A change of pace Ch 1
Filthy Rich watched as the repo ponies took all that he had strived for over the years; his bed, the lamps, the bookshelves - everything all gone within a blink of an eye. Mr. Rich had been working on a risky but very beneficial business deal that, had he have pulled off correctly, would of doubled his profits. Filthy sighed as the ponies piled his belongings on what used to be his lawn.
This was no longer his home; he had been forced to sell it and relocate. Unfortunately for him, his daughter would not be pleased when she returned home today. He had managed to get the joy of his life, Diamond Tiara, to school before the repo ponies had arrived at his front steps. The only things that he had been able to keep were the business papers of his former agreements and about 1000 bits.
When Diamond Tiara arrived, she was covered in mud. She paid no attention to her father. All she was focused on was her need to take a shower.
"Diamond, come here," he told her daughter.
As much as she didn't want to talk to him without first taking a much needed shower, she turned around and, feigning happiness, said, "Yes, Daddy?"
Mr. Rich needed a few seconds to contemplate on how he was going to break the news about their predicament to her, and after much stuttering he started, "There’s been a slight problem and because of it, we no longer live here" he said as he motioned his hooves over to his once prestigious manor.
Diamond was stumped, stupefied even. "What do you mean we no longer live here? I've spent my entire life living in here, and now, out of the blue, you tell me that our house is no longer ours." The once rich stallion tried to calm his little princess down but to no avail. “And to top it all off I have mud all over me and my tiara broke." Tears began to form in Diamond Tiara's eyes. She tried to hold them back and keep her voice from cracking but eventually she had enough and resorted to crying.
Not wanting to see his little filly cry, he gave her a hug. "There, there, little princess. Everything will be ok. "Filthy reached into his saddlebag, pulling out a hair clip. Gently he placed it to his daughter’s head. "This was your mother’s; she left me this to give to you. I know it’s no replacement for your tiara, but I hope this will suffice until I have enough money to buy you a new one.”
Diamond stopped crying momentarily to stare at her dad's face. "Really?” she asked.
"Yes. Hold on to it. As long as you have it everything will be alright.”
Diamond knew her father was making a foal attempt to cheer her up, but yet it still worked. She rubbed her hooves on her eyes to get rid of the excess tears and, between sniffles, said, "where do we live now?"
Filthy chuckled nervously. "Yeah, about that..."
"WHAT?" Diamond said as she and her father, arrived at their new home. "You expect me to live in a barn like Apple Bloom and her kooky family?”
Filthy nodded. "Yes at least until I can strike another business deal or we make enough money to move out on our own."
Diamond stared at the decaying barn with anger. She would not stand for this; the place practically looked like a death trap. The wood that encompassed the outer side of the barn had holes in it, the ground was lumpy instead of straight, and thanks to the holes, she could see the inside was just as bad.
As she entered the decrepit barn the first thing she noticed was the state of the furniture. It looked dusty and old. As she ran her hoof across the sofa, it seemed to coincide with that. The sofa creaked under her hoof and layers of dust were scraped onto her as a result.
Fed up with the furniture she began to climb the steps. The first couple of stairs groaned from years of disuse and the noise only proceeded to grow louder as she climbed further. Before she could reach the final steps however the second last board broke under her weight.
“Dad, one of the steps are broken,” she yelled down to her father.
“Ignore it for now, sweetie. Well get it fixed eventually,” he replied back.
With a small groan, she stepped over it and took a look at the top floor’s rooms. Small murmurs of disgust escaped her mouth as she noticed each of the rooms to looked just like the rest of the house. She made a mental note of which one of the three rooms she preferred the most.
“Dad, I’m going to take the first room to the right of the stairs, okay?”
“Sure. Whatever you like, Princess.”
Still dirty from the day’s events, she decided that a shower might wash some of her troubles away. Since there were no bathrooms upstairs, Diamond headed back downstairs to find one there.
The bathroom was just as dirty as the rest of the house but with a suspicious green slime covering most of the walls. Luckily for her the inside of the tub wasn't dirty. As she got in the tub she moved her hoof to the knob of the shower. She tried to turn it with all her might but it appeared that the knobs were rusted shut.
