Diamond Tiara IS Specialby sbloom85ChaptersSaturdaySundayMondaySaturdaySaturday Two weeks had passed since Diamond Tiara's life-changing visit by Discord. He had shown the filly something frightening: in the grand scheme of things, one pony's existence was meaningless. After learning this, she sulked in her room, refusing to leave for school; she hardly ate and it showed; she refused to see Silver Spoon, her only friend in Ponyville. Some days she wept about the monster she was toward others, while other days were spent in silent contemplation about how she can change. Crumpled parchment was spread all over the room. The filly had been trying to write apology letters to those she wronged, but the words kept feeling meaningless to her. There were the blank-flanks, ponies who had not yet found their special talent. Her primary targets had been Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Those three would stand up for themselves while others would just run away crying. She needed to learn to accept the fact that there will always be a pony in search of their cutie mark. There were also the meek ponies, such as Fluttershy. She would chastise them for being in her way and for mumbling incoherently when they spoke to her. She knew of her father's aggressive business tactics and tried to emulate him through everything she did, even in the most mundane of things. Needless to say, they ended up hurting more ponies than she was now comfortable with. She needed to learn patience and compassion. Finally, there were ponies who weren't as financially secure as her family. She would berate the mares and stallions who worked tirelessly to provide for their families. She would tease the foals of those mares and stallions, saying they would never amount to anything just for how they lived. In her mind, if a pony wasn't wealthy, they were worthless. She needed to learn that some ponies had to work harder to live and to work even harder to achieve their goals. She was at her desk. Her head rested on a fresh sheet of parchment, a quill rested in its inkwell. She had passed out as she tried to think of how to word her letters to the individual ponies. A quiet knock came from the door and woke her up. She looked over at the opening door and her mother peeked her head in. “Diamond, honey?” She rubbed her tear-stained eyes. “Mother?” Her mother frowned at the frazzled and unkempt filly. “All of Ponyville is worried about you, honey. You need to clean up, get something to eat and go out.” Worried about her? She was confused. After the way she treated them, why should they be worried about her? “Why? It's not like I'm special or anything.” Her mother raised an eyebrow. “Not special? What gave you that idea?” She sniffled and looked up to her mother. A tear somehow escaped an eye. “What Discord showed me...” she took a deep breath to regain her composure, if only slightly, “ponies went on with their lives... you and father...” Her mother rested a hoof tenderly on her daughter. “What about us?” She shook her head. “You tried so many times to have a foal, but...” Her mother kissed her on the crown of her head. “You are special, Diamond. You're special to your father and I. Forget what Discord showed you.” She laid her head back on the desk and circled a hoof on it. “I... I don't know what do.” She looked up to her mother, hoping for some kind of guidance. “Where do I start?” Her mother looked at the discarded parchment littering the room. “I take it the letters aren't working?” Diamond slowly shook her head. “Maybe instead of writing letters, you should confront them in pony.” She perked at the notion and was scared of it. “But what if ponies don't want to hear what I have to say?” Her mother smiled. “After a two week absence, I doubt anypony will shun you.” Taking her mother's words to heart, she looked to the tiara sitting on the desk in front of her. It had become a symbol of the monster she once was and knocked it off of the desk. She slowly climbed off the stool and found it difficult to stand. She wasn't very mobile for a couple of weeks and with all of the emotions coursing through her mind, her body felt like jelly. Luckily her mother was there to catch the stumbling filly. “Maybe I should have something to eat and clean up first.” Diamond's mother helped her to the kitchen and was set onto a chair across from her father. She walked to the stove and prepared it for breakfast. “How do eggs sound?” Diamond nodded. “Sounds good, mother.” Filthy Rich closed the newspaper he was reading, saw his daughter and started crying. “Diamond!” He hopped out of the chair, walked to her side and held her. “I'm glad to see you're out of your room. What can I get for you? Milk? Orange juice?” Diamond groaned as she rubbed her sensitive eyes. “Orange juice will be fine. What's today?” Filthy Rich kissed his daughter on the head. “Today's Saturday.” He walked to the cupboard and pulled out a small cup. He pulled an orange out of a basket and prepared it for juicing. His wife pulled out a carton of eggs, took it to the stove and began cracking them. Diamond sniffled. “I'm sorry, daddy.” He looked back to her and raised an eye. “For what?” She took a deep breath to calm herself. “For everything I had done. I've been such a brute to other ponies.” Filthy finished juicing the orange, brought it to the table and stroked his daughter's mane. “That may be, but you're my daughter and your mother and I will always love you.” Though his words were comforting, she was still unable to get over that day and what she had seen. There was no ridicule, there were no insults, everypony went about their day. He walked back to his chair and sat down. Her mother poured the eggs into a frying pan, making a sizzling sound as the cool liquid made contact with the hot surface. It wouldn't be long before breakfast would be ready. Usually the three would go out for breakfast, but in these times, she was glad they were eating in. Just her and her parents. Filthy gazed upon his daughter's tiara-missing head. “Not going to wear your crown, sweetie?” She shook her head. “No. It reminds me of... of...” He nodded. “It's okay, sweetie. You don't have to.” Several minutes passed in silence until Diamond's mother brought breakfast to the table. “Breakfast is ready.” Diamond weakly left the house with her mother after spending some time taking a bath after eating breakfast. She had forgotten how bright and warm the sun was in her self-imposed isolation. She squinted to try and see where she was going and decided to follow her mother until her eyes adjusted to the brightness. She took in the cool, fresh air around her and was thankful for it as the air in her room was beginning to become uncomfortably warm and stifling. Their first stop would be to Silver Spoon's house and Diamond insisted on taking an alternate path to avoid other ponies. Her mother looked to the filly and gave her a big smile. “I'm proud of you, Diamond.” She sniffled and stared at the ground. Her vision was already clearing up, but she was still sensitive to the bright ball in the sky. “Why? After everything I did to them, why are you proud of me?” Her mother continued smiling as she led her through town. “You're taking responsibility of your actions. Isolating yourself for all of this time had left your father and I in a terrible mess. We were worried sick about you, Diamond. Your father realized he was becoming a bad influence and had to take a leave of absence from work just to make sure you were okay. Cheerilee came over every day, asking about you and dropping off schoolwork so you could keep up. She even told me that the others missed you terribly.” What her mother said was contrary to what Discord had shown her and began to realize that she was as much a part of Ponyville... no, as much a part of Equestria as everypony else. The thought was unbearable and she collapsed and began crying again. Her mother laid next to her and tried comforting her. “What have I done?” “DT?!” She looked up to see where the source of the familiar voice came from. A gray earth pony filly galloped up to her. “DT! I was so worried about you.” The gray filly gently embraced her friend, forgoing their dance. “Everypony was worried about you.” The gentle touch of her friend began soothing her nerves. “Silver Spoon... do you think they'll forgive me?” Silver nodded and her tears dripped onto her friend's coat. “I know they will. And I know it won't be out of pity for what Discord did.” She backed up and looked into her friend's bloodshot eyes. “I can see it in your eyes, Diamond. You want to truly be a good pony now.” Diamond nodded. “Y-yes... I do.” Relieved to see her daughter in good hooves, Diamond's mother started walking away. “You take good care of her, Silver Spoon. I'm going into town for a bit.” Silver helped her friend up and smiled. “I kinda promised Apple Bloom and her friends I'd take you to see them if you decided to leave your house.” For the first time in over two weeks, Diamond Tiara smiled. “I'd like that. I'm going to need your help getting there... it's still hard for me to see.” Silver moved beside her and nuzzled her. “Lean on me, Diamond.” By the time the two got the clubhouse, Diamond's eyes were fully adjusted to the bright mid-morning sun. The two entered and found it empty. “Take a seat, I'll see if I can find out where they are.” Diamond made her way to a chair and sat on it. “Take your time...” Silver's ears splayed to the side. It was tough to see her friend like this. She looked outside and saw somepony carrying a tray. “Diamond... I think Applejack is coming over.” Diamond wordlessly nodded as she continued staring at the floorboards. Applejack entered the clubhouse, saw Silver comforting Diamond and set the tray on a table. “Howdy, girls. Ah saw ya comin' this way and thought y'all might be thirsty. Ah brought some freshly made apple juice.” Silver smiled. “Thank you, Applejack. Do you know where Apple Bloom and her friends might be?” AJ shook her head. “Nope, can't say Ah do. Ah could look fer 'em if ya'd rather stay with yer friend.” She looked to Diamond and grimaced. She knew what Discord had done to the poor filly, but she seemed to genuinely want to improve herself. “It's good that you're turnin' over a new leaf so young, sugarcube.” Diamond looked to the mare and gave a weak smile. “Thank you. I hope that I can be accepted again.” Applejack scoffed. “Just seein' ya here has made mah day. Ah'm off to find Apple Bloom.” Silver smiled. “Thank you, Applejack.” The blonde mare left the clubhouse to look for the Crusaders. Silver walked to the tray, picked up a bottle of the apple juice and brought it to her friend. “Come on, Diamond, drink up.” The Cutie Mark Crusaders galloped into their clubhouse, hoping Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were still there. They couldn't believe their eyes when they saw Diamond. She looked sickly thin, but she was there. “Diamond Tiara!” The filly flinched when Apple Bloom shouted. She still feared what they would do to her, but was taken aback when she received a hug from the trio. “Y-you're not mad at me?” They pulled away and Scootaloo huffed. “After everything you put us through, we'd be lying if we said we weren't.” Diamond's gaze returned to the floor. “But that doesn't mean that we're not happy to see you.” Diamond's throat felt tight. “I've been a monster. Not to just you three, but to many ponies.” Sweetie Belle laid a hoof on Diamond's shoulder. “We know... but you're still with us, Diamond. If you were willing to leave your house, certain that somepony would harass you, that makes you brave.” