There are lonely cemeteries,
graves filled with silent bones,
the heart going through a tunnel
dark, dark, dark,
like a shipwreck, we die inwards,
like drowning inside the heart,
like falling from the skin and into the soul.
~Pablo Neruda
* * *
“I think it only fair that I start the account of what brought us here with the moment where everything changed.
“Back when the first seeds were planted for what would become the unseen drama of our lives and the highlights of what finally came to pass.
“The day everything changed... was pretty stupid in the grand scheme of things.”
* * *
“Don’t worry, Silver Spoon; Diamond Tiara will be here soon,” Silver Platter said, looking down at her daughter, who was shuffling a bit nervously and shivering slightly in the damp air. Next to her, she had carefully laid down a purple box tied shut with a silver cord in one of the few dry patches where there was no mud. “And be careful not to step on Diamond Tiara’s present!”
Silver Spoon stopped cold and looked down at the box. “Do you think she’ll like it?” she asked her mother, looking up. “I mean, I’m not that good yet, and I know Silver Spork has been teaching me, but–”
“Silver Spoon,” her mother chuckled. “I’m sure she will. She’ll know her best friend made it for her and that will be the most important thing.”
Silver Spoon took a calming breath and tried to relax. “I just wish we hadn’t arrived so early!” she said after a moment. “I’ve only seen a couple of other ponies get here.”
“It’s always good to be a bit early,” Silver Platter said. “It gives a good impression and also gives you time to be prepared.”
“I guess...” Silver Spoon sighed. “But it doesn’t seem to matter much to Diamond Tiara.”
“Tiara will be here,” Silver Platter repeated, then smiled as she looked towards downtown.
“Silver Platter!” Filthy Rich exclaimed with a grin as he and Diamond Tiara walked up to them. “A pleasure to see you, dear! How is business going?”
“It’s going great, Rich,” Silver Platter replied, returning the smile. “I had a couple of new orders come from Fillydelphia just yesterday. You wouldn’t have anything to do with it, would you?”
“Me?” Filthy’s smile grew. “Nonsense, dear, I might’ve shown off my cuff links a little and I might have mentioned that they were hoof-crafted by the most versatile silversmiths in Equestria, but other than that, I’m afraid I didn’t do much!”
Silver Spoon smiled at Diamond Tiara. “Good morning, Tiara!”
“Hello, Silver Spoon!” Diamond Tiara smiled back and nodded. “Are you, ready for school?”
Silver Spoon made a face. “Not really, but Mom says it’s important.”
Diamond Tiara nodded. “My daddy said the same thing! He said he wouldn’t be where he is now if he hadn’t come to school.”
Both fillies looked at the pair of adults. The business talk was something they were used to.
“Oh!” Silver Spoon blinked. “I just remembered! I got you a first-day-of-school present!” She picked up the purple box and gave it to Diamond Tiara. “I hope you like it!”
“A present!” Diamond Tiara squeaked, giving Silver Spoon a hug. “And guess what? I also got you one!”
Silver Spoon’s eyes widened. “Really? Oh, but- you shouldn’t have bothered, I–”
Diamond Tiara giggled, pushing a small red box towards her. “Like, you didn’t expect me to come empty-hoofed, right?”
Silver Spoon chuckled. “I guess not.”
Both fillies opened their boxes. Diamond Tiara had gotten Silver Spoon a pearl necklace. She took it out and clasped it around her neck.
Diamond Tiara opened the purple box and her eyes went wide. Inside was silver tiara with a simple but elegant design. It looked so regal. And inside was a small scribble: ‘SP+DT BFFs’.
“Oh, Silver, this is beautiful!” she said as she took it out and tried it on. It fit perfectly. “How–”
“I made it,” Silver Spoon said, smiling shyly. “It took me two months to get it right and Silver Hammer had to help me a lot but... I made it for you.”
“It’s amazing!” Diamond Tiara giggled, hugging her friend. “Thank you so much! I’m, like, sorry I could only get you a necklace! I’m not good at making things like you are!”
“Oh, no, Tiara, I love it!” Silver Spoon said, showing it to her friend. “I think it fits my coat nicely!”
“Okay, everypony!” Cheerilee called from the entrance to the school. “It’s time for class to start! Please say goodbye to your parents and come in!”
“Well, isn’t that a beautiful tiara?” Filthy Rich teased as Diamond Tiara cantered up to him for a hug before class.
“Daddy!” Diamond Tiara giggled. “Silver Spoon made it for me!”
“She did, did she?” Filthy Rich smiled at the other filly. “You are every bit as talented as your mother and big brother,” he said, making Silver Spoon smile with pride. “Keep up the good work, Silver!”
“I will, Mr. Rich!” Silver Spoon said.
“Now, off you go, you two,” Silver Platter said. “We don’t want you to be late for class!”
“Bye, Mom! Bye, Mr. Rich!” Silver Spoon called as she turned around and trotted towards the school.
“Bye, Daddy! Bye, Mrs. Platter!” Diamond Tiara called back.
The pair cantered into class, where all of the colts and fillies were trying to decide where to sit. Quickly spotting a place, Diamond Tiara led Silver Spoon to the side of the room, where they took their seats.
The class eventually calmed down enough for introductions to be made, but neither filly paid much attention until the class really started.
The next couple of hours were pretty much a blur up until recess. While most of the colts and fillies played, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had sat down next to a tree. The grass around it was drier than most of the playground, and the pair settled down for a nice talk.
“This is fun!” Silver Spoon confessed. “I never thought that school could be so enjoyable!”
Diamond Tiara nodded.
“Watch out!” a voice suddenly shouted, and somepony crashed into Diamond Tiara, sending both rolling into the mud.
“Tiara!” Silver Spoon shouted, quickly jumping to her friend’s aid as several colts and fillies galloped up to them.
“I caught it!” the other mud-covered filly shouted, showing off the ball she had in her hoof.
“But look at what you did!” Diamond Tiara spat mud as she stood up, covered from tip to tail in mud and glaring at the other filly. “Now I’m, like, covered in mud!” She ran a hoof through her coat, trying to clean it off.
“Aw,” the other filly chuckled. “It’s just mud! All we need is a rinse and we’ll be fine!”
“Clearly,” Diamond Tiara growled, slightly less angry, until she touched her mane and her eyes went wide. “Wait, where is it!?”
“Where’s what?” the other muddied filly asked.
“My tiara! Where is it? I can’t lose it!”
“Oh,” the filly started looking around, then when she noticed the others were approaching, she raised a hoof. “Wait up, we need to find a tiara! Don’t get in the mud, but let us know if you see it, okay?”
The pair looked around until, finally, Diamond Tiara cried out in victory and pulled her tiara out of the mud. The cry died in her throat as she stared at it. Silver Spoon felt her stomach go cold and sat down on the floor, staring. She sniffed.
“Welp,” the other filly started to walk out of the mud. “Glad you found it and all! I think I’ll get back to playing now.”
“You ruined it!” Diamond Tiara cried out, showing her the remains of her once elegant tiara. “You ruined it!”
The muddied filly took a couple of steps back. “H-hey, calm down, it’s only a tiara! Look, I’m sorry I trashed it! I’m sure I can buy you another one!”
“You couldn’t get me another tiara like this!” Diamond Tiara snapped. Then she caught sight of Silver Spoon, who looked like she was about to burst into tears and her anger increased. How could this obnoxious pegasus not understand?!
The other filly frowned. “What? Are you saying I can’t afford it? It doesn’t look that expensive.”
“No!” Diamond Tiara shouted, turning back to her, hurt and anger throwing manners to the wind. “You could never replace something like this! It’s the only one in the world!”
“Well, I’m sorry I’m not a petty rich filly who gets gifts from Daddy!” the other filly retorted, stepping up to Diamond Tiara and pressing into Tiara's face with her own. “I bet he just gets you whatever you want, no matter how much of a brat you are!”
“What do you know?!” Silver Spoon jumped in, knowing that attacking Diamond Tiara’s dad was nothing short of Taboo. “Just because you didn’t get anything doesn’t mean that Tiara didn’t deserve it!”
“Oh, come on! Are you really siding with her? After she starts getting on my case over a stupid hair accessory? What are you, her crony?”
There were some grumbles of agreement from the surrounding colts and fillies and Silver Spoon was about to respond when Miss Cheerilee stepped in.
“Okay, you three, calm down!” Their teacher glared at the two muddied fillies. “Diamond Tiara, Scootaloo, I want both of you cleaned up and in your seats in five minutes. We'll be talking after school today. Everypony else, it's time for class.”
“But–” Diamond Tiara sighed as everypony else walked away.
“It’s okay, Tiara. I’ll fix it,” Silver Spoon whispered. “I’ll make it better... maybe even add a couple of diamonds so it fits your name.”
“I hate her,” Diamond Tiara sniffed as she made her way out of the mud.
Silver Spoon was silent as she followed her friend to the garden spigot so she could clean herself up with a hose.
She watched as Diamond Tiara carefully cleaned the mangled tiara before putting it at a safe distance and starting to clean herself, all the time muttering and grumbling angrily, promising pain and suffering to the pegasus that had offended her so. She didn’t get it. She did feel sad and hurt from the damage the tiara she had made had suffered, but Diamond Tiara was royally pissed off. “Tiara... what does it mean to you?”
“I don’t know,” Diamond Tiara whispered after a moment of silence. “But it hurt to have it destroyed like that. I really loved it.”
* * *
“That was the start of it. The very first hint in my life as to how far my blindness went beyond my need for glasses and sitting in the first row to be able to read the blackboard.
“I took everypony’s words at face value back then. That was my mistake.. one that I would repeat until it was too late to take it all back.
“From that day onwards it was two groups in class: Them and us. Diamond Tiara didn’t really care nor want for more. Other than her Dad and me. The two of us became the pillars of her world and worse, her moral compass.
“A father that doted on his daughter and very seldom, if ever, punished her, and a friend too meek to speak her own mind about what was right and wrong...
“Pillars like those never stood the test of time.”
* * *
Filthy Rich smiled as his daughter trotted towards him. However, his smile quickly turned to a frown as Diamond stuck her muzzle up in contempt for the worker, unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies alike, that labored in the sweltering heat.
