Blood Diamonds

Chapter 1: Trial

Rarity was awoken by a large bump and the screeching of gravel under wheels. After slowly opening her eyes, she was greeted by nothing but darkness and a strange wetness around her body. She dipped her hoof in the substance and lifted it to her eyes. Night vision was one of the few things about being a vampony she’d managed to get accustomed to.

Blood? She quickly thought back to what had happened before she awoke here. Pain. Her hoof reached up to where she was hit, only to find perfectly intact skin. This fast recovery was one of the things she was not accustomed to. It was nice, of course, but it still felt weird when she went to bed gravely wounded and woke up without a scratch. She tried lifting herself up, but her head immediately hit the ceiling.

The movement stopped suddenly. “Wakey, wakey, sleepin’ beauty!” somepony outside said, laughing. The morning sun blinded her as the box she was in opened, but her eyes soon adjusted. What stood in front of her wlooked like a stereotypical ruffian – scars all over his face, ragged clothes, bad breath, and even an eye patch! Without any delay, that ruffian lifted her with his hoof by the neck like she was but a doll, and fastened dark red hoofcuffs on all four of her legs with his other one.

“You clearly have no idea what you’re dealing with.” Rarity tried tearing the chains apart with her supernatural strength. Nothing happened – the material was simply too strong.

“Oh, mare thinks she’s smart, eh?” The vile stench coming from his mouth almost suffocated her.

“I don’t know who you are, but I demand to be let go at once!”

Another pony walked out from behind the wagon. “She’s got no right to demand anythin’.” He was just as ragged as the other one. “Give her a gag so that she stops her naggin’.”

They forced some filthy rag into her mouth. “Did you take care of the magic?” The first ruffian nodded and pointed at some sort of circlet around her horn. Try as she might, she couldn’t squeeze even a spark out of it.

“Hmmm! Hmm, hmmm, hmm!” Rarity said.

“Don’t ya just love it when they do this?” the brute – that’s what she decided to call him from now on – said.

“Just shut up and make sure she doesn’t choke on that gag like the last one did.”

“But why? They’ll kill her anyway.”

“Hmmmmmm!”

“Shut up!” The brute gave her a painful jab to the ribs.

“They pay us to get her there alive, so we get her there alive! I don’t care what the suckers do with her afterwards. Now, let’s get a move on. I can already see the place from here.”

They took a turn from the main road and soon reached a small grove. There, another pony waited, this one dressed in rich garments and with fur perfectly brushed and spotless. “Bring her here,” he said in a commanding voice.

“Do you have the money?” the brute’s companion asked.

“Here.” A large pouch landed in front of them with a jingle. Without a word, they pushed her towards him and tossed him the key to her chains.

“Don’t forget,” the gentlecolt said. “No mention of this to anypony. Or you know what will happen.”

They nodded, swooping up the pouch before leaving.

“Filthy beasts!” he said when he saw the gag. “If they’d at least used a clean one.” With a flash of magic, it disappeared.

Rarity coughed, but managed to crack a smile. “Thank you. But who are you?”

“I doubt my name’s important. You won’t see me again after today, after all.”

“And why is that?”

“Because you’ll be dead.” He smiled back at her.

Rarity’s face immediately went pale, although it was hard to see due to her coat. “D-dead? Why would anypony want me dead?”

He pulled for the cuffs binding her with his magic, before walking towards a towering structure in the distance. “That’s just how we deal with murderers.”

He... he knows? How? Nopony knows about Berry Punch! Nopony except Twilight and Pinkie Pie... Did they tell them? Why would they do that?

“I-it was an accident, I swear!”

He lifted his brow. “It takes one hell of an accident to kill a vampony.”

“A vampony?” Rarity frowned. “I’ve never killed a vampony!”

He nodded. “That’s what half of them says. The other half just spit curses all the way to the castle; I don’t like them.”

“But which vampony? Lyra?”

“I have absolutely no idea. But one doesn’t become a murderer without killing one of us first, no?”

“What about non-vamponies?”

