Diamond Tiara grumbled as she clicked through links and webpages on her computer. Her current search was not proving fruitful and she was running out of time.
“This is so unfair,” she mumbled to herself as she browsed through local job openings. Diamond rested her head against her keyboard as she recalled what had gotten her here.
//////////5 Days Ago//////////
“That's not fair!” Diamond cried out, sitting in the chair in her father's office on the opposite side of his desk.
Filthy Rich sighed as he tried to calm his daughter. “I'm sorry Diamond, but with all the budget cuts I've had to take in the company, we simply can't afford any expensive clothing lines,” he explained.
Diamond crossed her arms and scowled at her father. “Then what am I supposed to do while Silver Spoon is shopping?” she asked, not wanting to give up her favorite pastime.
Filthy smiled at his daughter's concern. “If you really want some spending money you could get a job,” he suggested.
Diamond looked at her father open mouthed. “A job?” she parroted, gulping at the thought of menial labor.
“A part time job won't be so bad. You'll learn things there that will give work experience later in life. It’ll be good for you,” Filthy encouraged with a smile. Diamond looked at the floor, uncomfortable with the suggestion. “And you'd have the money to go shopping with Silver.”
Diamond sighed as she stood up. “I'll look into it,” she conceded, earning a smile from her father. Diamond left her father's office, not looking forward to the next few days.
////////////////////
“I'm sorry, but we’re looking for somepony with more experience in sales, the mare behind the counter of the thrift store said, earning a frown from Diamond.
Diamond stared at the mare incredulously. “But the ad said it was an entry level position,” Diamond pointed out, not understanding why there would be such high standards for a minimum wage job.
“Right, it is, but I need to be sure that my customers receive only the best service,” the mare replied with a smile.
Diamond rolled her eyes. “While you're selling them last year's fashion,” she scoffed. The mare behind the counter glared at Diamond, the younger mare realizing her mistake too late. “Umm… I'll see myself out,” she added, making for the exit as quickly as possible.
Outside Silver Spoon was sitting on a bench and looked up from her phone and smiled. “How'd it go in there?” she asked.
Diamond groaned. “Well, now I need a job, cause if I don't get one, this'll be the only place I can afford clothes and I don't think I'm welcome anymore,” Diamond explained with a fake smile.
Silver Spoon grimaced. “Yikes. That bad huh?”
“Come on. There's still a few places around here I need to check,” Diamond replied, preferring to forget the small thrift shop she'd just left.
//////////Present//////////
Over the next few days Diamond was repeatedly turned away from possible employers for various reasons; she was too young, inexperienced or they'd just give her some lame line about not being the right fit for what the employer needed.
“Why is it so stupid hard to find a place to work?” she asked herself as she came to the bottom of yet another list of job advertisements. Most of them had experience or educational requirements she didn't meet. It was more than a little disheartening to be told repeatedly she wasn't what anyone was looking for.
Diamond heard a soft chime and glanced at her phone, seeing a text from Silver Spoon. She swiped her finger across the screen and unlocked it.
Heard a rumor about some drug dealers working out of an alley near your place.
Diamond stared at the text for a moment. It’ll be dark soon and I'm not any closer to getting a job. Might as well see if I can help someone, she thought, picking up her phone and typing a reply.
What street?
Diamond stood up and walked to her closet. She pushed the sliding door out of the way and pulled out a box hidden under the dresses hanging in the closet. Opening the box, Diamond pulled out the black, leather suit she’d modified since becoming the Black Cat. It now fit almost like a second skin, but without restricting her movement too much. Diamond had also added white fur to the cuffs of the leggings and sleeves and started wearing a snowy white wig as a personal touch. The wig was mostly to help hide her identity.
“Maybe I should just design my own clothes,” Diamond said as she started getting ready for the night while she waited for Silver's reply.
////////////////////
Diamond blew a lock of her wig’s white hair out her face as she sat on the upper levels of a fire escape. Finding the street Silver Spoon had told her about had been easy, but she hadn't spotted anyone, shady or otherwise, selling anything illegal.
“Maybe they're just taking the night off,” she mused as she stood up, ready to give up on this endeavor. She started climbing back up to the roof of the building.
“Frankie?” a voice called out from below, not as quiet as the owner likely intended. Diamond paused as she peered over the railing of the fire escape, spotting a fidgety stallion in ratty clothes standing at the opening to the alley. There wasn't enough light in the alley to see his face.
“Frankie, you there man?” the stallion called again, glancing at the street as he drummed his fingers on his leg. “I need a fix man, you gotta hook me up,” he continued, sounding as if he was about to cry.
“You got money this time?” a deep voice called from the dark alley below. Diamond watched with wide eyes as a large diamond dog stepped out of a dark corner, wearing a black coat and ripped jeans.
How long has he been there? Did he see me? she thought wondering how she had failed to notice the large dog before.
The stallion nodded rapidly as he reached into his pocket, retrieving a wad of crumpled bills. The diamond dog stepped forward and took the money, counting it slowly.
“All good then,” the dog said as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a small baggy with what looked like an ounce of something pale white.
Diamond smiled as she climbed onto the railing. Jackpot, she told herself as she dropped off of the fire escape, flinging out her whip to wrap around a pipe on the opposite building. She swung down just in time to kick Frankie in the back as he took the stallion's money, causing both dealer and addict to crash to the ground in a heap.
“Guess you both missed the after school specials,” Diamond said as the diamond dog got back up and pulled out a knife. The stallion grabbed the drugs and his cash and fled.
The dog growled as his customer took off. “Imma make you pay for that,” he said through gritted teeth as he faced Diamond.
Diamond rolled her eyes under the domino mask as the dog stepped forward. He lunged at her with the knife as she flicked her whip, hitting her opponent's hand and knocking the knife from his grip.
The dog growled running at Diamond without a weapon. Diamond ducked under his left arm as he tried to grab her and wrapped her whip around his neck. She pinned him to her back and somersaulted forward, landing on the drug dealer.
Diamond stood up, ready to keep fighting until she noticed the dog was out cold. “Too easy,” she said as she pulled a zip tie out of a pocket she'd added to the suit and strapped the dealer to the leg of a nearby dumpster.
Diamond observed her handy work as she pulled out her phone to tell Silver Spoon to call the cops. She stopped when she spotted a roll of bills on the ground near the dog. She put her phone away as she picked up the roll and looked at the diamond dog. Diamond frantically searched his jacket, finding two more rolls of bills.
“Well he’s not gonna need it,” she reasoned, stuffing the rolls into her pocket as she pulled out her phone and texted Silver Spoon.
Author's Note
This AN was added a little late cause I forgot about it.
I'd like to thank all of you who decided to give this story a look. The concept for this story was originally only meant to be a oneshot, but the more I went over it in my head the more I saw it as a chance for a few things.
Put Diamond Tiara in a stand alone story in the greater universe. Spider-Mare will not be appearing in this story.
Explain Diamond Tiara's skill set and have her learn how best to use her skills.
Thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of the story.
Stay Tuned.