“Ugh, do we really need to be here, daddy?” Diamond Tiara asked. “This place smells! And who cares about smelly orphans?” she huffed. “We already have an orphanage. Why do we need another one?”
Filthy Rich sighed. “Granny Smith’s story about the rainbow apples reminded me of something very important, Tiara,” he said, looking down at her. “Most of my life, I have pushed to get what I want. My deals have seldom been equally beneficial for both sides.” Filthy Rich looked down at the construction site. “And, although I have few regrets... I do feel I can give, at least once, without expecting back.”
Diamond Tiara shrugged. “I don’t see what for. It’s not like they can even appreciate it.”
Filthy Rich frowned. “Tiara, why would you think that? The old orphanage is in pretty bad shape and kept together with the taxes we all pay. That old building has very little safety features. There’s no emergency exit, and its so old that a fire would burn the whole thing down in minutes!” He looked towards the building in progress. “A new, orphanage is going to save everypony money and make a lot of colts and fillies happy and safe.”
Diamond Tiara looked away. “It feels like we’re giving a present to her,” she said venomously.
“Who?”
“The stupid, blank-flanked pegasus!”
“Diamond Tiara!” Filthy Rich scowled at his daughter. “That’s a horrible thing to say!”
“I’m sorry, Daddy...” Diamond Tiara whimpered. “I promise I’ll be good!”
Filthy Rich shook his head and started heading down the hill. “Come on, Tiara, we should go.”
Smiling beatifically, Diamond Tiara cantered next to her father, knowing all was forgiven. “Daddy... can we get ice cream? It’s too warm!”
“It is,” Filthy Rich agreed with a chuckle.
* * *
“I remember the day we found out.
“It would be really hard to forget. I guess it was the first real shock of my fillyhood. It was completely unexpected; something that we would have never even believed possible in Ponyville... despite everything we had gone through: Discord, ursa minors, dragons... Nightmare Moon... we had never lost a single pony.
“There had always been somepony to help. The Elements of Harmony were there for most every threat... and Mare-do-Well was even around for a brief time as protector of Ponyville. Every major calamity seemed to be inevitably quelled without deviation.
“How do you hear news like that and not lose your fragile grasp on how things are supposed to be?
“I don’t know how I would have taken such news back then if it had been me receiving them.”
* * *
Cheerilee looked at the colts and fillies in her class, just missing Diamond Tiara passing a note to Silver Spoon.
Silver Spoon carefully opened the note and looked down at it as their teacher talked about Earth Pony nomadic traditions.
Got glue for the hick and the other blank-flanks. After class. Barn.
Taking a sharp breath, she forced a faint smile and nodded before looking back up towards the blackboard.
“And now, here’s a map of–”
Cheerilee was interrupted as the door the classroom swung open and policestallion walked in. She quickly turned to face him and talk to him away from the ears of the children, who started whispering animatedly amongst themselves.
Whatever she heard made Cheerilee’s eyes snap open in alarm and turn to give Diamond Tiara a very strange look.
There was something about it that made Diamond Tiara’s stomach grow cold and all the others quiet down immediately.
“Children...” Cheerilee took in a shaky breath. “Children... please go out to the yard. Except you, Diamond Tiara...” her voice softened as she looked down. “Please stay.”
Diamond Tiara sat stock-still in her chair as slowly all the other colts and fillies walked out of the room. Nopony even spoke. The way their teacher had talked and the solemn look of the police-stallion didn’t invite any merriment. They did not want to be there.
As Silver Spoon finally stood up to leave, Diamond Tiara spoke up.
“M-miss Cheerilee?” Diamond Tiara stammered. “Can- can Silver Spoon stay?” She was trembling, eyes wide and teared.
Cheerilee hesitated.
“I don’t think–” the policestallion started to object, but was cut off by Silver Spoon’s hoof on his foreleg.
“Please,” she said, not looking up at him. “I don’t know what she did or what happened but... please let me stay.”
The police-stallion and Cheerilee shared a look, but eventually the teacher nodded.
“If the both of you are sure...” Cheerilee trailed off and sighed. She visibly composed herself before nodding. “Diamond Tiara, something happened at the construction site today.”
Diamond Tiara looked up at her teacher, a small lump forming in her throat.
“One of the beams collapsed,” the police-stallion spoke up. “It pinned one of the construction workers. A few ponies stayed behind to help him out.” He hesitated, then sighed. “They freed him, but the structure was unstable... one of them didn’t make it.”
Diamond Tiara took a step back. “O-oh... I’m sure m-my dad will... he’ll help the s-stallion’s f-family and–” she choked as she realized she had backed up to her desk. “W-who was it?”
“Your father,” Cheerilee whispered. “With your mother being away on business, I’ll be taking you home.”
“I’m so–” the officer started to say, only to be interrupted by a soundless cry from Diamond Tiara, who ran out of the classroom.
“Diamond Tiara!” Cheerilee called.
“I’ll take her home!” Silver Spoon shouted, racing after her friend.
She followed her friend out of the school ground, through Ponyville and finally up a small hill overlooking the construction site.
Diamond Tiara was sitting on her haunches, staring at the closed-down area. It had been cordoned off and crews of ponies labored to clear the collapsed wall.
“Tiara,” Silver Spoon called softly as she made her way to her friend. “We should go home... everypony will be worried.”
Diamond Tiara did not reply. She merely stared at the half-built orphanage in silence.
Slowly, Silver Spoon walked up to her. Diamond Tiara just looked blankly at the building.
Silver Spoon sat down next to her friend and leaned her head on Diamond Tiara’s shoulder. She didn’t say anything, but it didn’t take long for Diamond Tiara’s tears to start trickling down her cheeks.
Eventually, Diamond Tiara collapsed onto Silver Spoon, hugging her hard and bawling her eyes out.
* * *
“Tiara?” Silver Spoon called as she followed her friend back home, later that day. They had heard the bells announcing the end of class in the distance a few hours ago. “What are you going to do?”
Diamond Tiara did not look back. “I don’t know,” she whispered, barely audible to the filly following her. “I have to-” she whimpered. “I have to see Mom... Mommy will know what to do...”
Silver Spoon gritted her teeth and took a calming breath. “Tiara...”
“I mean, like, I know Mommy doesn’t hang around, but she’s my mommy, right?” Diamond Tiara said quickly. “She loves me, right? She wouldn’t have married and stayed with d- with us if she didn’t, right?”
Silver Spoon bit her lip.
“She’ll leave her apartment in Manehattan and come live with me, right?” Diamond Tiara nodded, as if she were answering her own question. “My mommy will come over and it’ll be okay, she’ll be sad but we’ll be together and, and she’ll be here soon, right? Like, she wouldn’t stay away?”
Silver Spoon sighed and followed her friend, shaking her head slightly. From what she knew of Pearl Necklace, it was unlikely that she would do Diamond Tiara any favors.
They had crossed halfway through Ponyville before Silver Spoon realized that it was too quiet. She looked around. Everypony was staring with pity at Diamond Tiara as she rambled on about her mother coming over that same night and how things would work out once she was here.
Once or twice an adult would try to approach Diamond Tiara, but a quick shake of the head from Silver Spoon, and in some cases a glare, would make them hesitate and prevent them from talking to her. They all knew by now. It was not surprising that the news had gone around town by now. Any type of death would be the center of gossip for all ponies, especially in a town where such accidents were rare.
As they walked, Diamond Tiara’s ramblings slowly died and her head drooped. They were getting closer to her home.
Here and there, Silver Spoon would spot one of their classmates. They seemed to have heard the news as well but were thankfully keeping their distance.
Finally, they arrived at the gates of the Filthy Rich Estate, where Miss Cheerilee was waiting beside the officer from earlier.
“Your mother is here, Diamond Tiara,” Cheerilee informed the filly. “She arrived a few minutes ago.”
Diamond Tiara didn’t respond, simply looking down at the grass.
“Come on,” Cheerilee said gently, nudging the filly. “She probably wants to see you.”
Silver Spoon took a step forward, but a hoof on her shoulder stopped her. She turned around and looked up at her mother’s eyes.
“Silver Spoon, let’s go home,” Silver Platter whispered, smiling sadly at her daughter. “You’ve done what you could do for your friend...” They turned to see Cheerilee and the officer escort Diamond Tiara into her home. “I’m proud of you for standing by her side when she needed you so much, but right now she needs to be with her family.”
“But Mom,” Silver Spoon’s eyes reflected her worry. “Diamond’s mother is–”
“Hush,” Silver Platter whispered. “We can’t do anything right now, just... be ready to help her through this.”
Silver Spoon smiled. “Of course, she’s my friend!”
“That’s my filly,” Silver Platter said, leading the youngster away.
* * *
That night, as she lay on her bed, Silver Spoon thought about Filthy Rich. How he would dote on Diamond Tiara and how he would be so respectful to Granny Smith. How he would buy them ice cream or cupcakes.
He had always seemed larger-than-life... just like her own dad.
That last thought was enough to break through the bottled up feelings. Silver Spoon grabbed her pillow and buried her face into it as she sobbed and cried. Her mind, unbidden, comparing little things that her dad and Mr. Rich had had in common.
Little things that Diamond Tiara was now deprived of.
* * *
“I heard how it happened later that night. My mom knew one of the workers who had been part of the rescue team. He had come over that night to talk to my parents. He had this haunted look on his face and his voice trembled when he talked, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. He could barely hold his cup up to drink from it.
“He kept apologizing. They kept telling him it was okay.
“To be completely honest, the whole thing scared me to death.
“It wasn’t gruesome or anything like that; Filthy Rich had been supervising the construction when one of the pulleys moving an incredibly heavy pallet of steel beams had broken over of a section which was being worked on.
“The structure was strong enough not to be completely crushed in one go, but the stallions working inside it had suffered serious injuries and the whole thing was in danger of collapsing. I’m not sure what exactly spurred Mr. Rich into jumping in there himself.
“He had never struck me as the heroic type until then. I heard that he personally burrowed under several pieces of concrete and steel bars to reach the last stallion trapped in there and help them reach the rescue team.