He laughed. “Nopony cares about those. They’re just food. Or...” – his voice started to waver and his face reddened – “sometimes they’re a mindless, filthy mob of ignorant idiots armed with pitchforks and torches that comes to your mansion at night, burns the whole place down, dissects all your servants and forces you to flee to the other side of the country!” He shook his head. “No harm done if you’ve killed such a pony. And good riddance.”

Rarity bit her lip – enraging her ticket to freedom wasn’t a good strategy. Although, he seemed to open up easily... “Where are we going?”

“To the castle, where you’ll stand trial.”

“A trial? So maybe I can get off without dying if I’m convincing enough?”

“Possibly...” His brow wrinkled. “But we usually don’t send hunters if we’re not sure you’re guilty. Maybe if you’re influential enough.” He made a pause. “What position are you in our society anyway?”

“What society?”

“Uh-huh. So you’re a rogue. That’s not a crime by itself, but it makes you persona non-grata. Yeah...” He stopped and scratched his head. “You’re, in all likeliness, already dead.”

Rarity scowled. He was far too casual about this! “I don’t suppose a hunky, handsome stallion like you could help me in any way?” She employed her most suggestive voice and ‘accidentally’ brushed against his side.

The gentlecolt laughed out loud. “You haven’t met many vamponies so far, have you? If I let myself be seduced this easily, I would have died over a century ago.” That unhelpful moron was enjoying himself! How dared he in a situation like this? “As for your question, I try to make everypony’s last hours more pleasing by having this friendly little chat, but that’s it.”

“I thought so.” She sighed. “At least tell me who will judge me.”

“The six heads of our community, like always. Convince half, and your case will be delayed and re-examined. Convince at least four, and you’re free.”

Rarity stumbled on a tree branch and barely avoided falling headfirst into a puddle of mud. “Ugh! Could you please remove the chains on my hind legs? I can’t do much with those anyway.”

“Can’t happen, I’m afraid. I know exactly what you’d do – right once I freed your legs, you would buck me in the head while I was still bent down, hope that it knocks me out, search me for the keys, unlock your front hooves, and run off.

“That’s not true!” That’s precisely what I wanted to do. “I just want to avoid falling.”

“We both know that’s a lie.” He smirked. “You wouldn’t be the first who tried to escape, but that’s actually not what you want to do.”

“Why not?”

“Because innocents don’t run, and right once we catch you again – believe me that it’d be only a matter of time – you’d have a much harder time convincing anypony.”

“I thought I’m doomed anyway?”

“Well, yes, but there’s no reason to make my life harder in the process, is there?”

Rarity huffed. This one wasn’t about to help her. “Well excuse me for trying to survive.”

“You are excused.” He gave her a benevolent smile.

There was quiet for a few minutes as Rarity rocked her brain for any more ideas. She got nothing. “Tell me about the judges.”

“Well, there’s Dusky Pearl, who hates all rogues with passion. But you might let her show some mercy if she disliked the victim and if you show a whole load of humility. Then Arctic Amber – he hates Pearl, so if you give her some attitude, he might like you – Viridian Summer, about whom I know pretty much nothing as his territory is far to the south and he only comes here when he absolutely has to, and Stainless Aurora. She’s really passionate –show her that you’re really, really sorry for what you did, and she’ll probably let you go. Don’t show it, and she’ll send somepony to cut your throat in your sleep for being a murderer.”

“That’s four. What about the remaining two?”

“Broken Prism and Ivory Star. They are, by far, the strongest, most influential vamponies in our society. They each follow their own motives, carefully evaluating what suits them the most, and are rarely influenced by emotions – that’s how they got on top. I’ve got no idea what their agenda is, though. Nopony but they do.”

Rarity furrowed her brow. “I’ve heard those names. They’re both very important members of the high nobility; the crème de la crème. Why, their visit to a town causes nearly as much bustle as that of a Princess.”

Her jailor nodded. “All of them are part of the nobility, except Dusky Pearl, who is just extremely rich. I myself used to be a noble, albeit a minor one, before I had to flee and change my name.” His face skewed. “Now I’m being treated like a common servant.”