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo let out affirming grunts. Diamond sniffled and nuzzled her former victim. “I tried writing letters, but the words didn't feel right.” Apple Bloom shrugged. “We learned that words don't always express how ya feel. Ah think that as long as they see you out and not insultin' other ponies, you'll be forgiven.” For a brief moment, Diamond Tiara looked hopeful by Apple Bloom's words. “Do you think so?” Sweetie Belle nodded. “We know so. It might take a while for everypony to trust you again, but you showing your face in town will be the first step.” Diamond hung her head once more. “I... I don't know if I'm ready for that yet.” Sweetie Belle backed up and rejoined her friends. “Well don't worry, we'll be here for you.” Diamond let out a heavy sigh. “Thanks...” Scootaloo nervously rubbed the back of her head. “So... what have you been up to?” Diamond sniffled. “Other than trying to write letters, I've been thinking about what I had done. I was terrible to everypony and I don't want to be that filly again.” There was a knock by the window. It was Princess Twilight Sparkle. She looked to Diamond Tiara and smiled. “It is true.” Diamond whimpered. She began to feel overcrowded. “Why is everypony being so nice to me?” Twilight frowned. “You were having a rough time and it would be wrong to be mean to you.” Diamond put on a weak smile and nodded at Twilight. “Thank you, Your Majesty.” Twilight's warm smile returned. “Will you be going back to school?” Diamond nodded again. “Yes, I'll go back on Monday.” Twilight nodded. “I'll drop by during recess to see how you're doing.” Diamond's smile seemed to grow wider. “Thank you, Your Majesty.” Twilight blushed. “Please don't call me that. Call me Twilight.” Diamond shook her head. “No, that would be rude. You're a princess.” Twilight raised a hoof. “I don't want to make it a royal order.” Diamond's ears flattened as the Crusaders giggled and she nodded. “Yes... Twilight.” Twilight grinned. “Good. Have a good weekend, Diamond Tiara.” Twilight fluttered her wings before she took off. Silver Spoon looked out the window and followed the princess with her eyes. “She wouldn't have made it a royal order, would she?” Apple Bloom shook her head. “Ah doubt it. Y'all know how Twilight can be sometimes.” Sweetie Belle's horn sparked as she got an idea. “Ooh! Since Diamond doesn't want to go out, how about we play some board games to pass the time.” Apple Bloom laughed and nodded in agreement. “That's a great idea. I'll see if AJ'll bring some sandwiches for lunch.” She walked to the door and opened it. “Ah'll be back with some more drinks.” She left and closed the door behind her. Diamond started feeling a lot better knowing the Crusaders didn't hate her. “Thanks, girls.” Sweetie walked to a chest and opened it. “How about Clue?” Scootaloo huffed. “Not much of a detective here, Sweetie.” Sweetie groaned. “Monopony?” Diamond sighed. “I don't think I'm comfortable playing a game that glorifies hostile takeovers right now.” Sweetie whimpered as she rifled through the chest, looking for other games. “There isn't much else here.” Diamond lightly giggled. “We don't have to play a board game.” Sweetie closed the chest. “Oh yeah, there are other games. Truth or Dare or Twenty Questions?” Scootaloo waved a hoof. “Doesn't matter to me.” Silver nodded. “I'm up for either.” Sweetie looked to Diamond. “I think we'll go with Twenty Questions.” Diamond looked out the window. “Should we wait for Apple Bloom to come back?” Scootaloo chuckled. “Sweetie and I usually play while she's gone.” Sweetie Belle cleared her throat. “That settles it. I'll go first.” Apple Bloom returned with a tray of apple juice. “Sorry it took me so long. Had to help AJ for a bit. She'll stop by later with the sandwiches.” Diamond giggled. “Thank you, Apple Bloom.” Silver Spoon pondered her next question. “Does it have music on it?” Sweetie Belle shook her head. “Nope. Eight more left.” Diamond and Silver looked at each other. “It's small, disc-like... oh!” Diamond looked to Sweetie Belle. “Is it a frisbee?” Sweetie nodded. “That's right. You win, DT.” Diamond started laughing. The pain of guilt and worry was beginning to recede. Her longtime victims had become her friends and she became theirs and for the first time in nearly a month, she felt confident enough to go into town. She would do that tomorrow, but for now, she wanted to savor the moment with her new friends. Author's Note I thought I'd go for something a little different. The other stories were one-shots, and I debated whether to do the same, but this one I felt would make a better story if it was split into chapters. I hope that decision doesn't ruin it for those who enjoyed the first two. Feedback would be appreciated and thank you for reading. SundaySunday Saturday was a wonderful day. After eating daisy sandwiches for lunch, the Crusaders decided to take her and Silver Spoon with them and spent the afternoon helping them find their cutie marks. Their attempts were futile, of course, but Diamond and Silver had fun regardless. She was still quite surprised the trio took her in as quickly as they did. Even after the incident with Discord, they were quick to befriend her. At first she thought they did it out of pity, feeling that Discord went too far, but yesterday, she realized they genuinely wanted to be her friend and all it took was the physical embodiment of chaos to push them together. She feared the reaction she would get from the foals at school. She had tormented many of them, said nasty things about them personally, about their families, about trivial things like some being blank-flanks or their interest in things she found weird. Despite the kind words the Crusaders told her, she still felt they sugarcoated her situation. She also feared the reaction she would get from the adults. During dinner, she asked her father how she would go about things up with the town and he told her that the two would have a meeting with the mayor to set up a public speech. The thought terrified her. She was going to be speaking in front of the entire town. She knew many of the ponies would hold a grudge on her and her father, but that was something she had to face if she wanted to earn their trust and she began to prepare herself for the potential backlash she was about to receive. At the end of the day, to say she was beat would have been an understatement. So much went on and she did her best to keep up with it all. She had climbed into her bed and passed out on top of the blankets. She had a deep, dreamless sleep. The kind of sleep most ponies would kill for. She woke up to the pleasant sound of birds singing and found herself tucked underneath the blankets. She vaguely remembered being gently shuffled underneath, but couldn't remember who had done it. It wasn't worth trying to figure out for her waking mind and she slipped out of bed and tidied up the sheets before she walked to her mirror. She sighed as she picked up her hairbrush and began combing her mane. She looked up and saw a shelf on the wall just above the mirror that she asked her father to do. On it sat her tiara. She grumbled at it but remembered that it would serve as a reminder; a reminder that she needed to ignore the petty differences between her and the other ponies. Yesterday she promised herself that she would never wear it again, and she intended to keep that promise. “Diamond! Breakfast is almost ready!” This morning's breakfast consisted of two fluffy blueberry pancakes with butter and maple syrup; scrambled eggs; two pieces of toast with strawberry jam and orange juice. It was quite a breakfast, but she managed to eat it all up, much to her parents' surprise. Her reflection horrified her and she wanted to put some weight back on. After breakfast, she decided to take a bath. Her parents insisted they help her, but her insistence of taking care of herself convinced them to let her. With the tub filled, she closed the valves and slipped into the warm water. The water was soothing and she allowed her muscles to loosen and her mind to wander. She found herself thinking about Randolph, the family butler. She vaguely remembered seeing him poke his head in her room every once in a while to check on her, but he had been strangely absent the past week. There was a knock on the door, it opened and her mother looked inside. “Hey, Diamond.” Her mind snapped back to reality and looked at her mother. “Mom... where's Randy?” She entered the bathroom, turned and closed the door. She hung her head for a moment and turned back to her daughter, her eyes were glassy with the tears that were forming in them. She walked to the side of the tub, sat down and stroked her daughter's mane. “Diamond... he... he's gone.” Diamond's eyes widened and her mouth started trembling. “Y-you didn't... fire him, did you?” Her mother gasped. “No, Diamond. Randolph... he... passed on.” She turned her head and started sniffling. “Seeing you miserable broke his heart.” Diamond started crying. She loved him like a grandfather. She loved watching him perform his acrobatics. Aside from her parents, he was the only other pony she respected. Thinking about the way she treated him on the day she found out about the Crusaders' time with Twilight made the emotions flood. “I... I killed him.” Her mother pulled her in close and kissed the top of her head. “No, sweetie... you didn't kill him. It was his time.” She shook her head. “N... no, mom. Had I kept going, he'd still be here.” Her mother sobbed and pressed her face into her daughter's mane. “Don't think that, sweetie.” Diamond sniffled as she started to regain her composure. “I... I want to see him... I want to... I want to say goodbye.” Her mother rested her chin on Diamond's head and slowly nodded. “Okay. We'll take you to see him before we head to town hall. It's on the way.” Diamond nodded and hiccuped a few times. “O-okay. Thank you, mom.” Her mother picked up a pump bottle of shampoo, set it on the sink next to the tub, then picked up a bottle of conditioner, set it next to the shampoo, pumped some shampoo onto her hoof and lathered it into Diamond's mane. “What else is wrong, sweetie?” Diamond hiccuped. “I'm worried about the other kids at school... and the adults.” Her mother let out a contemplating hum as she continued lathering the shampoo. “I wouldn't worry much about the adults, sweetie.” She rinsed her hoof, pumped some conditioner and began lathering it into Diamond's man. “You're still a child and they know that.” She looked up to her mother. “Do you really think so?” Her mother slowly nodded as she kneaded the shampoo and conditioner. Her ministrations may have physically relaxed Diamond, but she was still worried about what today was going to bring. “Thank you, mom... for everything.” Diamond had finished bathing and was dried off. She and her parents left the house and took an isolated path to the Ponyville cemetery. The trip would be silent and memories of the old butler filled her mind. She recalled a day she twisted a hoof on her way home from Silver Spoon's. Silver ran to her house and came back with Randolph who carried her the rest of the way. Her parents were away on a business trip at the time and she was thankful he was around. He tended to her on an hourly basis. Part of her thought it was annoying, but she never spoke up. Looking back now, she was glad she didn't. The three entered the cemetery and made their way to Randolph's grave. She plopped down in front of the gravestone and began sniffling. “I'm so sorry, Randolph.” She hung her head and closed her eyes. “Even in my isolation, I was only thinking of myself.” Filthy comfortingly stroked her mane. “As have I, Diamond. I was so absorbed in providing for you and your mother that I haven't been much of a father to you.” He gently lifted her head up and looked her in the eyes. “That changed when you locked yourself up.” Diamond's mother sat beside her and held her. “Do you want to know want to know what his last words were?” She felt Diamond press her face into her side and slowly nodded. “He said he loved you and he would have done anything to keep you happy.” Diamond started crying again in a mixture of joy and pain. She knew that he would do anything and has everything he could and it often worked for her. She walked up to the gravestone and hugged it. “I'll miss you, Randy.” She walked backward toward her parents and heaved a mighty sigh. “Let's go to town hall...” Filthy looked curiously at his daughter. “Are you sure? We haven't been here long.” Diamond nodded. “Y-yeah... I'd like to come back later, though.” The three approached the town square and one by one, pairs of eyes shifted their direction. Diamond began to feel nauseous from the attention she was receiving. There were gasps and quiet murmurs. “Is that Diamond Tiara?” One pony asked. “That poor filly, she looks miserable.” That comment alone sparked some hope in her, but it was just one pony. They continued toward town hall. The mayor was standing outside, watching two pegasi hang a banner on the building. She gave an approving nod to them. “That's good! Just a little more to my right!” The pegasi maneuvered as such and let the banner settle. “Perfect!” The pegasi hoof-bumped and flew off. Behind her, Filthy cleared his throat to gain her attention. The mayor turned and smiled at the family. “Ah! Good morning!” She looked to a terrified Diamond Tiara. “Diamond Tiara!” The filly flinched. “I'm happy to see that you're out of the house. Come, let's head to my office.” The three followed the mayor into the building and into her office. “Have a seat. What can I do for you?” They sat down and Diamond's parents nudged her. Diamond looked up to the smiling mayor. “I... I want to apologize to everypony.” The mayor looked confused. “For what, dear?” Diamond looked down to the floor and sniffled. “I've been terrible to everypony.” The mayor chuckled. “Diamond Tiara, do you honestly think you're the only one in your situation who has acted out in such a manner?” Diamond's ears perked as she gave the mayor a curious look. “I remember growing up, your father acted similarly. He changed as soon as his father brought him into the family business.” Diamond looked up to her father and he nodded. She then