There's always a way

by Color Spark

Rating: teen
Tags: Drama, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Silver Spoon, Original Character, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Discord, Diamond Tiara, Slice of Life, Sad
Length: 4600

Diamond Tiara is getting sent to a boarding school by her mother, supposedly to "change her low life ways and get her back to how she originally was". However, the CMC their new friend will do everything they can to help Diamond Tiara, or Apple, out.

Extra Tag: Weird
Written with permission by Deadpansnarker. An alternate ending to "A Mother's 'Love'", once it gets finished. For now, it's a side story. She gets sent to St. Whinneans, a brutal college that basically abuses foals. Not kidding. With the help of... someone, or some creature, and her new friends, she gets out of the place safely, but she isn't going to leave without a little... revenge, won't she? And I am bad at making long descriptions.
Rated Teen for a bit of abuse, but nothing too graphic
Cover image is NOT used with permission, but here is where I found it: http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Spoiled_Rich/Gallery

Published 2016-03-12 02:10:02 UTC
Last updated 2016-05-06 05:22:17 UTC

Chapter 1: Midnight Escape and the Plan

Chapter 1.

Diamond Tiara, or Diamond Apple as she was now called, was incredibly distressed. Her mother, Spoiled Rich, had decided to send her off to the most brutal, toughest school in Equestria. It will basically turn any student sent there into a personality-less, obedient pony, perfect for showing off at parties or big social events. It cost a fortune to enroll to; you would think that any pony in their right mind would not spend a freak ton of money to get their foal whipped and beaten. Like, seriously. What?

Diamond was about to get sent there. Her bags were packed, and she had decided to sneak out of her mansion, in the dead of the night, to see her new friends one last time. She knew that the CMC and Silver Spoon were having a sleepover. In all honesty, they planned this for weeks, knowing that Diamond would leave the next day. This gave her the perfect opportunity to sneak out and see them all at once.

Diamond checked her equipment one last time. Water? Check. Apple snacks? Check. The red bow Apple Bloom first gave her? Check. At least, it looked like the original. Diamond smiled to herself in the mirror. Bloom had somehow managed to find a way to make sure that it will never fall off, no matter how hard her mother tugs at it, no matter how much she rages. The only reason why she refused to cut it is that this was a copy made of silk. Her mother wouldn’t damage something as “precious” and “valuable” as that. Di sighed to herself. She was pretty sure that her mother would put these over the life of her own daughter. Nearly happened once, but that was another story for another day.

Diamond looked around the mansion courtyard, and seeing the guards weren’t there, dropped into neatly trimmed flower beds. Her mother was going to be furious, no doubt about that. But she didn’t care about what her “loving and caring” mother thought anymore. Those days were LONG gone. She was Diamond Apple now, and until her parents, specifically her mother, changed their ways, the name was there to stay.

She quickly ran over to Sugarcube Corner, where Scootaloo had graciously offered to pick her up. She didn’t mind the crazy driving anymore; she got used to it. the only thing that mattered now was that she got there, and fast.

“Pst! Di! Over here!” A voice hissed around the corner. Diamond grinned and turned around to see Scootaloo pressing herself against the back wall of Sugarcube Corner, grinning like a mad filly, holding out a spare helmet whilst standing on her scooter. “Come on! We don’t have all night; hop on!” Diamond nodded her thanks, took the helmet, and hopped onto the scooter behind Scootaloo.

They were off like the Flash, the new Marevel super-pony. Diamond waved her hooves in the air, whispering “Woo-hoo!” like a light pink and purple version of Fluttershy. With a bow, of course.

“Shuddup, Di! We’re already here!” Scootaloo said. Diamond stopped and looked around her.

“That was fast…”

“Course it was! There’s a reason I’m the fastest pony in class,” she bragged. “Anyway, let’s get in, the girls are waiting!”

“Your mom is actually going to send you to St. Whinneans, isn’t she, Di?” Asked Silver, shaking her head. She, Diamond Apple, and the CMC were in the middle of a card game. She dealt the next hoof. “I mean, I knew she was a BRAT, but I didn’t know she was THAT shameful to pony kind.” Diamond sighed.

