Diamond Is Not Cheap

It had been two days since the mysterious incident with the science hall stairs --dubbed 'structural weakening' by the Staff even if Insurance companies refused to acknowledge it as such-- and the school had returned to normal more or less. Well as normal as a Friday is for high-school students looking forward to the impending weekend. Even the Principals seemed relieved at two days off after such a unusual week, Celestia in particular had been getting rather snappy and aggressive giving out Detentions for even minor afflictions towards the rules. Vinyl Scratch seemed to suffer from nigh-endless punishment thanks to her music addiction but the girl didn't seem to care, it gave her more time to work out how she could upgrade her car. Modifying motor vehicles and Dj'ing were the girls two major passions.

Gathered in their usual spot in the Cafeteria were the only ones who knew what was truly going on and why their teachers were so stressed. One Former-Alpha-bitch-and-technically-a-magical-talking-pony and her five (magical) girlfriends. It was like something out of those weird backwards reading comics Rainbow Dash read. Stirring her mashed potatoes idly the former top student of Princess Celestia sighed. God she could do with some Hay.

"So lets go over this one more time Pinkie Pie".

The fluffy haired girl nodded enthusiastically, she never got tired of anything be it retelling this story, bouncing around or baking. It was a tad unnerving and she'd met Party Ponies before calmer then this girl.

"I ran up a weird new set of stairs I found thinking they'd lead to somewhere super-neat.......like a secret class that only the top students would take or something and since really smart people dont tend to party alot I thought i'd cheer them up an-".

"Important part Pinkie get to the important part !" growled Rainbow Dash through a mouthful of Pizza slamming her fist on the table lightly. She was on edge too though for a different reason. The girl hated feeling weak and useless and whatever this was could do both, adding in that it had gone for one of HER friends. Not cool.

"Well" began Pinkie the rest of the girls mixed between rapt attention and eating (or demolishing in the case of Rainbow Dash) their lunch. "The stairs seemed to go on foreeeeeeeeeeeever, I didn't know at the time but Trixie was following me since she wanted some party tips".

Applejack snorted into her juice "That girl wanting help..... more like she wanted to tell you how darn 'awesome' she was".

"Anyway turns out Trixie wasn't following me alone Okuyasu was behind her an-"

"Oooh was Jojo there" piped up Rarity, her salad at the wayside.

Sunset glowered at the girl who sunk into her chair. "He's one of the new exchange students from Neighpon right ?".

"Umm...actually its called Nippon here Sunset" whispered Fluttershy unused to seeing their now 'reformed' friend being this serious, the last time she'd seen this much focus on the girls face she'd been thrown in a locker "Though that was more in the past they use the name Japan now".

"Thanks Fluttershy" grunted Sunset as she mentally noted it down. She'd been in the Human world for about a year now and was still learning the details everyday. Twilight would love it.

"Yeah and he and his friends wear those super-cool uniforms all dark and mysterious like Ratman 'Grrr I'll stop you Mane-iac....my parents are deeeeeaaaaadd!' " quoted Pinkie giving out an unusually low baritone for such a squeaky girl.

"Girls focus for bucks sake !" growled Sunset slamming both her hands on the table.

The five girls looked at Sunset, shock etched on their faces.

"Are you....ok Sugarcube ?" Applejack inquired cautiously.

"Honestly ?"

"It's the best policy darlin' " nodded the farm girl.

"No i'm not ok. I'm the magical expert. I'm from the word overflowing with the stuff. Tartarus i'm a damn unicorn and a student of an immortal mage-queen !" she muttered "Yet...I can't figure this out. There's some weird wizard wandering around Canterlot and now some kind of dark magic is popping up and stealing peoples energy and their probably connected and to be one hundred percent honest....I think this may be my fault".

"Oh darling please how can this ever be your fault" soothed Rarity, one perfectly manicured hand placed onto Sunset in a display of camaraderie.

"I dont know" she mumbled "Its just the last time I felt magic as dark as this was when...when-"

"You became a raging she-demon ?" Rainbow Dash interjected as subtle as a brick to the skull.

Wincing slightly the leather clad girl turned away "Yeah".

The girls were uncomfortably silent for a moment before a chair was pushed back with a light screech, its owner standing and pointing at the athletic girl.

"Now Rainbow that was rude !" Fluttershy said her usual hushed tone replaced by steel "Sunset Shimmer is our friend ! That was the old Sunset, the mean Sunset not our friend. Our friend was the one who helped you with your Math homework or gave you a lift to Soccer practice when you missed your bus !" the girl once deemed 'most likely to get mugged by kittens' was on the attack "This is our friend and you've made her feel bad !"

