Going Down the Rabbit Hole
They had accepted her. For all the teasing, the insults, the bullying, they had helped her when she needed it most. Why did they do it? She treated them like dirt, so why? Why in Equestria had they helped her instead of returning the favor? Making her suffer as she had done to them? It was ridiculous. She could have never thought it possible. And for that, she was grateful.
Grateful for their forgiveness, their aid. Perhaps it was the influence of their loved ones, who had taught them their love and tolerance... their forgiveness. Among them were the Elements of Harmony, after all, some of the most understanding ponies she'd ever seen. They were truly blessed, then, to have been raised and taught by such ponies, rather than a passive father and an unbending mother like she had.
But she couldn't be jealous. How could she? She wanted the love and forgiveness they had, and just today, they had given exactly that to her. So she couldn't be jealous. She shouldn't be. She had no right, when she had deserved none of it, and perhaps quite the opposite instead. She couldn't understand why they forgave her. Perhaps, these ponies didn't see in black and white like all others? Perhaps they could believe there was good to be found in everyone?
What was their limit? She needed to know. She had to ask. Perhaps, they would accept her, even when they knew the truth.
But what if they didn't? What if she pushed too far, and they rejected her? She would be left with not a pony but Silver Spoon. That wouldn't be enough. She now had 4 friends, all equally valuable. She couldn't afford to lose just one, not to mention all but one. It was ridiculous to even consider! She'd be an idiot to go there now and ask.
It seemed she was an idiot, then.
"Hey... Crusaders." The three jumped in surprise, turning from their conversation to face her. Diamond Tiara grinned, waving at them. They smiled back, hopping off of their wagon-scooter... thing. She walked up to them.
"Diamond Tiara? What're ya doin' all the way out here?" Apple Bloom gestured around the apple orchard. Diamond blushed, taking a breath.
"I... never got the chance to thank you three properly for supporting me, so I wanted to come here and... thank you three." She awkwardly grinned at them. The crusaders remained quiet, as if expecting her to continue. She gulped, chuckling nervously.
"Well, uh, thank you, I guess..." Her gaze lingered on each of their faces. This was a terrible idea.
"Well, guess I'll be going!" She quickly turned to leave. The crusaders glanced at each other in confusion.
"That's it?" Diamond froze at Sweetie's outburst, before turning around.
"Er, yes? Was it not enough? I'm really thankful, serious! I... I'll show you! I'll get my father to send you-"
"That's not what we meant," Scootaloo said with a smirk. "You came all the way out here, and you just wanted to say thank you? You really didn't need to do that, you know."
"Ya sure ya didn't come here for anything else? We'd be glad to help!" Apple Bloom finished. The three gave her wide -and somewhat fake looking- smiles, showing their sincerity. Diamond stood nervously, considering the three ponies. Should she ask them?
"Well, we're friends now, right? And... we'll stay friends? You wouldn't just abandon me if... something came up, right?" She was stalling, still considering her options. The crusaders glanced at each other before nodding.
"Of course, Diamond! Friends don't just abandon each other. As long as we're not being mean with each other, Ah think we'll be just fine," Apple Bloom said reassuringly. The others nodded in agreement. Diamond breathed in, continuing.
"And that'd be the only reason, right? If I were to be mean again? As long as I was friendly, you'd still want to be my friends, right?" Sweetie Belle walked up to her, patting her back.
"Of course! If you're friendly, there's no reason not to be friends, right? We'll be friends till the end! Which, now that I think about it, I guess means that we wouldn't be friends anymore if you died, or maybe if we died, or if all four of us died, but-"
"Shut up." Scootaloo glared at Sweetie. They stood in silence for a moment.
Sweetie broke it.
"What'd I do?" Diamond subconsciously inched away from her.
"What's with all the questions, Diamond Tiara? Y'all be nice, we stay nice, we're all nice and friends. What's got yer bow in a twist?" The crusaders' attention was brought back to Diamond Tiara, who braced herself.
"Would it matter if I was a changeling?"
...
...
"Say what?" They stared at her incredulously. She glanced at each of them nervously.
"Well, you all said that as long as I wasn't causing any trouble, we'd be friends, right? S-so it shouldn't matter if I was a changeling, right?" She felt beads of sweat trickling down her forehead. They stood silent, only making the tension worse. Apple Bloom suddenly gave her a flat look.
"Yer jokin', right? Y'all ain't no changeling, are you?" Apple Bloom raised her brow.
