic?

"Sorry, I..."

"No, don't," she interrupted him in a much calmer tone, sighing dejectedly. "After all, it's all your cutie mark's fault." She turned back to face him.

"My cutie mark?"

"Exactly! Three snowflakes. Let me guess... you're really good when it comes to skiing, aren't you?"

"Yes," the stallion was slightly embarrassed. He knew that he had practically no equal in skiing, but it seemed to him somewhat vulgar to admit his own merits out loud. "But how is it..."

"Perhaps you think that few ponies can compete with you?" The mare started circling him like a predator circling a prey.

"Well, maybe. Although I have often met worthy rivals, and..."

"Admit it: in fact, it seems to you that you have no equal."

"What? Are you even listening to me? I didn't say that!"

"You don't have to, your cutie mark speaks for you. It couldn't have been any other way. You were just an ordinary colt. Loved to play, had some hobbies, talents, inclinations, desires... you probably had friends, at least one. The whole world was opened to you, you had so many opportunities. And then you got this mark… this stigma. And there you are. Your fate was immediately determined, someone pulled your lottery ticket for you. And then you start... standing out. You put yourself above others, and someone does not put you in anything. Now your life is connected with skiing, and you allow yourself what no one else would allow, you allow yourself to neglect safety and common sense, because "you know better", because you are so "special". Just like now.

"I just didn't know that there was someone there, my cutie mark has nothing to do with it!"

"Are you saying that if you had any other cutie mark, you would act more carefully?"

"Тo! Yes... maybe? Argh, you're perverting my words!"

"Do you think if I had another cutie mark, I would be able to do this?"

"To do wha…"

He did not have time to finish, when suddenly a pink glow enveloped him, and the earth literally went out from under his hooves and turned out to be too far away from him.

"M-magic..." he muttered, trying to keep his composure. "After all, your c-cutiemark m-means m-magic…"

"A matter of interpretations." The filly brought the stallion back to the ground; his legs were still shaking. "I like to think it's about talent and diligence. If you have certain talents, they need to be developed so that they do not fade away like a lone star. It just so happened that I did have some talents for magic, but I never attributed them to my cutie mark. I preferred to improve them on my own, and my lessons led to the result that you now had the opportunity to observe.

"See? Cutie marks aren't that bad."

"Oh, you're wrong. Despite all my strong-willed efforts and work on myself, it makes me somewhat... arrogant. Sometimes I find myself taking my magic for granted, like a lucky ticket. Sometimes I forget how much work my results cost me. Let alone a society that is ready to judge you by the cutie mark alone. Have you ever been to Canterlot?"

"No, but I've heard of it. That's where the princess lives!"

"That's right, she lives, and also runs an academy for gifted unicorns. I wanted to get there myself at one time, but when I saw how some foals were not even given a chance to pass the exam because their cutie mark was not related to magic..." her voice regained its menacing intonation. "These idiots in the capital think that since they were so lucky at birth, it gives them the right to look down on us. And this infection... this inequality, this boasting of own "exclusivity"... all of this has suddenly become the norm. Therefore, you may be separated from your only best friend because he was lucky to get a cutie mark earlier than you! After all, he has such a unique one, for sure he will have a successful future, not like you, a second-class pony! You are no longer his match, what kind of friendship can there be between you now! Leave behind the years of friendship as if they never existed! Welcome to class society!

Double Diamond was silent. Her words awakened memories in him — now he no longer knew anything about his past, but then it made itself felt quite painfully.

The silence went on and on, only the cold wind whistled, ruffling their manes and occasionally stirring flashes of snow.

"You can take my skis." Diamond finally spoke up. "It will be much easier for you to walk through the snow with them. Consider it compensation."

"Compensation you say..." she looked at the skis, which he had already managed to take off. "Ha! You know, you'd better keep them, but thanks for the idea. What if…"

A pink glow enveloped her horn, followed by a flash, and in the next moment, thin skis were on her hooves, woven from the same pink material that had just covered the horn.

"And after that you still complain about the cutie marks?"

"Remember what I told you: talent and diligence. I have achieved everything with my own efforts. I understand that not every unicorn can do that, let alone the rest of the ponies, but... I still have to think about it."

"Where are you going?" he asked, and then, when he realized the possible tactlessness of his question, he added, shuffling his hoof on the ground. "Maybe I can walk you because I'm... well, you know... well-oriented in the mountains."

"To be honest, I'm not sure." She sighed. "I just wanted to find a place to take a break from all these selfish ponies. No one seems to understand how destructive imaginary exclusivity is. No one understands me."

"Well, you're wrong about that." Diamond caught up with the unicorn. "I understand you. I have a rather difficult situation… it's a long time to explain."

The mare smiled mysteriously and levitated her saddlebags onto the stallion's back. They seemed surprisingly heavy to him.

"Wonderful, there will be something to listen to on the way. But you carry the bags. Compensation, you know."

They set off together over a huge layer of snow that had fallen from the slope. The cold sun was high in the sky, foreshadowing a long but easy journey.

"By the way, what's your name? I would like to know the name of the person with whom I have to share the road."

"Double Diamond. But you can call me just Double. Or just Diamond. But not Die, pleace.

To his surprise, the stranger laughed at his not the smartest joke, for which he had already become ashamed. Her laugh was so clear, light and melodious that he wanted to make her laugh again.

"Nice to meet you, Diamond. Something tells me that you are a real Diamond, and it's not even that you're white. My name is Starlight. Starlight Glimmer."

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!

He woke up.

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