Wake to Reality

Scootaloo may have been an incredibly.. feisty pony to deal with, but who Diamond Tiara truly feared was Apple Bloom. She had been through thick and thin with Diamond Tiara's bullying; it wouldn't be easy to work things out with her. But Apple Bloom was an Apple, after all - they were some of the toughest ponies around. Diamond Tiara hoped that would be enough.

The yellow earth pony walked in and shut the door behind her in a quick motion. Apple Bloom turned around and looked Diamond Tiara in the eye. "Look, Apple Bloom, I'm-" Diamond Tiara began, but Apple Bloom cut her off. She raised a hoof for Diamond Tiara to stop, and she had a little smile.

"Look, Diamond Tiara. I know you've just been tryin' ta make amends with all of us. While Scootaloo might be mad at ya, I'm really just.. not feelin' it. I can see it now, just lookin' at ya.. you really are sorry." Apple Bloom said gently, sitting down near her podium for Cutie Mark Crusaders meetings. This was not what Diamond Tiara was expecting at all. She was expecting some doubt, maybe a little rage..

"I'm not gonna be angry at ya for everything you did ta us. I'm not Scootaloo, I don't hold her grudges. I'll admit, I don't really understand why you had ta do all that ta us, but.. I can see where you're comin' from." Apple Bloom got up and sat closer to Diamond Tiara, who was still standing. She sat down like Apple Bloom, trying to be on eye level with her. "Granny Smith and Applejack have always told me that all ponies change at one point. Whether it be for good or bad, all ponies do change. Big Mac hasn't really told me anythin', though." Apple Bloom explained, using her hooves to prove her point. She moved them around in all kind of different movements while she talked. It was kind of entertaining.

"But when I look at you, and see your expression, I just can't help but feel like you never wanted ta do all those mean things ta us." Diamond Tiara had to wonder again if she was really that transparent. The fortress of secrets that had protected her was gone, brought down like the wall of Ba Sing Se. Now that she was actually giving away her secrets like lollipops, Diamond Tiara was no longer behind them. They were meaningless now.

"That's exactly how I feel, Apple Bloom. I always thought doing what I did was my purpose, my end goal. But I see what a fool I've been for the past months. It's almost humiliating to think of how bad I treated you, because everyone saw it." Diamond Tiara looked down at the floor. Her mind flashed back to just a few weeks ago, when she had teased them for being talentless and not special like the rest of the class. She handpicked the words she had said, because Diamond Tiara knew they would hurt the most. She had been cold, calculated and basically heartless... just like a machine. A puppet. But there was no one to blame but herself.

"I don't blame you fer what you did. You were driven by what you thought was right, Diamond Tiara. Any of us would be in your place, thinking we were helpful when we really weren't." Apple Bloom was good at playing the sympathy card, since she had a big heart. Now, Apple Bloom couldn't really imagine Diamond Tiara's situation that well since she didn't know the inside and outside of it. However, somewhere inside Apple Bloom could always see the quiver in Diamond Tiara's face even if she didn't realize it herself. "There was something beneath all that hatred, and it was always regret." Apple Bloom thought the last sentence aloud without realizing it.

"I wouldn't call it regret, Apple Bloom. I'd call it anguish. Every time I saw you or them, everything just.. hurt. You were happy, carefree. You can do whatever you want to find your special talents. But I'm just stuck with this tiara I don't even remember getting." Diamond Tiara rambled, letting out everything that had been bottled up over the past months. "It's terrible to get a cutie mark that you don't even understand."

"It's kinda funny.. me and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders were actually talkin' about that! Well, more like a cutie mark you don't LIKE, but hey, same thing." Apple Bloom recalled. "We thought it would be awful ta get a cutie mark you didn't like, because then you'll be stuck with it forever!" Diamond Tiara nodded, and looked sadly at her cutie mark.

"I just don't really understand, that's all. Why did I have to get a diamond tiara, of all things?" Diamond Tiara questioned, shaking her head irritably. "It doesn't make sense, and it doesn't show what my special talent is at all! .. If I have one, that is." The earth pony said glumly, only now realizing that she might not even have a special talent. After all, what good was harassing ponies? Answer: NOT USEFUL.

"Of course ya have a special talent, Diamond Tiara! You're kind of like us - still trying ta figure everythin' out, you see? You might have a cutie mark, but that doesn't mean the journey ends there. When you get a cutie mark like yours, you're in a situation like Twilight Sparkle. Her cutie mark is super eccentric and detailed, way more than the average one. She didn't understand hers either, but she didn't need ta. See? It doesn't really matter that much." Apple Bloom could recall the picture of Twilight's cutie mark in her mind. A big six-pointed purple star with 5 little white stars surrounding it. It referenced her and all of her friends, but she didn't know that until coming to Ponyville years later.

"Twilight discovered the meaning of her cutie mark long after she got it. There's no need ta rush, Diamond Tiara. Applejack always tells me that my cutie mark will take time to appear, and I don't wanna wait. But right now, I see that we've got plenty of time to figure things out." Diamond Tiara couldn't believe this was coming from Apple Bloom, who was constantly searching for her cutie mark. Apple Bloom couldn't believe it either. She sounded just like Twilight! She didn't know if that was good or bad.

"You don't necessarily have to understand your cutie mark. It doesn't take away your ability to become who you want, Diamond Tiara." Apple Bloom was finished, going back to the podium. Diamond Tiara was somewhat shocked that her lecture ended so abruptly, but shrugged it off.

"So.. is everything between us alright?" Diamond Tiara asked carefully.

Apple Bloom laughed. "Of course we are! I never hated ya, Diamond Tiara, and I see you somewhat differently now. A good different, I assure you." Diamond Tiara sighed with relief. However, she couldn't exactly celebrate - there was one more pony to talk to. Her best friend and now the only bully of the Crusaders - Silver Spoon. Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara walked out of the treehouse together. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were standing by the trees, apparently deep in a conversation.

The two earth ponies trotted down the ladder and went up to the two Crusaders. "Hi guys! Is everything all good?" Sweetie Belle inquired, looking at them eagerly. Apple Bloom smiled in triumph. "Yep. Diamond Tiara and I are all good now. We've settled things once and fer all." She nodded at Sweetie Belle, her smile becoming bigger.

"What are you doing next, Diamond Tiara?" Scootaloo asked warily, eyeing Diamond Tiara. Clearly, she was still a bit iffy about Diamond Tiara being a friend of the Crusaders. She looked at Scootaloo with a determined expression.

"I have to pay a visit to a certain silver pony. I can't allow her to keep bothering you, and I'm sure it's not going to be easy in making her stop." Sweetie Belle looked a bit concerned. "Do you want us to go with you and help?" Diamond Tiara shook her head violently.

"No. That'll make it worse. It'll probably encourage Silver Spoon to keep bullying you, and she'll start doing it to me too. She may have only been just a sidekick to me, but I'm sure she can do some terrible things on her own." Diamond Tiara said solemnly. She looked down the road that she had trailed them on. "I'll have to do it alone, and I may not make it out alive." She joked, a small yet grim smile breaking on her face.

"Good luck, Diamond Tiara."