looked back to the mayor. “Does that mean I should get a job?” The mayor shook her head. “No, I brought that up as merely an example. There have been other foals who acted the same way, and many of those foals never grew out of that mindset. You're still young, dear, you should enjoy your foalhood as much as you can. If you would like a job to prepare you to be a responsible citizen, I'm willing to give you a clerical job. It'll be monotonous and somewhat frustrating, but it's an entry level position and shouldn't be taxing for you.” Filthy cleared his throat. “At first I was wondering if you could call the ponies over, but it looks like there's a crowd forming already.” The mayor nodded in agreement. “Yes. No doubt Diamond's presence has piqued their interest.” Diamond's mother pecked her on the top of the head and looked to her husband. “Come on, honey, let's give our daughter some time to think about what she wants to say.” Her parents opened the door and she caught a quick glimpse of Silver Spoon before the door swung shut. The door opened again and Silver galloped up to her. “Silver Spoon!” She hopped off the chair and hugged her friend, letting out a sad laugh. Silver nuzzled her friend affectionately. “I heard you came this way.” The mayor smiled. “Let's head into the lobby.” There they were, a crowd of ponies had gathered around town hall. Diamond swallowed hard seeing the number of mares, stallions, fillies and colts. She saw her parents at the front of the crowd, talking with the others. At her side was the mayor and Silver Spoon who did their best to calm the filly. “Come, Miss Tiara, you have a speech to make.” Silver nuzzled her friend comfortingly. “It's going to be alright, DT.” Diamond nodded, trying to force back the flood of emotions that were running through her. Silver Spoon helped her to the door and the mayor opened it. The fillies followed closely behind her as they approached the podium. She looked to the side and, to her surprise, Twilight was present. She looked to the back rows and she saw it; she saw the hard glares ponies were shooting her; she felt the anger they were radiating. She wanted to go home, but she knew she couldn't. The mayor cleared her throat. “Mares and stallions; fillies and colts, thank you all for coming this afternoon. I am aware that the filly who will be speaking has been problematic for many of you. Despite what she has done, I don't expect you to like her, but I do expect you to be on your best behavior.” She looked toward Twilight, nodded and moved away from the podium. Twilight levitated a stool in front of the podium and lifted Diamond onto it. “Go ahead, Diamond.” Diamond cleared her throat and examined the ponies before her. Seeing the mixed expressions, from anger to pity, made her throat tighten. “I... I'm sorry, everypony. I know I've been rude and inconsiderate, among other things... many of you thought of me as a spoiled, self-centered snob of a foal... and you would be right. That day with Discord... it opened my eyes to what was really important.” She glanced toward her parents, then to the Crusaders, then back to the crowd. “Friends... family... enjoying life to its fullest. For two weeks I've been afraid... afraid to face the consequences of what I put you all through...” she glanced the back rows and the hardened glares began to soften. “I will not ask for forgiveness and I will not ask for pity. I'm ready to start treating ponies better than I have in the past.” She raised a hoof and pointed to the Crusaders. “Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, three ponies I never imagined would count me as a friend have. I tormented them constantly, about their blank flanks; Scootaloo's wings; Sweetie Belle's difficulty using magic and their efforts in finding cutie marks.” She looked around the podium for a cup of water. There wasn't one and Twilight caught on, levitating a small cup to her. She took a sip, set the cup on the podium and looked back to Twilight. “Thank you.” She took a deep breath and looked back to the crowd. “I've been a bully for too long and I want to do better by everypony.” Among the crowd, she saw Berry Punch, a mare she constantly slandered as being an uncontrollable alcoholic; she also saw Derpy Hooves, a mare she identified as a walking, flying disaster after the incident at the town hall where she tried to help decorate but ended up destroying more than half of the building. One thing she admired about both mares was that both of them were always cheerful. She saw Miss Cheerilee giving her a proud smile. She knew her behavior was tough on the teacher and she remembered ignoring the lectures she gave. Diamond found her voice hitching as she pressed herself to continue. “I've been doing a lot of thinking these past two weeks. I've come to realize that I'm envious and... maybe a little jealous.” She received a confused look from the crowd. “I'm envious of the hard work you all put into everything you do... from work to being with your families. I've been too used to have things given to me with little to no effort. I'm jealous of the foals' relationships with their parents. My father is usually away on business and my mother would be off doing her own thing. I rarely saw either of them, so my company would be either...” she took a deep breath to hold back her emotions, “our butler Randolph or my friend Silver Spoon.” She looked to her parents who looked flabbergasted and sighed. “I'm sorry. I acted out because I wanted your attention.” She looked among the crowd. Her speech had an impact on them she didn't expect. In the back, where the most spiteful ponies were, were now on the verge of tears. She saw a lot of sentimental nods among other ponies, from both foals and adults. “My isolation has hurt many ponies and even in that, I was being selfish. Randolph took it the hardest and it... it killed him. I was too absorbed in my own self-pity that I neglected those I cared for. I'm sorry everypony...” An hour had passed since the speech ended. Diamond found herself being forgiven by nearly everypony who was present. She, her parents and Silver Spoon visited the floral shop and picked up a dozen tulips. Diamond insisted she carried them as they returned to the cemetery. Silver Spoon stayed back as Diamond walked up to the gravestone and laid the flowers against it. When she returned to her side, she stroked her friend's mane. “I'm sorry about Randolph...” Diamond nodded. “So am I.” She wiped her face with a hoof and sniffled. “I'll never forget you, Randy.” Her mother smiled upon her daughter. “I'm happy for you, Diamond. Are you ready to go back to school tomorrow?” She smiled excitedly up to her mother and nodded. “I am, now.” Author's Note This had been very emotional for me to write, especially the parts involving Randolph. When stressed, I get myoclonic seizures, and this was a very stressful chapter for me. MondayMonday After returning home from the cemetery, Diamond proceeded to do the schoolwork that had been neglected. She would ask Miss Cheerilee if she could stay for private sessions to catch up on what she didn't understand or go through. In the past she wouldn't have bothered herself and paid somepony else to do it for her as it was all boring to her, but she was now determined to complete as much as she could on her own. There were some simple math equations that were given to her, mostly division and multiplication and a few addition and subtraction problems. There were also some reading problems to solve, some were included with reviews of recent history. She thought back to Apple Bloom's grandmother and her reminiscence of the founding of Ponyville. Before that she believed that if it weren't for her family, Ponyville wouldn't exist, after the presentation, she didn't think much about it, but now, she realized that without the symbiotic relationship between her family and the Apples, Ponyville would be a different place right now, that's if it existed at all and it was all thanks to the annual blooming of the zap apples and the cooperation between two families. If there was one constant, it was that she never wanted to dress up as a bunny again. Silver Spoon seemed to enjoy it, though and that's all that mattered to her. At the end of the day, in between small meals, she had caught up with most of the work. There was an essay that needed to be written about life in Ponyville compared to Cloudsdale, Canterlot and Appleloosa. She visited Canterlot a number of times on field trips, a city populated mostly by unicorns. She read about the pegasus-exclusive city of Cloudsdale and the earth pony town of Appleloosa, but never visited either. It was impossible for an earth pony to visit Cloudsdale without the help of a unicorn for a walk on clouds spell, or be stuck on a hot air balloon or some kind of aircraft. Appleloosa would be a long train ride, but the sights of the vast open plains and buffalo piqued a new curiosity within her. She already had an idea of what to write and decided to jot down notes before she went to bed. It was finally Monday and Diamond Tiara looked at herself in the mirror to make sure she was ready to face the other fillies and colts at school. She had put a few pounds back on over the weekend and started looking like a healthy filly again. She could still see her ribs, but not like it was just a couple of days ago. There was a brief knock and her bedroom door opened. Her father peeked his head in and smiled at his daughter. “Is my little filly ready to go back to school?” She giggled. “Not before breakfast.” He nodded. “Speaking of which, it's almost ready.” Her smile hadn't faltered as she licked her lips, her mouth watered in anticipation and she galloped out of her room, passing between her father's legs on the way out. He turned and saw his daughter rounding a corner, heading toward the kitchen. He smiled and shook his head. “Kids.” This morning's breakfast was the same as yesterday's, but Diamond wolfed it down as if she was eating it for the first time. Her appetite was catching up and she ended up eating more than she could handle, giving her an uncomfortably full belly. She vowed never to do that again. A half hour had passed and Diamond was ready. She approached the front door just as it was knocked on. She opened it and saw Silver Spoon outside. The filly greeted her with a warm smile. “Good morning, Silver Spoon.” Silver's smile turned into a grin. “Morning, DT! You have no idea how happy I am that you're coming back to school.” Diamond nodded and closed the door behind her. “I imagine you're not the only pony.” Diamond and Silver rounded a corner and a rushing colt ran into Diamond and the two tumbled. She wasn't happy about the accident and when she recovered her senses, she found herself on top of the still dazed unicorn colt, perpendicular on his back. She scowled at him as she got up. She opened her mouth to say something, but she took a deep breath and her anger softened. “Are you alright?” The colt shook the cobwebs out of his head. He looked up to the filly he ran into and fearfully backed away. “Please! Leave me alone!” She extended a hoof, offering to help the colt up, but he flinched. “Go away!” He scrambled to his hooves and took off in a blur. Diamond looked to Silver in shock. She was sure some ponies would hold a grudge against her, but ponies fearing her? “Silver Spoon? Have we seen him before?” Silver shrugged. “He looked kinda familiar, but...” She looked to the ground and smiled. “Oh! He forgot his saddle bag.” This gave Diamond an idea. “Let's pick it up and return it to him when we see him at school. I'll carry it.” Silver raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you'll be able to carry it.” Diamond looked pleadingly into her eyes. “Please, Silver. I want to.” Silver lowered her head to pick up the bag and saw a name tag. “Astro Tale.” She picked up the bag and set it on Diamond's back. Diamond looked at the bag with curiosity. “Is that his name?” Silver slowly nodded. “I imagine so. Come on, DT. You don't want to be late on your first day back, do you?” Diamond shook her head. “No, I don't.” Diamond and Silver reached the front of the school. “I hope he comes in today... I feel bad for scaring him.” Silver gave her friend a gentle nudge. “It's not your fault.” Diamond raised an eyebrow as she adjusted the two saddle bags on her back. “It might have been... maybe I harassed him.” Silver smiled. “Come on, let's see if we can find him.” Diamond shook her head. “There's only one classroom, so we shouldn't have a problem with that.” Silver giggled. “That's the spirit, DT.” The two headed up the stairs to enter, but Diamond stopped. Her ears perked as she heard faint sobs. She looked to her confused friend. “Go on, I'll be in in a bit.” Silver nodded and went inside the building. Diamond walked around the building and saw something, or somepony at the gazebo. She smiled and began trotting in that direction. The cries