The Tiara weighs Heavy

Chapters

Chapter One: A Change of Scenery
Chapter Two: The New Foal in School
Chapter Three: The birth of the Fourth Crusader
Chapter Four: Operation Breakout Diamond Begins!
Chapter Five: Diamond Spreads Her Wings
Chapter Six: The CMC vs Diamond Tiara
Chapter Seven: A Shadow of the Past
Chapter Eight: Diamond Vs Onyx
Chapter Nine: A Shiny New Diamond
Chapter Ten: Ten Years Later

Chapter One: A Change of Scenery

"Diamond, Diamond."

A little pink-coated earth pony yawned as she stretched underneath a rather fancy canopy bed and gazed at the family's butler, an old purple earth pony with a set of white mane looking rather tired. The filly yawned, wanting to go back to sleep, and mumbled, "Give me five more minutes, Randolph."

Randolph gulped, looking abit worried as he replied, "Diamond, your mother instructed me to get you up for school."

The filly eyes lit up as she cried, "Oh yeah, today's the first day of school!"

Diamond Tiara then hopped over to her fancy bedroom with pristine white walls and pink carpet covered with simple fancy furniture. She was then escorted by her butler to her private bathroom, and assisted with giving her a short bubble bath, brushing her teeth, combing her mane and tail just like her mother's, and picking out a cute outfit, putting her into a pretty little light purple and white striped dress, then topping it off with a new pristine saddlebag with gems encrusted on it. Her mane was perfect, and her tail was combed out and wavy.

Walter then bowed and said, "Now you're prepared for school. I must take my leave."

"Ok, thank you, Randolph!" Diamond chirped and waved a hoof as he left. The filly stood in front of a massive mirror admiring her reflection, looking over her outfit and making sure it looked perfect for her first day of school. The little filly already met her new teacher, Cheerilee, earlier this week. She seemed so interesting she couldn't wait to see her again! Not only that, but she wanted to make so many new friends. Having only Silver Spoon, it's not that she didn't like her. But she was excited to meet other foals her age that her mom didn't pick out.

"Diamond!" her mother shouted.

The unicorn filly was so engrossed in her reflection, looking over her outfit and mane, that she didn't hear her mother.

"Diamond, you answer me this instant!"

The filly squeaked as she realized her mother's voice and cried, "Yes, Mom!"

Diamond ran to her door and opened it, revealing an angry, older, pink-coated mare with a set of stern teal-blue eyes walking into the room. Diamond's mom continued to glare at her as she trotted around her and snapped, "Diamond, why are you not answering me? I called you multiple times!"

The filly subconsciously bent her head down and whispered, "Sorry, Mom, I was just getting ready for school."

"And are you ready for your first day of school?"

She then started to hop up and down, unable to contain her excitement, and squealed, "Yeah, I'm so excited!"

Spoiled Rich started to get irritated as she snapped, "Stop bouncing like an idiot and sit down. And it's yes, mother."

Diamond stopped, quickly sat on a nearby chair, bowed her head, and whispered, "Sorry, yes, mother."

"That's Better now that I know it's your first day of school, but there are some things we need to discuss."

“Yes…mother…”

"Now, I expect you to be on your best behavior and make eye contact with the teacher. Try to raise your hoof as often as possible. I'm not raising an imbecile."

"I will, Mother."

"As you're there, I expect you to get top marks in class. There will be punishment if you don't."

"Yes, mother."

"You know that at school, every one of your other classmates is beneath us, and you will not befriend them, understand?"

Diamond paused, her heart clenched in her chest upon hearing her mom tell her she couldn't make friends. She really was hoping to be able to, so she tried to protest, "Yes, Mother, but I was looking forward to making new frien-"

"But nothing! You are a Rich, not some common riffraff; whatever you do reflects on us and myself, so if you befriend common ponies?"

Diamond Tiara looked up, confused, wondering why she couldn't make friends. Spoiled stood over her and shouted, "Stop standing there gawking like a backwater foal! If you befriend common ponies?"

"No, I won't," The filly bowed and quivered as she whispered, "It makes you look bad."

"Not me, the family! Your father, the butler."