“Tried for murder before the nobility.” Rarity felt like crying – first her life, and now her reputation. This was like being killed twice! “No wonder I never managed to fit in among them. Who would have guessed I’d need to be a vampony first?”

The rest of the walk carried on in silence. Rarity wouldn’t have known what else to ask about anyway, even if her throat wasn’t completely clogged and her stomach clenched. It really seemed like the trial was the only way to get out of this mess.

———

Twilight was woken up by the sound of frantic knocking at the door. She slowly rose up from her bed, her head spinning like she’d had way too many ciders, and carefully stepped down the stairs. She felt like collapsing right there and then. Rarity, what the hay? You didn’t mention this at all!

She touched her neck where Rarity’s teeth pricked her last night. But at least it really didn’t hurt... There was no trace of a wound, just as Rarity had told her. Amazing. Vamponies must have enormous regenerative capabilities if they can even heal another pony like this. The question is whether or not we could synthesise... Somepony knocked again. Or maybe it is connected more to magic than to chemistry – can dark magic heal wounds? Maybe if I– More knocking, this time even more urgent-sounding than before. “Coming!”

She opened the door, staring right into the face of one teary-eyed filly. “What’s the matter, Sweetie Belle?”

“Twilight, have you seen Rarity anywhere? I woke up and made breakfast like always, but she didn’t come. And when I looked into her room, it seemed like she didn’t sleep in it at all! I asked around and heard that she’s been with you last; is she still there?” She peeked in under Twilight’s legs into the room beyond.

“I... don’t... think so.” Is she still somewhere around here?

“What do you mean?” Sweetie frowned. “You don’t know whether or not she’s here?”

“I went to bed a bit earlier than I thought yesterday... But I’m sure that if she was here, she would have already shown up.”

“But I’ve been everywhere!” The filly seemed close to breaking down crying.

“Try asking Pinkie Pie. She knows about everything that happens around here.”

“Alright...” Sweetie looked at Twilight with her puppy eyes. “Will you help me search for her?”

Twilight could feel the amount of sugar in her blood rise from just looking at it, and sighed. “Sure I will. But you shouldn’t worry yourself too much – Rarity can take care of herself.” Images of darkness seeping out of Rarity’s horn and entering Bonbon filled her mind as she said it. It was a horrible day.

“Thanks!” Sweetie said in an almost cheerful voice and trotted away.

“Spike!” Twilight called out and leaned against the doorframe.

It took him a good three minutes before he finally kicked himself out from under his blanket. “Yeah?”

“Please make me some breakfast and bring me some books about magic tracing.” If Rarity really got into some trouble, some sort of magic had to be used to overpower her. I mean who would win a brawl with a vampony?

A short while later, she was huddled in her chair with a book, chewing some fresh salad, and was feeling the dizziness slowly dissipate. The spell she needed wasn’t really complicated, it was quite simple, actually. However, all the binding rituals of last week provided so much interference that it was practically useless. Twilight loudly exhaled and massaged her temples. Nullifying this sort of residual magic was an easy, but slow and tedious job.

———

“Miss Rarity, please come forth,” a booming voice said in a demanding manner.

Rarity obliged and stepped into an enormous, circular room. The only light came from a few dim torches on the walls and the roof window, which only illuminated her and her alone. Behind herself, she could hear the muttering of the public – a small group of ponies, as she discovered upon turning around. Either trials like this were common, the vamponies weren’t numerous, or she really was nothing to them.

“You are accused of murdering your sister in blood – a vampony and a member of our society. Do you admit it?” one of the judges said. They sat much higher than her along with the public and were arranged in a circular manner. She was basically inside a pit.

“W-which vampony?” This was completely different from anything she’d seen before. In Canterlot, the courtrooms were made to give an impression of order and safety whereas this one only emanated dread.

“Lyra Heartstrings, the fresh subordinate of Lady Ivory Star.”

