Author's Note

Hello there and welcome back, this time to the second half of Oppositionists' Attractive Frequencies, the one story out of many of my craft to go above and beyond the oneshots I've given you since the inception; suffice to say, the past chapters from before were by far a weak note for all of you, just like what this one is going to be.

In this case, I'm going to warn you in advance that the chapter after this is going to be verging into some dark territory, no relation to that Steven Seagal movie mind you; while it'll be nothing more than a nightmare, it alone will be a stern reminder of why this story is just like the movie, except with no action but not for kids either so to speak of nevertheless.

In any case, just take solace in the fact that this is just a breather since it was such a challenge having to write for a certain character in question; the only good thing I can say about it is that she'll be able to meet a familiar face who would be joining in for this ride, albeit briefly.

Carbon

It was a bright and clear day for the light of the golden sun remained out and about in heavens above its own observers traversing throughout. There were still some silver linings found in the clouds passing about, each of them all varying in shapes and sizes yet otherwise dried and inert. Songs from birds and bees alike were also traveling about in an idiosyncratic manner; sending creatures like and unlike themselves messages. Accompanying the otherwise orchestral duet were the gentle breezes moving the grass and trees, completing their surrounding environs at once.

Speaking of the very environment in question, it was nothing short of an open desert with little vegetation whatsoever in the vicinity. Inside the rather large dream drop distance, a civilization was defined in such various materials used to build themselves from scratch. Out amongst the background were but a widget series of monoliths each raging with growth and erosion in the process of trying times. Nevertheless, it was likely that there would at least be an utter abundance of many individuals from one out of various demographics.

Of the many at this moment in time, a lonely woman was found to walking upon the dirt trail, bearing a rather bright complexion over her skin. Her long hair was vividly violet save for some white streaks accenting them; in addition, a small blue tiara planted over matched its wearer’s orbs. The woman’s attire consisted of a gold jacket and boots combo with a black undershirt matching her leggings alongside a silk skirt and backpack. Additionally, some jewelry was found to be adorning her body: a pair of earrings, two bands, and a necklace made with quadrilateral amethysts.

“Ugh, I never imagined that it’d be out in Appleloosa of all places, let alone here: according to one of my friend’s letters, she should be here in this town; I just have to find her place of residence while I’m still cool or else my butt is cooked…!” the lonely woman had said to herself as she was quickly wiping away the perspiration off of the brows in the process all the while.

In any case, there was nothing more she could do except moving forward throughout the entire neighborhood, each section made up of wood yet full of life like much of her kind altogether. The lonely woman had also seen numbers of them decreasing in density while traveling about, firmly aware of the solid barrenness beyond their confines all thanks to her proactive eyesight. Even as she was left alone to her devices, the potential sensation of being observed was crawling over her back, not that she was in much danger of encountering any corporeally hostile entities. Moreover, the lonely woman’s frown embodied the somber pathos of things based on the locals’ presence as far as they were concerned even with herself maintaining distance from all of them.

Soon enough, she’d found herself standing in front of one of the buildings within the very area: elongated and blue, it’d been composed of timber and steel. Its very roofing was equilateral to a fault as it’d synced up with the solid dimensions of the entire structure almost immediately from such initial observations. There were a few shapely yet wholesome windows sharing the same geometric spaces despite being different, closed or obscured from the outside world. Emanating about was a singular door acting as the primordial gateway to its simplistic domicile, bearing a fruity color reminiscent of some unripen bananas.

It didn’t take long for the lonely woman to approach the entryway almost instantaneously, soon resting her left hand upon the surface of the silvery doorknob. Rotating about, she was quick to find a beige theme from top to bottom after making her move to escape the outside world, more subdued compared to the latter. At the very least, the lonely woman could see every geometric corner nearby herself occupied by a potted plant with an abundance of leaves more than spacious. The flooring underneath her golden boots had all too plentiful carpeting wracked with a mixture of textures and colors showing wear and tear in spite of efforts. Even the population density itself had been drastically reduced to the point where the woman’s loneliness had been amplified by greater amounts immediately.

