Diamonds Don't Always Shine
"So, does everypony understand the project I have assigned for you all?"
"Yes Miss Cheerilee!" The whole group of fillies and colts stated in unison.
"Good, now, because of the incident last time with Scootaloo..." The little orange filly blushed, remembering when she convinced Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to launch her across the room using a giant rubber band they found in a garbage can. She smashed into Cheerilee and she had to go to the emergency room from the concussion..."I am going to pick your partners..."
The whole class then groaned in unison. All the while a small pink filly in the front row was barely paying attention to her instructor, knowing full well that she would be paired with her best friend, Silver Spoon.
"Alright, here are the pairings I have made for this group project," said Cheerilee, taking a clipboard out from a drawer in her desk. Sitting it down on her podium, she began to read it aloud, "Scootaloo, you'll be with Sunny Days. Snips, you'll be with Snails. Twist, you will work with Seabreeze. Silver Spoon will be working with Dinky Doo."
The pink pony in the fronts eyes shot up to the instructor in surprise. Protestingly, she said, "But Miss Cheerilee, Silver Spoon and I are always paired up! You can't do this! I-" She was cut off by the raising of her teacher's hoof.
"As you said, you and Silver Spoon always work together, I think it's time that you work with another pony, don't you think?" Diamond Tiara just groaned and leaned back in her seat, prepared to sulk and pout for the rest of the school day. At that moment, Cheerilee said, "And finally, Diamond Tiara will be working with Apple Bloom." Upon hearing that, Apple Bloom jumped up onto her desk, Diamond Tiara following suit shortly after, and they both began protesting the decision that their instructor made. "I'm sorry girls, but my decision is final, you two are just going to have to learn to get along."
Both fillies slid back down into their seats and glared at eachother, then to their teacher, and back to eachother. "Alright then kids, lets get started, I have the coloured pencils and paper below the cupboard, use as much as you like."The ponies all got into their assigned pairings, and eagerly began working, save for Diamond Tiara and Apple Bloom, who were arguing, well, not arguing, more like Diamond Tiara yelling at Apple Bloom for dropping the pencil box on the ground, (after Diamond Tiara had knocked it out of her mouth of course.)
"You did that on purpose Diamond! Why wouldya go and do a thing like that?!" said the blank-flank pony.
"No, you're just clumsy, like your Granny Smith, I cannot believe some of the stuff that pony does..."
After their little conflict, the two fillies silently decided it best to just tolerate each other and finish their project so they could just be done with it. Because of their argument, Cheerilee kept a special watch over the two ponies. She hadn't said it earlier, but she hoped that by pairing the two ponies that had so many problems, teamwork could help them work with eachother, but that didn't seem to work at all. Apple Bloom thought the same thing, and, even though she hadn't said anything about it either, she felt it was a good idea.
Earlier that day, during lunch, Apple Bloom went to her teacher and asked if she could be paired up with Diamond Tiara. Perplexed at this strange request, Cheerilee asked why she would ever want to do a thing like that. Apple Bloom explained to her how she felt bad for Diamond after she had been humiliated by her father, when he made her sing to the water in a bunny outfit with Granny Smith a few weeks before. She wanted to talk to Diamond Tiara and maybe even try to make friends with her, if not just for a little bit.
So, Cheerilee took it upon herself to carry out the little fillies' plan and create a pairing list for the whole class, and, her mind put to work about her student's request, she put some other ponies who didn't know eachother, in an attempt to help create more friendships throughout her class. She noticed that many of her fillies and colts stayed within a group of students, and wanted to encourage them to branch out without directly making them do it, and Apple Bloom's request gave her the oppurtunity she was waiting for.
Back to the present, Cheerilee was silently watching over the two fillies as Apple Bloom tried desperately to cope with Diamond Tiara, and get her to talk to her.
"So, Diamond, I really like the new necklace you got there on yer neck..." the filly said hopefully.
"Yeah, what does it matter to you blank flank?"
It hurt her inside, but Apple Bloom kept trying, "Well, I just thought it was a nice purty lil' thing ya had, and I wanted ta tell y'all about it."