“I can’t believe I‘m about to do this.”
As a last resort, she used her mouth to turn the knob. As she tried turning it her mouth began to ache with the strain and pressure she was applying. With a screech it gave way but she was caught off guard. It turned unexpectedly fast resulting in her head slamming on the bottom of the bathtub. To her the room was spinning really quickly and to alleviate this she rubbed her head with one of her hooves. Before she could completely regain her senses the water began to pour out of the shower head.
The water was extremely cold. She immediately began to fiddle with the knobs in an attempt to get some hot water coming out. After much fiddling, she decided that it was no use. She took her cold shower as quickly as she could, making sure to get the mud and dust off of herself.
After her shower she went immediately to her father to talk about their current living conditions. She found him in the kitchen making a small dinner that consisted of a salad and a bottle of water.
"Dad, there’s no hot water in the shower," she complained.
Filthy’s face turned into one of embarrassment. “I'm sorry, Diamond. I forgot to tell you that we won't have hot water for a while.
“Also I forgot to mention that we will have to produce crops as a way of sustaining ourselves from now on.”
“What do you mean?”
“As you know I don't have much money left, and because of that I need you to grow crops while I work on trying to regain my business.”
Tears began to form in her eyes and her face turned into one of anger.
“Isn’t it already bad enough that I have to live here?”
“I’m sorry that this is the way it has to be, Diamond, but I need to spend all my time on regaining the money I lost.”
Diamond knew that this was for the best but the more she imagined herself doing farm work the more she imagined herself becoming like Apple Bloom.
“But farm work is disgusting.”
“Diamond, I know that I’m taking you a bit out of your comfort zone, but if you bare with it I promise to buy you whatever you want later.”
Diamond thought about it for a moment. Although she would have to subject to farm work now the benefits of buying whatever she wanted later seemed promising.
“Fine, I’ll plant crops for us.”
Filthy smiled and said. "Great. Now to help you with the field, I’ve enlisted the help of Applejack she said that she would teach you how to take care of the crops."
While Diamond didn’t much care for the younger Apple sibling, she respected the older two. If it’ll help get the manor back faster, she supposed she could tolerate Applejack’s lessons.
Dinner was eaten in mild silence as only the sound of mouth’s crunching was heard. Once finished Diamond Tiara excused herself from the table but not before her father said one last thing.
“Applejack will be arriving bright and early tomorrow so you should go to bed early.”
“Okay, Dad I’ll see you in the morning.”
Filthy hugged his daughter and kissed her on the forehead.
“Everything will be just fine,” he whispered into her ears.
Diamond was in no mood to reply to that so she just left her dad in the kitchen and made her way to her room. She slipped into her bed and the first thing she noticed was how bumpy it felt. It was as if she was sleeping on rocks, and her sheets were very thin, making her cold as well.
After a while she felt something crawling along her body, and when the crawling feeling got to her face, she opened her eyes to find that a spider was staring back at her. She hesitated for a moment as her brain computed what was on her face. With a loud shriek, she fainted onto her bed, knocked out by the entirety of the day’s events.
Chapter 2
The sun had barely crept over the horizon when Diamond Tiara got out of bed.
She had spent the entire night frightened of the spider that had crawled on her. It was the biggest spider she had ever seen, and she still couldn't stop thinking about the way its tiny legs felt on her coat. It gave her chills each time it crossed her mind.
Seeing how she would have to start her day soon, she began to go over how she would prepare for it. Normally, when she woke up, the first thing she would do was take a shower, followed by breakfast. Dreading the cold water she had felt the day before, she quickly dismissed the idea of her usual routine and decided to skip straight to breakfast.
Diamond Tiara got out of her bed quickly and made her way to the kitchen, thankful to be out of her spider-infested room.Immediately she went straight for the cupboard. Back at her old home, the cupboard had held cereal, her preferred breakfast. She was glad to see that her new cupboard was just like her old one in that regard.
And not only was there cereal, but it was her favorite cereal, frosted oats. After silently thanking her father for a small shred of her old life, she pulled the cereal out of the cupboard and set it on the table. Diamond Tiara then looked around for a bowl and a spoon, finding both in the cabinets next to the refrigerator.