grew louder as she got closer. Slowly and quietly, she climbed up the stairs. It was him; it was Astro Tale. Hearing him cry made her throat tighten. “A-are you Astro Tale?” The colt looked at her and looked at her fearfully. “W-what are you doing here? Please! I just want to be left alone!” She nodded. “I'll leave you alone, but first...” she struggled as she slowly lifted his saddle bag off of her, set it on the ground and gently pushed it his way, “I wanted to return this to you.” His eyes widened in surprise as the filly nudged his bag. He sniffled and wiped his eyes. “Y-you...” She backed away as he approached his bag. “You dropped it when you ran away earlier. I'll understand if you don't want to be friends with me. I was mean to lots of ponies and you probably suffered too.” He looked up to her. “I-it wasn't just me... you teased our group... calling us 'hopeless basement-dwelling nerds'.” Hearing the insult made Diamond's ears fold back and cringe. “I saw you, yesterday... at town hall. I heard your speech.” He hung his head. “I was afraid. Afraid you were fooling everypony. I didn't see you up close like this. You really have changed.” She blushed. “I'm trying. It would probably be too much to ask to be your friend, but I hope we can start fresh.” She extended a hoof. “Maybe you can introduce me to your friends?” He shook his head. “I don't know, Miss Tiara, I-” She giggled. “Please, call me Diamond, or DT.” He smiled and nodded. “They might still be upset with you.” She hung her head and nodded in agreement. “I deserve it.” He walked up to her and rested a hoof on her back. “Meet us here during recess.” She raised her head and smiled. “I will.” The school bell rang, signaling class was about to start. The two foals walked to the schoolhouse side by side. The bell for recess rang and the foals started filing out of the schoolhouse. Before she joined the others, Diamond walked up to Cheerilee. “Miss Cheerilee?” The schoolteacher smiled. “Diamond Tiara. You have no idea how good it felt to see you walk through that door this morning. It was like a weight was lifted off of me.” Diamond smiled. “I'm not going to let that happen again, Miss Cheerilee. That's a Pinkie Promise.” She made the gestures that came with said promise. “The only thing I haven't done was the essay.” Cheerilee chuckled. “That's okay, Diamond. Half of the ponies haven't done it either. It wasn't required.” Diamond nodded understandingly. “I'm glad to hear that. I finished the other work as best as I could.” Cheerilee flipped through the papers. “I can see that. I have a lot to do yet, but I'll make to have your work graded by Wednesday.” Diamond nodded. “You're a wonderful teacher, Miss Cheerilee.” She let out a tiny gasp as she remembered something. “Oh shoot! I have somepony waiting for me at the gazebo.” She turned around and galloped out the front door. Outside, her friends were waiting for her. Recess began and Diamond and Silver followed the Crusaders to the small playground. Diamond looked beyond the school grounds and saw Twilight flying toward the school. She was surprised the princess kept her word. Twilight landed just outside of the school grounds and walked onto the playground. All the foals stopped what they were doing, looked her way and bowed. The new princess smiled. “Please rise, everypony.” The ponies complied, in awe that the new princess was visiting their school. Diamond slowly made her way to Twilight and bowed before her. “Good day, Your Majesty.” Twilight motioned for Diamond to rise and she did. “Good day to you, Diamond Tiara. You look well today. I see you're gaining some weight back. It was hard to see you look so thin.” Diamond's ears flattened and she nodded in agreement. “I know.” She looked back to the gazebo and then to Twilight. “I'm supposed to be meeting somepony.” Twilight nodded. “Don't let me stop you. Would you mind if I came along?” Diamond smiled and shook her head. “After you, then.” Diamond and Twilight began a slow walk to the gazebo. Diamond looked up to Twilight with curiosity. “Do you still write Princess Celestia friendship letters?” Twilight nodded. “On occasion, but lately other ponies have come to me asking to send some. Did you have something in mind?” Diamond nodded. Twilight magicked a quill, some ink and a parchment. “Normally I'd have Spike do this, but you're a special case. So, what's on your mind?” The two arrived at the gazebo and Twilight sent the letter off. “Good job, Diamond Tiara. I'm proud of you.” They climbed up the stairs and saw a lone colt staring off into the distance. He heard Twilight's voice say “Diamond Tiara” and he turned. He saw the filly was right in front of her, along with Princess Twilight Sparkle and he bowed. “Your Majesty!” Twilight smiled. “It's okay. You may stand.” The colt complied. “Diamond Tiara. I'm sorry my friends aren't here. They're still afraid of you. Please don't be mad with them.” Diamond smiled. “It's okay, Astro Tale. I can't say I blame them.” Astro nodded. “Thank you for coming.” Twilight squeed, the kind one would when suffering from cuteness overload. “This. Is. Adorable!” Diamond Tiara wasn't sure if she should feel embarrassed. She looked to Astro and it looked like he felt the same way. Twilight giggled. “I'm sorry. I'll leave you two alone while I talk to Cheerilee.” Astro blinked a few times in confusion. “What was that about?” Diamond shrugged as she watched Twilight canter off. “I think our princess is a little nutty.” Astro gasped. “What did you say?” Diamond looked to Astro. “Don't get me wrong, she's a wonderful pony, if a bit off. How long have you been in Ponyville?” Astro shrugged. “Almost a year. My family moved here in the summer. We came from Los Pegasus.” Diamond nodded. “Twilight Sparkle has been a princess for about a year. Two and a half years ago, there was an incident in town... involving a doll and... I think friendship problems.” The colt raised and eyebrow in confusion. “I'm going to have to talk to the Crusaders about it.” Astro looked like he was starting to freak out. “'Crusaders'?” Speaking of the devils, the Crusaders and Silver Spoon made their way to the gazebo. Scootaloo gave her a wicked grin. “Who's this, Diamond? Is he your new coltfriend?” The other Crusaders started chuckling, but Silver cleared her throat as she saw her friend's face go flush, but hers wasn't the only one. “This is probably not the best time to be teasing DT.” Scootaloo heaved a heavy sigh. “I guess you're right. Sorry, Diamond.” Diamond waved a hoof dismissively. “After what I did, it's only fair.” The bell rang, signaling that recess was almost over. Apple Bloom waved a hoof, gesturing everypony to follow her. “Come on, we don't want to be late.” Diamond nodded and looked back to Astro as the two stood up. “Want to meet back here tomorrow?” The colt gave the question a brief thought and slowly nodded. “Sure.” The group headed back to the schoolhouse. Apple Bloom looked back to Astro. “What do ya do for fun?” He smiled. “My friends and I get together and play some Ponies & Drakes. I also like to read.” Diamond looked at him curiously. “What about?” He shrugged. “Science fiction, mostly. Stories set in outer space.” Diamond giggled. “Hence the name 'Astro Tale'.” Astro nodded. “Yep. Someday I plan on writing my own stories.” All the fillies giggled and Scootaloo circled around him before patting him on the back. “Good luck with that.” He nodded again, with a big grin on his face. “Thanks.” Suddenly, Diamond Tiara was teleported away. The others stopped and looked to where she stood. “W-where'd DT go?!” Dear Princess Celestia, Over the course of a month, I have undergone a drastic change. I used to believe that I was the center of everypony's universe, that I should be treated like princess and that I could do no wrong. I was wrong and I hurt others without realizing what I had done. My ordeal has taught me many things: be polite and patient toward others; live life to the fullest and enjoy every moment. Other than Silver Spoon, I had no real friends before Discord. At first, I thought Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo befriended me out of pity, but their intentions were genuine, they wanted to be my friend. A colt I had teased about his interests was still afraid of me, but through a single act of kindness, I showed him I changed and I think he's starting to like me and I have Discord to thank for what he has done for me. Your humble subject, Diamond Tiara Princess Celestia set the letter down, slid it across the table with her hoof and, with her magic, lifted a glass of wine to her muzzle and took a sip. She looked to her companion and smiled. “You have done well.” Her companion lifted the letter and scratched his tuft of chin hair in confusion as he read it. “Really? I didn't see this coming.” Celestia took another sip and set it back on the table. “Neither did I. You should go see her and let her thank you herself.” Discord shook his head and set the letter down. “Friendship has been interesting so far, Celestia, but I'm not sure if I'll ever get used to it. But I will go see her.” Celestia nodded in affirmation. “Good. Speaking of 'friendship', how are things with Fluttershy?” Discord chuckled and sipped some wine. “She still tries to give me her stare whenever I do something naughty. After the Tirek fiasco, it seems that it might be breaking my defense against it.” Celestia let out a playful hum. “She's going to have to teach me how to do it, maybe I can improve its potency.” Discord let out an annoyed huff. “I assure you, Celestia, after dealing with Tirek, I will never betray you and your ponies again.” He stood up and poured the rest of the wine into his mouth, magicked the glass away and gave a quick curtsey. “If you'll excuse me, I have a filly to see. Ta!” Diamond found herself on a hill overlooking Ponyville. She could see everything at this vantage point: town hall; the clock tower; Ponyville Urgent Care; the schoolhouse. She turned around and saw something else, a pair of yellow and red goofy eyes. She let out a quick yelp and fell backwards. Discord snaked his way behind Diamond and embraced her in a gentle hug. “Sorry about spooking you, Diamond Tiara. I couldn't resist.” Diamond let out an annoyed grunt and picked herself up. “Discord. I should've guessed it was you.” She turned around and reciprocated Discord's hug. “Thank you.” The draconequus settled on the ground and propped his head up on his paw. “For what, my dear?” Diamond smiled, lowered her head and shook it. “For showing me that other world.” She started slowly pacing back and forth. “For a while I thought it was true... that there was nothing special about me. Now I realize that in a way, I am.” She looked to him and he was listening intently. “I know I'm not special to everypony, but I am to a few, and I'm happy for it.” His eyes started welling up hearing the filly spill her guts. He sniffled and wiped his eyes with his talon. “I hate to admit it, but you've grown on me as well, Diamond.” She trotted up to him and snuggled beside him. “No more pranks?” He nodded. “No more pranks.” She looked up to him with a serious look on her face. “Pinkie promise?” He let out an annoyed sigh and nodded. “Cross my heart, hope to fly,” he manifested a cupcake in his talon, “stick a cupcake in my eye.” He did and she burst into laughter, not expecting him to actually do it. He teleported away, letting her fall onto the ground. He reappeared standing in front of her. “It was good to see you, Diamond, but right now I've got errands to run for Fluttershy.” She nodded. “Tell her I'm sorry.” He nodded, some crumbs from the cupcake flew off his face and snapped his talon, sending Diamond back to the school. Diamond found herself sitting at her desk next to Silver Spoon. Disoriented, she looked around the classroom and shook her head. Silver laid a hoof on her back and had a sympathetic look on her face. “Diamond? Are you alright?” She nodded. Twilight walked up to her. “Discord?” She nodded again. “Well, I'm glad you're okay.” She set some papers on her desk. “I helped Cheerilee grade paperwork during recess. Congratulations, Diamond, you passed.” She walked away from the still disoriented filly. In one month, her life had been turned upside down. She used to be a stuck up filly who cared little for everypony's feelings, now she's a humble filly, not wanting to hurt others anymore. It was Discord who nudged her on this path and she felt better knowing that he was around. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She smiled, opened her eyes and looked to Cheerilee. “Did I miss anything?” The teacher shook her head. “No, we were just about to resume.” Author's Note Thank you everyone. I never expected any of my stories to be well received like my three DT stories were. I think this will do it for Diamond Tiara for now and I hope this chapter didn't ruin it for you. I might do another one-shot later, just with a different side character.