"His name is Randolph."

"Whatever, you understand your actions at school will reflect the family and yourself. You are a Rich, so remember that and make sure everypony else does, too."

Diamond didn't fully believe her, but she wanted to please her and show her she was worthy of being her daughter, so she put the idea of making friends out of her mind. But then she thought about Silver Spoon and saw she'd be going to school with her. She looked up at her mom's glaring eyes and asked, "What about Silver Spoon?"

Spoiled smirked, then said, "Yes, you can be friends with her, but remember, she will always be yours. You will also ensure she is beneath you, but keep her close."

The filly didn't understand but couldn't disobey, "Yes, mother."

"Do not disappoint me. I am doing this for your own good. One day, you'll thank me for this."

"I understand,"

"Now say I love you."

"I…I love you," she hugged her mother as she patted her daughter on the head. "Now, come down for breakfast; the butler made some excellent omelets. Also, he has your lunch packed and ready."

"Thank you, mother." Diamond then trotted after her, picking her head up like her mom, remembering that she was Rich and that she had to act like one, forgetting all about meeting new friends. All she wanted was for her mom to be proud of her.

Diamond woke up jolted awake by a train. The little pink filly realized she had fallen asleep, then looked out her window, eyes glazed over from being tired from last night. Everything was a blur, from her trying to stop Pipp from being school president to the Cutie Mark Crusaders convincing her that she was wrong, her finding out her Cutie Mark standing up to her mom, but everything felt so wrong. She groaned, looking over the stuffy uniform, then looked down and saw her suitcase packed with some minor personal items she could take. Diamond realized that she was leaving all that behind: her mom, school, and her new friends, Silver Spoon…she closed her coat around her, feeling something shift beneath her back and ache, wanting to break free. "Remember, if you show anypony, I'll make you regret it! We will reveal you at the right time, but when I say so, understand?" Diamond shivered hearing her mother's threat, wondering what she would do? Her mother was powerful and could pull some strings. Maybe have her sent to a rock farm or banished from Equestria!? She knew that standing up to her mom was the right thing to do. Every time she was insulted or belittled, all of it hurt but it made her stronger. Maybe this was all a test she had to pass; if she endured her, she could endure anything.

Then Diamond groaned, rubbing her horn jutting up from her forehead as it throbbed, probably primarily due to her still not really knowing how to use it. But she had to learn quickly, seeing that her mother pulled strings to make it look like she was born a unicorn in her paperwork. Celestia knows she'll look like a baby in front of her classmates at this boarding school, Coldstone Academy if she can't use it. Diamond wiped the tears from her eyes and focused on the outside. Then, she thought about all the times she belittled the Cutie Mark Crusaders, made fun of them, told lies about them, and tricked Scootaloo into being insecure about her wings. Tears filled her eyes again, feeling the heavy weight of guilt coming over her. She threw her head down, feeling this ache in her heart as she cried to herself, "I… I'm so sorry for everything." she then balled into her hooves and curled up, wishing she could disappear.

Diamond Tiara was groaning as she woke up the next morning. She still couldn't believe everything that had happened the previous day. It felt like a dream; finally, standing up to her mother was thrilling but scary at the same time. That was the first time she ever fought back against her, and it was, and now everything hurt her head and back. She groaned slowly, getting up and feeling pain all over her body and shaking from the fear and pain. Diamond Tiara then slowly got out of bed, crossed her room, and went to a mirror, the same one she looked into at herself when she first went to school. She blinked as she rubbed her head, seeing a horn protruding from it, then threw her wings out…wings!? She gave the pink feathery appendages a few flaps; being surprised at what she was seeing, she couldn't help but squeal, "I'm an ali-"

"Diamond Tiara!"

The filly squeaked and then turned to face her mother in the doorway. "Mother."

The mare slammed a bag on the ground, and her eyes widened.

The filly turned to face her and cried, "Mother."

"Diamond yo…. You're."

Despite everything that happened yesterday, Diamond was so thrilled to see she had been gifted a set of wings and a horn that she shouted, "I'm an alicorn! Can you believe it!"

Spoiled's demeanor did not change as she scowled, "Alicorn, or not behave yourself!"