The sound of the sweetened oats hitting the bowl was like music to her ears. She never knew that something as simple as a box of cereal could give her so much joy and nostalgia.
Smiling contently, she brought out a carton of milk from the fridge and poured its contents into the bowl.
After giving thanks, she dug wholeheartedly into the bowl, savoring every sweet and crunchy bite. The sound of munching was the only thing heard throughout the entire house.
Soon the sound of somepony knocking on the front door broke Diamond out of her crunching.
"Francois, can you please answer the front door?" Diamond asked.
Not hearing a reply she stopped eating and looked up.
"Francois, I said... Oh right."
Eating cereal had made Diamond forget about her current surroundings. In her mind, she had been back at her manor, getting ready for what the day had in store for her, but the ugly truth tore the illusion apart when she didn't hear a reply from her butler.
With a small sigh, she got up from her seat and headed toward the door. Opening it revealed Applejack, the most hardworking and dependable pony she knew besides herself.
"Howdy, Diamond Tiara. Are you ready to get to work?"
"No, I'm eating a bowl of cereal right now. Is it okay if we start after I've eaten?"
"Sure, you wouldn’t mind if I took a look inside would you."
“No, be my guests,” Diamond said, stepping aside.
Applejack entered and looked around. She grimaced at the state of the inside of the barn.
"Land-sakes, this barn looks like it's been through a tornado. Maybe even two."
Diamond was paying no attention to what Applejack said. She was too busy enjoying the rest of her cereal.
Applejack turned around when she didn’t get a response. She saw that Diamond take a big spoonful of her cereal and just shook her head. She does seem to be taking this well. Not wanting to disturb her, AJ decided to look through the rest of Diamond’s new home. The she saw, the more disgusted she became.
"No pony deserves to live in these conditions," Applejack said out loud.
"Hmm," she said as she tried to think of a way to better the living conditions around her.
Finally an idea came to her. She knew exactly how to make Diamond’s barn better. It would take some time and a little planning, but if it made Diamond feel a bit more at home in her surroundings, it would be worth it.
Back in the kitchen Diamond completed her bowl of cereal. She washed her spoon bowl and placed them back where she had found them.
“Applejack?” Diamond called out, wondering where the farm pony went.
After no response she decided to go look for her. She hadn't heard the door open again so she figured Applejack wasn't too far from where she last saw her. After searching for a couple minutes, she walked by her father’s room and heard muffled voices coming from it. Curious as to what was going on inside she knocked on the door.
“Come in,” she heard her father say.
Once inside she saw that Applejack and her father had been talking about something.
“Diamond did you happen to hear what we were saying?” Her father asked her.
“No, I was just wondering who you were talking to.”
“Applejack it was nice talking to you again, and the idea you came up with is genius,” Mr. Rich said, Smiling and shaking her hoof.
“You to Mr.Rich,” Applejack said as she shook his hoof smiling as well.
Diamond, seeing as how both her father and Applejack were smiling felt happy as well.
“Alright Diamond,” Aj said turning to her, “let’s get going, that field isn’t gonna get itself ready for planting.”
With a nod from Diamond they both went outside and started working.
Once outside AJ looked around and saw that their was a bunch of things that didn’t need to be their. The ground was bumpy, rocks were scattered everywhere, vines jutting out at random places, and even a broken wheel.
“This field’s a mess. How about we get rid of all this debris that’s lounging about? After all anything we plant now would need a miracle for it to grow.”
Diamond nodded, and they both headed in the direction of the biggest rock on the field.
“I’m gonna start with this big fella right here,” she said as she put her hooves on it. “ You can start moving the smaller things out of the way.”
Diamond nodded and looked around for anything that she could move. Just a bit of walking distance away, she could see a bit of a broken wooden wheel sticking out of the ground. She made her way over to it, watching her step the entire time. Upon closer inspection she saw that the wheel was covered in what looked like green slime. Hesitantly she tapped it with her hoof and recoiled slightly as a piece of the icky goop stuck onto her fur.
