Diamond Tiara Finally Goes Too Far...
"So, what do you want to do to those three losers today?"
Silver Spoon was surprised to see Diamond Tiara turn to look back at her friend with a look of confusion on her face. After a moment, the look changed to one of disbelief, and Di said, "So, you're asking me what we're going to do to get us in even more trouble than we are already?"
The two were sitting, as usual, inside the school, while the other colts and fillies played outside. They had lost their recess privileges a week ago, although Di had forgotten that earlier, and instead had to sit at their desks while Cheerilee graded papers. Big Macintosh was watching the youngsters play, as a favor for the teacher, while she worked.
Losing recess had stung a little, but Silver Spoon had considered it bearable, since she still had her best friend to talk with while they waited for recess to end. It wasn't as if Sil had any other friends, after all. But something had seemed off about Diamond Tiara all day. She seemed to be nervous, yet at the same time, incredibly depressed. That was unlike her: Di had always seemed absolutely self-assured, regardless of the situation.
Still...
"I guess you have a point," Silver Spoon admitted. "I mean, we've already lost recess, and Miss Cheerilee has threatened us with suspension yesterday. The last thing we really need is to get into even more hot water..." In retrospect, it did seem kind of childish to keep making fun of Scootaloo, Sweetie Bell, and Applebloom for not having their cutie marks. After all, they might get them any day now, at which point Sil and Di would both be left looking foolish. "So," she asked, "What would you like to do instead?"
"I don't know," Diamond said, "What would you like to do?"
Now that was definitely odd: Diamond had never asked what Sil wanted to do. It was always what Di wanted. "Well," Silver said, after a moment's thought, "We could go to Sugarcube Corner. I heard they're giving a discount on cupcakes today." Just because Silver Spoon's family was rich didn't mean that her personal supply of money was limitless: her parents had cut her allowance to the bone due to the pair's misbehavior. Sure, it was still more in a week than most ponies got in a year, but still...
Well, Di wasn't likely to go for it, though: she was almost always on a diet...
"Sure," Di said, nodding. "That sounds good."
Cheerilee, smiling, surprisingly enough, stood up holding two test papers in her hoof. She walked over and gave one to Sil, and said, "A solid B+, Silver Spoon. Much better than last time. Keep up the good work."
Silver Spoon blushed a little bit at the praise. She had worked hard for that grade. Her parents had told her that if she got a B or higher on her next test, they'd raise her allowance back to what it once was. It was good to know her hard work hadn't been wasted.
Turning to Diamond Tiara, Cheerilee's grin grew wider, and placed the paper down on the desk. Sil couldn't believe her eyes: A+, a perfect score. Diamond Tiara never got anything above a C-. In fact, she almost always got a D-. She'd never seen the point of actually studying for a test. Surprisingly enough, Di seemed proud of herself, smiling for the first time all day.
And then, Cheerilee, chucking with good humor, asked, "Who are you, and what have you done with Diamond Tiara?"
Silver Spoon was about to laugh, when Diamond Tiara, her face a mask of absolute horror, screamed, then jumped out of her chair, and ran for one of the windows. She leapt, and slammed directly into the glass, knocking herself out cold. The windows held together, since they were reinforced safety glass: it was a lot cheaper than having to replace the windows every time a dodgeball, baseball, or whatever went astray, after all. The moment she hit the ground, she changed...
Lying on the ground, were once had been Silver Spoon's best friend, was a young changeling.
Cheerilee was... stunned, to be honest. She'd heard the two fillies talking, about how they'd go and do something other than making her student's lives miserable, and she'd started to feel genuine joy. All this time, it had seemed like her words had fallen on deaf ears, but here was proof that she was getting through, and the sudden change in their grades had seemed like a cherry on top, but then suddenly...
Silver Spoon, her face just as shocked as her teacher's, asked, "What... what's going on?"
Cheerilee gathered her wits, then admitted, "I'm not sure, but I'm going to find out." Stepping outside, the teacher called Big Macintosh over, and asked him to run over to Twilight Sparkle's place, before calling the rest of the students in. A changeling replacing one of her students was an emergency worthy of royal intervention...
While Mac ran off to get the princess, Cheerilee knelt over the changeling, and checked to make sure the creature wasn't hurt. Thankfully, it seemed she was unharmed: the teacher had heard that the creatures were quite hardy, due to their exoskeletons. Yes, a good knock upside the head might knock them out, but to do lasting harm you'd need much, much worse.
The students began filing in, giving the changeling a look as they came in. Cheerilee told them to take their seats, and read the next chapter of their textbooks quietly while she took care of this.
Twilight Sparkle and Big Macinosh returned just as the changeling was starting to come to. The youngster took one look at the princess, and started screaming again, cowering in fear. At first, what it was shouting made no sense, but after a moment, Cheerilee started to understand what was going on.