All of her hopes had soon found themselves taking aim at a set of paper filled with one too many words and too little pictures, monochromatic to a fault. The fact they were spread out by a pair of hands were proof alone the singular woman wasn’t to be overwhelmed by her own faltering lack of emotions. Enshrouding the unknown reader’s territory was but only an angular kiosk of a scarlet base and opened boxes filled to the brim with various materials.

Of the scarce items found in the go between of herself and the other individual within eyesight, a gilded bell was found in time for the former to walk up to it and tap gently, prompting the latter to speak in a gruffly masculine voice altogether to be heard rather clearly, “yeah, what do you want…?”

“I want to see someone; I was told that this is where she lives now: her name’s Diane, an old neighbor of mine from my hometown in Ponyville…” the lonely woman answered reluctantly, hesitant to a fault but firm enough to continue her line of speech for the unknown reader to listen to, “do you know where I can find her room number, sir…?”

“Oh, miss Pinkamena… she’s in room 314; just to warn you, though, the elevator’s still broken here…” he’d said more clearly, this time being more fluid and freer despite the rather gravelly accentuation since the very beginning.

She’d soon traversed the area quietly enough to find a flight of stairs mere yards away from the unknown reader, climbing upward all the while as the forces of gravity were now weighing her very body in the opposite direction. While the lonely woman had anticipated the first impact ever since the very step she took: the minimal information provided by the likes of the unknown reader made her own mass grow in expectation contrast to her stamina. At the very least, she needed to reach her destination fast while both legs could take up the active perambulation within the inner universe; after all, such progress had been made by her sheer will to power alone, never to be wasted. Necessities aside, the lonely woman’s frown returned, this time in full force as every step taking her away from the point of origin had also brought her closer to exhaustion, none which had been helped by her backpack’s contents.

She’d ended sitting down at the steps after getting a glimpse of the corridors within the line of eyesight, each filled with a scarcity of people like and unlike herself rivaling that of the outside world beyond; at that point in time, thoughts were swirling about to little end fast approaching, “what in the world are you trying to prove, that you’re any different from your own mom?! Even Applejack could tell who’s lying to themselves and she’s all messed up from the war; the fact I’m even thinking about her means I’m just as screwed up as the others are, especially her family: my dad was supposed to go multinational years ago but all this crap ruined everything. I head of companies going bankrupt somewhere between before and after the war but everything else that happened in peacetime wasn’t enough: the Spartans are mad because of what had been done to their kinsfolk and almost nobody is planning to sell any fruits in Ponyville, at least not under my daddy’s brand anymore. Of course, my hometown’s not the only place with problems as far as everyone else is concerned about it: these podunk proles from Peachtree had to go and disgrace themselves because of that bastard Eugene; daddy had to remove all of the candy sold by that factory off the shelves since that court case years ago…! I never thought the Princesses would go so far as to intervene on behalf of that lowly little lousy troublemaker despite his confession, much less have Luna return to wearing the crown again; come to think of it, I’m not even sure if I have any more reason to keep wearing mine upon my head, knowing what everyone else knows about him as well as his friends and neighbors too. I’m actually wondering what can I do now that the war is over, especially considering what has become of my father’s business: Barnyard Bargains may be still on the map now but since that kooky granny’s passing, it’s only a matter of time until it goes under; it’s even hard for me to think about what’s to be done about my own life in the meantime, something she can relate to.”

“Diamond Tiara, is that you…?” another feminine voice bubbled up into the surface world, breaking the stationary woman out of her cerebration almost instantaneously, “I wasn’t expecting to see you of all people here, at least not by yourself…”

“Miss Diane…?” the primary listener had replied, standing back up to find the source in question immediately.

It didn’t take much at all for Diamond to come into contact with one of the complex’s tenants, something which had just put the former at ease already. Commonalities between themselves became more than apparent as far as the crowned traveler seen: blue eyes, bright skin, and long hair fitted the two. Even so, the women alone had more than a fair share of differences regarding their appearances at once, especially considering their sudden encounter.

Diamond could easily see that Diane was at the very least several inches taller than the former by sheer comparison alone so to speak of. The tenant’s hair was also more longer than the traveler, freed from whatever accessories which restrict the strands but a flatly hot pink. This was serving as a contrast to the integuments in which Diane was at least fifty shades darker than the likes of Diamond yet still light. The taller tenant’s clothes were a true blue ensemble of a jacket, shorts, and boots as well as a snow white shirt donning a pink heart.