“Ew,” she said as she tried to shake the slime off her hoof. I can't believe I have to do this, she thought as the slime wouldn’t detach itself from her hoof. She took a sniff of it and gagged immediately.
I’ll never be able to get this smell out of my hooves, she thought as she placed her hooves on the wheel and tried to pull it out.
The wheel’s slime was really slippery, making her hooves slip off a couple times. As she lost her grip again she landed on the ground. She stood up and dusted the dirt off of her coat while she stared at the wheel, trying to think of a way to move it. Inevitably she came to the realization that there was only one way she was going to be able to get a good enough grip on it. She was going to have to use her mouth.
Immediately she wanted to toss the idea out of her head. A pony such as her shouldn’t have to use her own mouth for something disgusting like manual labor. Especially when the wheel itself was appalling to even touch with her hooves let alone her mouth. She couldn't do it. She wouldn’t do it. But… her father was counting on her. With all that had gone wrong for him recently, she couldn’t disappoint him, not now. She had no choice.
Scrunching her nose, she looked the wheel over, trying to find the least slime-covered part. Reaching out, she tentatively bite the wheel, stopping to grimace at the first contact with the slick surface. “For Daddy,” she thought to herself, as she committed herself and bit down hard.
The filly underestimated how deep the wheel was and this lead to it slipping out of her mouth. Unfortunately for her the slime that had been on the wheel that she bit on was now in her mouth. She quickly spat as much of it out as she could while detesting the flavor that it left. It tasted like an apple that had been left out to dry and had been rolled in trash for several years.
She spat a couple more times before gritting her teeth and saying “stupid wheel.”
She braced herself once more and tried again. This time she could feel the wheel slowly edge its way out of the ground. Finally, after adding a little bit more force, Diamond was able to free it from the ground. She then carried it to the end of the field in triumph and spat it out with hatred.
“Take that wheel, no one bests Diamond Dazzle Tiara and gets away with it,” to show her dominance over it even more, she stepped on it a couple times before moving on.
She continued to remove debris until the field was clear of any unwanted items. Throughout the time she was cleaning she imagined what she would be doing at this time if she hadn't lost her home. She imagined herself sitting at the front of the TV flipping through the channels. She knew that she never found anything to watch but the simple act of laying down on her couch watching television appealed to her so much at this moment.
She awoke out of her daze to find that Applejack had been trying to get her attention. Looking around she also saw that most of the unwanted debris had been cleared and the sun had risen pretty high in the sky.
"Yes, Applejack?"
"You alright, sugar cube? You were spaced out for a minute there."
"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just day dreaming of better days."
"You know what Diamond we have been working for a long time, maybe you should take a break. I wouldn’t want you over-exerting yourself on the first day. I need to head back to the barn anyway to pick up some equipment, okay?"
"Okay."
Diamond Tiara watched as Applejack walked off, and once she couldn’t see her anymore, she walked to her front door. She stopped a couple times noticing that her hooves ached with pain every time she took a step.
Once inside, she let out a big yawn. She was tired as well as sore, she realized. She let herself collapse onto the couch. it was more comfortable than she had expected, and best of all no spiders. She stretched herself out upon it, sighing contentedly. She’d just wait here until Applejack’s return, she decided.
Filthy Rich was up in his room. He had modeled out to look like his old office. It didn't look exactly like his office, of course, but he made due with a broken desk and squeaky rolling chair. Being a pony from the upper class, he didn't like his living conditions one bit. Still, he knew it was only temporary so he focused his attention back on the papers that lay scattered around his desk.
He had contacted many of his old business partners already, but they've all turned him away. Most had laughed in his face when he said that he was bankrupt, thinking it was a joke. When they realized that he was telling the truth, they canceled any agreement they had with him, even going so far as to rip up their contracts for good measure.
The only thing that had lifted him from his despair was the kindness of Applejack and her family. When he told them that he had gone bankrupt and might not be able to uphold their deal, they had been supportive. Granny Smith had helped him find a new home that was cheap (and for good reason). With all that had gone wrong, it was comforting to know that he at least still had a roof over his head.
After staring at the remains of his business deals one last time, he got up and headed out of his room. He wanted some fresh air, hoping it would clear his mind.
