Diamond Hearts

Diamond Tiara had always considered herself a filly of simple tastes; always taking pleasure in the simple things in life, such as high priced imported cuisine from all across Equestria or freshly purchased flowers from the market in town…

...Or, as was the case today, watching a frantic orange pegasus struggle to free herself from a glue covered chair.

The reaction from the rest of the class was immediate, the walls of the school house echoed both cries of distress and, more noticeably, laughter as the filly rocked her seat back and forth in a vain attempt to escape from her wooden captor. All her rocking achieved was causing her to lose her balance and fall onto her side, effectively clearing her desk of clutter in the process.

If Diamond’s smile were any bigger it would rival that of a certain ‘Pink Party Pony’ but that of course was a well known impossibility, still though Diamond Tiara had to hold back at least a little on the laughter; she was already on thin ice with Miss Cheerilee after a horrible misunderstanding the previous week involving her coffee and the class gerbil, she’d tried to explain how it was the ‘Blank Flanks’ fault and that they’d planted the coffee cup in her desk, but no, teacher was just unreasonable that way. Besides it’s not like the gerbil was hurt or anything… it just didn’t stop running for a few hours, so no big deal.

Of course Cheerilee would blame her, that was always the case, the ‘oh so perfect’ Blank Flanks or Cutie Mark Crusaders could do no wrong; But not this time, this time Diamond had a plan. The evidence was safely stored inside Snails lunch box awaiting future consumption and any possible witnesses had be distracted by the ‘accidental’ release of a caffeine addicted gerbil, good ol’ Silver Spoon could be so ‘clumsy’ sometimes.

The half pegasus half chair formally known as Scootaloo, now sporting a bright red glow on her cheeks and an overturned wooden seat on her backside, leapt to her hooves and vigorously shook her rear as if someone had started playing a really fast polka.

Diamond Tiara was going to explode, the dam inside holding back the laughter threatened to collapse under the pressure.

Scootaloo balanced between her forehooves and the chair and placed her back hooves on the chair, truly a flawless plan, except for the part where her back hooves became stuck on the seat so she looked like an overturned statue.

That was Diamond’s breaking point; Dam broken.

Fortunately or unfortunately depending on perspective, Miss Cheerilee cut the laughter with the high pitched screech of hoof on blackboard. The silence was instantaneous, each student sitting up straight, hooves crossed.

Cheerilee look down at Scootaloo with sympathy, leaning down to help pull her up. Once Scootaloo was once again seated upright, albeit rather awkwardly, Cheerilee’s sympathetic gaze turned to one of strict neutrality much like one of Princess Celestia’s guards.

“Students, I will not tolerate any pony laughing at the misfortunes of a fellow student, I would expect more from each of you than this,” said Cheerilee, turning her attention back to Scootaloo.

“Scootaloo, I’ll help you remove your stool in a moment…”

If Diamond Tiara hadn’t been biting her tongue at the time, she would have given herself away then and there, because there was no way a smart mare like Cheerilee would miss an innuendo that obvious; clearly Miss Cheerilee had realised this because her face swiftly turned beet red, although this seemed to go over the heads of the others.

“(Cough) Ahem.. At any rate, Scootaloo, how exactly did this happen?”

“Somepony put glue on my chair Miss Cheerilee… probably Diamond Tiara” said Scootaloo, throwing Diamond a dirty look. Diamond pushed aside her desperate need to burst out laughing, replacing it with a look of shock and outrage.

“Wah? Me? Never!” Diamond turned her nose up at Scootaloo in indignation

Diamond looked to Cheerilee for support, instead she was met with a harsh scowl… typical Cheerilee.

“Diamond Tiara, you were laughing rather hard just now, did you have anything to do with this?”

“Hey! I wasn’t laughing any harder than anypony else here” Diamond mentally patted herself on the back, her acting skills were getting better by the day.

Cheerilee didn’t look convinced, “Scootaloo, did you see Diamond Tiara put glue on your… (ahem) chair?”

“Uhh, well… not exactly” said Scootaloo trying to scrape off some of the glue near her tail.

Cheerilee rubbed her chin in thought, “Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, would you both kindly take Scootaloo to the hose outside and help her clean up,”

As Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle carried their friend out door, Cheerilee turned her attention back to Diamond “Diamond Tiara, I want to see you after class,”

“W-What? Why? I’m innocent, You can’t prove I did anything?”