“I know, right? I mean, she’s NEVER in her right mind, that we all know, always in a demented state. Still, to someone that hasn’t faced her wrath for as long as I have, you would find it surprising.” Diamond suddenly felt tired, all the loneliness of the days going to pass washing over her. She sighed and leaned against the wall. “I know it’s impossible, but I really wish there was a miracle that could save me from goi-”

POOF

“Gah!” Diamond whelped, leaping backwards in an amazing show of acrobatics as a cloud of smoke suddenly appeared right next to her.

“Hello hello hello, ladies! I heard our favourite Tiara was having some troubles, hm?” A voice asked.

“Discord, what in tarnation are ya doing here?” Apple Bloom asked. Discord chuckled and snapped his fingers, teleporting him next to Diamond. She cringed as he put his arm around her.

“I heard on the grapevine” – their eyes widened as a grapevine suddenly appeared, with an ear on the end – “That our favourite piece of jewelry was going to be sent to a horrible torture house, am I right?” He looked around as if expecting a reaction. He then realized the grapevine had wrapped itself around Diamond Tiara, and all the fillies were giving him a flat look. He burst out laughing. “Oh, my little fillies, can’t take a joke?” Their glares just intensified. He muttered under his breath. “Party poopers; party poopers everywhere,” and with a clap of his hands, the grapevine was gone.

“Finally!” Exclaimed Diamond Tiara. “That thing was choking me!” Apple Bloom just raised an eyebrow.

“Discord, I’m gonna ask you again. What in tarnation are ya doing here?” She emphasized each word. Discord glanced at her, and with a mischievous grin on his face, decided it would be easier to explain if none of them going to interrupt him. He snapped his fingers, and with an audible ‘poof’, all the fillies’ mouths were gone.

“MMMPH!” the fillies whined. Discord just shook his finger at them.

“Nuh uh-uh, little fillies. I need to explain how I can help, as ordered by Egghead Sparkle, aka Twilight, our precious little Diamond. We can’t have her going bad again, can we?” They all nodded. “Glad we all are in agreement. Anyways, since Diamond here will be going to St. Whippians –” he paused for dramatic effect “– our sweet little princess has decided that she will need some backup, in case things get a little… messy. So, if she feels the need, she will have a whistle” –he summoned a whistle – “but she can only blow on it once. I don’t know why she wouldn’t blow in it instantly, but hey, maybe she can find a home there. YEOWWCH!”

Hearing this, Diamond had walked over and smacked him with as much strength as she could muster. She began making a lot of very angry, muffled noises as she waved her arms around. It was quite a comical site; her friends began snickering, at least, snickering as best as they could without a mouth. Discord poofed her back into her spot, this time, with her stuck to a chair.

“That was a joke, Diamond. JOKE, spelled J-O-K-E. JOKE. Okay? Good. As I was saying before I was interrupted by a slap to the face,” he said, shooting a glare at Diamond, “She will have a whistle to blow if things get out of hand. What would the whistle do, you may ask? Well, let’s just say, I don’t think any sort of whips or beatings would do good against the Lord of Chaos, don’t you think?” He gave them back their mouths. He made a hand motion that basically said ‘go on, insult the plan all you want now’, and waited for their reaction. Diamond, surprisingly, was the first to speak.
“Discord… I never thought I’d say this… but that’s a… amazing, actually.” Then she winced. “I can’t believe I just called a plan of the Lord of Chaos amazing.”
“Doesn’t matter, as long as you get out of there safe and sound.” Silver had walked over and put her hoof around Diamond. She whispered in Diamonds ear. “Use the thing as soon as possible so you don’t have to put up with anything.” Diamond grinned, then nodded. She was going to be sent there for several thousand bits, for nothing. Good thing they were her mother’s bits. She didn’t mind that one bit. She yawned. It was getting late; so after the card game, she bid farewell to her friends and asked Discord to teleport her back home. As much as she loved her friends, she didn’t trust Scootaloo this late at night.