“And then, just like that, the structure gave up on him, as if it had been waiting for that single, injured stallion to emerge before collapsing.
“It just happened. It seemed to be holding and Mr. Rich was making a joke about spending some extra cash on magically stronger cables as he pushed himself towards freedom when... the whole thing was suddenly down and had crushed him.
‘I think I might have choked when I heard that. I don’t remember exactly how they found out I was awake and listening in. I wasn’t punished though.
“My mom just took me to my room, let me place my head on her lap, and held me for the longest time.”
* * *
That night, Diamond Tiara sat in the parlor, watching her mother pace in front of her.
“I simply don’t know what to do, Diamond Tiara,” Pearl Necklace confessed, giving her distraught daughter a glance. “You father left more than enough for both of us, but I simply can’t just come back and take care of you.”
“Maybe I can go with you?” Diamond Tiara asked hopefully. “I’ve always wanted to see your apartment in Manehattan! I kept asking daddy to–” The words had left her mouth before she realized what she had said. The blood in her veins ran cold. “...to let me see you...” she trailed off.
“Hmm?” Pearl Necklace hadn’t seemed to notice Diamond Tiara’s hopeful tone. Her eyes strayed from the painting she had been looking at back to Diamond Tiara. “Visit? Yes, maybe... I’m sure you could visit me sometime, Diamond Tiara, but not right now.” Diamond Tiara looked down at the rug as her mother began to rant. “Rich’s side of the family is all but gone, mine... ugh, I don’t want to even think about them. And they’re all too far away anyway. No, it would have to be here.” Pearl Necklace shook her head in annoyance. “I cannot believe your father didn’t think of this! What did he expect me to do if he was gone?”
“I–”
“Not now, dear, I’m thinking,” Pearl Necklace interrupted. “If your father hadn’t gone and... well, built that thing...” She stopped. “Hmm. I think I have a solution, dear. I’ll be giving Shifty Deal a call.”
Diamond Tiara blinked. “Your lawyer?”
Pearl Necklace nodded, a small smile adorning her face. “Yes, I’m sure he can deal with the details from today and meet with your father’s lawyer to figure out what goes where.”
“But...” Diamond Tiara gulped. “What about d-daddy?”
“Oh,” Pearl Necklace shrugged. “Like I said, Shifty and whatshername–”
“Fine Print,” Diamond Tiara murmured.
“Yes,” Pearl Necklace nodded, grimacing. “You know all the lawyer’s names?”
“Only about five of them...” Diamond Tiara whispered. “I only know Shifty from your side, he’s the one that always comes around.”
Pearl Necklace nodded and turned, walking slowly out of the room. “I’ll get them both then, and let them deal with this. I must make sure my acquaintances know I’ll be back soon.”
The door slammed behind her, leaving Diamond Tiara in the parlor. She kept her eyes on the rug. “But... what about daddy?”
* * *
“I always figured that there was more to Fine Print than met the eye. That lawyer of Tiara’s... she’s always tried to go above and beyond for both her, and I hear, Mr. Rich.
“Did Tiara know there was something more going on there? Could she have imagined?
“Sometimes she was particularly oblivious to how things actually were, in contrast to how she expected or wanted them to be.
“Tiara could have done a lot worse in her final choice of lawyer.”
* * *
The hallway to Fine Print’s office had never seemed so long. Or so lonely.
She took a step forward, remembering the last time she had been here, a month or two ago.
“Daddy, where are we?”
“Were going to Fine Print’s office, Tiara.”
“Fine Print?” Diamond Tiara blinked. “Didn’t she just visit you last week? She’s the unicorn one with the scroll and magnifying glass cutie mark, right?”
“That’s her,” Filthy Rich said. “But remember, only you and I know she visited, okay?”
“Yes, daddy!”
“That’s a good girl.” Filthy nodded to her before opening the door to the office. After a quick greeting, they were all sitting down.
“She’s a lovely filly, Rich,” Fine Print said, watching as Diamond Tiara flipped through fashion magazines. “And I can see why you want to do this, but... I don’t think Pearl will like it.”
Filthy scoffed. “She’s already arranged for an apartment in Manehattan with her own money,” he said, shaking his head and glancing at his daughter. “She doesn’t care what happens to–” He cleared his throat. “Fine Print... I know we had a bit of a fallout after what has happened but... you’re the only one I trust with making sure everything goes to the right ponies.”
Fine Print closed her eyes and sighed. “What happened between us was terribly unprofessional,” she said.
“I know,” Filthy Rich nodded, looking away. “And I’m sorry we found ourselves in... that situation.”
“It’s never happening again,” she stated. “But...” She looked at Diamond Tiara before returning her attention to Filthy Rich. “...I can’t really say no to you when it comes to legal situations. Even more so with others involved. I’ll organize everything and–”
“Thank you!” Filthy Rich smiled, “I knew I could count on you!”
Fine Print raised a hoof. “Pearl will get her fair share; I’m not messing around with that.” She sighed. “Especially after last week.”
Filthy nodded. “Print... I- I’m sorry about last week... you know I have been trying to change the way I do business and how stressful that has been; how many ponies I have had to help up after I trampled over them and laughed when they didn’t notice... how awful I felt about it when they thanked me for this ‘sudden offer to help’... I just... I just wish sometimes I could have been another pony, and perhaps met another mare...” He glanced at Diamond Tiara. “Except for her. She’s the only reason I would do everything again exactly as I did... and she’s the reason I’m changing. When we chatted last time, well, I was a bit sensitive about the whole thing and I-”
“Rich,” Fine Print interrupted. “You’re babbling. I know what happened. We both wanted it. It was a poor choice of judgment. Let’s leave it at that.”
Diamond Tiara reached the door and knocked.
“Come in!” Fine Print’s voice beckoned.
Taking a deep breath, Diamond Tiara walked into the office. Not much had changed from her last visit, except that joining Fine Print was another, sleek-maned, smug-looking pony. His coat was also carefully groomed, and yet looked oily and his cutie mark, a pair of sunglasses and a roll of money seemed somehow... dirty.
“Shifty Deal,” Fine Print said, “this is Diamond Tiara, Mr. Rich’s daughter.”
“A pleasure to meet you, no doubt,” he replied immediately, his grin growing.
Diamond Tiara bit her lower lip and sat on the same chair her dad had sat at a couple of months ago.
“Is there anything I can get you, Tiara?” Fine Print asked. “A glass of water? Something to eat?”
The filly simply shook her head, but jumped when the door opened behind her, allowing her mother in.
“Oh, good, everypony is here!” Pearl Necklace said cheerfully as she sat next to Shifty Deal. She gave Diamond Tiara a wan smile, before her eyes turned serious and focused on Fine Print. “Dear, tell me everything is in order?”
Diamond Tiara sunk into her chair, forgotten for the moment, and feeling that everything there was completely out of her control.
Fine Print sighed. “For the most part, yes, Ms. Necklace. Mr. Rich asked me to arrange for this eventuality. I have been going over my work with Mr. Deal and he agrees that it all is fair.”
“Do I!” Shifty Deal chuckled. She's gone out of her way to make sure you would have a very fair share! I didn’t even have to haggle!”
Why is he laughing? Why is mom happy? Daddy is gone... Diamond Tiara thought furiously, keeping her eyes on the floor.
Fine Print didn’t show any change in her expression. “I did as Mr. Rich instructed... given the... recently signed documents.” She hesitated, glancing at Diamond Tiara. The filly seemed to be lost in dark thoughts and the lawyer didn’t want to provoke a scene.
Pearl Necklace followed her gaze and her eyes softened a bit. “What were his intentions for Diamond Tiara?”
At the sound of her name, Diamond Tiara slowly looked up.
Fine Print suddenly found her mouth dry. But slowly spoke. “He wished for you to take care of her...”
Pearl Necklace locked eyes with her daughter. “That’s not possible,” she said evenly. She blinked and quickly looked away as her daughter's eyes teared up, full of a deep hurt. “I- I can’t... We had agreed in the divorce papers that–”
“You divorced Daddy?” Diamond Tiara gasped, tears trickling down her cheeks. “But... why? Daddy loved you!” She sniffed as she looked from one adult to the other. Fine Print looked down and away. Shifty Deal had an unusually serious look of disapproval on his face as he concentrated instead on Pearl Necklace, whom had chosen to pick through the papers on the table.
“There were... complications, Tiara,” Pearl Necklace said. “And I made my life away from here. It was nothing personal,” her tone was monotone, rehearsed. She had practiced. “...but I can’t take care of you. There is no place for you there with me. We would both be miserable an–”
“So I get to be miserable all alone?!” Diamond Tiara cried, jumping to her hooves. “You get to live on your own and away after divorcing daddy and you just leave me
“O-of course I care, Tiara, I–”
“Like, don’t call me ‘Tiara’! Only ponies that care about me are allowed to do that!” Diamond Tiara snapped. “I loved you, and daddy loved you, and I bet you never cared!”
“N-no, Tiara, I–”
“Oh, just tell it to her straight,” Shifty Deal growled. “Own up to it and tell her how you decided to be on your own when she was born. Tell her about–”
“Shut up, Shifty, or I’ll find myself another lawyer!”
Shifty Deal shook his head, but remained quiet.
“I think I’ve had quite enough,” Pearl Necklace said in a tight voice. “I’m sorry, Tiara, I do love you, honestly I do, but I simply can’t take care of you. I’m certain Fine Print has instructions on what to do?”
Diamond Tiara gritted her teeth and stomped over to the side of the office, choosing to vent her anger by glaring at the books. Maybe they would catch fire.
Fine Print sighed. “Maybe we should put this on hold until Diamond Tiara calms down...”
“No,” Pearl Necklace stated. “Tell us now.”
Fine Print hesitated and looked from one pony to the other before slumping down. “Mr. Rich had hoped you would reconsider. Diamond Tiara is too young to live on her own, even with me as steward of her estate.”
Pearl Necklace rolled her eyes. “Well, it’s clear that what we need is somepony to adopt her then,” she said.
“Mrs. Necklace,” Shifty Deal cleared his throat. “Are you sure we shouldn’t discuss this someplace else?” He motioned towards Diamond Tiara, who had turned around and was looking at her in petrified shock.