“Call it teachers intuition”

Diamond Tiara chose not to respond; Cheerilee had no proof and she still singled her out… if it weren't for the fact that teacher was right, Diamond would have given her a piece of her mind… eventually… maybe… after telling her dad.

It’s not like the orange chicken didn’t deserve it; Just the other day during lunch, the no-talent trio switched her cherryade with a glass of ketchup, a mouth full of which ended up all over Silver Spoon a few seconds later. It was an outright attack on her person, a well crafted scheme which (of course) went completely unnoticed by Miss Cheerilee, on account of the evidence disappearing into thin air.

Diamond knew it was them who’d done the deed, she’d heard them whispering about something at the start of lunch, the orange one occasionally snickering and looking in her direction. Diamond had to give the chicken credit though, she’d moved quick, because not two seconds after spying the Blank Flanks grinning at her, she’d taken a sip of the vile goop.

Then again the Blank Flanks were always doing weird stuff like that; whether they were launching themselves from catapults, running off into the Everfree Forest on a whim or on the day in question when she’d spied the trio, oddly enough, talking to a green and orange butterfly. Maybe that was just what happened when a pony when so long without a cutie mark, it drove them insane… still it didn’t matter to her, if the Blank Flanks ever snapped and came after her she’d just throw one of her servants at them and head for the hills.

The rest of class continued on as normal despite an obvious lack of chicken. Apparently she’d had to go home for, as Miss Cheerilee put it, ‘personally reasons’ which Diamond assumed ment ‘She’s going home to get the glue shaved off her rear’, Oh how Diamond prayed that that’s what teacher ment; and of course the two remainders of the Blank Flank trio spent the rest of class time glaring daggers at her, but by the end they left for the day along with everypony else.

Looking over at Miss Cheerilee, Diamond was once again subject to the teachers accusing eyes, those two shimmering green orbs prying deep into her soul, but she wouldn’t crack, if she could sweet talk her way out of the Gabby Gums fiasco (relatively) unscathed, then she’d get out of this no problem. Cheerilee beckoned Diamond over to her desk, tapping a seat next to it and motioning for her to sit, which she did, so far so good.

“Now Diamond, be honest with me here… Was it you who poured glue on Scootaloo’s seat?,” Oh, Cheerilee’s acting was good alright, her obvious hatred for Diamond was well hidden behind that, clearly fake, look of concern.

“... and please, lets not beat around the bush here, you and your friend Silver Spoon never get along with Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo… it was Silver Spoon who dropped the gerbil and I didn’t see you trying to catch it” Ok, so Cheerilee was really good, but Diamond wasn’t phased, she’d done this dance many times before, all it took was a straight face...

“Miss Cheerilee I don’t like vermin any more than the next filly, they’re small and furry and make creepy noises, while everypony else was running around like mad ponies, I was on my desk trying to fend it off, besides it could have been anypony in class, like Twist, Apple Bloom stopped hanging out with her after she met her new friends, or Snails, you know how he gets with glue” … and scene.

Cheerilee was momentarily taken aback, it was true in retrospect that she hadn’t really considered the other students motivations, when it came to the self titled ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders’, Diamond Tiara was the usual suspect. However thinking back now, Apple Bloom was rarely seen with Twist anymore and of course Snails did have a bad history with glue; in fact at lunch that day she’d narrowly saved Snails from eating a tube of the stuff, Celestia knows where he got it from?!!

“While that may be true Diamond, you do have a history of marked aggression against the three… Honestly Diamond Tiara, is there something going on that I should know about? Something that's happening outside school or at home,” Now that was not something Diamond had expected to hear.

“I mean in all my years of teaching, I’ve never seen one student get into so much trouble with other students, most of which seem almost unprovoked… I’ve had your father in here on numerous occasions, but he can’t seem to explain this behaviour” Diamond turned her head away, she didn’t like where this conversation was going; on the window at the end of the class she spotted that same green and orange butterfly the Blank Flanks had been talking to that morning… she really wanted to squash it right now.

“Diamond…” Diamond Tiara shook her head turned back to Cheerilee, a look of sadness clear in the teachers eyes, though Diamond didn’t buy it, the teacher was just trying to trick her, get her to spill the beans, yeah that had to be it.

“You're a smart filly, when you put your mind to a task you get results and when I put you in a group you always take charge and finish on time; so to see such a smart girl acting out like this… well…” Cheerilee placed a hoof on Diamonds back.