Author's Note

Hope you enjoyed the first chapter!
By the way, feedback and constructive criticism is always appreciated! :pinkiehappy:

Chapter 2: Leaving Home

Sadness hung in the air as Diamond Apple's (as her new name suggests, she is now part of the Apple family, even though they aren't connected by blood) friends mentally prepared themselves to say goodbye to her. They were currently in a carriage, going to the train station to meet Diamond Apple. sponsored by Silver Sterling, Silver Spoon's mother. The silence was thick; it's never fun to say goodbye to a friend, even for short while. At least, they hoped it was going to be a short while. They thought back to the previous day. Before the sleepover, Diamond's friends had decided to make a banner which would be held up by Sweetie Belle. Her friends were amazing; much better than having only one, wasn't it?

I know right? It's sooooo much more fun if you have friends around! I've always been nervicited about having Discord around, I mean, he's reformed but...

Pinkie Pie, OUT. YOUR PART IS COMING. WAIT YOUR TURN.

Okey dokey lokey!

"Who in Equestria are you talking to, Pinkie?" Over in another carriage, this one paid for by Princess Twilight Sparkle, rode the Elements of Harmony. Twilight, like all her other friends, were very confused of why Pinkie was always zoning out and talking to walls.

"The Author!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"What?" Now Twilight was even more confused.

"The Author, silly! The one who's in control of our lives and making me say these things!" Twilight just decided to leave it. Rainbow Dash facehoofed. Had she not learned yet?

Everypony winced when they heard yelling.

"Why? WHY? I am doing this for your own good, Diamond Tiara! You have been brainwashed by those fillies, your father, all the low lifes! Especially... I don't even want to say her name! YOU DO NOT SOCIALISE WITH THEM. EVER! UNDERSTAND? EVER!"

Inside the fillies carriage, Apple Bloom retreated from the window and sighed. She never understood why Spoiled hated her specifically. Maybe it was because she got a read on her before. Maybe it was because she yelled and insulted her in front of her own daughter; 'least she enjoyed it. Maybe it was before she ruined her project. She heard from Diamond that her mother had called her a project. A PROJECT. No self-respecting pony would call their own foal a PROJECT. Well, Spoiled was self respecting, but not in the way most ponies would imagine. Most ponies self-respecting would mean they were nice, they were liked around the community, and they were known for niceness. Sadly, that was nearly the opposite of Spoiled's definition of self-respecting. Oh well.

Spoiled yelped as she got pushed aside by a blue aura.

"Excuse me, Spoiled bi- I mean, Rich, but we are here to give your daughter a proper sendoff before she promptly gets whipped upon arrival. Oh, they don't do that? Silly me. I thought the school wanted to kill the foals." Rarity laughed dryly as Spoiled gave her a glare, but she cut her off before Spoiled can speak. "Darling, usually I would be disgusted with myself for being so uncouth, but since it's you, I think it's for the better. You do realise your darling daughter would hate you even more now? And before you question that, my Sweetie has informed me what exactly Diamond Apple's view of you is." Even though she wasn't her foster mother for the short time span which she was taken into the loving hooves of her new family, the Apples (which she actually considered much more family-like over her own), Rarity still seemed like her sister. But, Diamond thought, she could do without the over protectiveness. It's still nice to have sometimes, though. Makes her seem like she actually cares about you, unlike another family member she could relate to.

Suddenly, she heard someone clap their hooves. Actually, they didn't sound like hooves. Then, she realised she couldn't move. Everything had seemingly frozen in place. What? Also, her mother was nowhere to be seen. That's a relief, she thought.

Gah! She thought. She couldn't say anything, so she thought it instead. Discord had decided to appear, this time with nopony interrupting him, he decided to get straight to the point. At least, as straight forward as you can get when talking with Discord. Nopony gets straight answers from Discord.