"I DIDN'T WANT TO DO IT! SHE MADE ME! I'M SORRY! PLEASE DON'T EAT MY BRAIN!!!"
Twilight Sparkle and Big Macintosh were utterly confused, since they didn't spend much time with Diamond Tiara. Cheeliee, on the other hand, knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, what this was all about.
The teacher asked, "Your highness, do you know where Filthy Rich lives, right?" The princess nodded. "Good. If you could please head over there and check Diamond Tiara's room for me? Oh, and if Diamond is there, please bring her, and her father, over here right away. She has some explaining to do."
The princess raised an eyebrow, but was quick on the uptake. After a moment, she nodded, then flew off. Almost immediately, the changeling relaxed slightly.
Cheerilee turned to look the changeling over: the little bug was... well, exactly what you imagined a young changeling would look like. Putting on her best smile, Cheerilee asked, "Now, while we wait, I have a few questions I'd like to ask. You don't mind, do you?"
The changeling shook its (it's almost impossible to tell the gender of a changeling without asking) head, still nervous. After a moment, the bug said, "I don't mind..."
Cheerilee nodded and asked, "Good. What's your name?"
The changeling said, "My hatching number was 10001110101. The, ah, nurse that was in charge of numbering that day didn't know any other numbers."
That got a giggle from the assembled children, and the changeling couldn't seem to help smiling as well. Cheerilee giggled, then asked, "And what do your friends call you?"
"Stinkbug," the changeling said, a little more confidently.
An eyebrow raised, the teacher asked, "Why would they call you that?"
"When I was really little, me and a group of hatchlings got separated from the swarm, and a chimera came after us. I drew the beast away from the others, so they could run and get help, and then hid in a pool of stinkmud until adults came and chased the monster off." The changeling paused there, wrinkling it's nose at the memory, and said, "I was in there for three hours, before help finally came, and since there wasn't any soap available, the, ah, smell took a long time to go away." Grinning, the changeling said, "But I got a nickname out of it, and usually you have to work for years to get one of those. Instead, I got my nickname before I even got a first name."
Well, that proved that he was a boy, then: only a boy could be proud of being called "Stinky". "And what," Cheerilee asked, "Is 'stinkmud'?"
"It's mud that stinks. You see a lot of it in Stinkmire Bog."
"Right..." Cheerilee said, then, after a moment's thought said, "Well, Stinkbug, while Twilight goes and checks things out, how about you tell me what's going on?" The changeling hesitated. Patting the changeling on the shoulder, Cheerilee said, "I promise, you're not in any trouble right now. I just want to hear your side of things before Diamond Tiara gets here."
After a moment, the changeling nodded, and started explaining...
Diamond Tiara was enjoying her free time. Sure, she'd have to spend the entire day in her room or else she'd get caught, but since her parents had both seen 'her' leave for school today, she could relax, and do whatever she pleased. It was the perfect crime...
Well, that was what she thought, until her father, and Princess Twilight Sparkle, burst in, both of them surprised to see her there.
"Young lady," Daddy said, angrier than Di had ever seen him before, "You are in so much trouble right now."
Cheerilee shook her head, sighing sadly, as the changeling finished his story. She suspected that it was something like that. Still, it hurt to hear that one of her students would stoop that low...
Stinkbug, now looking nervous again, asked, "I'm... I'm not going to get sent to the princesses, am I?"
Cheerilee walked over to the changeling, put a gentle hoof on his shoulder and said, "While I imagine that the princesses will probably want to meet you, it's nothing like Diamond Tiara said it would be."
Big Macintosh nodded in agreement, then said, "Eeyup."
The changeling, after a moment, asked, "Promise?"
Cheerilee, smiling, said, "Promise."
A few minutes later, Twilight Sparkle came in with Filthy Rich and his daughter in tow. The stallion looked down at the changeling, and seemed to catch on almost immediately. Turning to his daughter, the earth pony asked, "Care to explain why a changeling was here, sitting in for you, while you were playing around in your room?"
Diamond Tiara opened her mouth to reply, but Cheerilee cut her off. "Young lady," the teacher said, trying very hard to keep the anger out of her voice, "This young fellow just told me exactly what happened. So, before you start lying, think very carefully about what you're going to say, because you're already in a lot more trouble than you think you are." Diamond Tiara's mouth closed with a click, and looked properly abashed. It was true, the young filly had just made a royal mess of things, in more ways than one.
When the princesses heard about this...
Twilight Sparkle, more than a little confused, asked, "I'm not really sure I get what's going on. Would you mind filling me in?"
Cheerilee turned over to the changeling and said, "Stinkbug, please tell her what you told me."