“I’m sure Tiara understands that we have to decide what’s best for her,” Pearl Necklace stated. “It’s in her best interest, after all!”
“But... but... the only place for her to be right now would be the orphanage!” Fine Print protested. “And the adoption paperwork could take months!”
Pearl Necklace shrugged, checking the clock on the wall. “Maybe, but I’m sure Tiara will be fine, she goes to school with some of the foals at the orphanage, does she not? She’ll be with her friends!”
* * *
“The day we laid Mr. Rich’s body to rest was horrible in many ways. I cannot, with my simple words, even remotely express the feelings that made that day such a grueling experience.
“Love.
“Death.
“Caring... and not caring.
“The absence of friends, lovers... family. It was an experience I wished I would never have to face again.”
* * *
Diamond Tiara stared straight at the coffin where her father’s body lay.
All around her, hundreds of ponies had gathered together to say their final farewells.
Next to her, Pearl Necklace chatted and laughed with a stallion that had arrived early that morning.
Diamond Tiara didn't know him.
She watched, in silence, as one by one citizens of Ponyville stepped up to speak about what a wonderful and considerate pony her dad had been. How he would surprise them with a random act of kindness or recommendation.
Applejack, from the Apple clan, highlighted a whole life of knowing Filthy Rich and doing business with him.
The Mayor had a eulogy written for her by her secretary, pointing out how, throughout his life, Mr. Rich had brought so much opportunity to Ponyville and how much the town had grown thanks to his business.
"Filthy was always a caring pony," Pearl Necklace said to the gathered ponies. "And he was always worried about the welfare of others. He doted on his daughter, and gave me whatever I wanted. I couldn't have asked for more."
The crowd shifted uncomfortably.
"He hated that."
Pearl Necklace blinked, then looked down at Diamond Tiara. "I'm sorry, Tiara, what was that?"
"Don't call me Tiara, Pearl Necklace," Diamond Tiara retorted, drawing gasps from some of the guests, but not lifting her eyes from the coffin. "He hated it when anypony called him 'Filthy.' Everypony else. Everypony he met or did business with that spoke so far before you even got up, called him 'Mr. Rich' and you- you didn't even care to do the same." Diamond Tiara looked up at her mother. "What are you even doing up there?"
"Diamond Tiara!" Pearl Necklace snapped. "Don't talk to me like that! I'm your mother!"
"You're not my mom!" Diamond Tiara shouted, jumping to her hooves. "A real mother wouldn't send her daughter to an orphanage!"
The back of her mother’s hoof sent the filly rolling in the grass, Applejack and Fine Print immediately jumped in front of Diamond Tiara and blocked Pearl Necklace from getting closer to her. Behind them, Silver Spoon helped Diamond Tiara stand up.
"Ah reckon y'all done enough," Applejack growled. "Ah dislike gettin' into another pony family's business, but Ah can tell y’all that a mother does not strike her daughter the way y’all did. Diamon Tiara’s right, you are not her mother."
"I think you should leave, Miss Necklace," Fine Print gritted her teeth.
"She's my daughter and I am going to teach her some manners!" Pearl Necklace shouted.
Shifty Deal put a hoof on her shoulder. "As your lawyer, it is my duty to stop you right there, Pearl Necklace," he stated, a look of revulsion and exasperation on his face. "The Mayor has already signed the document transferring guardianship to the orphanage. You have no claim over her now."
Pearl Necklace grit her teeth, but stepped back. With a shake of her head, she motioned for the stallion that had arrived with her to come and they both left.
Fine Print quickly helped Diamond Tiara up as the Mayor walked up to Shifty Deal.
"I don't remember signing any paperwork yet..." she whispered.
Shifty Deal raised an eyebrow. "You didn't? Oh well, my bad. I guess I must have misread that report."
The Mayor smiled and nodded.
After a moment, order was restored. Diamond Tiara sat and sobbed while Silver Spoon stroked her hair.
"I had the chance to meet Mr. Rich, not only as a business pony, but also as a family stallion," Silver Platter said to the assembled ponies. "He was so much more than all of you have so kindly pointed out. He was a loving father and a loyal friend. His death is a tragedy that will always weigh on our hearts with the loss of a pony who was in the process of showing all of Equestria who he truly was. His legacy lives on, and we are all part of it. We should all learn a little bit from him and take care to relish and adore those whom we love most."
Diamond Tiara never said a word after her mother left. But, by late afternoon, only she and Fine Print remained, keeping vigil over the silent grave.
* * *
“Certainly one of the most damaging blows to Diamond Tiara’s ego was the orphanage. But it was not her ego that truly worried me.
“How can you deal with a parent that simply doesn’t care? A parent that sees you suffering and yet won’t even try to comfort you? Who lives away? Who has the capacity and time to be with you, yet chooses not to? A parent that decides that rather than having you with them... you belong in an orphanage so you can become somepony else’s problem?
“I cannot fathom now, and I certainly couldn’t then, how somepony like that can exist. It is an alien concept to me, even when I saw it happen to Tiara.
“My parents would never, ever do something like that. I would never do something like that.
“But I have to be fair:
“The best thing that Pearl Necklace ever did for Diamond Tiara was to leave. As harsh as it may sound, I dread the thought of what she would have done to Diamond Tiara had she stayed around.
“The orphanage sounds harsh, but honestly? I think, even with what happened in there, it hurt Tiara less than living with her mother would have.”
* * *
Fine Print looked down at Diamond Tiara, who stood by her, staring in horror at the ramshackle building in front of them.
“The orphanage is... it’s not so bad, Tiara, I promise.” Fine Print sighed. “I’ll try to get you out as soon as I can. I’ll make sure that, when you are adopted, you go with a nice family that will love you an–”
“I don’t want a new family!” Diamond Tiara snapped. “I don’t want to be here! I don’t want to live here! I want to go back home! This place is horrible! I hate it!”
Fine Print sighed, horn glowing as she levitated Tiara’s bags. “As I said, it’s only temporary, Tiara.” She pressed a button on the side of the door and they could both hear the buzzer announcing their presence outside. “We’ll get you out as quickly as possible.”
“Why couldn’t my mom take care of me?” Diamond Tiara asked.
Fine Print was silent until they heard some steps coming towards them from behind the door. “Tiara... I’ll never understand why she is doing it... but one day, you two will have to figure it out.”
The two looked up as the door opened, revealing an elderly, brow-coated mare with a basket for a cutie mark.
“And who do we have here?” The kindly pony asked.
“Wicker Basket, this is Diamond Tiara,” Fine Print said, motioning to the filly, who was looking at Wicker Basket with horrified fascination.
“Welcome to the Ponyville Orphanage, Diamond Tiara,” Wicker Basket said, smiling at her. “We’ll be happy to have you for as long as you need us.”
“Hopefully, it won’t be too long.” Fine Print sighed. “Not that I don’t appreciate you taking her in, Basket, but I did promise her father to do my best to ensure she would be taken care of.”
Still smiling, Wicker Basket nodded. “Don’t worry, Fine Print, I know what you mean. I’ll have her bunk with a filly her age for now.”
“Wait!” Diamond Tiara spoke up. “I have to bunk with somepony? Don’t I get my own room?” she peered behind the two mares and stared in horror at the sheer quantity of ponies milling about.
Wicker Basket shook her head. “I’m afraid not. The orphanage simply isn’t big enough for that. But it will be okay. Don’t worry too much, Diamond Tiara, you’ll be fine.” She looked over her shoulder. “Scootaloo, could you please come over?”
Diamond Tiara felt her stomach grow cold.
Scootaloo was here? Since when? She really did not want to deal with the orange pegasus right now. Blank flanks tended to pack together like mules to annoy her.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Scootaloo called back as she made her way to the door. Diamond Tiara could see that her schoolmate was well versed in dodging the smaller colts and fillies in the orphanage.
I never knew. Diamond Tiara shook her head.
“What can I do for y–” Scootaloo started to ask when she saw Diamond Tiara. She immediately went quiet.
“Scootaloo,” Wicker Basket smiled at the pegasus. “Please take Diamond Tiara with you, she’ll be sharing your room.”
“What?!” both fillies cried out in unison.
“You can’t be serious!” Diamond Tiara cried. “I can’t share a room with- with her!”
“Basket, this is some sort of sick joke, right?” Scootaloo pleaded. “We are not really taking her kind in, are we?”
The two adults looked at each other worriedly.
“My kind?!” Diamond Tiara growled. “Can't handle ponies with refined tastes and reputation?”
“I mean prissy little princess-wannabes that are too full of themselves!” Scootaloo snapped back.
“Girls!” Wicker Basket snapped. “Calm down! You are both sharing a room, so you’d best make peace and get going!”
Diamond Tiara shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Whatever! I won’t be spending much time here anyways!”
Scootaloo growled and turned around. “Follow me,” she ordered.
Fine Print looked at Wicker Basket with a little worry. “Those two don’t seem to get along very well, Basket... are you sure this is a good idea?”
Wicker Basket shrugged. “It can go either way...” she admitted after a moment. “But... the truth is, Fine Print, we don’t have the space to put her anywhere else.”
Fine Print sighed and looked at the two-story house with its many mismatched additions and old paint. “I hope Diamond Tiara can deal with it for now. Had Mr. Rich not...” she trailed off, looking down at the grass.
Wicker Basket watched in silence as the lawyer trembled with bottled up feelings. Finally, she patted Fine Print on the shoulder. “You loved him, didn’t you?”
Fine Print sniffed and nodded.
“Did you ever tell anypony? Did you tell him?” Wicker Basket asked the other mare.
Hesitating a little, she shook her head.
“Poor thing,” Wicker Basket whispered, pulling Fine Print in for a hug. “I’m still here, just like I was ten years ago, Print. You can still talk to me.”
Fine Print nodded, tightening her hold. “For now... I think I just want a hug.”
Wicker Basket simply nodded, letting the other mare hold her for as long as she needed her.
“I feel a bit ashamed of myself for not noticing earlier.
“Diamond Tiara had been living at the orphanage for almost five months when it finally clicked.
