Diamond Tiara trotted out of her empty home, she had lost it all without fully realizing the extent of her actions. She was never a sweet pony like Sweetie Belle or athletic like Scootaloo she was just a spoiled brat that had no respect for anypony throughout her life. She tried to seek redemption, find new friends and stand up for herself but she couldn’t help herself. Her life was a failure.
She had no intention to hurt anypony, she just wanted to be love but love was nothing she could fully grasp; it just hung there taunting her as other ponies indulged in its magnificence. She had abused all her life and was sick and tired of constantly being shunned for it by everypony she had wronged. She was, at least in her eyes a changed mare.
The midnight breeze brought a feeling of freedom to the mare as she trotted down the streets of Ponyville. She would often walk for miles at a time just to reflect on her dark past and try to make sense of what was reversible and what she knew she could never change no matter what she did. Silver Spoon left her after she poked fun at her for being a follower with no individualism. She regretted that day, the day when she started her downfall; crashing to the ground like a paper airplane thrown into an empty classroom with nopony at her side. She bucked the system all her life and the system was only starting to buck her back. Call it karma or revenge from the unsatisfied celestial beings above, it mattered not, her life was a living hell.
Tonight she took a different route; she had heard rumours of an abandoned castle deep within the Everfree forest that belonged to Princess Luna and Celestia in the past. Curiosity getting the best of her as always, she decided to have a look to verify its legitimacy.
The Everfree forest was vast with its plant life draping it into eternal darkness, it was tough for her to see through the weeds and overgrown trees that blocked her path but still she kept going. Ignoring all the obvious warnings of danger she had been preached when she was a child, she trotted deeper and deeper within its maze.
~
After what seemed like miles of pointless walking, she decided to take a quick break before heading back into her shelter which barely seemed like a home to her. Her father always told her that money could buy her anything but was he ever wrong; money could never buy back her life. She thought of all the different choices she would have made when she was a filly if she had the knowledge she possessed at the moment back then.
Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of something in the distance. It seemed to have disappeared almost as soon as it revealed itself and this sparked Diamond Tiara’s curiosity once more. She decided to make way in the direction of her sighting, presuming that it was an animal but she had to be sure. As she trotted towards the initial spot where she saw the mysterious shadow, she noticed something much larger in front of her. The castle stood before her, luring her to mystery.
~
The door creaked as she proceeded to open it; picturing an old abandon haunted mansion within her mind from old fillytales she had read when she was younger. As always, curiosity got the best of her and she felt something out of her control make her next movements, closing the door behind her.
Almost instantly she could hear noises coming from one of the rooms; at first she thought her mind had conjured them up but they kept repeating.
CRACK!
The sounds of floorboards creaking under the pressure of unknown hoofs instantly caught her attention, sending shivers down her spine. Deciding to leave the desolate remnants of the castle, she tried opening the door but it wouldn’t budge. She then proceeded to bucking it but it still had yet to come off its hinges. Defeated, she advanced in the building to see if she could find another exit to lead her out of the dark.
Out of the corner of her eye she spotted the figure of something lurking in the shadows. Advancing towards it, Diamond Tiara’s face lost its colour as she stood petrified at the sight before her. A brilliant figure of an earth pony illuminated the room, luring her as it trotted up the stairs. She had been mesmerized by its divinity and before she knew it; she was on the top level of the castle where three four other figures awaited her. She recognized them but they weren’t…they couldn’t be…
The figures resembled the Cutie Mark Crusaders: Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Babs Seed. The fifth figure finally revealed its identity, it was Silver Spoon!
“I’m so sorry for what I did to you…I didn’t mean to hurt you…I just wanted to feel loved!”
No response.
“Please forgive me, I promise, I will leave you alone. All I ever wanted was a friend!”
No response.
The five illusive ponies began trotting up to Diamond Tiara until she was backed up upon the windowsill of the highest room in the castle.
“Forgive me Celestia…”
She fell, plummeting from the top of the ruins of the once lively castle. She fell for what seemed like minutes, recalling all the memories that she had. Oh how much of a pain she had been, a burden to her parents and an outcast of society. All of her memories had been dark; she was always in pain throughout her life. Tonight that pain would end.
~
Waking up drenched in sweat from her constant tossing and turning in her sleep, she got up and walked up to her windowsill. Dawn had yet to come and the dream was still fresh in her memory. Contemplating to jump, she thought once more about all the horrible things she had done in her life but these thoughts were equally matched by the opportunity at her redemption.
Closing her windowsill, she trotted up to her bed to sleep once again but slumber never came. Her thoughts were brewing a storm within her head. What would she leave behind? Is life really all about money and fame?
These thoughts went on for hours until dawn finally lit up her room. Today would be different, today she could start anew.