The changeling nodded, then said, "Yesterday, I was disguised as a stray dog, trying to get some love: everyone loves a scruffy-looking puppy, so it's a quick way to get a little affection. Not enough for a stockpile, but it's been keeping me going since the Canterlot thing a year ago. Well, I had to take a quick breather, since I'm not very good at holding disguises yet, and she saw me when I changed." Here, the changeling pointed at Diamond Tiara.
Twilight Sparkle nodded, then said, "I follow you so far. Go on."
Clearing his throat, the changeling said, "She told me that if I didn't do like she said, she'd call the guards, and that they'd, ah..." Here, Stinkbug hesitated, shuddered, then said, with a voice with more than a little bit of fear in it, "They'd take me to meet the princesses. If I was lucky, all they'd do is put me in the dungeon for a thousand years, or maybe turn me to stone and set me up in the garden as a warning to others. If I wasn't, they'd use their alicorn magic to eat my brains. I need my brains, I use them almost every day, so I went along with it."
Twilight Sparkle looked down at Diamond Tiara, her jaw dropping, and her expression horrified. "Why... why would you even joke about that?"
Cheerilee sighed, and said, "I imagine that, for a chance to play hookey, she'd have said just about anything."
Twilight Sparkle sighed, and said, holding a hoof against her forehead, "So, ah, Stinkbug, DIamond Tiara told you that if you didn't sit in for her today, she'd turn you in?"
"Oh no," the changeling said, shuddering slightly. "I wasn't getting off that easy. I was supposed to be sitting in for her for the whole week."
Silver Spoon, who'd been quiet the entire time, burst into the conversation, angrily asking Diamond Tiara, "And you were just going to do all of that without telling me anything?"
The pink pony sputtered, trying to come up with a response, but couldn't.
Sil, tears starting to run down her cheeks, said, "I can't believe you. I thought you were my friend. But you were just going to... to leave me here with a stand in while you just got to play around all day. And not just for one day, but a whole week? Does my friendship really mean so little to you?"
Diamond Tiara, looking a little sad, said, "I'm sorry..." It really didn't sound all that sincere...
"Save it," Silver Spoon said, her eyes narrowed in anger, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You can apologize all you want next week: I'm not talking to you until then. You obviously weren't planning to talk to me, after all." With that, she stormed off, sat back at her desk, and stared at the chalkboard, sniffling.
The pink earth pony looked thoroughly distressed, realizing that her thoughtless actions had just hurt the only friend she really had in the world. However, her problems had only just started.
Sighing, Cheerilee said, "This will have to go before Princess Celestia. Under the new Changeling Protection Act, any attempt to force a changeling to use their abilities to commit a crime has to be brought before her, or Luna, to decide the proper response. And truancy is considered a crime." While not exactly the most popular law ever passed, the fact that expatriate changelings were showing up all over Equestria had required a new law to be passed in order to ensure that they were allowed the same rights as any other creature. The princesses had decided that the best way to solve the problems that kept popping up was to deal with things on a case by case basis personally, so that proper precedents could be established for the future.
Diamond Tiara's eyes widened in shock. Well, like Cheerilee said, the filly was in far more trouble than she had thought. This was going to be a major, major headache, not just for the filly, but for Cheerilee and for Filthy Rich as well. Given Di's academic record, she'd be looking at least at a suspension, or possibly even expulsion. Or maybe her father would decide that it was time to take matters into his own hooves, and have her transferred to a different school, one that had more stringent methods of dealing with discipline problems. Whatever happened, things were about to change drastically for the filly...
Sighing sadly himself, Filthy Rich said, "Right." Turning back to his daughter, he said, "Diamond Dazzle Tiara, I honestly thought I raised you better than this. Can you please explain to me why you thought that this was a good idea?"
The filly opened and closed her mouth several times, but in the end, she couldn't say anything in her defense...
With another long, weary sigh, Filthy Rich shook his head and said, "I didn't think so." Turning to Twilight Sparkle, he said, "Alright, I'll take her home, and keep her there until the princesses can schedule a hearing. Shouldn't take more than a day, right?"
Twilight nodded, and said, "I'll send a letter to Princess Celestia as soon as I get home. I'll be by this afternoon with the time, and I'll see about arranging transportation for you. You'll be there and back before you know it. The sooner this all gets straightened out, the better."
Rich nodded, then started marching his daughter home. Cheerilee could hear, very clearly, how unhappy the stallion was with the filly once they were outside. Cheerilee couldn't help but feel the same: She had spoken, at length, to the stallion about the filly's behavior, and both had worked very hard to correct her atrocious behavior...
Hopefully, the princesses could scare her straight.
Looking more than a little nervous, the changeling asked, "What about me?"
Cheerilee looked down at Stinkbug, then turned towards the princess. "Do you think you can get a message to the Bureau Of Changeling Affairs today?"
Twilight nodded, and said, "Sure. I know a representative from the bureau is here in town today, setting up housing for a pair of newlyweds who were looking to move here. I'll have him come by after school's out, and he can help in getting Stinkbug looked after."