"We meet again, pumpkin!" Diamond tried to glare at him. Keyword? Tried. She was still stuck in time. Discord seemed to read her mind (who knows, he could've) and unfreezed her, but with the threat that he would do it again if she interrupted him. Diamond nodded her agreement. "Ok, let's continue. So, remember that little chat we had last night? Do you? Do you?" Diamond nodded. She was going to turn into a bobble head soon, she thought. "Remember I said that you would get a whistle if the going gets tough? Remember?" Annoyance flashed in Diamond's eyes as she nodded again. "Here it is! Like it? Like it? I"M ASKING YOU SOMETHING!" He yelled in her face. She didn't respond. "Little pony, not replying is considered rude. You shall now be sent to boot camp," he said in a poor imitation of Spoiled. Diamond patience was run too thin.

"DON'T YOU REMIND ME OF HER! I DON'T CARE ABOUT MY SO CALLED "SELF IMAGE" THAT MY IDIOT OF A MOTHER SET UP ANY MORE!" Discord's eyes widened as she raged. Then he chuckled and pushed her back.

"Whoa there. Calm DOWN! Ponies really need to learn to take a joke." Diamond stopped, and glared at him.

"Mr. I'm-really-starting-to-dislike-you-now, you do realise you haven't given me the stupid whistle yet... right?"

"Oh right! It was at the back of my mind, Di. Do you mind if I call you that?" Diamond opened her mouth to speak, but Discord cut her off. "Whatever. As if I care! Anyway," he paused, "I still need to give you the whistle, Princess Egghead's orders." He gave his head one hard smack, and a whistle fell out of his ear. Diamond reclined in disgust.

"Eww..." was all she said.

"Well? Take it!" He took her hoof and shoved the whistle into her hoof. When he retracted his paw, Diamond held the whistle by the end and examined it from there. It seemed like a regular whistle; made from silver (she had some sort of expertise in recognising precious metals), with a logo embedded in the side. It looked like a rain cloud dripping water, but below it was a cup that was catching the "water". Recognising the scene instantly, she shot a flat look at Discord. He just shrugged. Then he summoned chocolate milk. He offered one to Diamond. She took the cup and drank the milk. Her eyes widened. Although she would never admit this, it was probably the best chocolate milk she ever had. She quickly downed the rest of the beverage, and wiped her mouth with the back of her hoof. Her mother wasn't here, so who cares? She jumped as she heard an explosion. Chocolate milk apparently can explode. Discord finally unfreezed everypony.

"Well, my job here is done! Ta-taa, everypony!" He disappeared.

"ALL ABOARD THE TRAIN TO CANTERLOT!"

Author's Note

Is it obvious that Discord is one of my favourite characters XD?
Sadly, he's not going to appear again until the end :fluttercry:
Oh well, what can you do?
As always, thanks for reading, and leave any sort of feedback in the comments below. Just a side note, flames will be used to roast marshmallows. Just gonna tell you that.

Chapter 3: No, seriously. The trains here. Get on it.

Diamond sighed. She couldn't put it off forever. Tears filled her eyes as she walked towards her new friends and sisters. She was never used to feeling this emotional, even when she was first welcomed into the Apple family. Then, she was welcomed with loving hooves into a new family, with ponies who showed that they cared. Even Big Mac, the stone-faced softie of the family managed to show that he really did care for the newest Apple. Heck, he spoke in full sentences! But now, she had to leave the only real family she has ever known, even if only for a short while. This goodbye was something she didn't really now how to put into words.

"I... Guys, I know that... Um, I haven't... I... We never really..." Each attempt never made it more than four words. Diamond's eyes started to get misty. Apple Bloom sighed, and walked over to her sister. She put a hoof around her shoulder, and attempted to comfort her.

"Di, I know it's not okay, so I'm not going to say that, but just know if that if any of the ponies there do anything bad to either you or any of the other fillies there, you have an escape plan. Once you get back, we will be here waiting with open hooves. Just because you'll be saying goodbye now doesn't mean it's forever, Diamond."