At once, Diane was more than quick in giving a reply to the lonely visitor in due time altogether, “hi, what brings you here alone…?”

“It’s nothing really; I’d actually came to see mine friend: her name’s Silver Spoon, though I’m pretty sure you already know her…” Diamond had answered her pinker counterpart instantly, one of the former’s hands still resting onto the straps of the very backpack, “I was hoping to catch up to her before she’d left for the Institute again; do you think she’s still around lately…?”

“I’m sorry, Miss Diamond, but I’ve not been able to see your friend at all since last fortnight ago: I know that you and Silver Spoon were the best of buddies since childhood and probably still are; in any case, why did you go and come all the way out here to Appleloosa by your lonesome…?” the tall tenant had sighed sadly, much to her aforementioned correspondent’s dismay overall.

The singular traveler turned away and huffed, “it’s probably nothing to worry about, though to be honest, I haven’t been able to get over what had happened lately; it’s a long story and I can’t even find the right words to keep it short.”

Resting a hand upon the shoulder, Diane asked Diamond immediately, “you want to come inside anyway…? I’d just done my shopping minutes ago and I’ve not been able to eat all morning…”

“I don’t know here: forgive me, but I haven’t been able to figure out where else I could even go after I’d planned to meet Silvy…” the crowned woman answered as she was looking down at the floorboards, avoiding any and all eye contact for the most part, “it’s just that ever since I’d became an adult, I’d not been able to figure out my true calling past the party you’d hosted then.”

“I insist anyway: even after all that has happened, I still have my hospitality to share to anyone; besides, I have nothing else better to do until tomorrow morning…” the tall tenant interceded, getting into Diamond’s line of eyesight again rather gently as the latter felt both feet planted into another plane similar to theirs but nonetheless drastically different anyway.

The singular traveler had came back to clarity and said softly, “I can see that; even after all these years I still can’t resist hearing the similarities between you and Silvy: how did I get so lucky…?”

“I’m not saying this as a formality; for all that I would’ve known, you could’ve been one of my kith and/or kin or the princesses…” Diane replied to Diamond without any sign of hesitation whatsoever in the former’s voice to be comforting the latter, “as a matter of fact, we would’ve done the same thing like before, not just out of adherence to law and order themselves you see.”

“Yeah, I wish I could say the same thing about the others…” the crowned woman exhaled as she’d braced herself for the incoming impact after both straps were being returned to the sides of their owner’s abdomen.

Sure enough, Diamond felt her body becoming more lighter than she’d been so far as the white backpack found itself in the grip of her taller counterpart whom said, “please, let me carry your stuff for a while; after all, you look like that you’d gone up a hill only to come down a mountain: I should make it easier for you since your legs took you far enough to get here…”

“Thanks, but there are some things I must do for myself; I may have been born into money but I’d changed out of the mindset…” the striped traveler replied, reasserting ownership over her own accessory in question, much to Diane’s dismay overall of course, “besides, our butler Randall isn’t here with us anymore to do any of the work; he’d retired after the war had ended.”

“Does he still visit though…?” the tall tenant asked.

Diamond kept a straight face as she’d said to Diane, “barely… I’d never expected him to make it this far, let alone see the war end; as a matter of fact, my parents lost half of their collective resources investing in the defense budget Equestria needed during and after: equipment such as weaponry and armor were built thanks to people like him, especially since Granny Smith is–––”

“I know, Applejack had told me the whole story about her years ago, not to mention what they’d done to Apple Bloom and herself…” the taller tenant had interjected, this time turning around to walk up the stairs away from the singular visitor at once, “it was the stuff of nightmares hearing it all from my dear friend, barely strong enough to hold a candle to what happened to my folks.”

“What exactly did happen?” Diamond choked out.