“The casual hugs. The smiles. From both of them.
“How each would react when they noticed the other was watching.
“Honestly, I think it is because I never expected something like that to happen. I mean, this was Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara we were talking about here.
“That something so completely out of character would suddenly rear its head. Well, I guess it goes for all three of us.
“One thing I can say, I did learn that day... I pack a mean kick.”
* * *
The school bell’s chime announced the start of the recess, and soon all colts and fillies had filed out of the classroom into the yard.
As usual, the Crusaders went out together, but Scootaloo paused to give Diamond Tiara a friendly hug before running out to join the other two fillies.
Silver Spoon shook her head in amusement as Diamond Tiara gave her a small smile.
“Wow, Tiara, I would have never expected you to become friends with Scootaloo of all ponies,” she said, walking out of the classroom and towards their favorite shade under the trees. “I’m glad we’re not bullying them anymore, but–” She stopped when Diamond Tiara suddenly halted.
“Were we bad?” Diamond Tiara asked in a shaky voice.
Silver Spoon blinked. “Tiara, I–”
“Were we so bad that–” She hiccuped as her eyes teared up.
Eyes wide with concern, Silver Spoon quickly looked around, before leading Diamond Tiara to a secluded spot. “Tiara, what’s wrong?”
“Did... did you have fun, when we bullied them?” Diamond Tiara whispered, not looking at her.
Silver Spoon licked her lips nervously, knowing that she had to be honest, but dreading it all the same. “I- yes, Tiara, I think we were really mean at times.”
Diamond Tiara looked at her with dull eyes. It was then that it dawned on Silver Spoon that her friend looked like hell.
“When we were mean, did we ever cross the line?” Diamond Tiara asked.
“N-no, I mean...” Silver Spoon trailed off for a second. “"I mean, we were mean... maybe even cruel... and we really hurt their feelings sometimes, but–”
“Do we deserved to be punished?” Diamond Tiara asked, looking at her friend. Her face was tight with bottled up emotion and her eyes shimmered as she fought with the tears. “Were we so bad that we need to be reminded of how bad we were?”
Silver Spoon gulped, looking in fright at Diamond Tiara. “I- I guess we could have been punished by Miss Chee–”
“Not by her,” Diamond Tiara interrupted. “Not by a teacher... that we should pay... she...”
Silver Spoon placed a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “Tiara, what’s wrong, please tell me.”
“I always knew you didn’t want to bully them... that’s why- I...” Diamond Tiara’s eyes became wide when she looked past Silver Spoon’s shoulder.
“Awww, somepony’s already using this place!” Sweetie Belle sighed, looking at Scootaloo and Applebloom. “I guess we’ll plan more at headquarters then.”
“N-no!” Diamond Tiara smiled, a completely shaky and fake smile. “It’s fine! You three can have it, we’re done talking here anyways, right, Silver Spoon?”
“I... guess...” Silver Spoon said, looking at her friend doubtfully.
“But... you seemed like you were having a serious conversation!” Sweetie said, shaking her head. “We’ll find someplace else–”
“No, no, it’s fine!” Diamond Tiara said, her smile becoming a bit more desperate. “Please, we’re done. Really.”
“If y’all are sure...” Apple Bloom said after a second.
“Come on, girls,” Scootaloo spoke up, and Silver Spoon felt Diamond Tiara tense up. “If Tiara says she’s done, then she’s done. I bet they were just about to get out of here.”
“Come on, Silver Spoon!” Diamond Tiara urged as they passed next to the crusaders. “We don’t want to be in the way, right?”
“Right...” Silver Spoon repeated, watching closely as Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara exchanged glances.
Once the pair was out of the little secluded area, Silver Spoon turned around to look at Diamond Tiara, but her friend hurried away.
“Tiara, wait!” Silver Spoon called, but the filly had already left school grounds.
Tiara... Silver Spoon bit her lower lip and looked back at the three fillies chatting amiably. Could it be?
When the bell rang again and everypony save Diamond Tiara was hurrying back to class, Silver Spoon stopped Scootaloo.
“What do you want, Silver Spoon?” Scootaloo asked, sharing a confused look with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.
“I need to talk to you after class,” Silver Spoon said coldly. “Alone.”
“Ah’m not sure that’s a good idea...” Apple Bloom started to say, but she was stopped by a Scootaloo’s raised hoof.
“No, it’s fine,” Scootaloo said, looking straight at Silver Spoon. “After class,” she agreed.
* * *
The school grounds were empty by now. Miss Cheerilee had left and all the colts and fillies had gone back home.
Except for two.
“So,” Scootaloo glared at Silver Spoon. “What do you want?”
“I want to know what you’ve been doing to Diamond Tiara!” Silver Spoon growled.
A smirk appeared on the pegasus’ face. “Oh? Did she say I was doing something to her?”
Silver Spoon took a deep breath. “No, she didn’t, but it’s not hard to put together. Don’t you think she’s suffered enough? You have to add your petty vengeance to it?”
Scootaloo glared at her. “That brat walked into the orphanage as if she owned the place! She insulted little colts and fillies for even trying to be nice to her! She never helps! She plays Wicker Basket and pretends that she’s all nice!”
“She’s hurt from what happened to her dad!”
Scootaloo snorted. “That’s horseapples and you know it! You two have been nothing but bullies since we started school!”
“What did you do to Diamond Tiara?” Silver Spoon repeated herself, unable to really argue with Scootaloo’s statement.
The other filly gave her a steady look. “I reminded her of her place.”
With a wordless snarl, Silver Spoon jumped on top of Scootaloo, hooves coming down hard.
Scootaloo jumped to the side, but Silver Spoon had twisted in place and slammed both her hind hooves into Scootaloo’s withers.
The pegasus rolled in the floor and then jumped on top of Silver Spoon, pinning her down and planting a hoof on her face with enough force to knock her glasses off.
Silver Spoon kicked up and threw Scootaloo to the floor next to her. Then rolled on top and brought down her hoof hard on Scootaloo’s face, splitting her lip. “If you hate bullying so much why are you doing it?!”
Scootaloo spat to the side and tried to push Silver Spoon off. “It’s not bullying! I’m putting her in place for being mean to everypony!”
“You enjoy it!” Silver Spoon accused Scootaloo. “I saw you! You enjoyed having her be scared of you!”
Scootaloo’s eyes went wide. “B-but you two enjoy torturing us!”
“I don’t!” Silver Spoon shouted, eyes tearing up. “I don’t! I don’t want to bully you! I don’t want you to bully her!” She started crying. “I like you! But she’s my friend!”
Bellow her Scootaloo stared at Silver Spoon as if seeing her for the first time. Slowly she reached up with her hoof and gently moved Silver Spoon’s mane, which had come loose during the fight, to the side. She could feel her heart beating hard inside her chest.
She didn’t know exactly why she did what she did. It certainly seemed to come out of nowhere. But when she pulled down Silver Spoon and kissed her, neither of them wanted to part their lips from the other.
* * *
“I’m not sure exactly what happened that night after Scootaloo went back to the orphanage. I didn’t see either her or Diamond Tiara until the next morning and they were both exhausted.
“I was grounded for fighting in school and my mom was both proud and disappointed in me for doing so. And yet, she couldn’t wipe the grin off her face when I told her what had happened mid-scuffle.
“I was in shock myself, both for what Scootaloo unexpectedly did and for how I reacted to it. I never thought about how Diamond Tiara herself would react when she discovered what had happened and how it had ended up...
“But regardless, whatever those two did, the whole world changed for us that night.”
* * *
Diamond Tiara sniffled as she lay in her bed at the orphanage. She turned to look at the window, and the bed creaked under her weight. She could almost imagine it giving way and finally breaking.
It was still light outside, although she could see tinges of orange on the horizon. She froze when she heard hoof-steps outside her door. She quickly lay down, peeking through half-closed eyes at the door.
The door to her room opened and she watched in dread as Scootaloo walked in, pausing to close the door behind her.
She did not look happy.
Diamond Tiara cringed.
“Tiara,” Scootaloo spoke up after a long silence. “Are you awake?”
Diamond Tiara remained frozen in place. Not daring to breathe or answer. What would be worse? Pretending to sleep and getting caught? Or simply answering?
“I know you’re not asleep,” Scootaloo said. “You’re holding your breath.”
Slowly, Diamond Tiara raised her head and looked fearfully at Scootaloo, whom hadn’t moved from the doorway. She seemed to be struggling with something.
Diamond Tiara blinked. It seemed like Scootaloo had gotten into a fight; she had a split lip and her right eye was swollen. Her coat was dirty and her mane looked like it was missing more than a few hairs.
Scootaloo finally sighed and jumped onto her own bed, lying on her back, wings extended, as she stared absently at the ceiling. “You know I hated you ever since you started bullying us.”
Diamond Tiara didn’t reply. She had heard that before. Scootaloo had gone out of her way to make sure she would remember it.
Scootaloo closed her eyes and turned on her side, facing away from Diamond Tiara. “When I hit you... I think of every time you called me a- a blank flank.” Scootaloo’s voice was venomous. “Every time you say that... it- I just... it reminds me of how much I fail!” she snarled. “Do you have any idea how many times we’ve almost gotten killed because of how desperate we are about the Cutie Marks?” Her tone of voice then turned accusatory. “And then you turn up to make fun of us and rub it in? Have you seen–” she cut herself off and instead hit the wall, leaving a small indentation in it, the drywall crumbling under her hoof. “Dammit.”
“Are you going to hit me for each time?”
Scootaloo was silent for a moment. “No.”
Diamond Tiara’s head snapped up, eyes wide as she stared at the pegasus’s back. “What?”
Scootaloo’s voice was softer. “No... I- I don’t want to be that... I don’t want to hit you and like how afraid you are of me.” Her body started shaking. “I am not a monster... I don’t want to be a bully and cause pain to other ponies... I- I’m not you! I don’t like it! I don’t want you to be the stupid victim! I don’t want to smile when you cry!”
There was a moment of silence.
“I never hit you,” Diamond Tiara whispered.
Scootaloo was silent.