“(sigh)... you know you can come talk to me about anything right? That's what I’m here for after all”

Diamond had had enough, she didn’t want to hear anymore of miss teachers wisdom.

“Am I in trouble? Or can I go home now?”

Cheerilee sighed and motioned to the door, “Well, I can’t give you detention without proof, despite what my gut instinct is telling me, you can go… but remember Diamond, if any things bothering you, you can always talk to…” but Cheerilee was talking to thin air at this point “...Me…”

The second Miss Cheerilee said she was free to go Diamond Tiara was up and outta there, galloping as fast as her young legs would carry her she raced to meet up with her friend a short ways down the road; Because the school was on the outskirts of town it took a good twenty minutes to walk there from home, the bright side to this was Diamond would always meet Silver Spoon halfway there by a strangely out of place apple tree. A good place to meet and grab a bite to eat, although she’d never admit that with Apple Bloom around.

Ah Silver Spoon, good, loyal, dependable Silver Spoon, Diamond couldn’t have asked for a better friend, somepony who understood her instead of talking bad about her, or ignoring her, or not inviting her to parties; No, Silver Spoon was as good as they come.

Diamond spied Silver Spoon leaning against the tree on the side of the dirt road, a small smile appearing on her face as she waved her over.

“...”

“...”

“... Stool”

The timing was perfect, the two fillies fell on their backs laughing hysterically, their legs flailing in the air like tortoises on their backs.

“(Giggle) C-Can you believe Miss Cheerilee actually said that” Diamond giggled wiping a tear from her eye, “... and did you see the chicken when she left, I’m telling you Silver she’ll be mostly shaven come tomorrow”

Silver Spoon helped Diamond back onto her hooves before wiping a stray tear from the rim of her glasses, “It was pretty funny, but don’t you think we were a little mean?”

Diamond shook her head and tutted, sweet, innocent Silver Spoon, “Tut-tut Silver, of course not, we were just getting back at them for that ketchup prank they pulled on me the other day”

“But wasn’t that because we taped that ‘NO TALENT’ sign on Apple Bloom?”

Since when did Silver Spoon call Apple Bloom by her actual name?

“Well yeah, but that was because they covered my Tiara in glue and purple glitter”

“But wasn’t that because you called Sweetie Belle’s sister a leech?”

Again with the names? What was going on Silver Spoon? This wasn’t like her.

“Well yeah, but thats just because she is… always walking around, shaking her flanks so everypony will pay attention to her and her tacky little store”

If Diamond didn’t know better she would have sworn Silver Spoon’s eyes just changed colors.

“ahehehe… you know Rarity actually works pretty hard on her store, I don’t think a little attention is undeserved”

Now Diamond was confused, was her friend actually defending one of the Blank Flanks sisters? Not to mention, something about her voice sounded different.

“Silver are you ok? You don’t sound like yourself and… were your eyes always that color?” from where Diamond Tiara was standing it almost looked like Silver had one green eye and one orange eye.

“Oh, hehehe, yeah i’m fine its probably just the long school day and these new glasses… but tell me... what do you think of Rainbow Dash?”

Lingering doubts forgotten for now Diamond tried to recall the last time she’d even seen the Rainbow maned pegasus, “Honestly, I don’t like her, she’s always flying around saying she’s the best thing to happen to Ponyville since zap apple jam…”

“Well she may be a little full of herself, but she…”

“ A LITTLE?!! What about the time Rainbow Trash and her friends chased that travelling performer out of town, because she was getting more attention than her?”

“Uhhh… yeah, forgot about that, but…” Diamond was on a roll now and wasn’t about to let herself get interrupted, if there was one thing she loved it was making her opinions heard.

“Or the time her and her lame friends pretended to be Mare-Do-Well and caused all those disasters around town”

“OK time out! They didn’t cause... all those bad things to happen”

“Oh come on Silver, are those new glasses too tight or something? How else do you explain all those bad things happening in just a few days and then stopping when they quit playing pretend?”

Silver Spoon rubbed her temples with her fore hooves; Diamond was getting weirded out now, why was Silver so fixated on the Blank Flanks loser sisters and their friends?

“Forget about Rainbow Dash, what about Applejack?”

“Uhhh… Silver why do you care?”

This seemed to snap Silver Spoon back to her senses, shaking her head she smiled back reassuringly.

“Oh, no reason, just making conversation”

She was so matter of fact about it that Diamond didn’t know what to think.