"O-of course not! That'd be silly!" Apple Bloom doubtfully eyed her, and the others looked on in confusion. She drew closer, and soon Diamond found herself backing away nervously until she was met with a tree. Apple Bloom looked her straight in the eyes, narrowing her own in suspicion.
"Then it don't matter, cause' ya ain't no changeling!" Apple Bloom grinned widely. Diamond let out a breath of relief. But she hadn't really answered the question.
"But if I was, we'd still be friends, right?" The other two walked up beside Apple Bloom.
"Why does it matter if you're not? You're not, right?" Scootaloo questioned.
"No, but if I was," Diamond started. Sweetie Belle cut her off.
"But you're not, right?"
"No! Like, hypothetically, if I was a-"
"But you're not, right?" Apple Bloom glared at her. Diamond shrunk from the gaze. This was an awful idea and she should feel awful. Now Apple Bloom was suspicious of her being a changeling!
"Right?" Apple Bloom repeated.
"R-right! Definitely not! I- I need to go now!" Diamond shrugged away, and started to leave.
"Oh Celestia, she is! We have to tell Twilight!" She froze in her tracks. Apple Bloom panicked, tugging at her friends and rushing to the scooter. Diamond turned around and ran at them, grabbing Apple Bloom.
"Please don't tell Twilight!" Diamond shouted at her, panic gripping her heart. They found out. Of course they found out! What kind of idiotic changeling asks ponies that? Apple Bloom looked up nervously at her, and Diamond quickly let her go. She composed herself as Apple Bloom brushed herself off.
"So you're really a changeling, huh?" It seemed like a statement more than a question.
"I'm telling you, I'm not!" The crusaders looked at her skeptically.
"Well, if you're not, it'll be fine if we all went to Twilight to check, right?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"No!" They couldn't! That was the mare who had her brother drained and mind-controlled, her step-sister imprisoned, her mentor struck down, her birthplace crumble around her, all by the changelings!
"Why not?" Scootaloo asked, the accusation clear in her voice.
"Because! I... I..." What could she say? She was done for! What if they really told Twilight? Why did she have to ask stupid questions? What would Twilight do to her?
She felt her eyes well up.
What if they banished her from Equestria? Used their Rainbow power on her? What if they just outright... killed her?
"Please..." Tears slid down her face, sobs and sniffles quietly escaped her mouth. "Because... I'm scared. Of her. What she could do if she found out. P-please..." She fell to her haunches, sobbing quietly to herself, as she heard no response from the crusaders.
Maybe, they had already ran away, looking for Twilight.
Maybe, Twilight was flying over right now to banish her.
Maybe, they were gathering the six Elements to strike her with Rainbow power.
Maybe, the ponies would end her themselves.
Maybe, it wouldn't hurt.
Thump
Her eyes shot open at the sound. All three had crouched down in front of her, worried looks on their faces. They didn't look worried about her... In fact, they looked... worried for her? Why hadn't they gone to find Twilight?
Did she dare believe they decided not to?
"That's the wrong answer, Diamond Tiara." Apple Bloom said lowly. Her head snapped up.
"W-what?" She inched away nervously. The other two gently and reassuringly held her.
"It's because we're your friends, and nothing else matters." Apple Bloom hugged her.
She was hugging her, a changeling.
This had to be...
This was...
Sincere? Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo joined in.
It was sincere. She could feel the emotions swirling through them. They really accepted her! How could they accept her, how could they be so trusting as to hold her so close?
"How could-"
"Friendship. It's probably friendship, whatever your question was." Sweetie Belle said gently.
"Nothing matters in comparison to that, right?" Scootaloo continued.
So that was the answer. She could feel the joy welling in her, all the tension and fear slipping out. Her eyes were watering again. She let out a quiet sob into Apple Bloom's back.
"What's wrong, Diamond?" Concern riddled the question, and it felt amazing. Amazing to know they cared so much.
"I'm so lucky to have you three... think of me... as a friend!" She returned the hug threefold.
And she cried in their embrace, treasuring every moment.
Author's Note
Considering this story's structured around the infamous question, you might realize this story went through different phases before reaching this point. It was originally a parody of the scenario, but turned darker, then turned into a similar concept as this with different events at the clubhouse, and then became this.
I hoped you liked it. 
We need more filly emoticons!
This is incomplete because I plan to release an alternate ending, the original comedy/parody. I may also make a small follow up using some dummied-out ideas. It might even explain why Diamond Tiara of all ponies would be a changeling.
Should I change this to Teen or add a Dark tag, considering Diamond Tiara's fears?
Hey, kind of noticed the lyrics to Supporting Me from Sonic Adventure 2 is kind of fitting.