Tears formed in the usually laid back girls eyes "Yeah..i'm sorry Sunset I was a jerk".

Rainbow Dash wasn't the only one to get teary, all the girls had begun to cry at Fluttershy's unusually passionate outburst.

"Thats ok Rainbow" sniffed Sunset before all the girls spontaneously hugged.

"Friends forever" they cried giggling lightly amidst the tears. Sitting back down again to their meals they began to clean themselves up Sunset clearing her eyes with a tissue handed out by the ever prepared Applejack.

"Ok then" she began a weak smile on her face "Lets go over this one more time....."

" So hows my number one son doing then eh ?" the voice was hoarse with age and had a slight New York accent.

Josuke sighed down the payphone outside the school "I'm your only son Dad".

"Just a phrase my boy" replied the Seventy-Seven year old Joseph Joestar, Land Baron, Real Estate Magnate and former toast of the town. Even in his age and infirmity (not to mention occasional bouts of senility) he still managed to have a good natured sparkle about him.

"Sure sure" Josuke turned and looked at his friends Koichi and Okuyasu, both currently sitting on the grass and playing some kind of collectible card game. He didn't want to keep them waiting to walk home with him, even if he could take his Motorcycle into school and ride it home again he preferred to walk. It gave him more time with his friends.

"Sooooo hows the mission going" inquired the old man his boundless curiosity obvious.

"I wondered how long it'd take old man".

Josuke could practically 'see' the innocent look on his Fathers face as the septuagenarian chuckled down the phone.

"You called me if you remember boy, don't tell me you forgot i'm supposed to be the senile one after all".

Josuke smiled "Well I was told to check up with my 'Boss' when anything comes up and your the biggest cheese in the Speedwagon Foundation I can get to on short notice".

"Ah so whats up then Josuke, something bizarre ?".

Josuke kicked the concrete lightly, staring across the street at Canterlot High.

"Yeah, some girl seems to think I'm magic-".

"Ohho a girl eh, got that Joestar touch" the Old man rasped in between a minor coughing fit.

"Not like that dad, she could see Crazy Diamond" Josuke mumbled.

"Hmmm interesting, so she's a Stand User.....".

"I'm guessing so, it's not like anything else can see them right ?" the younger man said appealing to his Fathers superior experience in the supernatural.

"Well some animals have been known to be able to react to Stands on occasion but as far as i'm aware no, you managed to get any information from the girl ?"

An embarrassed grin on his face Josuke flushed red " I kinda let her go...I thought me and the guys could get her in school when things didn't look so weird, it WAS five in the morning and I didn't want to be accused of kidnapping or anything".

"I take it you haven't found her then".

"No" grunted Josuke frowning.

"You realize how stupid that was right ? I mean she could go to any school in the area not just yours, people could also have gotten hurt because of her".

His pride stinging Josuke nodded, his Dad was right, he'd been blinded by his own overconfidence.

"Well ?".

"Yeah Dad your right, it was dumb and now something happened".

There was a rustling down the phone, Joseph obviously bristling.

"Goddammit boy I love you but this is not good, I pushed for you and your friends specifically for this mission, if people are hurt this isn't just a tragedy for them but it can come back on us badly".

"What the hell dad !" he knew his Father was a businessman so had some level of ruthlessness in him but this kind of crass lack of empathy was news to the teen.

Joseph sighed "Look Josuke I understand, you agreed to this because you've got a good heart. You want to help people just like I did when I joined the Foundation but when you've been in it as long as I have you end up tangled up in the politics, in this case its regarding us".

"What do you mean".

"Let me put it this was son, there are people in the Speedwagon foundation who would prefer if there were no elements of the supernatural in their ranks even if they get better results then the average person, some of the hardliners have even whispered about possibly killing any new Stand Users instead of recruitment or simple registration with them".

"My god dad that's horrible !".

"Exactly son, Jotaro put a lot of their fears at rest but there are some who think that we're not widespread enough to monitor everything. He's our strongest agent next to...well you technically and if you mess this up then things could get very nasty. Who knows today it could be simply replacing us with ordinary agents, tomorrow it could be a bullet to the head ?".

Shuddering at the thought Josuke became resolute "Don't worry Dad, no one was hurt badly and the school managed to smooth over the damage, no one knows what it was".

"And what was it ?".