As he made his way down the stairs, he noticed the slumbering form of his little princess on the couch. She looked so peaceful in her sleep that he couldn't help but go over to her. Once he was near enough he rubbed his hoof in her mane affectionately and kissed her on the forehead. His smile brightened when he saw her smile in her sleep.
After looking at her for just a little longer, he made his way outside. He was surprised to see how much cleaner the field looked. It made him happy that his little girl still followed directions and gave her all into anything that she set her mind on. He had been worried for the longest time that he had spoiled his little girl too much but seeing the field changed his mind.
He decided that if his little Diamond was working this hard then he would work hard as well, if not for his sake, then for hers. With that in mind, he returned to his office and began to work again.
Diamond awakened when she felt a hoof shaking her gently. Opening her eyes she realized that the hoof rubbing her was Applejack’s.
"Hey there, sleepy head. It's time to get back to work," Applejack said in a low voice.
"Just five more minutes," Diamond said as she tried to make herself comfortable on the couch again.
"I can't let you do that, sugar cube. You need to get your farm up and running, and I can only help you with that. I'm not going to do all the work for you."
With a sigh Diamond got off the couch and rubbed her eyes. Once she was ready, Applejack and Diamond made their way outside.
The tiara-less filly was confused by what she saw. The field before her was now flat and tilled.
"What happened? I thought the land was all bumpy?"
"I decided that having you till the soil would be too much work for one filly alone so I did it for you."
“Thank you, Applejack. You really didn’t have to. I could’ve done it.”
AJ chuckled and placed her hoof over Diamond and said “I’m sure you could’ve, but I think you’d like to do something else even more.”
Diamond smiled and said, “What would that be?”
Applejack smiled and said, "This here’s the easy part. All you have to do is take some seeds and plant them. If I remember correctly, your father mentioned he had some you should go ask him for some."
Diamond Tiara nodded and said, "Can do."
She quickly made her way into her home and up the staircase to her father’s room. Before entering, she knocked, making sure that she knocked loud enough to be heard but soft enough so as not to be annoying.
"Come in," she heard her father say.
Once in his room, she noticed that he was writing frivolously on a piece of parchment. When he stopped to look at her she said, "Daddy I need some seeds to plant in the field."
"Yes, of course. Check the drawer over there and choose any seeds you like. No matter which you choose each has been magically enhanced to grow completely in about a month."
Making her way to her father’s cabinets, she found a plethora of seeds. She looked at each seed package carefully. There were water melon seeds, apple seeds, lemon, seeds mango seeds, and peach seeds. She decided that she wanted to plant peach trees because the fruit matched the color of her coat.
"Thank you, Daddy," she said as she exited the room.
"Anything for my little princess," he replied back.
With the packets of peach seeds on her back, she returned to Applejack.
"So which seeds are we planting?" Applejack asked excitedly.
"Peach seeds."
“Those some of yer father’s magic seeds?”
“Uh-huh.”
"That's a good fruit to start out with. Now I need you to come over here," she said as she motioned for her to come near the start of the tilled soil.
"The secret to planting seeds is to put more than one seed inside the hole. This betters your chances of a tree to grow."
Diamond nodded in understanding. She then opened one packet of seeds and put five of them within the first hole. She used her hoof to cover the seeds in dirt and then continued to the next hole.
Diamond spent about an hour planting seeds and after about fifteen minutes she enjoyed it. Never before had she spent time on gardening. she thought it was useless to plant anything, but now she felt a connection with the earth around her in ways that she couldn't describe. It was as if she had found something that she had lost a long time ago.
Applejack took notice of the change in Diamond’s demeanor. It reminded her of when she first began farming. Big Mac had helped her plant her first Apple tree, and she had spent countless days and nights wondering when it would grow. It was a passion that she found in Applebloom from time to time and one she found gave her a lot of joy when she saw it in others. The farm pony smiled as she continued to guide Diamond by planting her own row of seeds parallel to hers.
Once the last seed was planted, Applejack went over to a nearby cart where her supplies were and pulled out a watering can.
"Here, Diamond. The last thing you have to do is water the land."