“I never laid a hoof on you!” Diamond Tiara raised her voice. “I never hit you! Why did you hit me?”
Scootaloo turned around and faced her, revealing a face covered in tears. “What do you know?! Do you think it doesn’t hurt when you made fun of us? Do you think we were happy all the time?”
Diamond Tiara looked away. “No. But it’s no excuse to hit me for it.”
Scootaloo huffed, then sighed. “I wish I could tell you it was.”
Diamond Tiara shook her head. “Why are you telling me this?! Why do you suddenly feel this way?”
“I–” Scootaloo seemed to hesitate. “I can’t carry on like this, Tiara,” she said. “I hate myself and... and I can’t. I don’t want to hate myself. I don’t want to wake up with a stupid bully cutie mark. I don’t want revenge. I just...”
Diamond Tiara looked down at the floor. “You what?”
“I just wish you were still the stupid, happy brat you always were. I wish nothing bad had happened to you so I could pretend you don’t feel a thing and so I could just hate you and dream of breaking your legs and be happy and glad to know that I would never have the guts to do it.”
Diamond Tiara looked at the pegasus, completely baffled.
“When you arrived, you were your bratty, stupid and annoying self,” Scootaloo elaborated. “You treated everypony like they were beneath you. You didn’t help when we needed it. You didn’t clean up, or help cook. You just ordered us around and said nasty things. It made it really easy to hate you and- and even hit you...” Scootaloo trailed off before taking a deep breath as her eyes met Diamond Tiara’s. “But then... you stopped caring when I did. You... just became a pony-shaped punching bag... and today I- I realized that I was the one doing that to you and I-” She looked away. “I’m sorry.”
Diamond Tiara stared at the pegasus, a million thoughts going through her mind. Most of them angry and unpleasant. But slowly, as her eyes strayed from Scootaloo to the cracked walls and old furniture her anger faded. She sank down into her bed, she turned her back to the pegasus. Slowly, tears welled up in her eyes and she started sobbing. She didn’t hold back as her body shook with each powerful emotional tug.
When she heard an echoing sob from Scootaloo’s side of the room, she couldn’t hold it in anymore and started crying in earnest.
Both fillies cried long into the night, keeping each other company by virtue of their shared quarters, but feeling completely alone.
* * *
“It took about a month for the two to get comfortable enough to be around each other... but it wasn’t simply that they made peace.
“Diamond Tiara had talked to me from time to time about how horrible the orphanage was. How dirty it was, how the walls were so full of holes it almost looked like it was being wrecked intentionally... at first, I thought she was just complaining because she was just being herself.
“But while I was out with Scootaloo, she complained about the same things. I hated to think of them being stuck in such a place.
“I was also surprised by two things that happened that month.
“For the first time, I really started to see Diamond Tiara in a different light and it gave me hope that, in the future, I would discover that she was as forgiving and understanding as I hoped she could be.
“What she did took us all by surprise, and, I think, it was the defining factor which changed Scootaloo’s perception of her for the best. The fact that she did it without telling anypony speaks volumes about how much she changed.
“I had hoped, I’d really hoped that it was a sign of better things to come.”
* * *
Wicker Basket blinked. Then she shook her head and blinked again. “I beg your pardon?”
Fine Print smiled. “I said, you need to start packing everypony’s things. You’re moving.”
“But...” Wicker Basket looked around, lost. “Why? Did something happen with the permits?”
“Nothing of the sort,” Fine Print chuckled. “Just get everypony ready, will you?”
“I...” Wicker Basket trailed off. “I don’t think I can bring everything I have with me! There’s so much paperwork and–”
“Nothing of the sort,” Fine Print chuckled. “Just get everypony ready, will you?”
“But, it’s so last minute and I–”
“Tiara!” a voice behind them interrupted them, making the pair of mares turn around to see just about all the colts and fillies marching out with bags packed. “We’re ready!” Scootaloo called into the orphanage.
“Coming, coming!” Diamond Tiara called back as she dragged her bag out. “Why did I pack so much when I came here?”
Scootaloo rolled her eyes and trotted up to help her.
Once all the bags were out, one of the younger colts turned to look up at Wicker Basket. “Miss Case? Where are we going?”
“I–” Wicker Basket shook her head. “I- I have no idea what’s going on!”
Scootaloo raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Diamond Tiara, who smiled devilishly. “Well, Tiara, what’s up?”
“Excuse me!” another voice interrupted. The group turned to look at the three stallions pulling empty carts behind them. “We’re here for the bags and the foals?”
“Hmm,” Fine Print shook her head and sighed. “I guess you don’t get to pack your bags, Wicker Basket. Come on, hop onto the front of one of those while I help these gentlecolts with the bags.” She proceeded to push the faintly protesting caretaker up to the cart, where she was helped up into the front seat.
“Hey, Scootaloo, did you forget your locket?” Diamond Tiara asked as they watched the stallions and Fine Print pick up or levitate the bags.
“Never!” Scootaloo replied, digging beneath her wing before pulling out a silver locket in the shape of a feather. “I just didn’t have time to put it on!”
“Silly,” Diamond Tiara chided. “You have to wear it! Does Apple Bloom ever take off that clasp Silver Spoon made for her ribbon?”
“Um, no but–”
“Or does Sweetie Belle not use that amazing silver mane-piece that Silver Spoon designed and made especially for her?”
“Well, she loves it, so she puts it on every day and–”
“And do I ever take off the tiara she gave me?”
Scootaloo sighed. “No, you don’t...”
“That is because, when Silver Spoon makes something for you as a present, it is very special,” Diamond Tiara said. “So, don’t take it off.”
Scootaloo blushed and clasped the locket around her neck. “I just don’t want it to get lost... it- it really means a lot to me.”
Diamond Tiara raised an eyebrow. “Well, if you never take it off it’s less likely to get lost, isn’t it?”
Scootaloo smiled. “I guess...”
“And someday you’ll let me see what you put inside it, right?” Diamond Tiara teased.
Scootaloo’s smile grew a little. “Maybe, but I think we should jump on the carts before they leave us behind.”
The pair of giggling fillies jumped onto one of the carts as a smiling Fine Print joined Wicker Basket.
“Well, Basket, you were right,” she said to the other mare. “I never thought those two would get along so well with how they reacted the first night.”
“Oh, yes,” Wicker Basket nodded. “They do a lot of things together now,” she said. “I think I once heard Diamond Tiara admit that she would have loved to have had a sister like Scootaloo.”
Fine Print raised an eyebrow. “She did, did she?”
Wicker Basket nodded. “It would almost be a tragedy to separate them... I don’t know what those two fillies went through exactly, but it was a hard thing... I doubt they’ll ever tell anypony exactly how they managed to bury their differences and start clean.”
Fine Print chuckled. “If I have learned something about Diamond Tiara, it’s that nothing is as it seems.”
Wicker Basket raised an eyebrow. “Apparently so.”
The pair remained quiet as the carts passed through the downtown, drawing the attention of several ponies who stopped what they were doing to look at the caravan curiously. They left the town behind soon enough and had just crested a small hill when Wicker Basket gasped.
“Welcome to your new home,” Fine Print whispered to the awestruck mare.
Wicker Basket stared at the building in front of them. It was huge and contained a patio and a backyard with a nice, wooden fence. There was more than enough room for every foal in her care. The sign outside was already finished, proudly proclaiming it “Ponyville’s Orphanage: donated by Filthy Rich to the community of Equestria.”
“But... how?!” She asked, turning to look at Fine Print. “After the accident- the whole project was cancelled!”
Fine Print simply shook her head. “Postponed,” she corrected, turning her head to look at Diamond Tiara, who was laughing at Scootaloo’s flabbergasted expression. “Diamond Tiara asked me to divert a large sum of her money into finishing it.” She permitted her smile to grow. “I have never been so happy and proud and... Mr. Rich would have been extremely proud of her as well.”
“I-” Wicker Basket’s cheeks were wet with tears. “How can I ever repay her?”
“I don’t think she expects anything for it,” Fine Print said, her smile becoming soft. “But, I have an idea... and I hope she’ll like it.”
* * *
“I was looking forward to going to school every day now. There was no more bullying, no more resentment and no more anger. No more calling names, no more making fun of each other... I could be with those I loved and call them friends, sisters or beloved.
“It was bliss. And even then, at my happiest, I never compared to how Tiara and Scootaloo felt that day.
“I think, now that I look back on it, that our smiles were at their brightest and our hearts felt truly light... Sweetie Belle burst into tears of happiness when she found out and Apple Bloom could not wipe the grin off her face for the rest of the week.
“And me? I really felt happy for all of us. If I had only known.’”
* * *
“Wait, what?” Scootaloo asked, staring at Wicker Basket as if she had grown a second head. “You can’t be serious.”
“Scoots!” Diamond Tiara chided, glaring at the pegasus. “Be more respectful! I don’t think she would lie to us about this!”
“But- but Tiara,” Scootaloo stammered, looking at her friend. “Foals our age don't get adopted! It just doesn't happen!”
Wicker Basket smiled. “Well then, how about you two talk to her and then make up your mind?”
“Sure,” Scootaloo spoke up just as Diamond Tiara was about to gracefully accept. “I want to meet this imaginary friend of yours.”
The fillies heard the door to Wicker Basket’s office open and a familiar voice reached their ears. “Oh, I assure you, Scootaloo I am very real.”
Diamond Tiara gasped as she turned around so fast she almost fell out of her seat. “Fine Print!”
The lawyer nodded, still smiling. “That’s me!”
“But... you want to adopt both of us?!” Scootaloo asked incredulously. “Why?”
Fine Print walked into the office, stepping between both fillies and smiling at each. “Why not? I’ve known Diamond Tiara since she was born, and I’ve seen her grow to love you as a sister... I never married, but I’ve always wanted a family... and why settle for a single filly when I can have two daughters?”
Scootaloo’s eyes began watering. “I- I never thought...” she quickly rubbed her eyes with the back of her hoof. “I- I’m sorry, I got something in m-my eyes...” she sniffed. “Stupid dust...”
“But... Fine Print... why now?” Diamond Tiara asked.