The filly paused, and just like when she was a little filly, she meekly but with a hint of anger replied, "Yes, mother."

"Don't think being an alicorn will get you out of trouble! Humiliating me in front of the entire school and your teacher!"

"Mom, I-!"

"No buts, I am sending you to boarding school."

Diamond's eyes widened, and she shouted, "Boarding scho- Mom!"

Spoiled then slapped her across the face with a crack with the sting of the hoof hitting Diamond as she cried and winced in pain as the mare snapped, "Quiet now! I will not hear another word!"

Diamond bit down her tongue and looked down, fearing what her mother would do if she did anything else, and waited as Spoiled trotted around looking her over her, "An alicorn, If you think this new body of yours is going to change my mind it won't."

"You can't stop me, but I can just run away!" Diamond cried.

Spoiled took her daughter's face and had her look right into her mom's eyes as she shouted, "I can! I am your mother! Everything you are, everything you have is because of me! You think you won by turning everyone against me! If you want me as an enemy, now I am!"

With tears in her eyes, Diamond Tiara wanted to just run away and hide but somehow mustered the courage to shout, "We'll just have to see what Dad has to say about this! He won't just let you send me away!"

"Your father isn't here, and when he does return from his trip, I'm sure he'll agree that bullying your poor classmates and running that horrible gossip column is so unbehaving of a filly like yourself. I'll make sure to have him see you in a different light as an unruly spoiled brat who needs to learn some humility and discipline."

Diamond paused, her heart thumping. She knew full well her mom had done this in the past to make her look worse than she was. She even used that same tactic against the Cutie Mark Crusaders and other foals. At this point, there really wasn't much she could do but cry, "This is unfair. You can't do this."

Spoiled slammed a hoof onto the ground, making her bow, and then she shouted, "Diamond! You may be an alicorn! Hell, you can be Princess Celestia's descendant. I don't know how or why, but you don't deserve it; you're not becoming a princess, and your behavior is unchecked. We can't hide that horn, but you will hide your wings."

"Seriously!?"

"You will do as I say. We can bind your wings to your sides and make you wear a coat."

"Why would I let you do that!?"

"Listen, you're on thin ice as it is, and remember, if you show anypony, I'll make you regret it! We will reveal you at the right time, but when I say so, understand?

Diamond bowed her head and nodded. Completely scared of what her mother could do, she wanted to fight back, run away, and do anything, but all she could do was shake uncontrollably as she muttered, "Yes, mother."

Spoiled stood up and snapped, "Now pack a suitcase you're leaving tonight," then, the mare walked out and slammed the door behind her. As Diamond rubbed her bruised cheek with tears welling up, she looked into her reflection. She was thrilled to see she became an alicorn, but now all she felt was shame and regret, not knowing why. After all these years, Diamond finally stood up to her mother, but in return, she was being sent away against her will, and she could do nothing. The filly cried out and slammed a hoof into the mirror, cracking it into several shards; she then looked at the shattered reflection, wondering who she was, why she was given this gift, and wondered if she even deserved it.

The train finally stopped, and Diamond woke up again from another dream. As the train screeched to a halt, she wiped her eyes, trying to make sure it didn't look like she was crying, and got off. Diamond then pulled her jacket around her, ensuring nopony could see her other new appendages except her horn. She then pulled her saddle bag around her and followed a group of ponies out of the train. It was a dark overcast with a bit of frost forming on the platform. She shivered to clench the coat close to her chest and saw an old grey pony earth pony with her white hair tied in a tight bun and purple eyes glaring at her as she asked, "Diamond Tiara, I presume?"

The filly let out a breath as she whispered, "Yes, that's me."

"Good evening; I am Mrs. Hardwood, your instructor at Coldstone Academy."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Hardwood," Diamond mumbled as she bowed again.

"Young fillies should curtsey, not bow; we'll work on that later. Now come with me."