Her plan just had to work...
"Well, if you must know, my father bought it for me on his way back from a business trip to Manehattan, it is made of pure silver, and these are pure black diamond, only the richest of ponies can get these. I remember when I was younger i saw some in-" She stopped when she realised what she was doing....actually talking to the shameful blank flank, as if she were...a...friend or something..Pff, it could never happen, it never would happen!
"Well, Diamond, whatcha see?" Asked Apple Bloom inquisitively, hoping to get more out of her before she started pouting again.
"Hmph..nothing..." she said, and went back to colouring in a circle she had drawn earlier.
'Darn, I was sure I could get her to start talkin' to me!' thought AB, 'Maybe I should just try harder' "So, Diamond, what do you wanna do fer this part here? With the map of Canterlot?"
"I don't care, just do what you want with it..." Snapped Diamond Tiara, " NO! Wait! I know," she said excitedly. Her sudden change in attitude almost knocked Apple Bloom out of her chair, and it didn't help that Diamond had practically flown across the table to grab a glue bottle that was sitting on the edge.
"Woah there Diamond Tiara!" Apple Bloom said, surprised at the filly's sudden mood change. She had seen this once before, when they were a grade below, and Silver Spoon drew a picture of a tree, (it wasn't very good, but then again Silver Spoon wasn't known for her drawing abilities,) and Diamond Tiara had ripped it from her friend's hooves and sat there drawing with an excited look upon her face, and finally she showed it off to the whole class, she had made the tree look beautiful! Apple Bloom was surprised she didn't get a cutie mark for painting that very day.
"I need this glue blank flank, just for a sec..." Diamond Tiara interrupted Apple Bloom's memory and she watched as the pink filly slathered glue on a diamond she had in her bag, and slapped it onto the project. "There!" She exclaimed, "It's finished!"
"Uh..Diamond? We've only done a fourth of what we need ta do for the project..." said Apple Bloom, motioning to the other part of the project with her right hoof. Just as Apple Bloom did so, the school bell rang loudly, signalling the end of the day.
"Is everypony almost finished?" Cheerilee asked, "If you aren't, you may have to get together over the weekend to finish it." She looked at Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara, fully aware that they would have to work together during the weekend.
As the ponies filed out, Silver Spoon walked over to Diamond Tiara and wispered in her ear. "That's a great idea Silver Spoon!" She said, and began to walk towards Apple Bloom, a mischevious look in her eye."Hey Blank-Flank, looks like we are gonna have to work on this on Saturday, why don't you come over?" she said slyly.
Apple Bloom, wary of her partners offer, responded with a simple nod. The pink and grey fillies walked out of the room, and Apple Bloom could hear them chuckling as they left.
Apple Bloom returned to Sweet Apple Acres after school and sat in her room, thinking about the events that had transpired throughout the day. Deep in thought, she hadn't even heard her sister come in. "Hey there AB," Applejack said. Apple Bloom practically hit the ceiling, she hadn't even expected that.
"Oh, hey Applejack, ya nearly scared the apples outta me! I didn't hear ya comin' in..." she said, "So, whatcha want?"
"I just wanted to ask what ya been doin' up here all day, ya didn't come down earlier when I called ya." Applejack responded.
"Oh, I was just thinkin' about what happened at school today...."
"Did sumn' bad happen?"
"Naw sis, it's just...well, ya know that pony Diamond Tiara right?" Applejack nodded. "Well, I asked Miss Cheerilee to put us tagether in a group project, cause I figgered I could get her ta talk to me, and maybe be friends,"
"I think that was a wonderful idea, sugarcube. So, what's the problem?"
"Well, Diamond Tiara invited me over to her house to finish the project, and then she whispered somthin' to Silver Spoon," her voice began to waver. It seemed as if she was on the verge of tears.
"It's alright, don't cry. Just because they said somethin' to eachother doesn't really mean anything right?" said Applejack reassuringly, "I mean, you whisper things ta Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, right?"
"Well, yeah, but that's different, they are my friends,"
"And Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are friends too, it's probably nuthin'. Would I lie to you AB?"