SaturdaySaturday Two weeks had passed since Diamond Tiara's life-changing visit by Discord. He had shown the filly something frightening: in the grand scheme of things, one pony's existence was meaningless. After learning this, she sulked in her room, refusing to leave for school; she hardly ate and it showed; she refused to see Silver Spoon, her only friend in Ponyville. Some days she wept about the monster she was toward others, while other days were spent in silent contemplation about how she can change. Crumpled parchment was spread all over the room. The filly had been trying to write apology letters to those she wronged, but the words kept feeling meaningless to her. There were the blank-flanks, ponies who had not yet found their special talent. Her primary targets had been Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Those three would stand up for themselves while others would just run away crying. She needed to learn to accept the fact that there will always be a pony in search of their cutie mark. There were also the meek ponies, such as Fluttershy. She would chastise them for being in her way and for mumbling incoherently when they spoke to her. She knew of her father's aggressive business tactics and tried to emulate him through everything she did, even in the most mundane of things. Needless to say, they ended up hurting more ponies than she was now comfortable with. She needed to learn patience and compassion. Finally, there were ponies who weren't as financially secure as her family. She would berate the mares and stallions who worked tirelessly to provide for their families. She would tease the foals of those mares and stallions, saying they would never amount to anything just for how they lived. In her mind, if a pony wasn't wealthy, they were worthless. She needed to learn that some ponies had to work harder to live and to work even harder to achieve their goals. She was at her desk. Her head rested on a fresh sheet of parchment, a quill rested in its inkwell. She had passed out as she tried to think of how to word her letters to the individual ponies. A quiet knock came from the door and woke her up. She looked over at the opening door and her mother peeked her head in. “Diamond, honey?” She rubbed her tear-stained eyes. “Mother?” Her mother frowned at the frazzled and unkempt filly. “All of Ponyville is worried about you, honey. You need to clean up, get something to eat and go out.” Worried about her? She was confused. After the way she treated them, why should they be worried about her? “Why? It's not like I'm special or anything.” Her mother raised an eyebrow. “Not special? What gave you that idea?” She sniffled and looked up to her mother. A tear somehow escaped an eye. “What Discord showed me...” she took a deep breath to regain her composure, if only slightly, “ponies went on with their lives... you and father...” Her mother rested a hoof tenderly on her daughter. “What about us?” She shook her head. “You tried so many times to have a foal, but...” Her mother kissed her on the crown of her head. “You are special, Diamond. You're special to your father and I. Forget what Discord showed you.” She laid her head back on the desk and circled a hoof on it. “I... I don't know what do.” She looked up to her mother, hoping for some kind of guidance. “Where do I start?” Her mother looked at the discarded parchment littering the room. “I take it the letters aren't working?” Diamond slowly shook her head. “Maybe instead of writing letters, you should confront them in pony.” She perked at the notion and was scared of it. “But what if ponies don't want to hear what I have to say?” Her mother smiled. “After a two week absence, I doubt anypony will shun you.” Taking her mother's words to heart, she looked to the tiara sitting on the desk in front of her. It had become a symbol of the monster she once was and knocked it off of the desk. She slowly climbed off the stool and found it difficult to stand. She wasn't very mobile for a couple of weeks and with all of the emotions coursing through her mind, her body felt like jelly. Luckily her mother was there to catch the stumbling filly. “Maybe I should have something to eat and clean up first.” Diamond's mother helped her to the kitchen and was set onto a chair across from her father. She walked to the stove and prepared it for breakfast. “How do eggs sound?” Diamond nodded. “Sounds good, mother.” Filthy Rich closed the newspaper he was reading, saw his daughter and started crying. “Diamond!” He hopped out of the chair, walked to her side and held her. “I'm glad to see you're out of your room. What can I get for you? Milk? Orange juice?” Diamond groaned as she rubbed her sensitive eyes. “Orange juice will be fine. What's today?” Filthy Rich kissed his daughter on the head. “Today's Saturday.” He walked to the cupboard and pulled out a small cup. He pulled an orange out of a basket and prepared it for juicing. His wife pulled out a carton of eggs, took it to the stove and began cracking them. Diamond sniffled. “I'm sorry, daddy.” He looked back to her and raised an eye. “For what?” She took a deep breath to calm herself. “For everything I had done. I've been such a brute to other ponies.” Filthy finished juicing the orange, brought it to the table and stroked his daughter's mane. “That may be, but you're my daughter and your mother and I will always love you.” Though his words were comforting, she was still unable to get over that day and what she had seen. There was no ridicule, there were no insults, everypony went about their day. He walked back to his chair and sat down. Her mother poured the eggs into a frying pan, making a sizzling sound as the cool liquid made contact with the hot surface. It wouldn't be long before breakfast would be ready. Usually the three would go out for breakfast, but in these times, she was glad they were eating in. Just her and her parents. Filthy gazed upon his daughter's tiara-missing head. “Not going to wear your crown, sweetie?” She shook her head. “No. It reminds me of... of...” He nodded. “It's okay, sweetie. You don't have to.” Several minutes passed in silence until Diamond's mother brought breakfast to the table. “Breakfast is ready.” Diamond weakly left the house with her mother after spending some time taking a bath after eating breakfast. She had forgotten how bright and warm the sun was in her self-imposed isolation. She squinted to try and see where she was going and decided to follow her mother until her eyes adjusted to the brightness. She took in the cool, fresh air around her and was thankful for it as the air in her room was beginning to become uncomfortably warm and stifling. Their first stop would be to Silver Spoon's house and Diamond insisted on taking an alternate path to avoid other ponies. Her mother looked to the filly and gave her a big smile. “I'm proud of you, Diamond.” She sniffled and stared at the ground. Her vision was already clearing up, but she was still sensitive to the bright ball in the sky. “Why? After everything I did to them, why are you proud of me?” Her mother continued smiling as she led her through town. “You're taking responsibility of your actions. Isolating yourself for all of this time had left your father and I in a terrible mess. We were worried sick about you, Diamond. Your father realized he was becoming a bad influence and had to take a leave of absence from work just to make sure you were okay. Cheerilee came over every day, asking about you and dropping off schoolwork so you could keep up. She even told me that the others missed you terribly.” What her mother said was contrary to what Discord had shown her and began to realize that she was as much a part of Ponyville... no, as much a part of Equestria as everypony else. The thought was unbearable and she collapsed and began crying again. Her mother laid next to her and tried comforting her. “What have I done?” “DT?!” She looked up to see where the source of the familiar voice came from. A gray earth pony filly galloped up to her. “DT! I was so worried about you.” The gray filly gently embraced her friend, forgoing their dance. “Everypony was worried about you.” The gentle touch of her friend began soothing her nerves. “Silver Spoon... do you think they'll forgive me?” Silver nodded and her tears dripped onto her friend's coat. “I know they will. And I know it won't be out of pity for what Discord did.” She backed up and looked into her friend's bloodshot eyes. “I can see it in your eyes, Diamond. You want to truly be a good pony now.” Diamond nodded. “Y-yes... I do.” Relieved to see her daughter in good hooves, Diamond's mother started walking away. “You take good care of her, Silver Spoon. I'm going into town for a bit.” Silver helped her friend up and smiled. “I kinda promised Apple Bloom and her friends I'd take you to see them if you decided to leave your house.” For the first time in over two weeks, Diamond Tiara smiled. “I'd like that. I'm going to need your help getting there... it's still hard for me to see.” Silver moved beside her and nuzzled her. “Lean on me, Diamond.” By the time the two got the clubhouse, Diamond's eyes were fully adjusted to the bright mid-morning sun. The two entered and found it empty. “Take a seat, I'll see if I can find out where they are.” Diamond made her way to a chair and sat on it. “Take your time...” Silver's ears splayed to the side. It was tough to see her friend like this. She looked outside and saw somepony carrying a tray. “Diamond... I think Applejack is coming over.” Diamond wordlessly nodded as she continued staring at the floorboards. Applejack entered the clubhouse, saw Silver comforting Diamond and set the tray on a table. “Howdy, girls. Ah saw ya comin' this way and thought y'all might be thirsty. Ah brought some freshly made apple juice.” Silver smiled. “Thank you, Applejack. Do you know where Apple Bloom and her friends might be?” AJ shook her head. “Nope, can't say Ah do. Ah could look fer 'em if ya'd rather stay with yer friend.” She looked to Diamond and grimaced. She knew what Discord had done to the poor filly, but she seemed to genuinely want to improve herself. “It's good that you're turnin' over a new leaf so young, sugarcube.” Diamond looked to the mare and gave a weak smile. “Thank you. I hope that I can be accepted again.” Applejack scoffed. “Just seein' ya here has made mah day. Ah'm off to find Apple Bloom.” Silver smiled. “Thank you, Applejack.” The blonde mare left the clubhouse to look for the Crusaders. Silver walked to the tray, picked up a bottle of the apple juice and brought it to her friend. “Come on, Diamond, drink up.” The Cutie Mark Crusaders galloped into their clubhouse, hoping Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were still there. They couldn't believe their eyes when they saw Diamond. She looked sickly thin, but she was there. “Diamond Tiara!” The filly flinched when Apple Bloom shouted. She still feared what they would do to her, but was taken aback when she received a hug from the trio. “Y-you're not mad at me?” They pulled away and Scootaloo huffed. “After everything you put us through, we'd be lying if we said we weren't.” Diamond's gaze returned to the floor. “But that doesn't mean that we're not happy to see you.” Diamond's throat felt tight. “I've been a monster. Not to just you three, but to many ponies.” Sweetie Belle laid a hoof on Diamond's shoulder. “We know... but you're still with us, Diamond. If you were willing to leave your house, certain that somepony would harass you, that makes you brave.” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo let out affirming grunts. Diamond sniffled and nuzzled her former victim. “I tried writing letters, but the words didn't feel right.” Apple Bloom shrugged. “We learned that words don't always express how ya feel. Ah think that as long as they see you out and not insultin' other ponies, you'll be forgiven.” For a brief moment, Diamond Tiara looked hopeful by Apple Bloom's words. “Do you think so?” Sweetie Belle nodded. “We know so. It might take a while for everypony to trust you again, but you showing your face in town will be the first step.” Diamond hung her head once more. “I... I don't know if I'm ready for that yet.” Sweetie Belle backed up and rejoined her friends. “Well don't worry, we'll be here for you.” Diamond let out a heavy sigh. “Thanks...” Scootaloo nervously rubbed the back of her head. “So... what have you been up to?” Diamond sniffled. “Other than trying to write letters, I've been thinking about what I had done. I was terrible to everypony and I don't want to be that filly again.” There was a knock by the window. It was Princess Twilight Sparkle. She looked to Diamond Tiara and smiled. “It is true.” Diamond whimpered. She began to feel overcrowded. “Why is everypony being so nice to me?” Twilight frowned. “You were having a rough time and it would be wrong to be mean to you.” Diamond put on a weak smile and nodded at Twilight. “Thank you, Your Majesty.” Twilight's warm smile returned. “Will you be going back to school?” Diamond nodded again. “Yes, I'll go back on Monday.” Twilight nodded. “I'll drop by during recess to see how you're doing.” Diamond's smile seemed to grow wider. “Thank you, Your Majesty.” Twilight blushed. “Please don't call me that. Call me Twilight.” Diamond shook her head. “No, that would be rude. You're a princess.” Twilight raised a hoof. “I don't want to make it a royal order.” Diamond's ears flattened as the Crusaders giggled and she nodded. “Yes... Twilight.” Twilight grinned. “Good. Have a good weekend, Diamond Tiara.” Twilight fluttered her wings before she took off. Silver Spoon looked out the window and followed the princess with her eyes. “She wouldn't have made it a royal order, would she?” Apple Bloom shook her head. “Ah doubt it. Y'all know how Twilight can be sometimes.” Sweetie Belle's horn sparked as she got an idea. “Ooh! Since Diamond doesn't want to go out, how about we play some board games to pass the time.” Apple Bloom laughed and nodded in agreement. “That's a great idea. I'll see if AJ'll bring some sandwiches for lunch.” She walked to the door and opened it. “Ah'll be back with some more drinks.” She left and closed the door behind her. Diamond started feeling a lot better knowing the Crusaders didn't hate her. “Thanks, girls.” Sweetie walked to a chest and opened it. “How about Clue?” Scootaloo huffed. “Not much of a detective here, Sweetie.” Sweetie groaned. “Monopony?” Diamond sighed. “I don't think I'm comfortable playing a game that glorifies hostile takeovers right now.” Sweetie whimpered as she rifled through the chest, looking for other games. “There isn't much else here.” Diamond lightly giggled. “We don't have to play a board game.” Sweetie closed the chest. “Oh yeah, there are other games. Truth or Dare or Twenty Questions?” Scootaloo waved a hoof. “Doesn't matter to me.” Silver nodded. “I'm up for either.” Sweetie looked to Diamond. “I think we'll go with Twenty Questions.” Diamond looked out the window. “Should we wait for Apple Bloom to come back?” Scootaloo chuckled. “Sweetie and I usually play while she's gone.” Sweetie Belle cleared her throat. “That settles it. I'll go first.” Apple Bloom returned with a tray of apple juice. “Sorry it took me so long. Had to help AJ for a bit. She'll stop by later with the sandwiches.” Diamond giggled. “Thank you, Apple Bloom.” Silver Spoon pondered her next question. “Does it have music on it?” Sweetie Belle shook her head. “Nope. Eight more left.” Diamond and Silver looked at each other. “It's small, disc-like... oh!” Diamond looked to Sweetie Belle. “Is it a frisbee?” Sweetie nodded. “That's right. You win, DT.” Diamond started laughing. The pain of guilt and worry was beginning to recede. Her longtime victims had become her friends and she became theirs and for the first time in nearly a month, she felt confident enough to go into town. She would do that tomorrow, but for now, she wanted to savor the moment with her new friends. Author's Note I thought I'd go for something a little different. The other stories were one-shots, and I debated whether to do the same, but this one I felt would make a better story if it was split into chapters. I hope that decision doesn't ruin it for those who enjoyed the first two. Feedback would be appreciated and thank you for reading.
SundaySunday Saturday was a wonderful day. After eating daisy sandwiches for lunch, the Crusaders decided to take her and Silver Spoon with them and spent the afternoon helping them find their cutie marks. Their attempts were futile, of course, but Diamond and Silver had fun regardless. She was still quite surprised the trio took her in as quickly as they did. Even after the incident with Discord, they were quick to befriend her. At first she thought they did it out of pity, feeling that Discord went too far, but yesterday, she realized they genuinely wanted to be her friend and all it took was the physical embodiment of chaos to push them together. She feared the reaction she would get from the foals at school. She had tormented many of them, said nasty things about them personally, about their families, about trivial things like some being blank-flanks or their interest in things she found weird. Despite the kind words the Crusaders told her, she still felt they sugarcoated her situation. She also feared the reaction she would get from the adults. During dinner, she asked her father how she would go about things up with the town and he told her that the two would have a meeting with the mayor to set up a public speech. The thought terrified her. She was going to be speaking in front of the entire town. She knew many of the ponies would hold a grudge on her and her father, but that was something she had to face if she wanted to earn their trust and she began to prepare herself for the potential backlash she was about to receive. At the end of the day, to say she was beat would have been an understatement. So much went on and she did her best to keep up with it all. She had climbed into her bed and passed out on top of the blankets. She had a deep, dreamless sleep. The kind of sleep most ponies would kill for. She woke up to the pleasant sound of birds singing and found herself tucked underneath the blankets. She vaguely remembered being gently shuffled underneath, but couldn't remember who had done it. It wasn't worth trying to figure out for her waking mind and she slipped out of bed and tidied up the sheets before she walked to her mirror. She sighed as she picked up her hairbrush and began combing her mane. She looked up and saw a shelf on the wall just above the mirror that she asked her father to do. On it sat her tiara. She grumbled at it but remembered that it would serve as a reminder; a reminder that she needed to ignore the petty differences between her and the other ponies. Yesterday she promised herself that she would never wear it again, and she intended to keep that promise. “Diamond! Breakfast is almost ready!” This morning's breakfast consisted of two fluffy blueberry pancakes with butter and maple syrup; scrambled eggs; two pieces of toast with strawberry jam and orange juice. It was quite a breakfast, but she managed to eat it all up, much to her parents' surprise. Her reflection horrified her and she wanted to put some weight back on. After breakfast, she decided to take a bath. Her parents insisted they help her, but her insistence of taking care of herself convinced them to let her. With the tub filled, she closed the valves and slipped into the warm water. The water was soothing and she allowed her muscles to loosen and her mind to wander. She found herself thinking about Randolph, the family butler. She vaguely remembered seeing him poke his head in her room every once in a while to check on her, but he had been strangely absent the past week. There was a knock on the door, it opened and her mother looked inside. “Hey, Diamond.” Her mind snapped back to reality and looked at her mother. “Mom... where's Randy?” She entered the bathroom, turned and closed the door. She hung her head for a moment and turned back to her daughter, her eyes were glassy with the tears that were forming in them. She walked to the side of the tub, sat down and stroked her daughter's mane. “Diamond... he... he's gone.” Diamond's eyes widened and her mouth started trembling. “Y-you didn't... fire him, did you?” Her mother gasped. “No, Diamond. Randolph... he... passed on.” She turned her head and started sniffling. “Seeing you miserable broke his heart.” Diamond started crying. She loved him like a grandfather. She loved watching him perform his acrobatics. Aside from her parents, he was the only other pony she respected. Thinking about the way she treated him on the day she found out about the Crusaders' time with Twilight made the emotions flood. “I... I killed him.” Her mother pulled her in close and kissed the top of her head. “No, sweetie... you didn't kill him. It was his time.” She shook her head. “N... no, mom. Had I kept going, he'd still be here.” Her mother sobbed and pressed her face into her daughter's mane. “Don't think that, sweetie.” Diamond sniffled as she started to regain her composure. “I... I want to see him... I want to... I want to say goodbye.” Her mother rested her chin on Diamond's head and slowly nodded. “Okay. We'll take you to see him before we head to town hall. It's on the way.” Diamond nodded and hiccuped a few times. “O-okay. Thank you, mom.” Her mother picked up a pump bottle of shampoo, set it on the sink next to the tub, then picked up a bottle of conditioner, set it next to the shampoo, pumped some shampoo onto her hoof and lathered it into Diamond's mane. “What else is wrong, sweetie?” Diamond hiccuped. “I'm worried about the other kids at school... and the adults.” Her mother let out a contemplating hum as she continued lathering the shampoo. “I wouldn't worry much about the adults, sweetie.” She rinsed her hoof, pumped some conditioner and began lathering it into Diamond's man. “You're still a child and they know that.” She looked up to her mother. “Do you really think so?” Her mother slowly nodded as she kneaded the shampoo and conditioner. Her ministrations may have physically relaxed Diamond, but she was still worried about what today was going to bring. “Thank you, mom... for everything.” Diamond had finished bathing and was dried off. She and her parents left the house and took an isolated path to the Ponyville cemetery. The trip would be silent and memories of the old butler filled her mind. She recalled a day she twisted a hoof on her way home from Silver Spoon's. Silver ran to her house and came back with Randolph who carried her the rest of the way. Her parents were away on a business trip at the time and she was thankful he was around. He tended to her on an hourly basis. Part of her thought it was annoying, but she never spoke up. Looking back now, she was glad she didn't. The three entered the cemetery and made their way to Randolph's grave. She plopped down in front of the gravestone and began sniffling. “I'm so sorry, Randolph.” She hung her head and closed her eyes. “Even in my isolation, I was only thinking of myself.” Filthy comfortingly stroked her mane. “As have I, Diamond. I was so absorbed in providing for you and your mother that I haven't been much of a father to you.” He gently lifted her head up and looked her in the eyes. “That changed when you locked yourself up.” Diamond's mother sat beside her and held her. “Do you want to know want to know what his last words were?” She felt Diamond press her face into her side and slowly nodded. “He said he loved you and he would have done anything to keep you happy.” Diamond started crying again in a mixture of joy and pain. She knew that he would do anything and has everything he could and it often worked for her. She walked up to the gravestone and hugged it. “I'll miss you, Randy.” She walked backward toward her parents and heaved a mighty sigh. “Let's go to town hall...” Filthy looked curiously at his daughter. “Are you sure? We haven't been here long.” Diamond nodded. “Y-yeah... I'd like to come back later, though.” The three approached the town square and one by one, pairs of eyes shifted their direction. Diamond began to feel nauseous from the attention she was receiving. There were gasps and quiet murmurs. “Is that Diamond Tiara?” One pony asked. “That poor filly, she looks miserable.” That comment alone sparked some hope in her, but it was just one pony. They continued toward town hall. The mayor was standing outside, watching two pegasi hang a banner on the building. She gave an approving nod to them. “That's good! Just a little more to my right!” The pegasi maneuvered as such and let the banner settle. “Perfect!” The pegasi hoof-bumped and flew off. Behind her, Filthy cleared his throat to gain her attention. The mayor turned and smiled at the family. “Ah! Good morning!” She looked to a terrified Diamond Tiara. “Diamond Tiara!” The filly flinched. “I'm happy to see that you're out of the house. Come, let's head to my office.” The three followed the mayor into the building and into her office. “Have a seat. What can I do for you?” They sat down and Diamond's parents nudged her. Diamond looked up to the smiling mayor. “I... I want to apologize to everypony.” The mayor looked confused. “For what, dear?” Diamond looked down to the floor and sniffled. “I've been terrible to everypony.” The mayor chuckled. “Diamond Tiara, do you honestly think you're the only one in your situation who has acted out in such a manner?” Diamond's ears perked as she gave the mayor a curious look. “I remember growing up, your father acted similarly. He changed as soon as his father brought him into the family business.” Diamond looked up to her father and he nodded. She then looked back to the mayor. “Does