Diamond's Origin

Presenting:

Diamond is a ten year old filly born in Manehatten. She's a 'nudge' which is a slang term, (derogatory) for any pegasus that's an orphan. Usually a baby pegasus that was 'accidently' nudged off a cloud to a supposed death. The parents fly away, no one is the wiser, and they don't have to deal with the 'unexpected' bundle of joy a wild night of passion might have.

Diamond was found in a field as a baby on the outskirts of the city, without a scratch on her and was taken to the orphanage (Sunny Skies home for wayward foals.) As she ages, she discovers her body is an oddity of nature and genetics. While other kids got bumps and bruises and scrapes and cuts- Diamond never managed to have any, despite being a energetic little pegasus. Her skin is incredibly durable- almost (But not quite) Unbreakable. Either by freak accident of nature, or miracle, Diamond is considered a 'freak' by the rest of the children, which leads to a great number of fights on her part. This leads Diamond to the city- placing her in foster homes and different programs, but her penchant for getting into fights follows her dauntlessly. Much to the displeasure of her caretakers.

At eight years old, Diamond is kicked out of the orphanage,(To much fighting) just before she has a chance to run away. She leaves happily, in hopes to find her real parents- the only thing she wants in life- Answers to why they abandoned her, and who she really is. Instead she ran into another orphan by the name of Star Strider. Star Strider discovers Diamond's unique 'talent' to suffer enormous amounts of physical punishment without a bodily scratch. Strider teaches Diamond Dancer how to steal and how to survive on the city streets, quite a bit like Oliver Twist, as it were. He uses her as a distraction, often getting hit by a taxi or a trolly car, and creating a big spectacle, while he steals whatever food that he can. In two years, they eventually meet a run away named Sunfire, and two additional homeless colts; Punchline, the earth pony, and Criss Cross, the unicorn. They form a little ragtag band of friends and spend their days together.

One night, Star Strider remarks to Diamond, that if she wishes on a shooting star, her wish will come true. Well, at this point, all Diamond wants out of life is a real family, so she starts wishing extra super hard every night, but has no luck. At this point, Diamond becomes obsessed with the idea and decides if she can't wish on a shooting star, maybe she can catch one instead. She begins training to fly into space (no one said Diamond was a particularly bright little pony) with wing push ups, and endurance training. Her obsession drives her to work her body to exhaustion but her determination is unshakable, leading her to spend days training to fly as far and as high as possible.

Unfortunately, Diamond and company receive a horrible realization that eating out of dumpsters and sleeping in makeshift beds in dirty alleyways is no way for fillies and colts to live. Criss Cross becomes life threateningly ill, and with no money for medicine and no one to turn to, the group face the prospect of a real loss.

Meandering through the city in search of hope, Diamond stumbles across a poster for "Highest Flying Pegasus" contest sponsored by the Wonderbolts (With a great deal of prize money to boot!) and decides she's going to win. She HAS to win. Begging Criss Cross to hang on for her, she puts her all into flying as high as possible to receive the prize money needed to save her friend's life. To help hype Diamond, and get the crowd on her side, her friends launch a tiny campaign to paint Diamond as the 'under dog' giving her nick names such as "The Miracle Mare" and "The fantastic filly" and "The impossible pony" using her highly durable body as proof she is 'indestructible' and she was 'made to win' The judges decide to allow her to compete, (As a joke, and good press for the wonderbolts) Having spent years training for this very competition, Diamond promises Criss Cross that she'll save him. In the long run, Diamond manages to win through sheer determination and the oddity of her genetics. This nets her a cutie mark: a shooting star, The object of her obsession- which she takes to symbolize determination. However, while flying so high wins her the prize money needed to rescue Criss Cross from his illness, and grant her the title of "Highest Flyer in Equestira" Diamond contracts the disease "Icarus Syndrome" which is received from flying far to high for extended periods of time. The air is to thin and cold for sustained flight, and Diamond flew well past the boundaries of safety to ensure her victory.

The disease starts out as a cold, stage one, and starts it's work weaving into a pony's immunity systems. At stage two, it mutates into a bad fever, with flu like symptoms. Stage three has the body losing color, as Diamond's silvery coat is slowly being marred with black and nasty blotches like ink. Stage four is the last stage where the disease is curable. At this stage, the circulatory system is effected, leaving the extremities of the body without feeling and the senses start to waine. While not paralyzed, Diamond has lost her senses of smell, taste and touch in her limbs (adding to her 'supposed invincibility' as she can no longer feel pain.) Upon returning to earth, (In a spectacular crash-Diamond having passed out due to lack of air during her flight,) Diamond is taken to the local Hospital to assess her wounds as Diamond was knocked unconscious by the violent crash.