“Um, ok, well frankly, I say her name should be changed to Apple Jerk… she thinks she’s so great because she sticks to the old ways, the... traditional… way of doing things; did you know that her whole family is just Earth ponies, no unicorns or pegasi… I’m just saying its a little suspicious, maybe the whole family's forbidden to date outside our kind”

“Oh there is no way her family is rac…”

“Think about it, it is pretty suspicious…”

Silver Spoon kept her cheery, borderline creepy looking grin, but Diamond could tell, having pulled that same face several times herself, underneath she was grinding her teeth. What could Silver have to be mad about? She asked for Diamond’s opinion, which she already knew, what was she hoping to gain?

Diamond was sufficiently disturbed, choosing now as a good time to walk back home, naturally and unfortunately for the moment, Silver Spoon followed.

“What about Pinkie Pie, you must like Pinkie, everypony likes Pinkie”

Diamond started trotting a little faster than she normally would, but Silver was more than capable of keeping the pace.

“Uhh, she’s ok I guess, she’s kind of annoying sometimes, way too obsessive over silly little promises” Diamond had no idea what was going on, one minute she was laughing with her best friend and now she was running from mad pony, just her luck she didn’t have any servants to throw.

“UHUH and what about Princess Twilight” Diamond looked back and her eyes nearly burst out of their sockets, right behind her, Silver Spoon was running… no… chasing after her, whilst running... on her back hooves only.

“What in the name of Equestria…”

“Answer the question Diamond” If Diamond Tiara was ever sure of anything, it was that this was not Silver Spoon, it was a Changeling, it had to be, come to drag her away to feed in its gross slimy hive.

“Y-You're not Silver Spoon and I don’t taste good, if you want good emotions go eat Princess Twilight, she’s just some stuffy old lady in a young ponies body” Diamond barely had time to react as the monster posing as her friend leapt clear over her head and landed in front of her; behind the demented looking Silver Spoon impersonator, was Ponyville, from here she could see ponies walking and chatting with one another… so near yet so far.

“Last question” Not-Silver Spoons voice suddenly changed from Silver’s usual light girly voice to an oddly charismatic guy voice.

“W-What do I think of F-Fluttershy?” Diamond trembled as she asked, wondering if there was any answer she could give that wouldn’t get herself eaten.

“Ohhh, very good, you catch on quick; Seven point Five for effort little filly… now what’s your answer and don’t forget, be honest…” Diamond had no idea where Not-Silver had pulled that (7.5) number card from, but then again she was trying not to get eaten so she’d worry about that later… hopefully.

“Ummm, She’s… Great, best pony around, nopony’s better than Fluttershy” Diamond pulled out all the stops and put on her best, most sappy innocent grin she could muster. Unfortunately for her, Not-Silver Spoon just shook her rapidly growing head in shame.

“(Sigh) You're Lying”

In a flash of light, Not-Silver Spoon vanished from sight, replaced instead by, what could only be described as, an anomaly, wrapped around an enigma, mixed with a whosit and topped with a fresh drop of crazy.

“H-Hey I remember you, you're that crazy looking statue that tried to take over the town… twice” Diamond fearfully looked up at the odd assortment of different creature parts that made up the thing that she was now talking to.

“Ohhh, goodie, you remembered… that’ll save time and back story”

“What?” Diamond was lost, now she wasn’t sure whether to be scared or not, was thing going to eat her or just ask questions about stupid towns-ponies.

“Oh nothing dear, now then, you may know me as Discord…” Cheering and applause sounded all around the pair, although who was cheering was a mystery, “Oh thank you, mwah mwah, oh you're too kind” Discord blew kisses too… actually it wasn’t clear who or what; whomever was cheering maybe? the cheering which ended as suddenly as it had started.

“You see little filly, I have recently been accepted into an extremely exclusive club… one in which directionless someponies, such as yours truly, are permitted to freely express themselves without fear of being judged…”

A small red and gold cape appeared around the chaos gods neck, Diamond knew she’d seen it or one like it before but she couldn’t quite remember where.

“... An ideal which has time and time again been broken by one inconsiderate little pest who just doesn’t know when to quit”

Diamond had no idea what was going on; what did this stupid statue want, why was it pretending to be Silver Spoon and what did any of this have to do with Diamond in the first place? “What did you do with my friend? Tell me!” Diamond didn’t know where this sudden boost of confidence was coming from but she wasn’t about to let it slip, not while this abomination of… life… was possibly holding her friend hostage for whatever reason.