Diamond rolled her eyes as only old ladies think fillies still curtsied. But she was too tired and aching to fight, so she was led to a carriage, which two stallions led, assisted on, and then rode off down relatively vacant fields spotted with trees and permafrost covering the landscape being relatively close to the North. By the time they came to the school, it looked like some old mansion. It looked ancient, with grey stone and an Iron sign overhead reading "Coldstone Acadamy." The trees surrounding it looked pretty, along with some well-cut shrubbery. The entire courtyard looked clean and to the point; it had no soul. Diamond was then escorted up the steps as Mrs Hardwood continued talking, "Now your mother told me that you have a coat condition, and you must always wear a jacket."

Diamond clenched her teeth, but remembering the threat, she whispered, "Y…yes… that's true."

"Well, that won't be an issue as it does get cold up here even in the summer," she was then escorted through the corridors filled with portraits of fillies; it was an etiquette school about learning to be a noble mare. She will be here for a whole year. Will she have to hide herself for that long? Can she risk disobeying her mother? They eventually came down to a room and opened it, revealing a pristine carpet with light pink walls and two beds; on one of the beds, a white-coated pegasus filly with bright blue eyes was lying down reading a book. Upon the two entering her room, she jumped up and performed a curtsey as she replied, "Good evening, Mrs. Hardwood."

"Snowdrop, this is your new roommate. I informed you about Diamond Tiara. Today is your free day to relax after your long trip, but tomorrow starts your classes. We have breakfast at seven AM sharp, so make sure you get a good night's rest and have your uniform ready for tomorrow's dinner at Seven PM; we are quite punctual here."

"Yes, Mrs. Hardwood," the two fillies chimed. As Mrs. Hardwood left, Snowdrop's cheerful demeanor instantly turned sour. She rolled her eyes and complained, "Ugh, why did I get stuck babysitting the newbie?"

Diamond eyed her new roommate, who she already didn't like one bit, and then snapped back, "You don't have to babysit me. I can take care of myself."

"Well, I heard about your "skin condition." You better not get your dandruff on my uniforms; I just have them cleaned."

She returned to reading her book as Diamond placed her suitcase under her bed. Looking worried, she asked," Um, aren't you supposed to show me around?"

"Why would I do that? If you're not a baby, do it yourself."

Diamond was appalled by her and, now getting really angry, snapped, "How dar-"

Snowdrop got up and shouted, "No, how dare you! I'm your elder here! If you want, I can tell Mrs. Hardwood about how rude and brutish you are!"

Diamond paused, fearing she would not only make a bad impression on Mrs. Hardwood but also report back to her mother; Celestia knew what she would do to her and cried, "What, no, please, I'm sorry!"

Snowdrop smirked, seeing she won, then said, "If you're sorry, leave me alone. Don't talk to me; for all I care, we can act like we don't exist."

She then flew off to her bed and went back to reading her book. Diamond stood there heaving in anger, thinking that her old self would find a way to get back at this filly. The truth was Snowdrop reminded her of her old self, and it made her feel queasy. She didn't know what else to do but shouted, "Fine, I'll just go take a bath!"

She then went to the bathroom and slammed the door; then slowly took off her coat, took the massive rubber band off her wings, and unfurled them. She winced, feeling the pain of them being bound for so long. She then flapped them a few times, still not used to her appendages and wobbling about as they put her off balance. The filly then went about and prepared the water; luckily, it was hot and steamy, and then she poured some soap until a froth of bath bubbles formed on the top. The little filly then plopped herself in and sighed, feeling the warm water come over her small, cold body. She lay there looking at the ceiling tiles, thinking to herself, one year of this…she needed to get through one year and somehow talk to her father without her mother present; remember, if you reveal them…she felt a deep rage swelling in her as she growled, "Yes Mother I'll behave for now, but the second I'm out of here I'm going to tell father what you did to me! I'll get through this!"

Chapter Two: The New Foal in School

Diamond Tiara groaned as she woke up the following morning. She felt her stiff wings as she slowly got into her jacket, wishing she could spread them out, taking a mental note to free them when she used the bathroom. Then, she turned to see her roommate slowly getting up and dressed in a drab grey uniform. They didn't talk at all throughout the morning, but she saw Snowdrop was looking rather guilty, but she herself was still quite angry at how she treated her yesterday.