After her little speech, Apple Bloom hugged Diamond as hard as she could without squeezing her. Applejack looked at her sister with pride, smiling at the maturity of her words. Sweetie, Scootaloo and Silver Spoon, however, were speechless. Even though she was definitely the "sane" member of the Crusaders, she still, in Silver's standards at least, was a little... immature. Twilight was nodding, showing her approval. Rainbow was zoning out. What did you expect? She's Rainbow Dash. Rarity smiled, and whispered to Pinkie about how Apple Bloom had changed, who was being, well, Pinkie.

"Oh my gosh! Bloomy is being so... so mature! I would've never expected her to say something like that! It's so touching!" Pinkie Pie sniffled as she wiped a tear from her eye, honking into a handkerchief at the same time. How she did that will remain a mystery, however. Rarity rolled her eyes at her friends antics, but she was grinning on the inside. Pinkie was right though; nopony expected Apple Bloom to be this, well, mature. Whether Apple Bloom heard Pinkie call her Bloomy, Rarity was unsure. Either she didn't hear or didn't care, because she was too busy comforting Diamond and whispering encouragement in her ear.

The sweet moment was ruined, however, when a very unwelcome pony suddenly appeared, holding one of the most repulsive dresses the ponies have ever seen.

It had a pink, purple and white colour scheme, with many frills, a lot of lace, and poofy sleeves. Near the top of it, there was a huge collar with even more lace. It was decorated with intricate patterns embroidered into the fabric, with the worst pink Diamond had ever seen in her life. The purple was decent, actually, but she was not going to admit that. What was worse, however, that the pony also had a bag of even more dresses, some of them even worse than the one they were seeing. One or two were actually pretty decent, but again, she was not admitting that.

The five fillies were trying really hard (and failing really bad) not to groan at the sight of her and the dresses. Naturally, this meant they groaned as loud as their little throats can handle. It got worse when she had the nerve to open her mouth to speak.

"Diamond, dear, make sure you get into one of these dresses before you get to Whinneans. They make sure that you'll look your best, all the time. I picked this one out for you to wear first, because we must make a good first impression. Remember this for meeting all important ponies. First impressions like these will make you stand out, and you might be able to get a good contact for future usage, I mean for future relationships!

Also, if you ever want to put your own opinion out there, don't, because they'll make sure you remember NEVER to do that again. Their methods are a little... over the top, I suppose, but very effective! Look at how I turned out. A lot better than that little Spoiled Sweet I used to be. Indeed, Spoiled Rich suits me much better, don't you think?" She handed the bag of dresses to Diamond, who started fake gagging to her friends. Her mother, however, was too wrapped up in praising herself for her wonderful decisions she had made for her daughter to notice what Diamond was doing. When she did look towards Diamond, Diamond had enough practice doing things against her mothers orders and hiding them these past few weeks, she just stood there like the obedient little filly she definitely wasn't, in a last stand in hoping that her mother would get some sanity knocked into her and rethink sending off Diamond to St. Whinneans.

Who names their child Whinneans, anyway? And who made them a saint? Do we even have god in this Fanfiction? I know it isn't canon so... if we don't have god how do we have saints? Is it just something they made up to sound coo-

PINKIE OUT OF THE FOURTH WALL. GET BACK INTO THE STORY AND SAY STUFF WHEN I WANT YOU TO.

Awww.... fine. But why?

BECAUSE I SAID SO. *grabs needle and thread and sews up the fabric of reality*

"Again, Pinkie? Again?" asked Applejack. "I'm getting mighty suspicious of ya, always zoning out and talking to "the author", whoever that is. Stay in this world, please!"

"You know, that's weird, because that's what the author said! Stay in the story!" Pinkie exclaimed. "It's like you're twins or something," she let out a dramatic gasp "What if you are? What if... what if..." Pinkie got this crazy look in her eyes, and Fluttershy took this as her cue to calm the party pony down.

"Pinkie, calm down," she soothed. "And you know AJ doesn't have a twin. She has a brother and a sister, yes, but no twin-" She was cut off at a horrible SCREECH!!! sound coming from a light fuchsia mare.