“Oh, she’s fine... I told her to go home and that I’d see her tomorrow… I wanted to make sure we weren't interrupted during our little heart to heart”

Diamond could hardly believe her eyes, right in front of her, this ‘Discord’ character had transformed into… herself… and back again.

How did she know barely anything about this guy? He should be the talk of Equestria, why hadn’t the princess had this thing thrown in jail? or sent to the moon? or turned into a decorative lamp? This thing was clearly missing a few screws and was far too powerful. Even Celestia couldn’t cast transfiguration magic on herself.

“To put things simply, Miss Tiara, I am a proud member of… ‘The Cutie Mark Crusaders’ … cause, you know, I’ve plenty of parts, but none of them have marks...”

‘Oh Crap!’

“... and needless to say, some of us, by which I mean all of us club members, don’t appreciate the way you’ve been treating our brethren… now normally I’d do something like; Turn you into a pig and release your of Applejack's farm, or maybe turn you into a balloon and watch you float away, or make it so you can only tell the truth for the rest of your days…”

Diamond was sweating bullets, this thing was a friend of the Blank Flanks, heck he was in their stupid club… and he could defy reality without lifting a hoof, claw, paw… whatever.

“But then of course, I remembered that it wouldn’t be fair or very lady-like of me to try that, especially after I promised Twilight I’d… tone it down… as she put it… so instead I settled on a few simple pranks here and there, but of course, you just couldn’t take the hint, you just had to keep coming back for more… Which brings us to right NOW!” The word ‘NOW’ appeared behind Discord in big glowing red and yellow letters.

“W-Well, what do you want with me? You want me to apologise, I’ll do it!” Diamond took a few shaky steps back, she found herself desperately missing the company of Miss Cheerilee right now.

“Oh as if you’d mean it… No! after our little chat just now, I believe I have all I need to make a sound judgement; needless to say I’ve something special in mind for you”

Discord flashed Diamond a toothy grin, raising his left… talon… a claw of which began to glow.

“Diamond Tiara, you’ll learn that all of Equestria does not revolve around you, that you can’t always be the centre of everyponies attention, that others matter besides you…

A lesson I’ve learned too many times to count…”

Discord wiped a crocodile tear from his eye, if Diamond weren't terrified out of her mind right now she’d swear he was being genuine.

“I’d tell you what to do next and what to expect… but, you know… spoilers and what not… Now Diamond Tiara, let the fun...”

Discord poofed behind Diamond and, before she could yell or flee, tapped his glowing claw to her forehead.

“... Begin”

Diamond flinched, looking over herself at a breakneck pace, she’d honestly expected to be turned into a freak like Discord or maybe a pig or… well, something horrible and/or ugly; but nothing, from what she could tell, she was exactly the same, same mane, same coat, same cutie mark, same pony.

“Oh and by the way…” Discord leaned down until he was mere inches from Diamonds muzzle

“BOO!”

Two fillies burst out of a bush behind Diamond and Discord screaming at the top of their lungs; Not that Diamond noticed, the second she heard the scream from behind her she was gone and out of sight, screaming as she floored it back to her home at speeds that would make even Rainbow Dash green with envy.

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Discord’s laughter rang out throughout the town; It had taken a lot of forethought on Discord’s part to put this revenge -prank to end all pranks- into action, but it had gone off with without a hitch.

“Boy howdy Mr Discord, that was a great plan, jumping out and spooking Diamond like that”

“Yeah, that’ll teach her to embarrass Scootaloo like that, did you see how fast she ran, I thought she was gonna wet herself she was so scared”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle wiped the tears of laughter from their eyes, as did Discord, and the fun wasn’t over yet.

“Now that, My Little Ponies, is what I call a prank and if you thought that was good, now we get to sit back and watch the second phase of the plan begin”

Discord grinned to himself, absentmindedly twirling a moustache that he was suddenly sporting on his face.

Apple Bloom trotted up to Discord, a look of doubt momentarily dominating her usual expression of child like joy.

“Uhhh, Discord, not that Diamond didn’t deserve everythin’ she got before, but… you're not gonna scare her too bad are ya?”

Discord smiled and tapped Apple Bloom on the head with a friendly paw.

“Of course not dear Apple Bloom, why everything that happens next, to her or around her, will be entirely her own doing; but trust me, by the end of this, everyone will be much better off and a lot happier, they may even thank me”

“Umm, don’t you mean ‘everypony’?” Sweetie Belle asked, trotting beside her friend; Discord simply chuckled under his breath.