She most certainly didn’t kill her! Twilight had to bear the weight of ending that life, not her. But if they find out a pony did it, she might not even get this trial...

“Yes, I admit it.” Her voice steadied. “But I did it for a good reason.”

There were a few murmurs in the room, and Rarity focused her eyes on those judges. From what little she learned while in the dungeons, Dusky Pearl was an earth pony with brown coat and gray mane, which would mean the one on the far left. She looked at Rarity like one would look at a pile of garbage.

Arctic Amber was a pegasus with bulging muscles, sitting on the far right. He didn’t even seem to notice there was a trial taking place and yawned profusely. Viridian Summer – the unicorn sitting in the middle left – on the other hoof looked anything but bored. His face was scrunched and red, and his eyes constantly drifted towards the clock. Stainless Aurora, a pegasus to the right from him, was the only one smiling at her.

Broken Prism sat to the left and didn’t betray a single emotion. His lips were pressed together and his eyes seemed to drill into her very soul. For a minute, Rarity thought he was actually casting a spell on her, but his horn didn’t shine. Ivory Star, who was yet another unicorn, was the exact opposite. She stared at Rarity with wide eyes and mouth slightly agape.

“And what would be that reason?” Rarity noticed that it was Broken Prism who spoke.

“She massacred the town and acted like an uncivilised brute! She didn’t even say she’s part of some society!”

“Non-vamponies are not our concern,” Ivory Star said.

“But a massacre could have attracted attention to us! Why was I not informed?”

“I had it all under control.” Ivory Star smiled. “Even if she did find out, they couldn’t trace her back to us.”

“Explain, please,” Dusky Pearl said.

“She was my... experiment. I bound her while she was still unconscious and returned her to the town before she could wake up.”

“You mean you created a rogue?” Aurora asked, raising her brow.

“She wasn’t a rogue. I could’ve taken control of her at any time.”

Prism scowled at her. “Nothing but technicalities... But valid ones.” He turned back to Rarity. “Is there anything else?”

They still considered her guilty? “Well, no.”

“I think it’s time to decide then. Dusky Pearl, what is your opinion?”

Rarity turned to her and dropped to her knees, bowing her head. “Please, Lady Pearl, please have mercy on me. I was foolish to think such a deed would go unpunished; if I only had known about this place...”

Pearl stopped her begging with a raised hoof. She smiled – addressing her like she was of noble birth must have pleased her. Arctic Amber, on the other hoof, harrumphed. “I say we all make some mistakes,” she said. “Especially since Lyra was pretty much a rogue too – an uncivilised disgrace of our community. We do not punish offenses of rogues against rogues. Innocent.”

Rarity exhaled and slowly got back up. She needed just two more.

Prism turned to Arctic Amber. “What do you say, brother?”

“Guilty! Lyra at least sounded like a vampony with some spine!”

Expected.

“Viridian Summer?”

“I can’t believe we’re wasting our time with this. I came here because of the yesterday’s meeting, not a trial with a rogue! I have to get back to my holdings at once!”

Prism’s plain expression didn’t change in the least. “Our law speaks clearly: the accused has to be tried by the six highest-ranking vamponies present. It is because we are supposed to be the wisest. Are you not wise, Viridian, or are you saying our laws are foolish?”

“Neither.” He threw Rarity a glance full of bile. “Guilty; let’s make it quick.”

Rarity frowned. That was plain unfair!

“Sister Aurora?” Prism asked.

“Tell me, Rarity,” she said, “why did you kill her? You said it was to stop a massacre, but why did you want to stop it?”

“Because it was wrong!” She stared right into Aurora’s eyes. Wasn’t the answer obvious? “I knew the ponies living there; my friends were attacked... I couldn’t just stand there and see them being slaughtered one by one. I know that ponies aren’t a concern of your law, but don’t you remember you were all ponies once too? Don’t you remember your parents, siblings, and friends? How would you feel if some maniac and her minions started killing them?”

Aurora smiled, but Prism cut in before she could speak. “Minions? What minions?”