Cheerilee nodded, smiled, then turned back to the changeling, and said, "In the meantime, Stinkbug, have a seat. School's still in session."
With a cute little salute, the changeling nodded, then sat at Diamond Tiara's desk.
After seeing Twilight Sparkle and Big Macintosh off, Cheerilee walked up to the chalkboard, turned to face her students, and said, "Alright, everyone, it seems that today, there's going to be a change in the lesson plan. Given what's just happened, and since our visitor here has probably not heard about it, I'm going to give you all a short rundown on a law that was passed a few weeks ago. It's called the Changeling Protection Act, and it's going to cause more than a few changes around here."
Cheerilee picked up a piece of chalk in her mouth and began writing the words on the chalkboard. Once she was done, she put the chalk down, and turned to address the class. "This law was put into effect a few weeks ago. It was created for several reasons. Among those reasons was to protect ponies from changelings who would use their powers to take advantage of them, and to protect changelings from being mistreated by ponies."
Raising his hoof, Stinkbug asked, "That's really a thing?"
The teacher giggled, then said, "Oh yes, it's definitely 'a thing'. After the invasion a year ago, the princesses saw a number of cases where changelings were taken advantage of by others. Several changelings had ended up forced to cooperate in criminal activities, for fear of being turned in to the authorities. Stories like the one Diamond Tiara used were common, and given recent events, they had every reason to believe that those tales were true. Fearing for their lives, they ended up doing things that they would normally never do, simply because they had no idea that they were never in any serious danger."
With a shrug, Cheerilee said, "There really isn't enough time today to go into detail about everything that went into making that law. There's a hundred stories that I could tell you, but, ah, not all of them are ones for kids your age. It took the hard work and dedication of several changelings over the last year to make it a reality, as well as several ponies who ended up befriending them. The end result is a set of regulations that were put into place to ensure the rights of an entire race of sentient and sapient creatures, as well as the formation of an organization that would serve to help changelings stranded in Equestria to adapt to their new home."
Turning back towards the chalkboard, Cheerilee said, "Now, there's a lot of stuff that goes into the Changeling Protection Act, and most of it is boring for children your age. Here's the bottom line: Changelings have the same rights that you, or any other creature in Equestria, have. That means that they are both subject to, and protected by, the same laws that you are. They also enjoy the same rights and privileges that you do. Treat any changeling you meet the same way you'd want to be treated, and you'll have it exactly right."
A little while later, as school was winding down, Stinkbug said, "Um, I'm really sorry about..."
Silver Spoon held up a hoof and said, "Don't."
Turning towards the filly, the changeling was surprised to see her smiling.
"It really wasn't your fault," she said. "Diamond Tiara put you up to it. I'm angry with her, right now, not you. I mean, I knew she could be a bit insensitive sometimes, but..." sighed, rolled her eyes, then said, "Well, the less said, the better. I'll... probably forgive her later. That's what friends do, after all."
Stinkbug nodded, and said, "Right. Well, um, I'd ask if we were still going to Sugarcube Corner later, but I think I'm going to be busy today. Besides, you kind of planned on going with Diamond Tiara, not me." Changelings didn't eat pony food, but Stink was just at the age where he was starting to notice girls, and spending time with a cute filly his age was starting to have a certain appeal...
Giggling, Silver Spoon said, "Well, tomorrow's another day, and I don't think I'd mind going with you then, if you're not too busy."
Surprised, the changeling smiled and said, "Sure!"
"Let's go for a walk, you and I."
Diamond Tiara's eyes widened in surprise. Looking up, and up, and further up, at Princess Celestia, the earth pony realized just how small she must seem to somepony so grand and powerful. The filly had seen the princess before, of course, but this was the first time she'd ever seen a member of the royal family up close, asides from Twilight Sparkle.
When Diamond Tiara had been practically dragged here by her father for this stupid meeting, she'd expected it to be some sort of a prank: they were trying to do something to 'scare her straight', or some nonsense like that. She'd expected to just be given a slap on the hoof punishment by some minor toady or something, since the princess was far too busy to bother with something like a filly trying to play hookey. But when they were escorted to the throne room by a pair of stone-faced guards, she'd begun to realize just how serious things were.
When the filly saw the princess sitting upon her throne, her face stern and cold, Diamond Tiara realized that she was now in more trouble than she had ever imagined. After a few brief words with her father, the princess asked him to leave so that the two could talk in private. Filthy Rich nodded, and walked out without hesitation. The fact that he'd not said even one word to his daughter worried the filly more than she could say. And now, the princess was personally addressing her...
Diamond, nodding nervously, said, "Yes, your highness."