“Come my fellow Crusaders, one of our own is out of commision, we must go to her aid at once!”

“YEAH! Cutie Mark Crusader: Rescuers”

With their signature cheer, which usually meant something was about to be broken, the two fillies and one chaos god, charged towards town and to the home of their fallen comrade.

xxx

Diamond Tiara didn’t stop screaming until she reached the front gates to the walled off sanctuary she called home, not that she’d really ever called it a sanctuary before, but after what she’d just experienced, she knew she’d feel a lot safer behind a few locked doors and several loyal yet disposable servants.

Quickly locking the front gates behind her, she bolted for the front doors, viciously assaulting them with repeated blows from her front hooves.

“Quick, one of you servants, get off your flanks and open the door”

The doors opened revealing a light grey earth pony mare with a darker grey mane, the image of a silver serving tray adorned her back hip, as well as a white apron covering her front and a matching bonnet atop her head.

“Oh, Miss Tiara, my apologies, I was in the middle of sweeping the foyer, and well, your father called a home staff meeting in the dining room, so of course the door-pony wasn’t here, and I had to put the broom away because it wouldn’t look very tidy if I left it out, especially if it were some of your fathers business associates but…”

Diamond didn’t pay the panicky mare any mind as she charged it and slammed the doors behind her, leaping up as high as she could to lock the lowest lock she could reach. Diamond sighed and wiped the sweat from her brow, slumping back against the doors and breathing heavily.

“Oh my, Miss Tiara, are you alright?”

The grey mare, rushed over, placing a hoof on Diamonds forehead, which was swiftly batted away.

“I-it’s (gasp) fine… Platter… just make sure security keeps an eye out for anything weird, outside and inside”

“Please, feel free to call me Silver, everypony else does”

Silver Platter was the most recent edition to the mansion staff, as her father put it, ‘She’s young but she’s willing to learn’, Filthy Rich was like that though, always willing to give somepony new a chance; while not as nervous as Flutter-Wuss, she had a tendency to panic over little things, but Diamond just assumed she was a perfectionist. Silver spoke with a soft voice that carried an air of both kindness and positiveness, like a parent… not like her dad but a good parent.

But Diamond didn’t have time to dwell on that right now, there was a chaos god right behind her and she was desperate to secure her home.

“Yeah yeah, thats nice and all, but seriously… tell the other staff members to keep a look out, and if anything seems weird, anything at all, just remember… I need at least a ten minute head start”

To say Silver Platter was perplexed would be an understatement.

“... Miss Tiara, are you feeling unwell? If you’d like I could tell your father you…”

That got Diamond’s attention.

“NoNoNo, thats fine,” The last thing Diamond needed was her father getting swept up in this craziness.

“I’ll be fine, I’m just… uhh,” Diamond toyed with the idea of telling her maid the truth, that she’d successfully angered a chaos god that was in league with her bare flanked rivals… “Tired… its been a long day and I really need to lay down for a while”.

In all fairness, would the truth really have changed things up all that much in the grand scheme of things?

The answer is of course yes! But she was a silly filly so it was understandable.

Silver Platter rubbed the side of head in confusion, maybe it was her sisters intuition kicking in, but something was definitely bothering Filthy Rich’s daughter.

Somewhere, someplace, a pink party pony announced “Well Duh!” much to the surprise of the customer she had been serving.

“Diamond, I…” But Diamond Tiara was already half way up the stairs.

“Sigh, never mind” With that, Silver Platter returned to her busy work, hopefully the filly would be more open to talking once dinner had been served.

xxx

Diamond was not in a talking mood!

Diamond sat near her father at the end of their long dining table, her father sitting at the head, his gaze focused solely on a hoof full of papers. In front of him sat his dinner, ignored as per usual. The servants busied themselves about the manner, either cleaning or watching the doors. Her father had always been particularly security conscious, though why, Diamond didn’t know.

Much like every other evening, the few times he was actually home, Diamond ate, and her father worked. It never really changed; Diamond would try to spark a conversation whilst her dad worked at the table, he have a half hearted answer, usually a ‘Yes’, ‘No’ or ‘Oh Really’, and the cycle repeated until either she or her dad left.

But then again, who knew? maybe that evening would be different.

“Soooo Dad… The class gerbil got out today” Admittedly it wasn’t the most stimulating of conversation topics but in all fairness, her father wasn’t exactly giving her a lot to work with.