“The last thing?” Diamond asked pouting her lips. She was getting to like the idea of farming a lot more than she thought she would have, and though she would was tired, she didn’t want it to end just yet.
“Yup, but dont’cha worry, sugar cube. There’s plenty more farming to do in the days ahead,” Applejack said.
“Plus Ah reckon you’ll be plumb tuckered out by the time the watering’s done.”
Taking the can from Applejack, Diamond Tiara pouted, as she poured water onto the soil for her row. Applejack grabbed a bucket from her cart and filled it with water from a nearby stream. Everytime Diamond ran out of water, Applejack had her bucket filled for her to replenish. By the time she had emptied the watering can for the fifth time, Diamond was glad for Applejack’s help. Water was surprisingly heavy when in a container considerably larger than a drinking glass. She doubted she would have had the strength to water all the seeds if she had had to bring the water all the way to the field herself.
Never the less, Diamond still grew tired from carrying her can. Her mouth started to ache, and she paused to take a short break to massage her mouth. Looking around she groaned as she saw that she was only halfway done with the first row. Picking up the can, she continued, stopping more and more frequently to take a quick break. The sun began to set as Diamond placed the watering can on the cart.
"Nice job today, Diamond Tiara. You did well for your first time."
"Thank you, Applejack. Will you be here tomorrow?"
"I’d like to, but I have to make sure Big Mac isn’t shirking his work. All the seeds have been planted, so you should take tomorrow off."
"Alright. Thanks for helping me," Diamond said as she reflected on the day’s events. She was glad that she was given a break after all the watering she had done.
"No problem."
With that ending the conversation, Diamond helped hitch Applejack to the wagon and headed into her home as AJ walked to her own. Diamond couldn’t wait to tell her father about her day. She even barged into his office just to do it.
Filthy smiled at how animated Diamond was when speaking of her work today. He had always known that his daughter would do great things and seeing as how she was getting used to one of the worst things to happen her, he was glad. They spoke more as dinner was ready to eat.
“You know Diamond, earth ponies do have a natural affinity with the earth. Maybe that’s what you're feeling?”
“Really?” Diamond asked. “Have you ever felt something like that?”
“Yes, I have. One time, my dad thought I was being too self-centered, so he made me stay with my aunt and uncle. During my time with them, I learned how to farm as well as keep the habit of going early to bed and waking up early.”
Mr. Rich smiled as the memory of that time came flooding back to him.
“It was one of the best months of my life, now that I think about it.”
“Is that why you're such good friends with the Apple family?”
Filthy nodded, “That's partly why. They're also very nice ponies. I knew Applejack’s father back when we were kids. He always stood up for me when I was getting picked on. I never understood why. I was always mean to him. He paused, a slight frown forming on his lips. “One of my biggest regrets in life is that i never got to tell him how thankful I was that he was there, before… before his untimely demise.”
Diamond then hugged her father, “I’m sorry to hear that Dad.”
Filthy hugged his daughter back. “It’s okay. You live and learn I guess. I made some bad decisions. All I can do now is live with them and try not to repeat them.”
After their hug, they finished what was left of their dinner. Diamond headed straight for her room, and as she was about to go on her bed, she remembered the spider.
She looked around for it but couldn't see it anywhere. The pink filly didn't want to take any chances so she made her way to her father’s room.
"Dad, can I sleep with you?"
"Of course you can, but why?"
"I saw a spider in my room, and I'm kind of scared."
With that said she snuggled into her dad's arms and said, "Good night, Dad."
"Good night, my little princess," he replied as he kissed her forehead, holding her gently until she went to sleep. Once she did he slowly drifted into dream land as well.
Chapter 3
When Diamond awoke from her sleep she noticed that her father wasn't around. Getting up from the bed, she yawned and rubbed her eyes.
Once she was fully awake, she noticed that their was a note on her father's desk. Upon closer inspection it was a note addressed to her.
The little filly grabbed the note and began to read what was written on it.
Dear Diamond, I know today is your day off from working in the fields, so I suggest getting out of the house and maybe hanging out with your friends. As for myself I'll be out for most of the day.
Stay safe, and I’ll see you soon. Love Your Father.