The princess and the filly began walking, quickly exiting the throne room, and soon were walking through the palace proper. A short time later, they passed through a door with two guards watching, and were out on a balcony, overlooking the city. Diamond Tiara rushed up to the railing that marked the boundary between the palace and a long drop, her eyes wide in awe. The view was... breathtaking. You could see the entire city from up here! She could even see, way off in the distance, the town of Ponyville...
"Now that we're in private, let's get a few things out of the way," the princess said, her voice still firm, but... less stern than before.
Diamond Tiara turned back towards Princess Celestia, and steeled herself for... she didn't know what. She suddenly realized that this was the first time that she was in trouble, and didn't have some sort of way of getting out of it...
"Do you know why you are here?"
Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes and said, "Because I got caught..." She bit off the word 'Duh' at the end, as the princess' expression caused her to realize that the answer she had just given was the absolute worst one she could ever thought of.
"While technically true," the princess said, frowning, "it does not grasp even a fraction of the scale of your misdeed. You found a homeless child, barely any older than you are, without any means of supporting himself, struggling to survive on the streets, and what did you do? Did you offer him a helping hoof in friendship? No. Did you tell an adult, who might have been able to help him? No. You terrorized him into performing an action that both of you knew was morally and ethically wrong, and gave him reason to believe that his life would be in danger if he did not comply with your unreasonable demands. How would he have kept himself fed, while imitating you every waking hour of the day? The young boy was a half-day from starvation when you found him. In his own words, the only reason why he had not run completely out of energy before lunch yesterday was because your father hugged him before leaving him at school."
Her eyes widening in surprise, Diamond Tiara began to argue, "But..."
"Young lady," Celestia said, angrily, "If the next words out of your mouth are 'he's just a dumb changeling', or anything of that nature, you're going to find yourself in a great deal more trouble than you already are."
The filly shut her mouth with a click.
Sighing wearily, Celestia said, "One of the founding principles of our nation is equality for all. That means that regardless of who you are, or what race, or even species, you belong to, you are entitled to fair and just treatment, not just by the law, but by others. That does include changelings. If an exception were made for any race, it would be a violation of the very foundations of this land of ours. We might as well go back to the days before Clover, Pansy, and Smart Cookie, when everypony mistrusted everypony else. We may as well have let the Windigos freeze the world solid." Her eyes narrowed in anger, Celestia said, "So I hope you can understand now why you are in so much trouble. Your own actions have gone against everything that a pony is supposed to stand for, and I honestly cannot state in words how disappointed I am in you right now."
Diamond Tiara hung her head in shame. Bad enough to be told you'd done something that bad by anypony, but to hear it directly from the princess herself...
Celestia cleared her throat, and with a slightly lighter tone, she said, "You are still young, so I doubt you could have fully understood the full consequences of your actions without being told. Under normal circumstances, I would just let you off with a warning, and let you go on your merry way, confident that you would never do such a thing again. In truth, I am a busy pony, and this would be something that should not require my personal attention. However," the princess said, sighing, "These are not normal circumstances."
Confused, Diamond Tiara asked, "What do you mean?"
"What I mean," the princess said, skewering the filly with a glare fit to stop the youngster's heart, "is that this is not some incident of isolated mischief, but the latest in a long, and steadily escalating, chain of misdeeds. When Twilight Sparkle sent me the message indicating that a royal audience would be required, I requested, as a matter of protocol, a copy of your permanent record. The average permanent record for a filly your age would be, oh five pages long. SIx, if they were unusually rambunctious." Gesturing to one of the guards stationed at the doorway back into the palace, the princess said, "Let me show you yours."
An earth pony guard, surprisingly large and powerfully built, came in, hauling a wagon behind him. Upon the wagon was a massive stack of papers. The guard was straining to pull the heavy burden, sweat streaming from his body: the files, folders, and assorted documents were piled to the point that they were as tall as Celestia herself, and filling every inch of a wagon that could have held a half dozen ponies comfortably. Upon reaching the two ponies, the guard saluted, unhitched his burden, then walked back out, his work done for now.
Gesturing at the pile of documents, Celestia stated, "In any other school in Equestria, a record like this one would be cause enough for you to be expelled five times over. Cheerilee indicated in these files, more than once, that the only reason that she had given you as many chances as she had was because she believed that, deep down, you were a good pony. She has, for some time, worked with your father to try and come up with something, anything, to make you see that your actions were detrimental, not just to yourself, but to your fellow students. Their combined efforts could only be called heroic: most teachers would have given up on you long before now, and the fact that your father was willing to go to every meeting that your teacher requested without complaint speaks volumes for his dedication to you. However, whenever you were punished for your actions, you simply reacted by redoubling your misbehavior. You never showed any sort of regret for your actions, just anger at being caught and punished for performing actions that you knew were wrong as you were committing them."