“Rose, Bonbon, and Mr. Rich. The ones she turned and bound to herself.”

Prism looked at Ivory Star, his face reddening. “She started turning the townsfolk and you did nothing? Don’t you know how irresponsible that is? We’re supposed to assess potential recruits for years, not turn the first one that comes under our hooves!”

“They knew nothing.” She measured him with an icy gaze. “Rogues turn others at random all the time, and we haven’t been discovered anyway!”

“Is this about that plan of yours? You wanted to present us with a finished thing so that it would be harder to refuse, isn’t that so? Executing something on that scale without our approval is a clear violation of our laws! Perhaps we should hold another trial?”

“It was simply a small-scale experiment that aimed to see whether we could improve our training techniques by giving the trainees free rein for a while, nothing else. I would have stopped it before things turned too severe.”

Prism narrowed his eyes. “I don’t believe you and your plan was dismissed.”

She laughed. “Whether you believe or not is of no concern to me. And my plan wasn’t dismissed, the decision was merely postponed to a later date.”

Prism grumbled a little and turned to Aurora. “Your decision, please?”

“Innocent.”

One more.

“Ivory Star?” he said in a voice full of venom.

She looked at Rarity and seemed to hesitate for a moment. “Guilty.”

Rarity’s teeth were pressed together so much that it began to hurt. Three votes for guilty, two for innocent. If only Prism voted for innocent, the case would be re-examined and she’ll get more time! But if he voted for guilty... she shuddered just thinking about it.

Prism nodded. “Guilty.”

“W-wha– Wait!” Rarity exclaimed, but two vamponies already grabbed her and started pulling her away.

“You have been found guilty of murder and as such, your punishment will be death.” Prism seemed completely unfazed by the whole thing, his face calm.

“No, you can’t! Please! It had to be done, I didn’t–” They were thoroughly ignoring her, even chatting with each other. She tried getting out of her guards’ grip, but they held onto her even better than those hoofcuffs from before. She felt tears pushing forward as they got closer and closer to the dungeons.

“Wait, please.” The sentence was said in a calm, quiet manner, but her executioners immediately stopped. So did all the chatter, and all eyes turned on the speaker, Ivory Star. “I think that the punishment might be a bit too harsh, because, as many of you have already said, Lyra was nearly a rogue too.”

“What are you suggesting?” Prism’s expression was about as warm as a glacier.

“Let her be bound to me. It’ll be compensation for the servant she killed, and I’m sure I can bring some order and hierarchy into her head – she didn’t seem to detest those as much as most rogues do.”

Broken Prism narrowed his eyes again. “Why are you so interested in her? You looked at her like she was a ghost during the trial, why? Why would a rogue be important to you?”

“No particular reason.” She smiled at him. “I just wanted to show some compassion.”

“What nonse–“

“I approve of that intent,” Stainless Aurora said. “Let her be bound.”

Dusky Pearl nodded. “Indeed. She seemed promising for a rogue; I’m sure she can become a full member after just a bit of education.”

“Like we need another snake here.” Arctic Amber scowled at them all. “Why is it that every time I want to spare a rogue, you’re all against?”

“They usually assault the guards immediately after their chains are removed,” Pearl said.

“They’re just showing some spirit, unlike all those flank-kissers you bring!”

“Flank-kisser or not, we’re wasting our time!” Viridian Summer exclaimed. “Let her be bound if you so wish; I don’t care! Just let me out of this place, I have to get back to my holdings at once!”

Broken Prism bowed his head. “Very well. It seems bound it is. But not to Ivory Star!” His head shot back up and dug deep into Ivory’s eyes. “The amount of her servants we know about is nearing forbidden numbers, and the only reason Lyra lost her life was because she didn’t give her proper guidance. She shouldn’t be rewarded for making mistakes! Or do we want more of those ‘experiments?’ Let her be bound to me.”

Each of them, except Ivory Star, slowly nodded. She looked ready to murder.

“Very well.” Broken Prism smiled. “Bring her to the ritual hall in two hours.”