“I- I’ve seen you grow before my eyes... both of you. When I first met Scootaloo, you both were acting like spoiled brats... and as the months went by I felt like things were going straight to Tartarus. But one day, things changed. You two put aside your problems and struggle past old grievances to become what you are today... I felt very happy and very proud. And that’s when I realized that since Mr. Ri–” She stopped and sighed. “Since your father passed away, I really had nopony to share my life with...” Fine Print closed her eyes. “And he once told me I had much to offer and that one day I would be a great mother. I can’t think of a better way to do so than by taking care of his daughter and her sister.”
Diamond Tiara sniffed and hugged Scootaloo. She closed her eyes. “Daddy and you... you were–” She took a deep breath. “You loved him, didn’t you?”
Fine Print looked down. “Yes...”
“Did he love you?”
“I- I think so,” the lawyer stammered. “But we both knew it wasn’t something we could pursue, so we kept things professional.”
“What about my mom?” Diamond Tiara asked quietly.
Fine Print sighed. “I think your father loved her much more than she ever loved him,” she replied, watching as Scootaloo disentangled herself from Tiara’s embrace and rubbed her eyes while looking at her. “She’s not a bad pony when you get down to it, Tiara, but she never appreciated what she had or just how much she was hurting him.”
Diamond Tiara was quiet for a little bit. “I...” she trailed off, looking towards Scootaloo, then at the room around them before looking up at Fine Print. “I think I want to go home... Mom.”
* * *
“Fine Print is a good mother. Neither Diamond Tiara nor Scootaloo ever had anything bad to say about her. Diamond Tiara was the first one to point out to Scoots that she would finally be able to attend flight school, since it was too expensive for the orphanage to afford the month-long camp that non-Cloudsdale citizens needed.
“Their little family unit became a blessing to us all. Until Diamond Tiara found out about me and... I just... I don’t think any of us were prepared for that, nor what followed.
“Time passed, and we all assumed things were okay. Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara really acted like sisters when all was said and done. I think it was something they both had needed all their lives and now that they had the chance to be part of a family and to have siblings, they took it.
“There’s too much to be said about what the next year brought. All the happiness, all the adventures... the Crusaders kept doing their thing; Tiara and I did ours... but when the adventuring and talking was done, we all got together and had our own brand of fun.
“When I look back on it, I can understand how Tiara felt. For more than a year we kept a secret from her... and, while she had her own, we should have told her the truth from the beginning.
“The way she found out wasn’t the best either.”
* * *
“I’m home!” Diamond Tiara called, closing the door behind her. “Mom? Scoots?”
When nopony replied, Diamond Tiara sighed and started walking towards her room. “Figures that they would all be out,” she muttered. “It’s crusading time, Silver Spoon is busy and today of all days my music class cancels. Just my luck.”
She trotted through the silent house until she heard giggling coming from Scootaloo’s room. She stopped and stared at the door as another set of giggles could be heard.
“That’s odd...” she whispered, suddenly feeling like she shouldn’t make any noise. Who could Scootaloo be with right now? Had she brought the other Crusaders home? Diamond Tiara shook her head. “Well, it’s Crusader time...” she sighed. “Better just let them–”
She cut herself off when she heard the other voice.
“Scoots- I- ah...” Silver Spoon whimpered from behind the door.
Diamond Tiara’s eyes went wide as she took a reluctant step toward her sister’s door. She could hear more giggling coming from inside. Slowly, she reached up and pushed the door open.
She gulped.
Lying on her back, hair undone and smiling as she stroked Scootaloo’s cheek, Silver Spoon giggled again. “Scoots... that was amazing.”
Grinning cockily in response, Scootaloo chuckled as she leaned in to give Silver Spoon a peck on the nose. “You say that as if I’ve never kissed you before.”
“What–” Diamond Tiara choked out, sending the pair jumping into different ends of the bed. “What’s going on here?!”
“Tiara!” both fillies echoed, staring at her.
“What are you doing here?!” Scootaloo asked, wings twitching in horror.
“Class was cancelled,” Diamond Tiara retorted angrily. “Now, answer my question!”
“I–” Scootaloo stammered.
“We- we’re dating...” Silver Spoon confessed after a moment of awkward silence. “We have been for a while,” she gulped. “We just never told anypony about it... well, I- I told my mom but...”
“You told your mom?!” Scootaloo gasped. “No wonder she was looking at me like that when I went to have dinner at your place!”
“Sorry!” Silver Spoon cringed. “I just- I trust her and–”
“Shut up!” Diamond Tiara shouted, stomping her fore hooves on the floor. “Why didn’t either of you tell me?” She teared up as she turned to look angrily at Silver Spoon. “You’re my best friend! My best friend! And you!” She turned to face Scootaloo, who was cringing so much that she looked smaller. “You’re my sister! We’ve been closer than anypony for the last year-and-a-half and you couldn’t tell me?! Just what am I to you?”
“You’re my best friend!” Silver Spoon protested.
“You’re my sister!” Scootaloo’s reply was almost a plea. “I’m sorry, Tiara. I was just- we didn’t want anypony to know for a while because we... we weren’t sure how they’d take it.” She looked down at the floor.
“I hate you,” Diamond Tiara whispered. She looked up at Scootaloo. “You took her away from me!” she cried.
“No!” Silver Spoon shouted, jumping up from the bed. “She didn’t! Tiara, I’m still your best friend!
“Don’t be stupid!” Diamond Tiara strolled up to Silver Spoon and planted a kiss on her that made her knees weak while Scootaloo’s eyes went wide and her wings flared up with an audible ‘pomf!’
Diamond Tiara stepped back slowly, eyes on Silver Spoon. “She took you away...” she said in a low voice. Her face was a mixture of loss and hurt. She took another step back before turning around and running out of the room.
Silver Spoon was speechless as she stared at the empty doorway. “I- I have to go, Scoots... I’ll- I’ll see you later, okay?” She swallowed and ran out of the house before Scootaloo could answer.
Gulping, Scootaloo simply nodded.
* * *
“What do you do when you realize you have hurt someone you love by being oblivious? Diamond Tiara’s kiss slid everything into place. How many times had I mistaken a look of longing for a look of mischief? How many times had we held each other’s hooves in silence and I’ve thought nothing of it but silent comfort?
“I had never expected Diamond Tiara to have an interest in me and now I fear that all those little presents I gave her might have meant so much more to her than I had ever thought. In essence, I had been torturing my best friend with my platonic love for her... and then, when she found out about me and Scootaloo... it was too much for her.”
* * *
Scootaloo pounded on Silver Spoon's door as hard as she could.
"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Silver Spoon called. She opened the door and sighed. "I'm sorry Scootaloo, I know it's not fair, but I really need a bit more time and–"
"It's not that!" Scootaloo said, her face betraying her worry. "Diamond Tiara didn't come back for dinner! She's not in her room either!” She looked panicked. “I had to tell mom what happened... she went out to look for her as well, I came here straight away!"
"What? But, where could she have gone?"
"She didn't come here?"
Silver Spoon leveled an unamused glance on Scootaloo. "Really, Scoots. Think about it."
"Okay, okay!" the other filly shook her head. "I'm just really worried for her!"
Silver Spoon thought for a moment. "Have you checked the hill overlooking the orphanage?" she asked. "She used to spend a lot of time there."
Scootaloo shook her head. "No, I haven't, come on, let's find Tiara and bring her home."
Silver Spoon took a deep breath and nodded.
The pair set off towards the orphanage, trotting next to each other in awkward silence.
It didn't last long.
"Silver Spoon?" Scootaloo asked. "What are we going to do about Tiara? I mean, I love her but..."
Silver Spoon sighed. "We should have told her from the beginning," she said. "But I think... I think she will understand."
"I uh..." Scootaloo grinned uneasily. "I- I could share, you know?"
Silver Spoon stopped and stared at Scootaloo. "What?!"
"H-hey, don't get me wrong, you're mine!" Scootaloo stammered. "I just... well, it was really hot seeing her kissing you."
"Scootaloo!" Silver Spoon chided, feeling her cheeks redden. "She's your sister!"
"Not by blood!"
"We're not having this discussion right now. Come on, let's find Diamond Tiara first and then you can joke around."
"But- I wasn't joking!" Scootaloo called as she trotted up behind Silver Spoon, who simply shook her head.
"That's what worries me," she grumbled.
They both quieted down as they approached the hill that overlooked the new orphanage. But it was empty.
"Dammit!" Scootaloo groaned, slumping down on the grass. "I don't even know where else she could be!"
Silver Spoon was quiet. "Well... she knew that I know about this place... so she could have intentionally gone someplace else where she knows she wouldn't be bothered."
"But where would she go?" Scootaloo asked. "The Everfree is too dangerous and she wouldn't go to the crusader HQ if she wanted to be alone."
Silver Spoon nodded. "It would have to be a place she knows well, but where? And without anypony to bother her..." she trailed off, at a loss.
Scootaloo slowly raised her head. "Wait... I- I think I know where she could be!"
Silver Spoon raised an eyebrow. "Where?"
* * *
“Why Diamond Tiara did what she did will forever remain a mystery to me.
“I can understand being hurt. And I can understand feeling miserable. Or feeling lost when your dreams are broken in front of your eyes. Those, I can understand.
“But the actions we take after the hurt- those are the ones that shape us.
“For too long, a lack of actions defined me; little more than a 'crony' of Tiara's. It wasn't until I stood up for her, by myself and without anypony else to back me up, that I found the strength to change things.
“And they did.
“I got a fillyfriend. Tiara got a sister. They changed so much after that seemingly simple act that anypony who didn't know them for the last few years would have been hard pressed to believe that they were ever at each other's throats or that their fights dragged their good friends into horribly petty fights.
“But, apparently, Tiara wasn't done being selfish in the worst, and most hurtful way...”
* * *
The old orphanage looked foreboding under the moonlight, but both Silver Spoon and Scootaloo walked in without hesitation.
"Where would she be?" Silver Spoon asked.
"I- I think if she's here she'd probably be in our old room," Scootaloo said. "But, be careful, this place is in a very bad state."
Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Let's just find Diamond Tiara and get out of here."
Scootaloo nodded and guided Silver Spoon to the back of the building and up the stairs.