While in the hospital, visiting Diamond is approached by a doctor whom is curious to study the phenomenon of her body. In turn, he promises Diamond a 'cure' for her disease. Accepting the bargain, The doctor discovers Diamond is in fact, a crystal pony, but she's never been exposed to the crystal heart in order to gain her gleam. And odd occurrence at birth her left her body like her name sake, and left her highly durable to almost all things physical. While physically invulnerable, Diamond suffers from an identity crisis, and depression. She's emotionally fragile, and easy to provoke into arguments or fighting, especially on the topic of her parents.

While in the hospital, Diamond learns more about her disease. The fifth level of the disease is when it effects the brain, and the sixth, and final stage is death. She discovers that the doctor treating her has no intention of actually curing her illness, but is far more interested in replicating her surprising durability. Millions could be made from a procedure that would give ponies invulnerability. Diamond, however, flees the hospital with the help of her friends, but realizes she has little time left to live. (A little less than six months) While still capable of thought and function, Diamond leaves Manehatten to seek out Princess Luna, whom she thinks is the creator of the stars in the sky to bid her thanks. (Not wanting her friends to mourn her incoming death, Diamond refuses to tell them why shes leaving, prompting an argument leaving Diamond to storm off in an angry huff. She'd rather have them think she hated them, and to have them hate her, than to force them to watch her die, with nothing they could do about it. Diamond is kicked out of the group, and left to her own devices, as she had planned. )

Diamond seeks Princess Luna, for It was the stars and her obsession that let her do all that training, and thus, allow her to save Criss Cross. She feels she owes Princess Luna a personal thank you and her loyalty. She strikes out to Ponyville to visit the famed Everfree Forest and hunt down Princess Luna at the castle of the two sisters.

While there she meets several ponies, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy specifically. Pinkie Pie while friendly and hyperactive, touches Diamond's heart when she offers Diamond a free cupcake. Diamond refuses, recanting that she cannot taste anything, and Pinkie counters by offering Diamond a bowl of Oatmeal instead, saying "It doesn't really taste like anything, so we can share it together, and you aren't missing out!" Fluttershy, offers Diamond a place to spend the night while she tries to figure out how to get in contact with Princess Luna. While there, Fluttershy discovers how sickly Diamond is, and realizes she hasn't much time. She decides to visit the palace and beg for an audience for the sickly little filly. While in Fluttershy's home, Diamond is seduced into Ever Free forest by a voice promising her a reprieve from her sickness. Diamond follows the voice, terrified at the prospect of dying without being able to talk to Princess Luna, and discovers it's source: a nightmare.

The little filly is possessed and begins a campaign to destroy Ponyville but it is short lived. She is rescued by Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, using the powers of Kindness and Laughter and overall, the power of friendship to free Diamond of the nightmare's grasp. While the creature was driven away from the filly, it left a curse upon her body, leaving her in a state of perpetual undeath. In such, a way for it to return once it was recovered and seize her body once again- using Diamond's youthful appearance and her genetic oddities to be a fearsome weapon.

Diamond, now cursed and unable to die from the disease killing her, nor live life as a normal pony, unable to age or grow beyond her current state, continues her quest to hunt down Princess Luna. She succeeds and approaches Luna with the intent to thank her for the stars in the sky. In conversation, Princess Luna discovers of Diamond's past and the incredible events that lead her to the castle. Instead of a simple thank you, Diamond finds herself suddenly, in the employee of the Princess: Royal Night's Errant. An invincible little filly with a cutie mark in sheer determination might prove useful, and the princess sends Diamond all over Equestria to recover stolen artifacts or missing items of importance.

While Diamond is nothing more than a glorified errand girl for the Princess of the night, she is beside herself with joy, now that her life has a purpose, and she's working under the princess of the stars. In thanks for Diamond's services, Princess Luna has promised to help Diamond find a cure for her curse and her disease, in addition to a tiny, glowing pendant. A star from space from the princess herself! Diamond's life is a mish mash of ups and downs, and death is never more than one day away, but the little filly is slowly finding out that no matter what happens friendship is magic, and it's a magic she's come to rely on.

Diamond, bills herself as the "Impossible Pony" The "Fantastic Filly" and the "Miracle Mare from Manehatten." She boasts that she is invulnerable, and is quite content to let most ponies think that it's true, (In reality, Diamond isn't as invulnerable as she claims but she realizes the power of a good reputation) She has no sense of taste, touch or smell, and her nerve endings are woefully dysfunctional. She cannot swim without sinking like a stone, and can only fly in short radical bursts, and normally only in one direction- plummeting to the ground in a spectacular crash landing whenever she attempts to touch down. Emotionally fragile and Impulsive, Diamond would hardly seem the type to be serving under a princess.