Diane stopped herself in place and made no attempt to face her crowned correspondent abaft as liquids were growing from the corner of the former’s eyes; nevertheless, some words had soon escaped from their owner’s lips, slow and steady like a tortoise yet otherwise shaking to and fro, “everything no child of any age should dare to read about, much less experience altogether…”

“Agreed… I can’t go a day without thinking about all the lives lost over the years since then as well as the ones changed…” Diamond spoken out as she’d witnessed the taller counterpart’s legs getting back to being up and running from the nearest flooring, “I remember that fateful day like it was only yesterday: it’d all started with a letter sent to me from my friend, Silver Spoon. As you may have remembered, we were the only ones in Ponyville with rich families: my dad’s business was Barnyard Bargains and hers had an export business; it would’ve seemed like that was the only thing we had in common so far, at least before the war broke out. Most of the richest people in Equestria were usually found in the nation’s capital of Canterlot, either ‘cause of nobles or some other old money types; we were the nouveau riche – people whom had gotten wealthy because our parents had stuck it big making smart investments: he’d sold Zap Apple Jam and her mom made expensive tablewares. Nevertheless, we still went to the same schoolhouse as every other kid our age, including the Crusaders themselves, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo; of course, they didn’t always call themselves that name, let alone hung out together like we did, at least not since the Summer Sun Celebration back in our youth. Out of us whom had found our calling, I was the first to discover mine at age twelve and Silvy trailed behind at eleven; the others in our class whom had yet to do so were those three and Twist, or so we’d thought: in any case, it’d have seemed like they were going to be stuck like this forever because of their youth and whatnot like in those newspaper comics and novels. I can’t believe I’d been nothing but a bully to them for the past few months before the war, all because she was a young farmhand who could never measure up to the likes of us, or so we’d thought…”

“As in you and Silver Spoon: it doesn’t surprise me that she would own up to the whole thing, much less feel bad about it over the years since she’d moved away from Ponyville; people seem to think things last forever all ‘cause the world happens to exist for who knows how long…” Diane sighed as she’d made it through the ordeal.

The crowned traveler took in a deep breath and exhaled, “only because they think like little kids out to change the world and show them what they’ve been made of and into since birth; one used to think being born into a rich family means having it all made but that’s just beyond the surface of things as far as the public is concerned. Even before I was able to speak, I could always remember how my mother wanted me to the optimal heir to the family fortune no matter what happened; now that I think about it, it seemed to be no wonder why Silver Spoon and I were so alike all of the sudden: could they’ve been so interested in staying rich and powerful they couldn’t make time for another one? Anyway, it’s been hard for me to look back on every single memory in my life that hasn’t been about maintaining her approval of myself, much less staying true to myself without losing it all; I know it’s not nice, let alone polite, to backbite, especially someone as closest to me like my own mother… it’s just that looking back on all this, I could say that our mothers were still better.”

“How exactly and what do you mean by that: who were they better than…?” the taller tenant asked as she’d made it to a higher floor, no less different from the ones underneath themselves, “it’s not like they hated you or anything so to speak…”

“Of course she didn’t hated me: she’s my mom for Celestia’s sake; it’s just that after everything that happened, I can’t go on knowing what some people were like for the most part, let alone what they’d done to remind me how much I’d used to be like…” Diamond sniffed as her legs buckled under the weight of the world she and Diane were in, both still on a solid foundation.

The taller tenant turned around and looked upon her crowned correspondent with a softer visage, small fractions of the floor the latter rested over being saturated with beads of achromatic fluids; afterwards, the former found the remaining within to bend both knees and crawl about to extend reasonable comfort with words, “hey, hey… you’re a woman now… there’s no need for tears… You and Silver Spoon are strong enough to be better than this; I don’t care what you were back in the past and even if I did, we’re in the now as we were: we’re in our twenties and we have our lives to tend to – you have your family and fortune and I have a career and family to look after. Don’t forget that you still have people that love you anyway and not just your parents and Silver Spoon: I know for a fact that you still have a certain secret someone whom loves you after all this time despite everything which had already happened recently.”

“What… I didn’t say any of it at all; why could you say such a thing like that?!” Diamond had soon exclaimed with little warning whatsoever, both cheeks currently burning madder in a great shock compared to Diane’s already tickled pink smirk, “I haven’t had a date at all in my entire life so far, let alone a kiss…!”

“Calm down, it’s not a big deal worth worrying over: it’s not the end of the world; besides, you have a whole life to look forward to making something of at this age anyways so there’s plenty of time to use wisely, little Diamond…” the tall tenant tittered about prior to patting the shorter visitor on the head gently without touching the latter’s crown in any shape or form overall.