"Do building really go derelict this quickly?" Silver Spoon whispered.
"It actually hasn't changed as much as you might think," Scootaloo whispered back. "Everything is just... dustier."
When they reached Scootaloo's old room, she tried opening the door, but it wouldn't budge. The pair paused, straining to listen past it.
Soon enough they were rewarded by the sounds of movement.
"Tiara?!" Scootaloo called.
There was a small moan from inside, but the voice was unmistakable.
"Tiara! Let us in!" Silver Spoon begged.
There was a bit of whimpering but no reply.
"Tiara..." Silver Spoon sighed, closing her eyes and pressing her head against the door. "I'm so sorry, Tiara. I didn't know... it's stupid. I think it was pretty obvious now that I think about it, but... please believe me! I didn't want to hurt you! You’ve been my best friend since I can remember! If I hadn't been afraid... we should have told you. I think you would have understood. Maybe we could have dealt with this whole thing in a different way. But please don't keep up out, Tiara. We love you. Come on, please come back home with us. Let's- let's spend the night at my place, just the three of us. Please? Let's talk."
She sighed when she didn't hear a reply but then...
"Help..."
It was faint and she would have missed it completely had Scootaloo not put her hoof on her foreleg. The pegasus had a terrified look in her face that made the blood in Silver Spoon's veins run cold.
"Please- Spoon, Scoot... help-" Tiara's voice was faint and both fillies barely shared a glance before they had turned around and kicked the door with all their might.
The first try didn't do much other than make the old frame creek. The second attempt splintered it. The third broke the door in half, allowing them to push and break apart large pieces of it until they could both fit inside.
Their breath caught in their throats at the sight in front of them.
Lying next to a small, lit gas lamp, Diamond Tiara whimpered. Her front hooves were covered in deep gashes and were still bleeding. They could see the jagged piece of glass she had used to cut herself jutting out of the pool of blood.
“Oh, Celestia...” Silver Spoon hurried over to Diamond Tiara’s side. “What have you done to yourself?”
“There’s no time!” Scootaloo started trying to get Diamond Tiara on top of her back. “Help me get Tiara on my back, I’ll carry her to the hospital!”
As quickly as she could, Silver Spoon carefully helped a mildly protesting Diamond Tiara onto Scootaloo’s back. She pushed hard, and suddenly slipped on the blood.
Twisting madly, she landed on her side. Her hoof kicked the gaslamp, breaking it and making it roll to the old bed, which burst into flames at an alarming rate.
“Let’s get out of here!” Scootaloo yelled, pulling her fillyfriend to her hooves while balancing Diamond Tiara on her back.
The fire was spreading quickly and most of the room was already covered in flames.
Silver Spoon and Scootaloo galloped out into the hallway and towards the stairs as fast as they could, but the flames were keeping up.
The old wood and paint and abandoned curtains, mattresses and furniture provided fuel to the fire.
The three fillies barely made it down the stairs before a large flaming ball of fire shot down from the upper floor.
“Whoever designed this place is an idiot!” Silver Spoon shouted as they ran towards the front. “Don’t they know what emergency exits are for?! This place is a rat trap!”
“Hey! I used to live here, y’know?!”
“Well, I’ve always thought you were brave!” Silver Spoon retorted. She could hear the whole place crackling around them and the smoke was getting very heavy indeed. She held her breath as she sped up and out the exit, breathing heavily in the cool night breeze. Panting, she turned around. “We made–”
Her eyes widened in horror at the absence of both, her fillyfriend and her best friend. Before her eyes part of the roof collapsed in front of the door. Still, she trotted up as close as she could to look inside.
Scootaloo was slowly standing up, trying not to put too much weight on her left hind leg. Diamond Tiara lay on the floor next to her, barely able to raise her head, but, from what Spoon could see, still breathing.
“Scoots!” she shouted, “Tiara! You’ve got to get up!”
Scootaloo cringed when she lowered her leg. She looked up and met Silver Spoon’s eyes with hers. “Silver! Go get help! There’s an exit through the kitchen, I’ll try to get us there! But we don’t have time to get Tiara all the way to the hospital!”
Silver Spoon looked around wildly, not knowing what to do.
“Go!” Scootaloo insisted as she bent down and grimacing managed to slide most of Diamond Tiara over onto her back. “Please, Silver! We can still save her!”
Gritting her teeth, Silver Spoon turned and galloped away.
* * *
“Turning my back on them, even if it was to get help, was the hardest thing I’ve done in my life. Even harder than standing my ground for the very first time in front of Scootaloo.
“I prayed to Celestia. I prayed to Luna. I even prayed to Discord that they would be okay.
“But my heart seemed to know better. Because every time my hooves touched the ground, it broke more.
“I knew that tragedy was inevitable, and yet I ran.”
* * *
Scootaloo half-carried, half-dragged Diamond Tiara with her towards the kitchen.
“Come on, Tiara,” she coughed, blinking hard in an attempt to clear her vision. “We can make it. I want to have time to scream at you all I want.”
A beam collapsed in flames next to her, making her jump and almost drop Tiara in surprise at the curtain of flying embers that erupted in front of her.
Breathing hard and trying to control her nerves, she quickly trotted over it towards the kitchen. “We’ll be fine there,” she said over her shoulder. “It’s made of brick... and we can climb out of a window there...”
She winced and drew a sharp breath when she unintentionally put weight on her hind leg again. It was probably broken given how much it hurt. But she wouldn’t let Tiara die. She wouldn’t abandon her sister.
Scootaloo managed to make her way past flaming bits of roof and burning furniture to the small kitchen they had both helped clean on countless occasions. One of the rooms to her right erupted in flames and smoke.
Scootaloo started choking. Despite the pain, she forced herself to trot forward until they went past the single swaying door and into the kitchen, which was thankfully cooler and devoid of smoke.
“We–” she cut off into a coughing fit until she had spat out something black. Her breath came out in wheezing, painful bursts. “We made it,” she managed to choke out. Her voice sounded horribly hoarse.
She carefully lay Diamond Tiara down on the floor next to her and forced herself towards the end of the kitchen, where the window was. Gripping the closed curtains, she yanked them down, revealing the window.
She stared at it and fell back on her haunches, crying in pain as her broken bone shifted. Coughing, she forced herself to look through the tears and stared at the boarded-up window. She looked back at her leg, which was starting to swell, and then up to the trembling and wheezing form of Diamond Tiara.
“There’s no way...” she whispered as she looked down to the floor. Slowly the tears started falling past her cheeks and splashing the hard stone floor of the kitchen. “There’s no way...”
Scootaloo slowly made her way to Diamond Tiara, who was looking at her with half-lidded eyes and breathing shallowly.
“I’m sorry, Tiara...” Scootaloo wheezed as she lay down next to her sister. She started coughing again and looked at Diamond Tiara’s eyes. “I’m so sorry I- we didn’t tell you...”
Diamond Tiara simply stared at her.
“Tiara... before we became friends, I never thought that I would care so much for y–” Scootaloo started coughing violently, her whole body shaking with each throat-tearing cough. “I love her, Tiara,” she wheezed. “And I love you. You’re my sister! I- I never even imagined I would have a mother, much less a sister...” She chuckled and grimaced as the simple act made her throat sting horribly. “You- you know me. I’m supposed to be tough–” She choked back a cough. “A- and I- I never go for the cutesy stuff,” she rasped out.
Slowly Scootaloo removed her silver feather pendant from around her neck. With a lot of care, she opened the upper half and the lower half into different directions.
In the middle, was a picture of Fine Print. On the upper half, opening to the left was a picture of Diamond Tiara, and on the lower half, opening to the right was a picture of Silver Spoon. Scootaloo chuckled, wincing again and cursing herself for forgetting, but she looked up at Tiara’s eyes. “I had a really hard time trying to decide who to put here. I simply didn’t have enough space to include you, Silver, mom, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle...” She looked at the pictures fondly. “I know they’ll understand why I chose my family and my fillyfriend...”
She slowly turned it around and pushed it towards Diamond Tiara, so that she could see.
Diamond Tiara’s eyes did not look down at the pendant. They remained staring in Scootaloo’s direction, neither moving nor seeing.
Scootaloo gritted her teeth as her body shook with pain, sobs and coughs. She wrapped the pendant’s chain around her hoof and dragged herself over to Diamond Tiara, pressing her forehead against her sister’s.
“I’m sorry I never told you how much you mean to me.” she whispered. “I’m sorry I kept this secret from you... I love you, sis.”
She started coughing so hard she couldn’t find the strength or chance to draw in breath. Her vision dimmed as she heard the building collapsing around them. She searched with her hoof until it rested on something soft. Hoping it was Diamond Tiara, Scootaloo closed her eyes.
* * *
"There are many lessons we have to learn from this whole experience: about insecurity. About tolerance. About paying attention and realizing that just because it seems to be fine, it doesn’t mean it is. For those of us that remain, the lessons are bitter and raw. For those that are gone... I can only hope that they have somehow achieved the happiness they wanted and deserved. I will never understand the things that Diamond Tiara and Scootaloo suffered through, and maybe that made me blind to the pain of one and the desperate love of the other. When- when they found them... Scoots had a broken leg. She had dragged Diamond Tiara almost 400 feet from where we had been to the kitchen. She refused to let her sister go.
"When all is said and done, we can only hope we did learn the hard lessons. And that we will never repeat them again."
Silver Spoon stepped down from the podium and watched silently as the coffin was lowered right next to Filthy Rich's grave. She felt the tears leave her eyes and roll down her cheeks. Soon, she couldn't hold it in and broke into tears. She was enveloped in a hug as Fine Print and Silver Platter both held on to her. But it wasn't until she felt another hoof press against her own that she opened her eyes and looked down.
Scootaloo smiled shakily from her wheelchair. It was anypony's guess if she would ever be able to use her leg again.
But at least she was alive.
Silver Spoon would never let that inner pain in Scootaloo's eyes grow. She would take it away, just as Scootaloo would take hers. The pair looked at Diamond Tiara's grave and wondered: Why didn't we tell her?
It was a question that would haunt them all their lives.
The End