that mean I should get a job?” The mayor shook her head. “No, I brought that up as merely an example. There have been other foals who acted the same way, and many of those foals never grew out of that mindset. You're still young, dear, you should enjoy your foalhood as much as you can. If you would like a job to prepare you to be a responsible citizen, I'm willing to give you a clerical job. It'll be monotonous and somewhat frustrating, but it's an entry level position and shouldn't be taxing for you.” Filthy cleared his throat. “At first I was wondering if you could call the ponies over, but it looks like there's a crowd forming already.” The mayor nodded in agreement. “Yes. No doubt Diamond's presence has piqued their interest.” Diamond's mother pecked her on the top of the head and looked to her husband. “Come on, honey, let's give our daughter some time to think about what she wants to say.” Her parents opened the door and she caught a quick glimpse of Silver Spoon before the door swung shut. The door opened again and Silver galloped up to her. “Silver Spoon!” She hopped off the chair and hugged her friend, letting out a sad laugh. Silver nuzzled her friend affectionately. “I heard you came this way.” The mayor smiled. “Let's head into the lobby.” There they were, a crowd of ponies had gathered around town hall. Diamond swallowed hard seeing the number of mares, stallions, fillies and colts. She saw her parents at the front of the crowd, talking with the others. At her side was the mayor and Silver Spoon who did their best to calm the filly. “Come, Miss Tiara, you have a speech to make.” Silver nuzzled her friend comfortingly. “It's going to be alright, DT.” Diamond nodded, trying to force back the flood of emotions that were running through her. Silver Spoon helped her to the door and the mayor opened it. The fillies followed closely behind her as they approached the podium. She looked to the side and, to her surprise, Twilight was present. She looked to the back rows and she saw it; she saw the hard glares ponies were shooting her; she felt the anger they were radiating. She wanted to go home, but she knew she couldn't. The mayor cleared her throat. “Mares and stallions; fillies and colts, thank you all for coming this afternoon. I am aware that the filly who will be speaking has been problematic for many of you. Despite what she has done, I don't expect you to like her, but I do expect you to be on your best behavior.” She looked toward Twilight, nodded and moved away from the podium. Twilight levitated a stool in front of the podium and lifted Diamond onto it. “Go ahead, Diamond.” Diamond cleared her throat and examined the ponies before her. Seeing the mixed expressions, from anger to pity, made her throat tighten. “I... I'm sorry, everypony. I know I've been rude and inconsiderate, among other things... many of you thought of me as a spoiled, self-centered snob of a foal... and you would be right. That day with Discord... it opened my eyes to what was really important.” She glanced toward her parents, then to the Crusaders, then back to the crowd. “Friends... family... enjoying life to its fullest. For two weeks I've been afraid... afraid to face the consequences of what I put you all through...” she glanced the back rows and the hardened glares began to soften. “I will not ask for forgiveness and I will not ask for pity. I'm ready to start treating ponies better than I have in the past.” She raised a hoof and pointed to the Crusaders. “Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, three ponies I never imagined would count me as a friend have. I tormented them constantly, about their blank flanks; Scootaloo's wings; Sweetie Belle's difficulty using magic and their efforts in finding cutie marks.” She looked around the podium for a cup of water. There wasn't one and Twilight caught on, levitating a small cup to her. She took a sip, set the cup on the podium and looked back to Twilight. “Thank you.” She took a deep breath and looked back to the crowd. “I've been a bully for too long and I want to do better by everypony.” Among the crowd, she saw Berry Punch, a mare she constantly slandered as being an uncontrollable alcoholic; she also saw Derpy Hooves, a mare she identified as a walking, flying disaster after the incident at the town hall where she tried to help decorate but ended up destroying more than half of the building. One thing she admired about both mares was that both of them were always cheerful. She saw Miss Cheerilee giving her a proud smile. She knew her behavior was tough on the teacher and she remembered ignoring the lectures she gave. Diamond found her voice hitching as she pressed herself to continue. “I've been doing a lot of thinking these past two weeks. I've come to realize that I'm envious and... maybe a little jealous.” She received a confused look from the crowd. “I'm envious of the hard work you all put into everything you do... from work to being with your families. I've been too used to have things given to me with little to no effort. I'm jealous of the foals' relationships with their parents. My father is usually away on business and my mother would be off doing her own thing. I rarely saw either of them, so my company would be either...” she took a deep breath to hold back her emotions, “our butler Randolph or my friend Silver Spoon.” She looked to her parents who looked flabbergasted and sighed. “I'm sorry. I acted out because I wanted your attention.” She looked among the crowd. Her speech had an impact on them she didn't expect. In the back, where the most spiteful ponies were, were now on the verge of tears. She saw a lot of sentimental nods among other ponies, from both foals and adults. “My isolation has hurt many ponies and even in that, I was being selfish. Randolph took it the hardest and it... it killed him. I was too absorbed in my own self-pity that I neglected those I cared for. I'm sorry everypony...” An hour had passed since the speech ended. Diamond found herself being forgiven by nearly everypony who was present. She, her parents and Silver Spoon visited the floral shop and picked up a dozen tulips. Diamond insisted she carried them as they returned to the cemetery. Silver Spoon stayed back as Diamond walked up to the gravestone and laid the flowers against it. When she returned to her side, she stroked her friend's mane. “I'm sorry about Randolph...” Diamond nodded. “So am I.” She wiped her face with a hoof and sniffled. “I'll never forget you, Randy.” Her mother smiled upon her daughter. “I'm happy for you, Diamond. Are you ready to go back to school tomorrow?” She smiled excitedly up to her mother and nodded. “I am, now.” Author's Note This had been very emotional for me to write, especially the parts involving Randolph. When stressed, I get myoclonic seizures, and this was a very stressful chapter for me.
MondayMonday After returning home from the cemetery, Diamond proceeded to do the schoolwork that had been neglected. She would ask Miss Cheerilee if she could stay for private sessions to catch up on what she didn't understand or go through. In the past she wouldn't have bothered herself and paid somepony else to do it for her as it was all boring to her, but she was now determined to complete as much as she could on her own. There were some simple math equations that were given to her, mostly division and multiplication and a few addition and subtraction problems. There were also some reading problems to solve, some were included with reviews of recent history. She thought back to Apple Bloom's grandmother and her reminiscence of the founding of Ponyville. Before that she believed that if it weren't for her family, Ponyville wouldn't exist, after the presentation, she didn't think much about it, but now, she realized that without the symbiotic relationship between her family and the Apples, Ponyville would be a different place right now, that's if it existed at all and it was all thanks to the annual blooming of the zap apples and the cooperation between two families. If there was one constant, it was that she never wanted to dress up as a bunny again. Silver Spoon seemed to enjoy it, though and that's all that mattered to her. At the end of the day, in between small meals, she had caught up with most of the work. There was an essay that needed to be written about life in Ponyville compared to Cloudsdale, Canterlot and Appleloosa. She visited Canterlot a number of times on field trips, a city populated mostly by unicorns. She read about the pegasus-exclusive city of Cloudsdale and the earth pony town of Appleloosa, but never visited either. It was impossible for an earth pony to visit Cloudsdale without the help of a unicorn for a walk on clouds spell, or be stuck on a hot air balloon or some kind of aircraft. Appleloosa would be a long train ride, but the sights of the vast open plains and buffalo piqued a new curiosity within her. She already had an idea of what to write and decided to jot down notes before she went to bed. It was finally Monday and Diamond Tiara looked at herself in the mirror to make sure she was ready to face the other fillies and colts at school. She had put a few pounds back on over the weekend and started looking like a healthy filly again. She could still see her ribs, but not like it was just a couple of days ago. There was a brief knock and her bedroom door opened. Her father peeked his head in and smiled at his daughter. “Is my little filly ready to go back to school?” She giggled. “Not before breakfast.” He nodded. “Speaking of which, it's almost ready.” Her smile hadn't faltered as she licked her lips, her mouth watered in anticipation and she galloped out of her room, passing between her father's legs on the way out. He turned and saw his daughter rounding a corner, heading toward the kitchen. He smiled and shook his head. “Kids.” This morning's breakfast was the same as yesterday's, but Diamond wolfed it down as if she was eating it for the first time. Her appetite was catching up and she ended up eating more than she could handle, giving her an uncomfortably full belly. She vowed never to do that again. A half hour had passed and Diamond was ready. She approached the front door just as it was knocked on. She opened it and saw Silver Spoon outside. The filly greeted her with a warm smile. “Good morning, Silver Spoon.” Silver's smile turned into a grin. “Morning, DT! You have no idea how happy I am that you're coming back to school.” Diamond nodded and closed the door behind her. “I imagine you're not the only pony.” Diamond and Silver rounded a corner and a rushing colt ran into Diamond and the two tumbled. She wasn't happy about the accident and when she recovered her senses, she found herself on top of the still dazed unicorn colt, perpendicular on his back. She scowled at him as she got up. She opened her mouth to say something, but she took a deep breath and her anger softened. “Are you alright?” The colt shook the cobwebs out of his head. He looked up to the filly he ran into and fearfully backed away. “Please! Leave me alone!” She extended a hoof, offering to help the colt up, but he flinched. “Go away!” He scrambled to his hooves and took off in a blur. Diamond looked to Silver in shock. She was sure some ponies would hold a grudge against her, but ponies fearing her? “Silver Spoon? Have we seen him before?” Silver shrugged. “He looked kinda familiar, but...” She looked to the ground and smiled. “Oh! He forgot his saddle bag.” This gave Diamond an idea. “Let's pick it up and return it to him when we see him at school. I'll carry it.” Silver raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you'll be able to carry it.” Diamond looked pleadingly into her eyes. “Please, Silver. I want to.” Silver lowered her head to pick up the bag and saw a name tag. “Astro Tale.” She picked up the bag and set it on Diamond's back. Diamond looked at the bag with curiosity. “Is that his name?” Silver slowly nodded. “I imagine so. Come on, DT. You don't want to be late on your first day back, do you?” Diamond shook her head. “No, I don't.” Diamond and Silver reached the front of the school. “I hope he comes in today... I feel bad for scaring him.” Silver gave her friend a gentle nudge. “It's not your fault.” Diamond raised an eyebrow as she adjusted the two saddle bags on her back. “It might have been... maybe I harassed him.” Silver smiled. “Come on, let's see if we can find him.” Diamond shook her head. “There's only one classroom, so we shouldn't have a problem with that.” Silver giggled. “That's the spirit, DT.” The two headed up the stairs to enter, but Diamond stopped. Her ears perked as she heard faint sobs. She looked to her confused friend. “Go on, I'll be in in a bit.” Silver nodded and went inside the building. Diamond walked around the building and saw something, or somepony at the gazebo. She smiled and began trotting in that direction. The cries grew louder as she got