"So, uh, Diamond. So... What'd ya do to... ya know... the original?" Apple Bloom scuffled along with the other Crusaders and Diamond Tiara into the clubhouse. Apple Bloom looked down nervously, as if she said something wrong. Diamond raised a brow confusedly.
"What? What does that mean?" What was she talking about? The original? Apple Bloom bit her lip, unwilling to elaborate.
"Well, we were just wondering... When did you come along? Was it before or after her cute-ceañera?" Scootaloo followed up, giving a fake grin. Diamond blinked. Who's cute-ceañera? When she came along? The confusion must have been apparent on her face, as Sweetie Belle gave an exasperated sigh, stomping her hoof.
"When'd you come to Ponyville and kill the pony Diamond Tiara, and how'd you do it?!" Everypony stepped back, surprised from the outburst. Diamond shook her head, missing Scootaloo knock Sweetie Belle across the head.
"What do you mean I..." Her eyes widened. Did they mean...? "You girls think I came to Ponyville and k- ki- replaced a filly to get love?" That was horrible! She couldn't imagine physically hurting someone, let alone... and a filly!
"Well, I thought... Rainbow Dash said... That's what changelings do, right?" Scootaloo asked apologetically.
Diamond rubbed her head, sighing. Of course that's what they thought of changelings. Perhaps they were right. She wouldn't know now, would she? She hadn't even known what she was before the Canterlot Invasion.
"I... Well..." She looked up, the Crusaders looking to her nervously. "I guess, yea, that's what changelings do..." She sighed, looking down. They had accepted her, but maybe the scars the changelings had sown in the ponies through the Royal Wedding was too much to ever forgive.
"But it's not what you do, is it?" A white hoof lifted her chin, and she saw Sweetie Belle smiling. The others nodded, stepping forward in-line with Sweetie. They... understood? Did they?
"So, you don't think I replaced some filly and took her identity?" she asked hopefully. Apple Bloom chuckled lightly, patting her.
"Now that's just plain silly. How could a pony... uh..." she paused, looking thoughtful, but in seconds donned a confident look. "How could a pony replace themselves? That's just crazy talk!" Apple Bloom chuckled again, and Diamond couldn't help but laugh along.
"Yea, I don't know bout' you, but you're the only pony I know named Diamond Tiara!" Scootaloo joined in on the laughter, and Sweetie Belle followed.
"And I wouldn't have any other!"
It hit her.
A pony. Just like them. She wasn't a changeling, an outsider, an imposter.
She was just another pony.
"You... You girls..." She could feel the tears building in her eyes again, and pulled them in a bearhug. She could live like this forever.
"Wow... Pinkie's got... competition!" Apple Bloom gasped out. Diamond quickly let go, blushing. This was friendship, in the purest form known by ponies. This was... bliss.
"I think... I think I want to tell you. How I got here." The others composed themselves, and sat down, prompting her to do the same.
"We're all ears!" Scootaloo said.
"Y'all dun' hafta say nothin' 'bout anythin' ya dun' wanna!" Apple Bloom added, anticipation written across her face.
"Well, the first thing I ever remember was waking up, down near the Everfree. I was just a foal at that time, and there weren't any changelings around."
"You mean you were abandoned?" Sweetie gasped.
"I... guess. I don't know. But there were ponies coming. I heard them talking, but I didn't understand Equestrian then. When I finally figured out where they were, they had already spotted me. Too late to run. So I started panicking, and... Well, I'm not sure, but I think my magic just... did it's thing. The next thing I knew, I looked like Diamond Tiara. Well, a Diamond Tiara foal. The ponies... There were two. They liked me. I guess I chose a good look. Kind of looked like the mare of the two."
"How'd you know they liked you?" Scootaloo asked, raising a brow.
"It was my first taste of love. The moment I felt it, I just... knew... that love was a good thing."
A chorus of 'aww' made Diamond blush.
"They adopted me."
...
"Oh," Apple Bloom managed to mutter.
"So they raised me. They gave me love and pampered me. It was all good, up until I got my cutie mark." She sighed, glaring at her flank.
"How did you get your mark? Did it appear like ours?"
"No, I just asked about cutie marks one day, and got curious. Ponies told me you couldn't force a mark to appear, but I thought I could, since I seemed to be able to change other parts of me. So I got together with Silver Spoon and asked if she thought we could do it. I made mine the tiara I always wore, and she made hers her favorite spoon her parents owned. But-"
"Yer kiddin', right? Silver Spoon's a changeling." Apple Bloom's flat look returned. Diamond blinked, realizing Silver Spoon would have wanted to keep her secret.
