Diamond in the Flames

"Once again, I must extend my most sincere congratulations on the success of your latest album," Svengallop said as he took a sip from his champagne flute.

Not wanting to be rude, Sweetie did the same after mentally confirming that it hadn't left her sight since she'd grabbed it. "Thanks," she said politely. "I'm glad everyone's enjoying it."

"You know, with your fame, you could use an agent who can negotiate more favourable contracts for you," he continued, leering at her. "And I'm one of the best in the industry, so if you want to try and convince me to take you on..."

Sweetie's skin crawled. So it was already that time of the night, huh. "If you'll excuse me," she said, just brusquely enough to skirt the line of rudeness, "I think somepony is calling me."

As quickly as she could, she made her way across the room, picking up a tasteless hors d'oeuvre in the process. She hated these parties so much. They were soulless— no, soul-sucking— events, where the vultures came to prey, and the prey tried to survive.

"Sweetie Belle!" A voice broke her out of her reverie, and she looked up to see a young mare trotting towards her, gussied up in a gaudy dress that had way too many colours everywhere.

"Hello, Sugar Note," Sweetie said, her false smile relaxing somewhat. Sugar Note was as vapid and shallow as they came, but at least she wasn't malicious, and Sweetie didn't have to watch every single word she said to her, as long as she didn't mind every word said being leaked out from this fount of gossip. "How's it going?"

"Oh, everypony's been wonderful," Sugar Note said, showing just how naïve she was. "I just love these parties. Don't you?"

"They're pretty cool," Sweetie lied.

"I'm sure they're awesome for you, considering how famous you are now," Sugar said without any jealousy. "It looks like Diamond in the Flames is going to be an even bigger hit than Hearts of Ice!"

"I hope so." This, at least, was the truth. As good as Hearts of Ice had been, Sweetie had recorded that album out of spite, after her coltfriend Fire Tone had dumped her. Diamond in the Flames, however, was dedicated to a mare who was actually worthy of her love, and Sweetie had similarly poured her heart into it, creating something she could be proud of.

Even if she had to hide the full context from everypony.

Sweetie shook away those thoughts. It wasn't like she wasn't used to wearing a mask in public anyways. At least now she had something worth hiding. "Sunshine and Rainbows is doing really well too. It's your second album, right?"

Sugar Note nodded, beaming. "Yup! I'm so lucky. My agent's been getting me contracts with the big companies."

It was hard to hold back a wince at that. "That's nice," Sweetie said. "Just make sure you read through those contracts yourself. Wouldn't want any surprises, you know?"

Her heart sank as Sugar laughed. "Oh, I'm sure it's fine. I have lawyers to do that for me."

She was so much like how Sweetie had once been, except that Sweetie had had the good sense to listen to some of Rarity's advice, even if she'd thought her beautiful older sister was just being paranoid. "Well, sometimes things just fall through the cracks." Even as she said the words, she knew it was futile. Sugar Note would learn the hard way that you couldn't trust anyone in the music industry.

Before Sugar could respond, there was a huge commotion at the entrance to the penthouse suite, and both of them turned to see the source of the sudden, whispering silence in the crowd.

"Hellllloooooo, everypony!" Sweetie's blood boiled in her veins as she heard a familiar voice that
she'd once found to be music to her ears, but was now just a grating, whiny cacophony to her. "I'm here now, so the real party can begin!"

"Excuse me," Sweetie said coolly, "I need to go speak with someone."

She barely avoided stomping her way over to the host of the party, seething the whole way as Fire Tone commanded the attention of the partygoers with his feat of drinking from two different bottles of wine at once. "Treble," she said, keeping her tone level. "What is he doing here?"

Treble Wing's smile was so oily it made Sweetie want to take a shower. "Why, I invited him, of course. He's a good friend of mine, after all."

"Right." Stupid of her to forget that. "You do realize that we have history, yeah?"

"Yes," Treble replied. "And I also realize that there's no such thing as bad publicity. You're welcome." He gave her a mocking bow, and Sweetie wondered if she could get away with punching him. Probably not, but she was still very tempted.

"Oh, hey Sweets!" Before Sweetie could possibly maybe do something ill-advised, her past mistake trotted up to her, still holding on to his drinks. "Long time no see, huh? How you doing, girl?"

It was a wonder that she'd ever thought him charming before. "I'm doing well, Fire Tone," Sweetie said politely, refusing to give the voyeurs around them what they wanted.

"Cool, cool." Fire Tone set down his drinks. "It's good to see you again. Real good." He looked her up and down, while Sweetie fumed at the objectification. "Yeah, you're still really hot. Man, we had some good times together, huh?"