“Hmmm… Oh really” Her father wasn’t asking a question, heck, his eyes didn’t leave his paper work.

Diamond frowned, as per usual the cycle continued.

“The Cutie Mark Creeps have a pet monster now”

Almost as though somepony had tapped on her shoulder, Diamond eyes darted around the room, looking for anything polka dot or out of place.

“Hmmm… that’s nice” Again, completely stoic, nothing remotely resembling interest.

Diamond ground her teeth; it was exactly the same, he didn’t care, nothing changed.

“He pretended to be me and Silver and he asked a bunch of weird questions!”

“Really… why’s that?”

Diamond’s jaw dropped, had he actually listened?

“Well, I think it had something to do with those Blank Flanks, you know how they are, always trying some new weird thing, I’ll bet they're just trying to prank me, but…”

“Dear, if this boy likes you he’ll let you know, I’m sure him being weird is just because he’s nervous” Filthy Rich waved off the conversation absentmindedly with his hoof, before going back to stacking his papers.

Diamond’s frown returned ten fold… her dad hadn’t paid more than an iota of attention. She was about to storm out, before an idea struck her.

“Dad, can we go to SugarCube Corner tomorrow?” Diamond raised her voice this time, she knew her dad hated shouting, but if it got his attention for a change then she didn’t care.

Filthy rubbed his right ear. Begrudgingly he place his work on the table, his eyes firmly planted on his foal.

“(Sigh) Yes sweetheart, what is it?”

Diamond face-hoofed, sometimes she wondered why she even bothered.

“I SAID…”

“Volume dear”

“I said, Can we go to SugarCube Corner tomorrow?”

Filthy rubbed the back of his head, an uneasy look on his face, a look which Diamond was all too familiar with.

“Darling, as much as I’d like too, I have work tomorrow and a meeting with the new building contractors…”

As per usual Filthy went off on a tangent listing off his schedule for the rest of the week, if Diamond had one thing to say about him it was that he was very well organised, Celestia forbid he ever gets together with Twilight Snarkle; Diamond shuddered at the thought, the last thing she need was two parents who never have time for her, let alone her least favorite princess and, in Diamonds opinion, one of the most boring ponies in Ponyville.

“... so I guess you’ll have to make do with Silver Spoon” Filthy placed a small bag of bits around Diamond’s neck.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go over the construction budget and write a letter to the new store manager.”

Filthy Rich made to leave, only to find Diamond standing in his way.

“Dad, we never do anything anymore”

Filthy ruffled Diamonds head, placing his work on his back.

“Of course we do, we just spent the last hour together, now I really need to finish these”

Walking out the dining room doors, whilst Silver Platter walked in.

“But DAAAAAAAAD!”

“Silver, be a dear and sure Diamond gets washed and put to bed, within the hour please!”

And just like every evening, Diamond’s words were lost and forgotten amidst a wave of papers, ink and Bits.

“Of course Mr Rich” Silver bowed ever so slightly as her boss left before picking up a downcast looking Diamond and placing her on her back, making her way to the upstairs bathroom.

“So, I trust you and your father had a nice meal” Silver smiled back at Diamond, but got no answer in return.

The next hour was spent in relative silence, with Silver Platter cleaning her in the tub whilst offering a less than interesting recap of, what she considered, a funny story, something about a colt and crush they once shared, but Diamond wasn’t really listening.

It never changed, every day was the same sad routine. Diamond would try talking to her dad, he’d brush her questions, worries and issues off as nothing and nothing would be achieved. But that was when her father was actually home, some nights Diamond ate her meals in silence, looking around the dining room at all the empty chairs, hoping just once that somepony would come in and talk or at least show a little interest in her for a change.

How did it get to a point where she had to get in trouble just to get her Dad to pay attention to her, to take an interest in her… acknowledge her as a pony, instead of a possession. His daughter and not something to wheel out when guests came over.

But of course, why should have to take care of his daughter, when he could just toss her a bag of bits and get back to his precious job.

Diamond was more than certain that if her father were asked when his greatest creation in life was, he’d say his business.

As ludicrous as it would sound to some, Diamond would gladly trade her dad’s money and job away, if it meant he’d at least be there to tuck her in at night, help her with her homework… or say he loved her.

The timing of the shower was perfect, a tear falling down Diamonds cheek as Silver washed Diamond’s mane.