Oops.
"Yea, that’s not a problem, is it?” The Crusaders gave each other suspicious glances. Why would it be a problem? The three had accepted her, and she had bullied them much more than Silver Spoon ever had. There was no reason they would stay friends with her and not…
They weren’t Silver Spoon’s friends.
Even if was only for a short period, Diamond Tiara was friends with the Crusaders. They said they forgave her because of friendship. And they weren’t friends with Silver Spoon. What if they tattled on Silver Spoon to Twilight? She might have just costed Silver Spoon her... Her life! She’d lose her best friend… the one she’d known the longest, and it would be all her fault. They couldn’t take her. They-
“You okay, there, Diamond? Concern rolled off Apple Bloom in waves. She could feel it, and it calmed her. Surely, she could trust these ponies... Her friends, to keep the secret, right?
“You… won’t tell Twilight about Silver Spoon, right? Even if… she’s not your friend?”
“Hey, you know what they say! A friend of our friend is a friend of our enemies! Wait… was it…” Sweetie Belle rubbed her chin, grunting.
“No.” Scootaloo smacked her, before smiling to Diamond. “Don’t worry, Diamond. You trust her, we trust you, s’all good.” Apple Bloom nodded in agreement.
“As long as she ain’t hurtin’ nopony, there ain’t a reason we’ve got to put her through anything!” Diamond let out a breath of relief and smiled at the Crusaders.
“Don’t worry, she hasn’t hurt anypony any more than I have.” The Crusaders nodded approvingly.
“Rarity always said, ‘No double standards, or may you burn in Tartarus!’” Sweetie smiled widely, and everyone stepped back again. Scootaloo snickered.
“Rarity said that? Well, Tirek’s going to get a real nice suit soon.” Apple Bloom smacked them both.
“So you stuck with the cutie marks?”
“Right. We weren’t originally planning to, but after we changed that day, father walked in on us with the marks. He was absolutely delighted! I couldn’t change back after I felt his love for me then. Not to mention that ponies don’t just lose their marks. Unless there’s a giant centaur involved.” The Crusaders giggled at that, which made her smile.
“You would not believe how scared I was that Tirek would come and steal my magic. I heard Tirek didn’t otherwise hurt the ponies he drained, but I don’t think that would matter after I turned out to be a changeling, whether it was Tirek or the ponies that got me first.” The Crusaders stopped giggling at that.
“Mood whiplash, much?” That earned Sweetie another hit on the head.
“So anyway, that’s how we got our cutie marks. Turns out the love I got from them was a red herring. It all really went downhill from there. That was the first day I heard the term ‘blank flank’, and mother started telling me about how I was ahead of the game now, and I needed to stay in the lead, else I disappoint her. Uh, sorry about the name calling, by the way.” She felt ashamed of it, considering how hard they tried to help her when they saw the chance.
“It’s nothing- Okay, it wasn’t nothing, but it’s in the past now, right?” Scootaloo reassured.
“Of course! Anyway, they started telling me how I should act, what I should be doing, how I should present myself. It… started alienating everypony at school, and I wanted to stop. Not only because I stopped getting anything at school, but because Silver Spoon started following my lead. She always listens to what I say, and copies what I do.” Diamond sighed.
“At least, up until today. I’m sure she realized what I was doing was costing both of us food, but she stuck by me. I never understood why she would. But it was friendship, wasn’t it? She didn’t want to abandon me to having no one at school who liked me.” She smiled as she considered all that Silver Spoon had done for her.
“Aww, that’s so sweet!”
“Great friend I turned about to be.” She pretended not to hear Sweetie whisper ‘mood whiplash’ again.
“Before that, I’d always split the love I got with her. She always had trouble getting the love she needed. I used to help her out, but soon enough she was the one sharing with me. She still got something when she talked with others at school, and I was hardly getting anything, even from my parents. Just disappointment. But I couldn’t just leave them and take a new identity… They were still family, you know? Ugh, a cutie mark was supposed to show you just what you’re meant to do in life. But I didn’t have a real one, did I? It just confused my life to no end.”
“But yer back on track now, right?” There was a hopeful tone in Apple Bloom’s voice. Diamond quickly nodded.
“Yea. It only got worse from the invasion, though. I don’t think I’d ever been more scared my life. I was so shocked when I saw something that looked like I did in the news. I thought that maybe, I could find my true parents, or at least understand what I was. But then I actually read the paper. You could hardly get through a line without it insulting the changelings. And they deserved it. What they did… it was atrocious! But… do you know how relieved I was when I heard they banished the changelings?” The Crusaders looked confused.