With another long, weary sigh, the princess said, "However, were you expelled, your permanent record would bar you from entering any other school, save the most severe of reform schools. Your father did not want that, your teacher did not want that, you would not want that, and in all honesty, I do not want that either. Such schools are intended for children years older than you, and who have far more severe discipline problems than you do. While your actions have been deplorable, you have not truly crossed the line into truly monstrous behavior... yet. However, something needs to be done to end this downward spiral, and you have, through your own actions, proven you are either unwilling, or unable, to do so yourself."
Turning towards the Canterlot skyline, Celestia asked, "Tell me, Diamond Dazzle Tiara, have you ever heard of a 'Reform Spell'?"
Shaking her head, the filly admitted, "No, your highness."
"It's a spell that causes the recipient to feel immediate consequences for their actions. Essentially, it causes the one it is cast upon to feel discomfort, potentially verging on pain, every time they commit an action that they know is wrong without any sort of justification... and the spell continues that feeling until the misdeed has been remedied. It is a spell that is normally reserved only for repeat offenders, criminals who have committed crimes and have shown no remorse for their actions." Looking back at the filly, the princess said, "While the version that will be applied to you will be among the weakest versions of the spell, it should prove more than sufficient to deter you from further misdeeds."
Wait, she was going to cast that kind of spell on her? Before she could stop herself, Diamond Tiara sputtered, "Th-that's not fair!"
"Not fair?" Celestia advanced upon Diamond Tiara, the hooves of the princess striking sparks against the stones beneath her. "Not fair? Let's talk about fair, shall we?"
Her horn glowing with power, the princess lifted the filly up, and with a flap of her massive wings, both of them were airborne. In seconds they were so high above the city that the ponies below looked like ants.
Pointing at the city with one hoof, Celestia said, "Down there, Diamond Tiara, are ponies who work their hardest every day of their lives for everything they have, and will earn less in their lifetimes than your father earns in a week. You have never spent a day worrying about where your next meal might come from, or that you might not have a roof to sleep under tomorrow, while some of them live in constant fear of that. And you say that this is not fair." Pointing at the young filly, the princess said, "Everything you have ever had, up to and including your cutie mark, has been handed to you on a silver plate... and instead of being grateful for that, you've used what you have to make the lives of those around you miserable. And you say that this is not fair." Pulling the filly closer, Celestia said, "You've been given more chances than any other pony had any right to request to rectify your behavior, and have not. And you say that this is not fair." Their faces now barely an inch apart, Celestia said, "Right now, because of your mischief, I am here, talking to you, using time that could be better spent solving far more serious problems. Every minute, every second, that I waste here, is time that could be spent preventing the next potential disaster that could befall this land of ours. And. You. Say. That. This. Is. Not. Fair."
"Sorry," squeaked Diamond Tiara, clearly terrified.
Sighing, Celestia said, "You can apologize by being a better pony." The two began to lower gently back to the ramparts of the palace. Once they touched the ground, the princess' horn flashed with magic once again, and Diamond Tiara felt a strange feeling come across her. It wasn't quite a headache, but it might have been if it had lasted more than a second. "There. The spell is in place. At its current level, it will remain for a time no less than one year. Twilight Sparkle will be checking in on you regularly, and if she finds that the spell has been removed or tampered with in any way, shape, or form, I will not be pleased."
Gesturing to the guards again, Celestia said, "I will personally check on your progress in twenty-five days. If I should find that your behavior has improved sufficiently, I will consider removing the spell, or at least diminishing its strength somewhat. However, if I find that there has been no improvement, I will begin exploring more strict means of correcting this problem. The primrose path ends here, Diamond Tiara: if you want to have anything like the easy life you've led before, you will have to earn it."
The two guards reached the princess and the filly. "Take her back to her father, and tell him what's been done," Princess Celestia said, her expression stern. "If he feels that it is inappropriate, he is free to come here and discuss alternatives: I am more than willing to listen. Otherwise, he can take his daughter home." The guards nodded, and escorted the filly away.
"Wow," Sombra said, dropping the invisibility spell he'd kept over himself the entire time that the princess had been speaking with the filly, "I did not know you had it in you, your highness."
"Don't start that," Celestia said, sighing. "It breaks my heart having to do something like this to somepony so young."
Shrugging, Sombra, the former tyrant ruler of the Crystal Empire, now reformed and the head of the Bureau of Changeling Affairs, said, "Well, you came to me for advice on how to solve this. You could have said no to the idea, but you said yourself you couldn't think of anything better that wouldn't be considered cruel and unusual for a filly her age." Rolling his eyes, he said, "I admit, I do not like it much, either. However, one thing we can both agree on is that something had to be done: that young filly was a horn away from becoming the next me."
Nodding, the princess said, "Right. And that's something I'd much rather avoid. Even reformed, you're far too much of a headache on your own. I don't think I could handle you in stereo."