"Well...no...but...I'm just scared of what might happen if ah go tamorrow."
"Well, just try your best and make the best outta it."
"It ain't that easy Applejack! I knew you wouldn't understand..." Apple Bloom retreated into her short mane, and backed up onto her bed.
"Sugarcube," Applejack said, moving closer to her little sister, "I know what yer talkin' about. Me and Rarity have problems all the time, but we always get over it."
"But it's different AJ!" Cried Applebloom. "Them ponies don't even like me!" She began to cry into the crook of her leg. Applejack wrapped her hoof around her little sisters' neck, and there they sat, two sisters together in a moment of silence, save for the occasional gulp from Apple Bloom.
"No...no...no...eww..no..oh...why do I even own that?" The voice of the little pink pony cracked as she said the last few words. "What outfit am I going to wear today?!" she whined. Looking in the mirror, she saw her beautfully styled mane, and her lovely expensive crown, her expertly brushed coat, and....Apple Bloom?
"Oh, she's just outside," said Diamond Tiara, walking over to her door to let her in.
"Uh...howdy Diamond Tiara.." Apple Bloom said nervously.
"Howdy Apple Bloom," Diamond Tiara said jeeringly. "Come on up to my room and we'll get finished with our project." Diamond Tiara slinked up the steps of her house, a sly look on her face. Apple Bloom followed along slowly, stopping to take a look at an expensive looking painting or vase along the way. Just as they reached Diamond Tiara's open bedroom door, Apple Bloom watched as Diamond Tiara motioned with her hoof to a certain grey pony, and all of a sudden..
SPLAT!
A bucket of white paint was poured all over the little yellow pony. Before she could even comprehend what was going on, she was out the door, down the steps, and out of the house, a trail of paint and tears marking her path.
"Diamond Tiara...do you think we may have overdone it just a bit?" Silver Spoon said, moving to clean up the trail of paint that the pathetic blank flank left behind when she ran out crying like a little foal.
"No Silver Spoon, I don't think we did enough. Everypony needs to see that I am just better than them and that they should kneel down before me..." Diamond Tiara said smugly.
"Well, I feel kind of bad for her Diamond, I mean, we torment her all the time, and she doesn't even try to defend herself half the time, she just curls up and takes it...." Silver Spoon mused.
"Hmph. If you don't agree with what I like to do, we don't have to be friends anymore." Diamond Tiara stated flatly.
"Well, since I don't agree with you, then..." It almost pained her to say it, "We aren't friends anymore."
Diamond Tiara was taked aback. Somepony stop being friends with her?! It was unthinkable! Nopony had ever done this before! What would everypony else say about it?! She was supposed to do the unfriending!
Silver Spoon trotted out the door, dropping the rag she was using to clean up the paint. She slammed the door, and trotted down the front lane.
Diamond Tiara took the time to look at herself in the mirror. Sometimes looking in a mirror can reveal alot, not just physical things, but something inside. Shame that Diamond Tiara couldn't see herself in the right way....
"What's wrong with me? Nothing! I have my beautifully styled mane, my lovely diamond crown, and my perfect necklace. Nothing is wrong with me..." With that, Diamond Tiara moved to her bed, and sunk down into her pillow.
At the same time, another pony was doing the same, a small yellow blank flank, tears in her eyes, dropping down onto her bed. Suddenly, there came a yell from downstairs, "Apple...uh..Bloom..I uh..what's that? Apple Bloom! Git dahn here and talk teh yer purty little friend!" Granny Smith...Apple Bloom could tell the instant she started talking it was her. Then, a chill ran through her body, what if it was Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, coming to make fun of her again. She slowly made her way down the stairs, peering down to look out the door of the barn.
'Oh no!' she thought, 'they're back to make fun of me!' She walked up to the door, and saw Silver Spoon standing there, but, Diamond Tiara wasn't.
Silver Spoon spoke first. "Um, hi, uh...Apple Bloom." she stopped, and tried to think of what else to say. She hadn't planned anything out, she had just come to Sweet Apple Acres on an impulse.
