"Can you believe it's been almost ten years since I saved y'all from poverty, Diamond?"
Diamond Tiara hummed in acknowledgement as she continued about her menial chores of making the mare of the house her morning brew.
"Who'd a thunk the, former, richest pony in Ponyville would end up working for the one pony whose flank she used to tease so much. Why, I bet you wish you's was me right now, huh?
Diamond Tiara said nothing, ignoring her Mistress' almost daily reminder of their less than amorous foalhood days, rather, continuing to check on the sweets she had prepared. Satisfied the pastry was now cool enough to serve she scooped a helping of the gooey brown and syrup covered treat, topped with a single sliced strawberry, set at just an angle so's it looked like a lopsided heart. A heart her mistress continued to bite into greedily, figuratively, as Diamond Tiara set the treat by Apple Bloom as she went about to fetch Apple Bloom the morning paper...
"I mean, who don't wanna own their business, have the respect of every pony 'round, and eating all these fantastic strawberry treats—which I gotta say for some pony who used to be so prickly, and snooty, all the time to me and mah friends, you make some pretty good sweets. And here I was just gonna let you be my servant for a few weeks just to get some petty payback on yas. Kharma sure is a sweet one ain't it, Diamond?"
Diamond Tiara spat the newspaper onto the table before Apple Bloom, Apple Bloom 'rewarding' her with a friendly pat on the head. Hearing the coffee kettle piping it's steamy tune she quickly headed to ready her Mistress' morning coffee. Denying Apple Bloom her morning pleasure of seeing Diamond's face scrunch up at the false praise.
"Why, honestly I don't know what I was thinking then, I used to say Scoots was crazy fer wanting me to let you move into the farm," Apple Bloom flipped through a few pages of her morning paper, settling in on the Market News. "I never understood that pegasus. The one minute she's ready to wallop ya for so much as looking at her wrong, the next she's all sentimental and bleeding heart on ya singing how we should try and see things from the others' perspective. That girl 's just too trusting sometimes."
*smash*
"Well, ain't we the butter hooves today."
Diamond Tiara bit her lip, coffee having scald her hoof from the splash resulting from the mug she absentmindedly let slip. She couldn't afford to get distracted, she ignored the thoughts running through her mind and continued about cleaning the mess she made. Once settled she fixed a new cup of coffee for the Mistress.
"But I have to hand it to that pegasus, thanks to her I wouldn't be here right now. Guess we got Scoots to thank for our good fortune, eh, Diamond? Life sure is good. And don't y'all worry none, I'm a mare of my word. Sure I tease ya, tis only right after all, but long as you stay loyal to me, and don't go blabbing to mah sis, I'll continue to keep ya round."
Diamond Tiara nodded, the spoon making clinking sounds as she stirred the coffee in the mug, all the while slipping in as much spit as she could without it being too noticeable. Wiping her chin with a hoof as she made a pass to drop the spoon within the sink.
"Why, with your advice I was able to improve Sweet Apple Acres production quite nicely. I mean, once you get the hang o' it I hardly needed your advice, my ideas were just as good and came out even better."
Diamond Tiara set the coffee on the table next to the chocolate coated brown strawberry shortcake. Giving Apple Bloom the most genuine smile she could muster, "Enjoy your breakfast, Ma'am."
"Thank ya kindly!" said, Apple Bloom.
Diamond stood and watched Apple Bloom dig into her shortcake. It wasn't long before Apple Bloom had reached the gooey center. That was always the best part. Diamond Tiara had become quite the baker since moving in with the Apples. Using a few tips and an old recipe Diamond's mother and her shared making back during Diamond's foalhood days, the same recipe she had baked for her father every Father's Day. This was a day Diamond wouldn't miss for the world.
Apple Bloom, upon reaching the bottom of the treat, began to feel a bit off. The more she ate the more her body trembled. A strange and powerful aftertaste was beginning to take hold, a rather powerful flavor that swept across her mouth and the back of her throat the more the chocolate and coconut shavings became less distinct upon her pony tongue.
"Diamond, what did you do to this cake? It tastes like... it smells awful... oh my stars, I feel sick."
"Oh, I don't know. There's shaved coconuts, shaved cocoa with chocolate syrup, strawberries, lots of strawberries, and a little something Winona left a few days ago. I can't say, really. Must have been too much coconut shavings." Diamond said, her face still plastered with that same smile.
Apple Bloom could say nothing, her face a sickly pale yellow. "It was definitely NOT the co-" Apple Bloom burped, a burp that offended her nostrils so intensely she could have vomited there and then. Desperate to clean the taste of the bile and musky burp taste in her mouth, she reached for the coffee and rinsed her mouth and tongue best she could of the lingering taste, all but ignoring the slimy texture she had only begun to notice as she rinsed her mouth clean of the taste, not before swallowing however. Apple Bloom was mortified, all she could do was stare at the mare across the table from herself with teary eyes, yet Diamond stood. Unmoving. Unblinking. Just smiling that forced smile she gave her every morning.
Apple Bloom bolted to the kitchen sink, retching up all she could of the offending treats.
Diamond Tiara removed her rags, turned from the sobbing mare in the sink, and made her way out the kitchen. As she passed through the double-doors of the kitchen, Applejack spoke up from the bottom of the stairs.
"I get that mah sister ain't the nicest to ya'll in the mornings, but I don't think that gives ya a right to poison her. You didn't really..."
"Pfft. 'Course not. She'll be fine, nothing more than some bad alfalfa spruced up with a few spices to get the tummy rumbling, and a little something to bring out the slimy aftertaste. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a pegasus I need to talk to. I guess I'll see you around, Applejack."
"Aw, shucks. Well, you know the door is always open for ya, Diamond. Take long as ya need, I'll deal with my little sis. She's gotten mighty full 'o self these past couple years, I hardly blame ya but I do wish you two'd get along better. You're family now, you know that right? All's you have to do is come talk to me if'n you feel bothered."
"Thanks, Applejack. I'll think about it."
"APPLE~JAACK~!" cried Apple Bloom, from within the kitchen.
"Well, best 'o luck to ya Diamond. Just know you this *is* your home, too."
Diamond Tiara smiled, a soft sincere smile before making her way out of the Apple Family mansion.
"APPLEJACK!" Cried Apple Bloom once more.
"I'm a' comin'!" These girls are gonna be the end of me one these days.
THE END...
Author's Note
Funny how you go from a few words to a few hundred and before you know it you've hit over twelve-hundred words.
Whatismylife
Hope you enjoyed this short little interpretation. Originally it was going to have a bit of a somber tone, but, I really didn't want to get into the details of how Diamond drove away a lot of her father's investors due to her young age and overly direct business tactics. Much less where her father is in this 10 years later interpretation.
Originally there was going to be a sort of darker tone to why Apple Bloom had DT working as her personal maid, behind AJ's and her Brother's back, bringing up a touchy subject. But again, that's something I'd like to steer clear of if only to save me from turning this into something I'd actually have to dedicate more time than I'm normally allowed to have to myself.
Also, the Scootaloo 'subplot' is left to interpretation. Anyone is happy to take the reigns from here and make their own game of it. Diamond did have half a mind to 'thank' the orange pegasus, but who knows. A lot of their history from their youth up to their current timeline is all up to interpretation. I prefer it that way honestly.
I hope to see others do their own take on this artist's picture in our thread over here Picture Interpretation Game Thread #1