"A few." Sweetie grit her teeth. "Which you shared with the whole world." Despite her best efforts, her cheeks still burned with embarrassment as she remembered seeing her own provocative images plastered on the cover of every tabloid in Equestria for several weeks. It had been a horrible experience, made bearable only by the revelation she had made the day she'd first learned of Fire Tone's betrayal.

"Aww, you're still mad about that?" And the fact that Fire Tone seemed genuinely confused only made her shame and anger burn hotter. "C'mon, that was like a year ago, and you got a big boost in sales too, right? You're practically gonna be the queen of this place soon."

Sweetie was so enraged by his audacity that she could hardly form a coherent response, simply glaring at him with such a strong death wish she was surprised he didn't just keel over on the spot.

"Anyways, I was just thinking, we've had enough time to cool off, and we're both bigger than ever. It would definitely be a good time to think about hooking up again." He shot her a cocky grin. "It'd be good for both of our careers to get the press talking about us, and I can rock your world again."

For a moment, Sweetie could only stare at him. "Are you serious?" she finally said, nearly shouting as her voice cracked. "You spread my private pictures everywhere, humiliated me in that interview, and now you just expect me to get over it?"

Fire Tone shrugged. "Hey, the past is a foreign country, right? Why look back when we can look forward?" He reached out and placed a hoof on her flank, leaning in until Sweetie could smell the alcohol on his breath. "And I'm looking forward to plowing that sweet ass tonight, just like I used to."

Sweetie didn't care that everypony was watching. None of them had stepped forward to support her anyways, and she knew what she was about to do would make their night, but right now, she didn't care about any of them.

She flicked her hoof and launched the wine in her glass at Fire Tone, soaking his coat as he gasped in surprise. "Don't you dare touch me," she hissed. "You lost the privilege of doing that when you decided to be an absolute pig and fuck me over in any way you could. I don't ever want to see you again."

A crack echoed through the silent penthouse as Sweetie punctuated her response with a slap. "And besides, you were never that good in the sack, anyways. I'm having way more fun now that I've dumped your ass, with someone who actually cares if I get off or not."

Everypony was still staring, and reality finally crashed down as Sweetie realized what she'd just said. "I think I've had enough here," she said coolly. She turned to glare at Treble. "Thank you for your hospitality." With that, she stormed out, away from this microcosm of the corruption that plagued her world.

As she left, she heard Fire Tone laughing as he continued playing the crowd. "Wow, I'd forgotten how much of a drama queen she could be," he said, his voice patronizing and derisive. "Total firecracker in the streets and in the sheets." Everypony laughed at that, and Sweetie hated them all even more.

She made it all the way back to her apartment before breaking down, tears flowing from her eyes as the shame and humiliation of the night seeped into her soul.

She hated this, so, so much. Music was her passion, her special talent, the thing that made her life worth living, and she hated that in order to live her dream, she had to lower herself into this nightmare of backstabbing and decadence.

None of them cared about her. To them, she was just a useful stepping stone in their careers at best, and a bit of fun entertainment at worst. That was a good show she'd put on there earlier tonight, and when it hit the tabloids, it'd give them something to talk about for a bit, and keep Fire Tone in the spotlight he so desperately craved.

And once tonight's story had burned itself out, they'd find something new to pick over, like piranhas stripping all the flesh from a pony before moving on to their next victim. It sickened her.

Instinctively, Sweetie reached out for the photograph on her nightstand. It was a picture they'd taken almost a year ago, after that fateful interview with Rolling Pones, when Sweetie and Rarity had declared their love for each other the night before. The next day, they'd had dinner while dressed up in the finest clothes that they'd packed, then taken a walk along the beach.

That was where the photograph had been taken, as they'd pressed their cheeks together and smiled against the backdrop of the Celestial Sea. Ever since then, Sweetie carried it around everywhere she went, a safe reminder of that perfect date they'd shared. If someone else saw it, it would just look like an image of sisterly love, but Sweetie knew the truth, and for now, that was enough.

"One more week," she told herself, taking strength from the statement. "One more week before Rarity comes to visit, and you can have another date, and everything will be okay again." She just needed to hold on.

And then, she'd have Rarity again, to have and to hold, to laugh at the stupidity of the crème de la crème, and commiserate about their struggles. Rarity would hold her and tell her she loved her, and Sweetie would feel safe again, and they'd make love under the moonlight. It was going to be so romantic.

She just needed to make it through this week of hell, in order to make it to the castle of heaven.