“Why were you relieved?”
“Are you kidding me? Every time something is deemed a major threat to pony society, it’s Twilight and friends who deal with them, and I live in the same town as her! Nightmare Moon made the moon freeze in the sky, and gets shot by a giant rainbow laser that turns her into a completely different mare. Twilight was just some unicorn, and Nightmare Moon was Celestia’s sister! Those Elements sent her to the moon a thousand years ago!
“Discord made the world go crazy and he got turned to stone. Him! To stone! His powers… he… he’s like a god! He makes alicorns look like foals! And all it took for Twilight to beat him was a speech and a giant rainbow and he was a piece of rock! I was there! Did you see how scared he looked when he was a statue? Did you hear him scream when he realized he, Mr. Oh-look-gravity’s-a-cookie-now, realized he was doomed?” She realized she was panting, so she stopped to take a breath. The Crusaders didn’t say anything.
“I thought he had it coming when I saw them beat him, but suddenly I could be on the receiving end of that! I read the report; they wanted to blast the queen, but they couldn’t reach the Elements. I was relieved because I thought that, maybe, if they realized they didn’t need the Elements to beat a changeling, they wouldn’t use them on me when they found me.
“But then, it was their first option. Banishment was a last resort. The papers said they banished them with an eleventh hour spell when they had nothing else. Well then, what if... they were in control? What if Twilight came back with a spell that could instantly find changelings, and... get revenge? They shot down her mentor, controlled her brother, imprisoned her soon-to-be step-sister! I was so scared when they came back… so, so scared. I… I thought… she would...” She was crying again. She shouldn’t be. She had friends now, who could keep her secret. And they were hugging her again, she realized.
“It’s okay, Diamond Tiara. She won’t ever find out. And even if she did, we’d stick up for ya!” Diamond returned the hug, smiling through the tears at Apple Bloom’s words. Truly, these were the best friends a pony could have.
“Hey, aren’t you starving?” Sweetie blurted out.
“What?”
“Well, you feed on love, right? But nopony in town’s liked you since the cute-ceañera, and your parents think you’re a disappointment. Not to mention you’re trying not to hurt anypony when you’re feeding.” Scootaloo gave Sweetie the stink-eye.
“Say, she’s right. Are ya getting enough… uh, food?” There was that concern again. She didn’t deserve it. They didn’t need to constantly worry about her and make her feel better.
“It’s fine, really,” She winced at how rough the lie felt. “I have you girls now, right?” She faked a smile. Apple Bloom didn’t look impressed.
“Yer lyin’. Ah can tell. Listen, Twilight’s not like that. We’re her friends’ sisters. She trusts us a lot, and when she sees our friendship is real, she’ll understand. Ah promise! She’s the princess of friendship! She can figure out some way to get ya more love if we just tell her!” Diamond gulped.
“Please… I just can’t! I know she’s a great pony, but I’m not willing to bet my life on that!”
“But she’s never killed nopony! Princess Luna’s back on the throne with Celestia… or… she’s sitting on the floor beside Celestia’s throne, apparently. Um… Discord’s back out of stone, and he’s now one of their friends! I think. Even that changeling queen didn’t get hurt by them! Unless they’re bad at surviving falls. Well, King Sombra was… not their fault, shut up. And… Tirek was locked in Tartarus! You’ve got nothing to worry about, Twilight’s got a great track record.”
“I swear you’re doing this on purpose!” Scootaloo shouted at Sweetie.
“I… I just…” It was true. The rational part of her brain was telling her she had nothing to worry about. But if they were wrong…
“You... promised me you wouldn’t tell,” she managed weakly. The Crusaders looked doubtfully at each other, considering the answer. She couldn’t risk it. She wouldn’t dare. They wouldn’t do it, right? They promised…
“Make that a Pinkie Promise, then.”
…
“I love you girls.”
“We love you too, Diamond.”
“I know… I know…”
"And we'll make sure everypony else at school sees why they should too."
"You and Silver Spoon."
"'Cause that's what friends do."
Author's Note
Because I'm an indecisive fool, this is still incomplete, and there's an alternate ending coming here, then a separate Dark story that's an alternate ending to the alternate ending, then maybe a parody as another sequel.
This conversation was originally going to happen in the story proper, but I felt it didn't fit in, so I rewrote it to what you saw in Chapter 1. I took the concepts I dummied out and restructured them into this addenda. As for the darker ending I had and the original parody, I think I'll make those sequels to this, as their difference in tone is really jarring.
So, I guess this story is complete now.