"H-hi Silver Spoon..." Apple Bloom's voice trailed off, an awkward silence forming between the two fillies.
"I..um, well.. I just wanted to say..I'm sorry Apple Bloom. Me and Diamond Tiara make fun of you all the time for not having...a..picture on your flank. I got to thinking about it, and it makes no sense. I can't even begin to describe how awful I feel for being so cruel to you." Silver Spoon promptly broke down, tears freely flowing from her eyes. She didn't expect it, but suddenly, she felt a hoof on her shoulder, and looked up to see Apple Bloom at the other end of it. She gave Silver Spoon an encouraging look, and the two went inside the Apple family's' home.
"So, ya just said ya weren't gonna be friends no more ta her? Just like that?" Apple Bloom said inquisitively.
"Well, yes, I felt like she crossed the line with that last thing...and I just can't take it any more."
"Oh, well, we could...ya know...be friends or sumthin' "
"Even after how horribly we treated you?"
"No, after how horribly Diamond Tiara treated me, you never really did much to upset me, it was all Diamond..."
"Well, do you want to...get back at her?" Silver Spoon looked at Apple Bloom hopefully.
"No." Apple Bloom said. "If we get back at her, we're no better than her, right?"
"Well, yeah, I guess so..."
"Applejack told me that," she said, " 'If ya try ta git revenge on yer enemies, yer gunna end up just like 'em, and I don't want my baby sister endin' up like some snooty, persnickety fussbucket like Rarity er sumn' "
Silver Spoon sniffled quietly, as the two fillies sat and talked about the issues they were having. The two decided that they would become friends, even if it wasn't really a true friendship, like Apple Bloom had with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They talked together for a few weeks, avoiding Diamond Tiara at all costs, until one day they ran into her at Sugar Cube Corner.
"Excuse me, Mrs. Cake, could I please have 1 chocolate cupcake?"
"Oh but of course dearie, that'll be 2 bits please." The exchange was made and the little grey filly returned to her friend sitting at one of the colourful tables in the bakery. They sat there for a bit eating their sweets, discussing the different flavours of the cupcakes that Sugarcube Corner had to offer, until a little pink filly entered the bakery with her father, Filthy Rich. The second she saw Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon, it was her turn to hide from them, just as Apple Bloom had at Diamond's Cute Siñara. Her efforts were fruitless, the two ponies spotted her immediately.
She came out from her hiding spot under a table and joined her father in the queue. Diamond Tiara gave Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon a hopeless look that pierced into their hearts, tearing them in two and restitching them into a pair twisted organs that could hardly be identified. At least, that's how Apple Bloom felt about it.
You see, Apple Bloom wanted to become friends with Diamond Tiara, not steal her best friend from her. She thought about it all the time her and Silver Spoon were together, and she realised what she had to do. She got up and walked over to Diamond Tiara. She stood and watched as Diamond Tiara reeled back as if she was about to be hit with a large blunt object. But, she wasn't hit with anything, instead, she felt a hoof around her neck. Not like being choked, but being embraced. Then, she heard the little yellow fillow embracing her utter something that sounded like, "I'm sorry."
But, what could Apple Bloom be sorry for? She did absolutely nothing whatsoever, it was Diamond Tiara who did it all. It was then she realised, nothing mattered. All these material things she had, all the "popularity" she had, her reputation, her father's reputation. None of it mattered. As she stood there astounded by the other pony holding her, began to hug Apple Bloom. Surprised, Apple Bloom hugged her back. None of it mattered any more, and Diamond Tiara's crown dropped to the floor, a few diamonds falling out of the sterling silver frame coming to a rest on the floor. Filthy Rich paid no mind to what was transpiring below him, and simply went on waiting in line, unaware of his daughter's revelation. Silver Spoon came over to the two ponies and joined in the jovial embrace.
A single tear dropped from the eye of a pink filly, as the sun beat down lightly on the little town of Ponyville......
Author's Note: This was probably THE most contrived story I or anypony else has ever written! Well, I decided to upload this one-shot because my friends didn't think it was as bad as I did, so, that was it :)