With a big, booming guffaw, the unicorn said, "Yes, well, I would much rather remain one of a kind, myself. Well, at least we finished this before lunch." Smiling broadly, the former tyrant said, "I was going to head down to Le Couteau Doré for something to eat: I promised Rochelle that I'd let her know how things turned out. You want to come with me? I know you have a weakness for her cooking."
With a chuckle, Celestia said, "No, I think I'll pass. Do give her my regards, though." With a sly look, the princess asked, "Are you going to ask her to come work at the Bureau again?" It would make for the fifth time he'd asked her: the changeling had caught the wizard's eye, and he felt that, as excellent as her cooking was, her other talents were being wasted...
Blushing, Sombra admitted, "Actually, I am considering asking her out..."
Author's Note
For a little more about redeemed Sombra, look in on my story A Meal Fit For A King The full story of his redemption will come at a later date.
"So, are you ready?"
Stinkbug looked up in surprise. Mister Rightaway, the representative from the Bureau of Changeling Affairs, was standing in the doorway of the hotel room, smiling. Twilight Sparkle had introduced the two right after school had ended, and the green earth pony (he was the first pony that Stink had ever seen who shave both his hair AND his tail) had, with surprising care and concern, listened to the youngster explain what he'd been doing for the last year.
It had not been an easy time: a child, alone and in hostile territory, has to make do with what he could find. Since he knew practically nothing about ponies in general, and with almost no training whatsoever in the art of acting, he'd had to go with the simplest possible expedient: pretending to be a dumb animal.
It had worked, more or less. After all, who doesn't love a friendly stray dog? He'd seriously considered letting himself be 'adopted' by one of the families in town, once he'd mastered long-term transformation maintenance, but since he lacked a teacher to show him how, it was slow going...
Still, it had been a good day, yesterday, in spite of the total panic from earlier on. After hearing the full story, Rightaway had said that he'd see about finding someone to look after him from now on, and would make certain that a changeling would be by before nightfall to share enough love to keep Stink going for at least a week, if not longer. Given a hotel room to spend the night in, Stink was able to sleep in a bed for the first time... ever. True to the representative's word, a changeling by the name of Popillia Japonica (an aristocrat, surprisingly, but she'd seemed much nicer than the aristos that he'd met before) dropped by, and had given him love... A whole, whole lot of love. He was currently carrying enough to keep him going for the next five years! He wasn't sure if it was just because she was nice, or because she didn't realize that a commoner was less likely to burn through that much love on accident, but either way, he could breathe easy for the first time in a year. He was no longer in immediate risk of running out...
Grinning, Stinkbug nodded, and said, "I'm ready. Let's go."
As the earth pony and the changeling walked down the street, Rightaway said, "Before we start looking for a family to take you in, I need to drop by and check on Orlando and Spicebush Swallowtail. They're moving in this morning, and I want to make sure there's nothing they need. After I finish, we'll check with a few ponies I know. I can't make a promise that somepony here will be able to take you in, but I think the odds are pretty good."
Stinkbug nodded and said, "I understand. I've got plenty of time on my clock now, so it's not a super-huge rush like it would have been before."
Chuckling, the earth pony said, "Yeah, Miss Japonica told me she gave you a good deal more than a week's worth. She figured that you'd earned it, after going through so much on your own." Looking at a street sign, Rightaway nodded, and said, "We're almost there. It's right over this way."
There was suddenly a tremendous noise, the sort that was not simply heard, but felt, throughout the entire body. It took a moment for Stinkbug to realize that what he was hearing was actually singing, from an incredibly deep and powerful voice.
"Largo al factotum della città. Largo! La la la, la la la, la la la, LAAAA! Presto a bottega che l'alba e già. Presto! La la la, la la la, la la la, LAAAA!"
"Ah," Rightaway said, chuckling, "I forgot to tell you: Orlando sings opera, and he's got a bit of a voice to him."
The earth pony and the changeling came into view of a quaint looking house with a cart stuffed with boxes out front. A slender changeling wearing a light blue dress was deftly flying back and forth between the cart and the house, taking small boxes inside. However, what immediately drew Stink's attention was a massive, red-eyed, jet-black griffin, who was currently carrying a grand piano with what seemed no effort whatsoever, while he continued to cheerfully sing.
"Ah, che bel vivere, che bel piacere, per un barbiere... di qualità, di qualità!"
The hovering changeling noticed the two approaching, and turned to the griffon. After floating down to where she was level with the griffin, she whispered something. Nodding, the griffin stopped singing and, with almost impossible ease, set the piano down gently, and turned towards the pair.
With a massive, booming voice, the griffon said, "Ah! Rightaway, my friend, it is so good to see you again!" Looking down at the young changeling, he continued, "And you have brought with you a guest! Molto bene! Very good!" Extending a clawed foreleg, the griffin said, "My name is Orlando Furioso! It is good to meet you!"