But for all her short comings, Diamond is loyal to Luna to a fault. She loves the night, the stars in the sky, and her princess for delivering them to her. She'll take any mission handed to her by Princess Luna, if it's going to get a sandwich to delivering documents to the Gryphon Empire! Following Luna blindly, Diamond Dancer doesn't question Luna's orders, whatever they may be. She is completely devoted to the night and her princess, and the stars. This sometimes proves dangerous, when Diamond misinterprets the Princess's desires...

Things to Note:

-Diamond hangs out in the Royal Palace after visiting hours simply because she -can-. As a royal member of Princess Luna's night court, is is granted full access to the castle, and anything that may help her complete her missions from Princess Luna. This vexes the castle guards. A lot.

-Diamond's little glowing Pendant from Princess Luna is in fact, a shard of a fallen star. One percent, mind you, but still a star. The star eagerly and maliciously grants whatever Diamond may wish with the phrase "I wish" resulting , often, in hilarious situations. The Star is only one percent, so it often fails the grant the wish completely. Example One: Diamond's first wish, as for the golden horde of a dragon. It appeared- above her- and crushed her. Then the dragon that it belonged to appeared- and also crushed her. The Dragon in turn, ate Diamond Dancer whole, and she survived due to her 'invincibility' Being pushed through a 'dragon' is not a memory Diamond is happy about.

-Example Two: Diamond wished for a lollipop. The lollipop materialized out of nowhere the size of a boulder. It was, (according to the wrapper) Spider Flavored. Diamond was not pleased. Because of these incidents, Diamond tries hard not to 'wish upon her star' and in turn, wears it constantly to keep ponyville safe from it. Diamond, however, HAS figured out some usefulness to her wishes. "Wishing herself "anywhere but here." in a dangerous situation often results in her teleporting three 1/2 feet to the left, or the stallion's bathroom in the castle barracks. If she absentmindedly wishes to know where Luna is, she'll be teleported to that pony instantly to fulfill her wish. Accidentally teleporting into Luna's bathtub made Diamond seriously consider burying the star somewhere deep, deep in Equestria.

-Diamond may have highly (Very highly) durable skin and alleged invincibility but she does not have super strength to match. She is remarkably ineffective in any offensive position, as she has the strength of a ten year old girl. That being said, Diamond is often knocked around quite a bit in combat, when trying to fetch something for Luna in hostile environments. She has discovered she makes a good 'distraction' for other member of the night court, and often acts out the role of "Bait" when engaged in a mission.

-Diamond cannot feel her mouth or tongue, resulting in an very pronounced, Manehatten accent. She says "You'se " for use, and the letter "D" instead of any letter "T" "Dis" "Dat" Dank you'se" Ovah' Dare!"

-Diamond's blotches and splotches from her disease cover her muzzle, ears, wings, hooves, and neck and she has a splotch under her right eye, that resembles a tear drop. Due to this, Diamond has very few friends her age, who are willing to look past her disease for the lonely little filly that she is.

-Diamond was adopted by a pony named "Bardigan" who acts as her big brother. He's treasured by her and she regards him as her 'number one' priority. So much so, that it has caused a mental and psychological issue for Diamond. Under the impression that Bardigan is being threatened, or if she ever see's him hurt, Diamond slips into a berserk rage. It is a status that she does not enjoy, or remember, but results in her completely losing mental function and hurling herself at the perpetrator of the action. She isn't very strong, but her tenacity has no match. Regardless to bodily harm or situation, Diamond wildly attacks until the culprit is no more, and reverts back to her normal state of mind. This has caused a significant amount of problems for the two, with Bardigan trying his best to remove some of the anger Diamond is obviously carrying with her.

-While serving as a distraction for the other members of the Night Court, Diamond also, often serves as a weapon. She is thrown violently towards an enemy, and latches on to them, or slams into them. For this reason, Diamond is often teased about being the "Ballista' of the group. Ammunition when serving on the field.

-Diamond hates the fact that she cannot taste, smell or feel. She often gazes longingly at Sugar Cube Corner, wondering what it's like to taste their famous cupcakes, or smell the cookies they bake on a daily basis. While she doesn't openly display her depression (got to keep the image of being the invincible filly) Diamond often finds herself crying, staring at the bakery, and wishing she could have a normal life.

-Diamond sleeps during the day, and ventures out a night. She doesn't like the sun, but is tentatively tolerant of Celestia. Although she thinks any pony who would banish her own 'sister' to the moon may not be all that she's cracked up to be.

-Diamond has a hopeless crush on the pony from her group, named "Criss Cross" but she never managed to get the nerve to tell him. She hates herself for it.

That's Diamond Dancer in a nut shell!

http://noben.deviantart.com/art/Diamond-Dancer-and-Bardigan-530185968

Author's Note

This is just Diamond's Origin story I wrote a month or so back and threw up in my Journal. Nothing new here, although the Picture is really really sweet. It's Bardigan and Diamond.