P.S. There's food in the kitchen if you're hungry.
Diamond put the note down and headed for the kitchen. She wasn't worried about her father much, he had the tendency of leaving her home alone a lot over her life. Eventually she had gotten used to it.
When Diamond reached the kitchen she was surprised to see some pancakes and eggs for her on the table. The note did say there was food in the kitchen but she assumed that he meant in general.
Not about to waste the good fortune that was on her plate, she quickly found a fork and a knife to eat it with.
They were still warm and very delectable. Diamond decided that she wanted to savor every single bite because she figured that she wouldn't have the chance of eating them much.
Once finished, she put her dishes in the dishwasher and headed outside.
Diamond decided that she hadn't seen Silver Spoon in a couple days and was wondering what she was doing lately. With a destination set she walked to Silver Spoon’s manor.
Just being near the manor made Diamond think about her old life. The memories of what happened only a week ago were still ingrained in her memory. It was about this time last week she and Silver were on a private airship drinking tea.
She sighed at the memory and finally walked the last couple of steps up to the door of the manor.
When she made her way up the short flight of steps she tapped on the door, awaiting for somepony to open it.
To her surprise it wasn't one of Silver's butlers or Silver herself who opened the door. No, the mare in front of her was in fact Silver Spoon’s older sister, Octavia.
"Good morning Diamond Tiara, I trust you've been well since the last time I saw you."
"Well, not exactly. The last couple of days have been rough for me."
"Oh dear, why don't you come inside and tell me about it over tea."
"Is Silver Spoon home? It would be easier to tell the story to both of you then to re-explain it to her later."
"Yes of course, she's in her room upstairs, you're free to go look for her while I make tea for all of us."
Diamond trotted to and up the stairs, into the upper hallway where Silver Spoon’s room was.
They both hadn't seen each other since the incident with Babs Seed when she had threatened to tell their mother’s about their bullying. The experience had left them both with mud caked fur, and it all toppled down hill from there.
She had to get used to her new home as well as learn how to farm like the Apple family. Needless to say she didn't dislike it as much anymore, but she would still rather be at home enjoying life then working on a farm she never wanted to work on.
Reaching the door to Silver Spoon’s room she knocked on it.
"Spoon, you in there?" She asked as she lowered her hoof back down.
The pink filly heard the sound of rustling paper before the door opened to reveal a gray filly with a bed head.
"Silver, what have you been doing since I last saw you?"
"Sorry Diamond, I was working ahead on this week’s homework when I fell asleep."
Silver Spoon's always finding ways to overachieve.
"Haven't you been wondering where I was yesterday?" Diamond asked.
"I have, but I figured you were doing something important, so I used yesterday to get ahead."
"I lost my home yesterday." Diamond said with a bit of sadness.
"I'm so sorry to hear that," Silver said as she hugged her friend. "If there's anything I could do to help, just say it."
"Can I use your shower?"
"What?" Silver Spoon said surprised.
"My new home’s shower has cold water running through it at all times."
"Of course you can." Silver said still hugging her friend tightly.
"Also you might not want to hold me so tightly. I didn't shower yesterday, and I've been doing farm work."
Silver then pushed herself off of Diamond, letting loose a small "ew" in the process.
"Why would you ever do farm work? You know for a fact that we shouldn't be dirtying our hooves with menial tasks such as those."
"Spoon, my father trusts me to do it, and considering our recent events, it's the least I could do for him. Also farm work is kind of fun."
Silver gasped.
"Diamond, do you actually like getting your hooves dirty? Spending long hours out in the sun?"
"No but..." Diamond hesitated for a moment trying to put what she had felt into words.
"I feel a connection with the earth. It's as if I found a long lost friend that I didn't even knew I had."
Silver looked at her as if she was crazy and then said, "Whatever you say Diamond."
"Well I'm going to use your shower, it'll feel good to have warm water over me again."
"Knock yourself out." Silver said as she sat herself back down at her desk to continue her studies.
Diamond felt a lot more relaxed after her shower. In the mirror she noticed that the mane clip her father had given her was still in her mane.
She lifted her hoof to feel it, while she was doing that she remembered what her father said about it, As long as you have this, everything will be ok.