Silver Platter dried Diamond mane and coat, smiling as she did so. It was a pleasant change of pace when Diamond didn’t offer any form of protest, it made her feel like she was doing a good job. Who knew, perhaps the little filly was finally warming up to her.

Silently Diamond followed Silver to her room, where Silver placed Diamond in her bed as well as her tiara on the bedside counter before turning to leave.

“Goodnight Miss Tiara, sweet dreams” With that Silver Platter closed the door and left.

With a sad whimper Diamond curled up in a small, yet strangely adorable pink ball, occasionally sniffling as she wiped her face with one of her hooves, this had also become a nightly thing for her, more so as each day went on.

She wasn’t sure how long she’d stayed that way, if she’d hazard a guess she would have assumed about an hour maybe, the silence broken now and then by a passing servant or, as was the case at the moment, her father talking down the hall.

Diamond’s ear flickered as she climbed out of her covers and placed and ear against the wall at the head of her bed. From what she could make out, her father was definitely talking with somepony.

“... and I think she’s really beginning to like having me around.”

That voice sounded like Silver Platter, what was that smiles and sunshine maid talking about now?

“I glad to hear it, with all the trouble she gets into its a wonder I get anything done at all...”

If words could kill, Diamond would have dropped then and there.

“Sometimes I wonder if I spoil her too much, its almost as if she doesn’t appreciate all the things I do… (sigh) I don’t know, maybe I coddle her too much”

Don’t Appreciate! Coddle? Diamond started grinding her teeth again, how could she show her appreciation when he was never around? and coddle? He never coddled her, heck, she yearned to be coddled, she prayed for so much as a hug, something, anything that didn’t involve absentmindedly handing her money and treating that as good parenting.

“Oh I don’t know about that sir, I’m sure she’s just at that age. Her teacher has said she has some of the best grades in class, that has to count for something.”

Praise, sweet praise… too bad it was coming from the wrong pony in this situation.

“I know, I just wish her attitude would improve, I don’t know where it comes from. But if what you’ve said is true, which I’m sure it is, I’ll bet she’ll be glad to have you as her full time babysitter.”

Full Time Babysitter! As in somepony to take care of her when her dad’s not around… Full Time?!! Her Dad barely spent anytime with her as it was, and now he was hiring somepony else to look after her.

“Anyway I’m going to be busy for the next few days, so make sure she gets to school on time and she has a dentist appointment in a few days, other than that just make sure she fed, watered and takes her baths, alright?”

Diamond dived under her covers, smothering her mouth, and screams, with her pillow.

“I AM NOT A THING!!!”

The clatter of something hitting the floor snapped Diamond out of her freak-out. Peeking out from her silk cocoon she noticed that, in her haste, she’d knocked her tiara to the floor.

Sighing she lent over the side of her bed, reaching down in the dark for her missing headwear, the light of the moon through her window doing very little to help her see.

“(Groan) Ohhhh”

Diamond’s eyes shot wide open as she leapt back onto her bed, something had just moaned, inside her room.

“Where the hell?” came a quieter voice from the dark

Diamond Tiara hopped to her hooves her head darting in every direction, but she couldn’t see anything… unless. Diamond’s gaze shifted down the side of her bed, she’d long forgotten the stories of Nightmare Moon stealing Ponies from their beds at night, but given what was happening here and now she was starting to remember why.

Unless of course the voice was coming from downstairs, listening intently Diamond couldn’t hear anything… maybe it had just been one of the staff.

Then again, after her run in with the Blank Flanks new mascot she wasn’t willing to simply brush this off.

Diamond shook her head, taking a deep breath as she steeled herself, she had a whole mansion of throwable staff at her disposal. Moving quickly before she had a chance to get scared again, she lent over the side of bed looked underneath.

Nothing.

Now if Diamond had ever seen a horror movie, she’d have considered the more than likely idea that if its not under the bed… maybe its behind her?

But unfortunately Diamond had never seen a horror movie, so…

‘Few’ Diamond wiped her forehead, a small chuckle escaping her lips.

She should have known it was nothing, just her encounter with Discord making her jumpy.

“What the actual fuck?” came a voice directly behind her

If Diamond’s eyes had been any wider I swear, her eye balls would have rolled out of their sockets. Then again, you try sitting in a dark bedroom, then turning to find a large alien head and shoulders looking right at you. (No not the shampoo, thats just silly… Sillier)

And that dear readers, is how Diamond Tiara met me…

… and then we both screamed.