"Eeeek! WHAT IS THAT I SEE ON YOUR HEAD? Is that... is that... URGH! DESPICABLE!" She turned to the other fillies, hatred filling her eyes when she locked her eyes onto Apple Bloom. She sneered. "I see you're still here, you little rascals. Well, you won't see my daughter for long, anyways." She turned back to Diamond. "Diamond, dear, get into one of these beauties, will you? They need you to look your best. Also, make sure you comb your hair, and do try to get into something a little more... flattering. Maybe some jewellery? I have something that will just be perfect for you. Here it is!" She pulled out a diamond necklace that had way too many diamonds on it, and it looked really heavy. Diamond took it and put it on. Yup, her suspicions were confirmed. Her neck was going to fall off soon.

"Well, run along now. The trains going to go soon. Be sure to stay obedient!" Spoiled told her daughter. She gave the bag of dresses to Diamond, and pulled the the one she was holding over her daughter's head. Diamond, without saying anything to her mother, walked away as slowly as she can towards the train. Spoiled, satisfied with her daughter, went away. As soon as she was out of earshot, Twilight ran up to the filly and gave her a bag.

"Diamond, listen to me. I know what happens at the school and it's not pretty. They use a lot of magic, and I mean a lot of it. Mostly then use it to drag you to them when they need to punish you. Wear these dresses instead; I enchanted them so they will repel any sort of magic a unicorn uses on you. They're a little less... extravagant then the ones your mother picked out, and I hope you like these a little more." When Diamond opened her mouth to protest, Twilight cut her off.

"Don't worry. These dresses I've picked out in one of Canterlot's higher-end boutiques, so you won't get in trouble for having no style." She looked with distaste at the necklace Diamond was wearing, and how her head was sagging with it. She shook her head and brought out another necklace.

"Here, this is one of mine. Much simpler, lighter, and more elegant, but crafted by some of the best jewellers I could find. It's made of diamond, sapphire, emerald, ruby and rose gold. I don't like to wear it much, because it's too flashy. But, just in case you have to have jewellery, wear this. It should be stylish enough for the college. These were very expensive and the style should be instantly recognisable, as the jewellers are very famous." Diamond was speechless. For a while, anyway.

"Th-thanks, Ms. Sparkle. this is really nice, and I think that it's a huge improvement from my previous accessory." She looked at the necklace given to her by her mother, and politely asked Twilight if she could take it and put it somewhere safe. She agreed, and put it in her bag. She studied the necklace.

It was a rose gold chain, but there was a part at the front where there was a small triangle of diamond, and more rose gold chains made a triangle like shape around it.. Hanging from that triangle was a rose pendant, with a big ruby in the middle. The leaves were made of emerald. Also hanging from the triangle, there were two teardrop shaped sapphires, curving towards the rose. After a few seconds, she recognised the designers. The jewels, she knew, was cut by Jewelled Rosette, who specialised in cutting and polishing jewels, mostly in flower shapes. The rose gold chains, however, was made by Emerald Serenity. Nopony else could've made the chains with such precision, and, she realised, embed tiny cut diamonds into the chains every so often. Nopony would bother, except Emerald. This would definitely get her noticed, but whether it was good or bad was yet to be determined. Diamond got her bags and with one last goodbye to all her friends, she boarded the train to Canterlot. She sat down, and listened for the signal.

"THE TRAIN FOR CANTERLOT LEAVES IN 1 MINUTE!"

Author's Note

Sorry for the late update! I was set on rereading my entire collection of Rick Riordan's mythology books. My excuse? We're studying mythology in SS. Not to mention reading up on Percabeth... but that aside, my charger also broke (courtesy of me kicking too much under the desk XD) so I tried to stay off Chrome to save battery. Also, I wrote this before, but I forgot to save it... :ajbemused:. If Diamond seems a bit OOC, it's because she's changed. She's meant to be like that.
To make it up to you guys for the late update, this is the longest chapter yet! :D
Hope you liked! Comments will be appreciated, feedback will be used and flames will be used to roast marshmallows.