She smiled softly and said quietly, "I believe you Dad."
Once Diamond was finished with her business in the bathroom she talked to Silver Spoon until Octavia called them both down. They talked about a variety of things, but they both avoided the subject of Babs.
Once all the mares sat at the table, they each took a sip of their delicious tea.
"This tea is lovely Octavia."
"Yeah sis, it is simply divine."
Octavia smiled and said "I'm glad that you both like it. My friend in Canterlot never tasted my tea, so without somepony to taste it, I couldn't tell if it was good or not."
"Sis, you make the best tea. Who cares if that friend of yours never tasted it, it's their loss."
Octavia's smile widened even more at her sister’s comment.
"Thank you Silvy, it means a lot coming from you."
"Octaviaaa~, I told you to stop calling me that!" the filly pouted.
"But if I did, then I wouldn't be able to see the expression you make every time I say it." she said between snickers.
As the two siblings bickered some more Diamond couldn't help but wonder how her own sister was doing. She moved to Manehatten after she got in a fight with their father. Diamond didn't know what it was all about but she still missed her sister terribly. The last time she heard from her was a week ago when she mailed her some of her fashion design sketches.
"So, Diamond, how is everything? Is your father still trying to land that business deal with Rose Luck?"
"Yeah, eventually he was able to talk her into it, but it doesn't matter much anymore. Dad lost all of his business deals."
Octavia gasped, "What happened?"
"I don't know, Dad hasn't told me what happened. I have no idea how we lost our home and all our belongings." Diamond said as she slowly stirred sugar into her cup.
"I just came home one day and bam, we didn't own our house anymore."
"You poor thing. Diamond, if you need any help, we’re here for you."
"But that's not even the worse part," Silver exclaimed, " she has to work like a farmer all day!"
"Silver, are you trying to make our guest feel uncomfortable? What have I told you about respecting what a lady has to do."
"To not make ill comments, even if you don't like it."
"Exactly, now apologize to Diamond Tiara."
"I'm sorry Diamond, I shouldn't have said what I said."
"It's alright, like I said, its not bad once you get the hang of it."
"Oh, so you enjoy farming? I wouldn't take you for a farmer Diamond, but since you enjoy it, I guess it should be no problem for you."
"I didn't either, but aside from our state of living, it's a welcoming change of pace."
"That's good to hear." Octavia said as she took another sip of her tea.
He eyes then widened at the thought of something.
"How about I play a song for the both of you? I haven't played for you both since you were small."
The two filly's nodded and smiled at the prospect of being able to hear Octavia's music again. The gray mare set her teacup on the table and moved toward the case her cello was in.
"I think your going to like this one," she said as she prepared to start, "it always was your favorite."
"Applejack, why didn't you tell me about the state this barn was in sooner?" Rarity said as she looked at the state the inside of Diamond’s home was.
"I'll gladly help a family in need, especially if they have to live in house that looks like this!" She exclaimed as she pointed around.
"That's good to hear but we need to hurry, we don't know when Diamond will be back and this has to be a complete surprise."
"Did someone say surprise?" Pinkie said as she came out of one of the broken floorboards, throwing confetti over the two mildly startled pony's.
"Yes, Pinkie. We need to fix this house before Diamond comes back."
"Okie dokie lokie. My party cannon is on standby and I'll be on the look out for her." She said as she disappeared into the floorboards.
“How about we start with some sort of plan of action? It would be unwise if we just started randomly and it made the house look even worse than it already is.”
“Applejack, nothing can make this house look even worse than it already is.”
One of the wooden planks on the roof fell onto the floor near the two ponies, scaring them.
“Yeah, I think you're right, but I think we still need some more help if we want this barn to be spectacular.” she then put a hoof to her chin as she thought of who could help them.
“Why don’t we ask Twilight?” Rarity said as she shook some dirt off her hoof. “After all, she did plan our last Winter Wrap up pretty well.”
“I think you're onto something Rarity. You go ask Twilight for help while I ask Apple Bloom to help us out.”
“See you back here soon.” she said as they both separated to do their allotted tasks.
Author's Note
Edited By:TheSeeker