This didn’t amuse its titular owner one bit as she slowly snarled, “please keep your hands off my crown; it’s a family heirloom: it’d once belonged to my own great–grandmother, Lucille Sky Diamond…”

“That explains the eponym…” Diane commented blatantly about, guiding her crowned counterpart upward by the hand all the while, “come on, let’s head on inside now… it’s almost getting late anyway; I have one more day off ‘til I go back to work…”

“What will you do in the meantime, Miss Diane…?” Diamond inquired about now energized.

The tall tenant answered freely, “please, you don’t have to keep referring to me by that name: call me Pinkie, everyone back in Ponyville did, especially all of my friends and even the strangers from the other side; anyways, I need to rest for awhile for the time being, especially with how stressful everything had been lately ever since I’d moved away again years ago…”

“Wait, what strangers: who are you talking about…?” the crowned visitor had suddenly choked out whiter in shock instead before shaking her head briefly, “never mind; besides, you mean to tell me that you weren’t even born in Ponyville at all; then, where did you actually come from anyway…?”

“I guess you weren’t there when those schoolmates of yours asked us how we all met together that day: I came from a small town named Rockville, just like Appleloosa was but much older but that’s neither here or there; besides, you’re already tired anyway so I should take you with me and make you feel at home…” Pinkie answered while grabbing Diamond by the hand gently.

The crowned pedestrian felt the wrist's circulation constrict a bit as she was being led away by her rosier correspondent, all while the former had ruminated about, “I knew I was going to end up like this had I gone sooner: I just have to hope that my friend returns home tomorrow morning before I do; after all, I wouldn’t have made this trip for nothing, knowing where she lives now. I wish I’d talked to her sooner about other things after the war had ended: I never knew that her mother would even take her own life after what these soldiers did, let alone have my friend listen to it all while in hiding no less; I don’t even want to think about what would’ve happened if they’d found her there. Oh, what the fuck is wrong with this world today: I’d never imagined how much evil was going to be allowed in this day and age but never thought about the war coming to our backyard; was it even necessary for Silvy’s mom to be treated this way by a bunch of our own men, not to mention Sweetie Belle of all people getting left to die in such a manner prior to all this?! We were all kids, for Celestia’s sake; we’ve had our own lives to look forward to: Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Twist, Dinky, and even Star Dreams – they all deserved better than whatever fresh slice of Tartarus on Equestria unleashed by the war, especially with all the madness visited upon us. I can’t even believe what that monster did to miss Cheerilee: raped and beaten just to save her own students from getting slaughtered like they were nothing; now, she can barely even set foot back in Ponyville without reliving the horrors, especially knowing what happened to both her and the girl she’d adopted ever since. It seems that everyone I know nowadays is either dead, comatose, crippled, insane, diseased, imprisoned, bankrupt, poorer, disgraced, intoxicated, missing, homeless, and/or on the way to becoming latched onto by the downward spiral; even worse, I’m still stuck in one and I can’t seem to find a way out of it without being reminded of what happened to all of us. Even now, I hate what I’d been acting like before the war broke out, especially considering what happened during and after that: it’s one thing to take the life of another individual simply because they’re enemy combatants irregardless; accident or not, I’d never imagined someone going out of their way to hurt someone at a party due to their past, let alone by a guest’s sister. I thought I was bad enough because I wanted mom to love me but I could never comprehend living in a household where everyone hates you for merely existing or so it seems; at least my parents told me to choose my friends wisely and this was before Twilight came down from Canterlot and even I wish she would let me be friends with Apple Bloom more longer. I don’t even know for sure if she ever even wants to see me again after all the times Silver Spoon and I messed with her and those two friends, especially knowing what happened to them: even looking at them gives me the creeps alone but seeing them in my sleep was breaking my stride much further; I hope this doesn’t happen again because my mom can’t even stand it for one bit.”

For what it was worth, there was nothing else more Diamond could do at this passing moment in time as far as anyone, in or out of the building, was concerned: although Pinkie was in the same location as the former, the mindset was lost on the echoes of time and space, pulled down by the variable weight thereof in which the latter remained blissfully unaware of altogether so to speak.