Orlando's voice was the type that would add an exclamation point to the end of every sentence he spoke, even his questions. It wasn't the volume, so much as the energy he put into every word. The fact that his voice was so deep only added to the effect, making it so that when he spoke, the overall impression was of a talking earthquake.
"I'm Stinkbug," the changeling said, extending his foreleg with a smile, which was immediately enveloped by the griffin's talons. The grip was surprisingly light: as massive as he was, it seemed that Orlando did, in fact, know his own strength.
Giggling, the hovering changeling curtsied, then said, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Spicebush Swallowtail. You can just call me Spice. Everyone does." Her voice was sweet and soft, in contrast to her husband. Of course, an enraged minotaur with a megaphone would be soft, compared to Orlando. "So, what brings you two here so early?"
"Well," Rightaway said, "I wanted to check in with you both, and make sure that you were settling in alright. I was going to see about finding this kid a home afterwards, so I thought I'd go ahead and bring him along. I hope you don't mind."
With a big laugh, Orlando said, "Not at all, my friend! The more, the merrier! Come inside, come inside! I was due for a break, and we just finished getting the kitchen unpacked! I can have something cooked up, and we can have a nice chat over breakfast!"
With another soft giggle, Spice said, "Well, I'm not hungry, obviously, but I imagine that Stinkbug would enjoy a chance to speak with another changeling?" At the youngster's energetic nod, she smiled brightly, and said, "Then come on in. Please excuse the mess."
While Orlando and Rightaway settled into the kitchen, Spice asked Stinkbug if he'd mind joining her upstairs. There were a few things that she wanted to check on, fragile items she wanted to make sure were not broken during the trip over. The room they entered was plain and undecorated, but filled with boxes.
While she opened the first box, she gave little laugh and said, "I know exactly what Rightaway is planning. He didn't just 'decide' to bring you by on your way to someplace else: he wanted to give us the opportunity to adopt you before anypony else did."
Surprised, Stink asked, "You really think so?"
Nodding, as she held up a plate for inspection, the older changeling said, "Definitely. If I know anything about my husband, it's that he's very passionate about... well, just about everything. It's one of the things I love most about him. He can be very easily swayed by a sob story, and from what Rightaway told me about you yesterday, you've had a harder time than most other changelings this last year. I mean, spending an entire year as a stray dog?"
With a shrug, the youngster admitted, "I really couldn't think of anything else. Pretending to be a pony is really, really hard, but being a dog is simple: Woof, woof, wag your tail, remember to sniff stuff, and you're good to go. I'd sometimes get dog biscuits, which I'd give to other dogs, who'd be incredibly grateful. Those were good days."
Nodding, Spice, still inspecting the other items in the box, said, "Well, at least you were able to work something out. I've heard a lot of stories about changelings who were taken advantage of by some terribly cruel ponies. Not all of those stories had happy endings, I'm sorry to say. Ah, but returning to the original subject, Rightaway is probably telling Orlando the entire story now. If I know my hubby, he'll come in here, tears in his eyes, and declare that he would be more than willing to take you in. I honestly wouldn't have any problem taking in a cute kid like you, myself," she admitting, rubbing the top of Stink's head, eliciting a laugh from the youngster. "But this isn't about what my hubby wants, or what I want." Closing the box of fragile items and setting it to one side, she said, "This is about what you want. Would you like to stay here, with us?"
Smiling, Stinkbug nodded and said, "Yes. Yes, I would."
Smiling radiantly, Spice said, "Good. Now, brace yourself. You're going to get a gigantic hug in about fifteen seconds."
Almost immediately, there was a series of loud thumps, as of someone running up the stairs. A moment later, Orlando appeared in the doorway, tears pouring down his face. With a single motion, he swept Stink up and gave him a tremendous hug, exclaiming, "Povero ragazzo! Poor boy! Rightaway told me the entire tale! Tremendo! Orrendo! Terribile! My heart, it goes out to you! Please, feel free to stay here with us, as long as you like! La mia casa è la tua casa! My home is your home!"
Laughing, Spice said, "Sweetheart, we were just discussing that very topic. I had just asked him if he'd like to stay with us, and he said yes.'
The griffin, now suddenly joyous, exclaimed, "Magnifico! Superbo! Splendido! Welcome to our home, ragazzo!"
Rightaway walked in, smiling. After a moment, he said, "Well then, that makes my day a little easier. I'll be by this afternoon with some forms to fill out, and we'll make it all formal and official. Welcome to your new home, Stinkbug."
Author's Note
The lyrics for what Orlando is singing comes from the opening to probably one of the most well known songs in opera, Largo Al Factorum from The Barber Of Seville. You probably know it as 'Figaro!'
And lyrics, with translation:
FIGARO!!!
Orlando's name also happens to be the title of an opera, Orlando Furioso, or 'The Frenzy Of Orlando".