"We're....not sure" began Josuke " It sounds like some kind of time/space based Stand, Okuyasu was the one who encountered it but he swears on his brothers grave it wasn't a stand".

"Most peculiar".

"Yeah, I mean the report said this whole town was weird but so far besides the girl and this we haven't noticed anything...could it be something new ?".

Joseph hmm'd and haww'd down the phone for a few seconds "The world is much stranger then anyone can truly understand Josuke, of course you'd know this if you'd read the reports we gave you".

"Its thicker then the phone book!" protested the teen.

"Knowledge is power son, you learn that when you get to my age".

"Yeah your right dad...just it's an awful lot of knowledge for a guy my age"

"Fair point" chuckled Joseph "I remember when I was your age I wouldn't read anything thicker then a newspaper".

"Uhh speaking of reading could you get Rohan to do something with Heavens Door" asked Josuke writing in the dust inside the payphones frame "He gave us the ability to speak English but uh....not to write it, that's gonna be a bit of a pain when it comes to tests, if I didn't know better i'd think he did it on purpose".

"Damn, I don't know if that pompous ass can send his Stand out that far....but my boys got to have an education especially an American one !".

Josuke smirked "Tell him it's an 'opportunity to enlighten the ignorant American public on the greatness of his work' he'd love that".

"Haha that's my boy you know how to play people like a Stradivarius".

"Thanks Dad".

A silent peace followed, both Joseph and himself were still very new to their relationship and it was the little things like that which strengthened them. He wasn't entirely sure but he swore he could hear the old man crying down the phone.

"You ok Dad ?".

"Yeah son, just got a uh frog in my throat" the legendary killer of 'The Ultimate Life form' composed himself his voice taking on as much strength as it could in his infirm state "You need a lead and preferably soon, whilst there's no exact time limit on your mission the Foundation wants some answers on whether or not this is a threat and if its something that can be dealt with, they dont want another Dio on their hands, that Made In Heaven garbage sent chills to my bones boy to tell you the truth, that one man could possibly plan to do what he wanted....."

Josuke nodded somberly, that was one part of the report Koichi had told him. That weird Dio guy had written a journal intricately explaining how using his stand he'd be able to somehow alter all of reality with himself as God. The science behind it was still beyond all of the Paranormal experts at the foundation and they'd had copies of it for several months.

"Don't worry Dad we've got this, I wont let you down".

"I've full confidence in you son, do me proud".

With that the phone call ended.

The six girls were finally leaving School, twenty minutes late thanks to Rainbow Dash forgetting to pick up her Guitar from the music room. Pausing on the entrance for a breathe of the clean fresh air they finally began the walk to their homes thankfully all fairly close.

"So we find this 'Dark Wizard' and beat him up ?" asked Rainbow the strap of her Guitar case digging into her shoulder.

"That sounds rather...crude Rainbow Dash" replied Rarity a frown on her face, her hands were just not made for breaking noses despite what some of the boys said after failed attempts at wooing the fashionista .

"Girls".

"I don't think so Rainbow, he'd probably be able to hold all of us off on his own if my interactions with Dark Magic both here and on Equestria are good for anything" said Sunset

"Darn, I was looking forward to making him pay for what he did to Pinkie Pie" Applejack punctuated her statement with her fist smashing into her palm.

"Umm girls".

"Oh it was alright Applejack besides getting cold and sleepy that is, other then that it was fuuuuuuun, we should try talking to them though, even in the biggest meanie is a nice person looking to get out" Pinkie announced bouncing around the girl in her usual manner.

"Girls could you maybe listen to me".

"Honestly I think our only hope is the Friendship magic that Twilight and you guys used....you do know how to use that right ?" Sunsets asked a mixture of worry and hope on her face.

"GIRLS!" roared Fluttershy.

The five teens looked at their usually quiet and meek friend, she rarely raised her tone unless it was important.

Now all the attention was on her though the poor girl returned to her normal self, shrinking back beneath their gaze.

"Umm...the...the 'Dark Wizard'...he's over there" she pointed at the next street past the concrete sidewalk and onto the grassy field stood the three exchange students.

"Uhh be more specific sugarcube" asked the farmgirl looking at the seemingly normal teens conversing.

"The tall one with the funny hair"

"Not Jojo!" gasped Rarity

"Um yes, I'm positive....thoughhesavedAngelsocanhereallybeaDarkWizard ? mumbled the girl

Rarity fainted, Rainbow Dash growled, Applejack balled her fists, Sunset grimaced.

Pinkie turned and looked seemingly behind them.

"Well isn't that a twist folks !"