closer. Slowly and quietly, she climbed up the stairs. It was him; it was Astro Tale. Hearing him cry made her throat tighten. “A-are you Astro Tale?” The colt looked at her and looked at her fearfully. “W-what are you doing here? Please! I just want to be left alone!” She nodded. “I'll leave you alone, but first...” she struggled as she slowly lifted his saddle bag off of her, set it on the ground and gently pushed it his way, “I wanted to return this to you.” His eyes widened in surprise as the filly nudged his bag. He sniffled and wiped his eyes. “Y-you...” She backed away as he approached his bag. “You dropped it when you ran away earlier. I'll understand if you don't want to be friends with me. I was mean to lots of ponies and you probably suffered too.” He looked up to her. “I-it wasn't just me... you teased our group... calling us 'hopeless basement-dwelling nerds'.” Hearing the insult made Diamond's ears fold back and cringe. “I saw you, yesterday... at town hall. I heard your speech.” He hung his head. “I was afraid. Afraid you were fooling everypony. I didn't see you up close like this. You really have changed.” She blushed. “I'm trying. It would probably be too much to ask to be your friend, but I hope we can start fresh.” She extended a hoof. “Maybe you can introduce me to your friends?” He shook his head. “I don't know, Miss Tiara, I-” She giggled. “Please, call me Diamond, or DT.” He smiled and nodded. “They might still be upset with you.” She hung her head and nodded in agreement. “I deserve it.” He walked up to her and rested a hoof on her back. “Meet us here during recess.” She raised her head and smiled. “I will.” The school bell rang, signaling class was about to start. The two foals walked to the schoolhouse side by side. The bell for recess rang and the foals started filing out of the schoolhouse. Before she joined the others, Diamond walked up to Cheerilee. “Miss Cheerilee?” The schoolteacher smiled. “Diamond Tiara. You have no idea how good it felt to see you walk through that door this morning. It was like a weight was lifted off of me.” Diamond smiled. “I'm not going to let that happen again, Miss Cheerilee. That's a Pinkie Promise.” She made the gestures that came with said promise. “The only thing I haven't done was the essay.” Cheerilee chuckled. “That's okay, Diamond. Half of the ponies haven't done it either. It wasn't required.” Diamond nodded understandingly. “I'm glad to hear that. I finished the other work as best as I could.” Cheerilee flipped through the papers. “I can see that. I have a lot to do yet, but I'll make to have your work graded by Wednesday.” Diamond nodded. “You're a wonderful teacher, Miss Cheerilee.” She let out a tiny gasp as she remembered something. “Oh shoot! I have somepony waiting for me at the gazebo.” She turned around and galloped out the front door. Outside, her friends were waiting for her. Recess began and Diamond and Silver followed the Crusaders to the small playground. Diamond looked beyond the school grounds and saw Twilight flying toward the school. She was surprised the princess kept her word. Twilight landed just outside of the school grounds and walked onto the playground. All the foals stopped what they were doing, looked her way and bowed. The new princess smiled. “Please rise, everypony.” The ponies complied, in awe that the new princess was visiting their school. Diamond slowly made her way to Twilight and bowed before her. “Good day, Your Majesty.” Twilight motioned for Diamond to rise and she did. “Good day to you, Diamond Tiara. You look well today. I see you're gaining some weight back. It was hard to see you look so thin.” Diamond's ears flattened and she nodded in agreement. “I know.” She looked back to the gazebo and then to Twilight. “I'm supposed to be meeting somepony.” Twilight nodded. “Don't let me stop you. Would you mind if I came along?” Diamond smiled and shook her head. “After you, then.” Diamond and Twilight began a slow walk to the gazebo. Diamond looked up to Twilight with curiosity. “Do you still write Princess Celestia friendship letters?” Twilight nodded. “On occasion, but lately other ponies have come to me asking to send some. Did you have something in mind?” Diamond nodded. Twilight magicked a quill, some ink and a parchment. “Normally I'd have Spike do this, but you're a special case. So, what's on your mind?” The two arrived at the gazebo and Twilight sent the letter off. “Good job, Diamond Tiara. I'm proud of you.” They climbed up the stairs and saw a lone colt staring off into the distance. He heard Twilight's voice say “Diamond Tiara” and he turned. He saw the filly was right in front of her, along with Princess Twilight Sparkle and he bowed. “Your Majesty!” Twilight smiled. “It's okay. You may stand.” The colt complied. “Diamond Tiara. I'm sorry my friends aren't here. They're still afraid of you. Please don't be mad with them.” Diamond smiled. “It's okay, Astro Tale. I can't say I blame them.” Astro nodded. “Thank you for coming.” Twilight squeed, the kind one would when suffering from cuteness overload. “This. Is. Adorable!” Diamond Tiara wasn't sure if she should feel embarrassed. She looked to Astro and it looked like he felt the same way. Twilight giggled. “I'm sorry. I'll leave you two alone while I talk to Cheerilee.” Astro blinked a few times in confusion. “What was that about?” Diamond shrugged as she watched Twilight canter off. “I think our princess is a little nutty.” Astro gasped. “What did you say?” Diamond looked to Astro. “Don't get me wrong, she's a wonderful pony, if a bit off. How long have you been in Ponyville?” Astro shrugged. “Almost a year. My family moved here in the summer. We came from Los Pegasus.” Diamond nodded. “Twilight Sparkle has been a princess for about a year. Two and a half years ago, there was an incident in town... involving a doll and... I think friendship problems.” The colt raised and eyebrow in confusion. “I'm going to have to talk to the Crusaders about it.” Astro looked like he was starting to freak out. “'Crusaders'?” Speaking of the devils, the Crusaders and Silver Spoon made their way to the gazebo. Scootaloo gave her a wicked grin. “Who's this, Diamond? Is he your new coltfriend?” The other Crusaders started chuckling, but Silver cleared her throat as she saw her friend's face go flush, but hers wasn't the only one. “This is probably not the best time to be teasing DT.” Scootaloo heaved a heavy sigh. “I guess you're right. Sorry, Diamond.” Diamond waved a hoof dismissively. “After what I did, it's only fair.” The bell rang, signaling that recess was almost over. Apple Bloom waved a hoof, gesturing everypony to follow her. “Come on, we don't want to be late.” Diamond nodded and looked back to Astro as the two stood up. “Want to meet back here tomorrow?” The colt gave the question a brief thought and slowly nodded. “Sure.” The group headed back to the schoolhouse. Apple Bloom looked back to Astro. “What do ya do for fun?” He smiled. “My friends and I get together and play some Ponies & Drakes. I also like to read.” Diamond looked at him curiously. “What about?” He shrugged. “Science fiction, mostly. Stories set in outer space.” Diamond giggled. “Hence the name 'Astro Tale'.” Astro nodded. “Yep. Someday I plan on writing my own stories.” All the fillies giggled and Scootaloo circled around him before patting him on the back. “Good luck with that.” He nodded again, with a big grin on his face. “Thanks.” Suddenly, Diamond Tiara was teleported away. The others stopped and looked to where she stood. “W-where'd DT go?!” Dear Princess Celestia, Over the course of a month, I have undergone a drastic change. I used to believe that I was the center of everypony's universe, that I should be treated like princess and that I could do no wrong. I was wrong and I hurt others without realizing what I had done. My ordeal has taught me many things: be polite and patient toward others; live life to the fullest and enjoy every moment. Other than Silver Spoon, I had no real friends before Discord. At first, I thought Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo befriended me out of pity, but their intentions were genuine, they wanted to be my friend. A colt I had teased about his interests was still afraid of me, but through a single act of kindness, I showed him I changed and I think he's starting to like me and I have Discord to thank for what he has done for me. Your humble subject, Diamond Tiara Princess Celestia set the letter down, slid it across the table with her hoof and, with her magic, lifted a glass of wine to her muzzle and took a sip. She looked to her companion and smiled. “You have done well.” Her companion lifted the letter and scratched his tuft of chin hair in confusion as he read it. “Really? I didn't see this coming.” Celestia took another sip and set it back on the table. “Neither did I. You should go see her and let her thank you herself.” Discord shook his head and set the letter down. “Friendship has been interesting so far, Celestia, but I'm not sure if I'll ever get used to it. But I will go see her.” Celestia nodded in affirmation. “Good. Speaking of 'friendship', how are things with Fluttershy?” Discord chuckled and sipped some wine. “She still tries to give me her stare whenever I do something naughty. After the Tirek fiasco, it seems that it might be breaking my defense against it.” Celestia let out a playful hum. “She's going to have to teach me how to do it, maybe I can improve its potency.” Discord let out an annoyed huff. “I assure you, Celestia, after dealing with Tirek, I will never betray you and your ponies again.” He stood up and poured the rest of the wine into his mouth, magicked the glass away and gave a quick curtsey. “If you'll excuse me, I have a filly to see. Ta!” Diamond found herself on a hill overlooking Ponyville. She could see everything at this vantage point: town hall; the clock tower; Ponyville Urgent Care; the schoolhouse. She turned around and saw something else, a pair of yellow and red goofy eyes. She let out a quick yelp and fell backwards. Discord snaked his way behind Diamond and embraced her in a gentle hug. “Sorry about spooking you, Diamond Tiara. I couldn't resist.” Diamond let out an annoyed grunt and picked herself up. “Discord. I should've guessed it was you.” She turned around and reciprocated Discord's hug. “Thank you.” The draconequus settled on the ground and propped his head up on his paw. “For what, my dear?” Diamond smiled, lowered her head and shook it. “For showing me that other world.” She started slowly pacing back and forth. “For a while I thought it was true... that there was nothing special about me. Now I realize that in a way, I am.” She looked to him and he was listening intently. “I know I'm not special to everypony, but I am to a few, and I'm happy for it.” His eyes started welling up hearing the filly spill her guts. He sniffled and wiped his eyes with his talon. “I hate to admit it, but you've grown on me as well, Diamond.” She trotted up to him and snuggled beside him. “No more pranks?” He nodded. “No more pranks.” She looked up to him with a serious look on her face. “Pinkie promise?” He let out an annoyed sigh and nodded. “Cross my heart, hope to fly,” he manifested a cupcake in his talon, “stick a cupcake in my eye.” He did and she burst into laughter, not expecting him to actually do it. He teleported away, letting her fall onto the ground. He reappeared standing in front of her. “It was good to see you, Diamond, but right now I've got errands to run for Fluttershy.” She nodded. “Tell her I'm sorry.” He nodded, some crumbs from the cupcake flew off his face and snapped his talon, sending Diamond back to the school. Diamond found herself sitting at her desk next to Silver Spoon. Disoriented, she looked around the classroom and shook her head. Silver laid a hoof on her back and had a sympathetic look on her face. “Diamond? Are you alright?” She nodded. Twilight walked up to her. “Discord?” She nodded again. “Well, I'm glad you're okay.” She set some papers on her desk. “I helped Cheerilee grade paperwork during recess. Congratulations, Diamond, you passed.” She walked away from the still disoriented filly. In one month, her life had been turned upside down. She used to be a stuck up filly who cared little for everypony's feelings, now she's a humble filly, not wanting to hurt others anymore. It was Discord who nudged her on this path and she felt better knowing that he was around. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She smiled, opened her eyes and looked to Cheerilee. “Did I miss anything?” The teacher shook her head. “No, we were just about to resume.” Author's Note Thank you everyone. I never expected any of my stories to be well received like my three DT stories were. I think this will do it for Diamond Tiara for now and I hope this chapter didn't ruin it for you. I might do another one-shot later, just with a different side character.