Then they walked out, trailing behind dozens of other fillies slightly younger or older than her, and followed the rest of her class to the dining hall. She looked up to see the long, dusty hall filled with long benches covered in bowls of sad-looking grey oatmeal, plates with small omelets, and small china cups filled with tea. The little filly then sat down and began eating a small omelet that wasn't filling and some tea. Throughout the meal, the other fillies looked over at her and whispered amongst each other with stares. She tried to ignore them and just went about eating.

Mrs. Hardwood then came out and tapped a spoon into her cup. "Now, students, settle down."

The chatter died down to a murmur as she continued, "Now we have some announcements. I want to introduce you all to a new student, Diamond Tiara!"

The filly slowly rose and bowed as the rest of the students murmured and whispered, some looking at her with smirks. She felt like a fish in the middle of a swarm of sharks waiting to gobble her up; while she was here, it would be best to keep her guard up.

"Please sit."

"Yes, Mrs. Hardwood," Diamond whispered as she sat down, which got more fillies to murmur. But they went quiet once more as the teacher replied, "Now, since we have a new student and the beginning of a new semester, we should go over the rules now while you are in class; you will do as your teachers say and be on your best behavior. You will receive demerits if there is any misbehaving, missed assignments, or being late. If you reach ten, we will send a letter to your parents about your behavior. I promise you we take your education seriously and will not allow any misbehavior if that is understood!"

"Yes, Mrs. Hardwood," the fillies all chimed.

"Now, enough chit-chat. It's time for classes. Go to your assigned teacher's single-file lines."

The fillies got up, and as they were going to the front of the dining hall, Diamond crossed. She tripped and squealed as she fell. Then she slammed onto a bowl of cold oatmeal face first. The little filly groaned as she struggled to get up, wiping the cold glop from her face. This got a laugh from the other fillies, and Mrs. Hardwood stomped a hoof on the ground and shouted, "Silence!"

The fillies stopped with only a handful of giggles echoing through the hall and snapped, "Diamond, get up and clean yourself up this instant!"

The filly looked up surprised, "But!"

"No buts! Fillies should be more aware of their surroundings. Now, get up and clean yourself."

Diamond was furious that not only were her classmates bullying her, but the teachers couldn't care less or were clueless. She was about to snap back, but Snowdrop put a hoof on her shoulder, bowed, and quickly said, "Don't worry, Mrs. Hardwood. I'll escort her back to the dorm."

"Good, now hurry; you two will still need to be on time for your classes."

"Yes, Mrs. Hardwood," the two fillies chimed as they rushed off. Diamond felt tears coming over her eyes as she looked at Snowdrop, who looked downtrodden, as she escorted her roommate back to their room. As they entered their room, the filly went to the bathroom and cleaned herself. Snowdrop stayed by silently, waiting patiently; once finished, Diamond eyed her and asked, "Why are you helping me?"

"Look, we don't have time. I'll talk about it later, okay? Now come on, we can't be late!" Snowdrop helped her out of the room, and the two ran off through the dusty halls.

Upon finding their classroom, they stopped running and took a second to fix themselves as they slowly opened the door. It revealed a drab-looking classroom with rows of fillies all dressed in their boring grey uniforms, quills in their hooves. At the front of the classroom was a plump earth pony with a chalkboard. She eyed them as they sat down and snapped, "You're late!"

Snowdrop bowed her head. "Please accept our apologies. Diamond slipped into some oatmeal, and I escorted her back to our dorm to help clean her up."

"Yes, I am aware that it does not excuse your punctuality. You two will both receive a demerit now. Sit!"

"Yes, Mrs. Porridge."

Diamond wanted to say something back, but Snowdrop shook her head, "No." so Diamond sat grumpily at a desk as she took out a notebook. Then they went straight to etiquette lessons, learning to eat properly, talk to ponies, and curtsey. Each lesson was more tedious than the last, and it was exhausting to make all the effort to stay awake. Snowdrop nudged her every time she dozed off, and Diamond did her best to pay attention; after their morning classes, they were back in the dining hall having lunch, this time being a hot bowl of a thick veggie stew with tea. As Diamond ate, three other foals came over, and one was a tall, black-coated unicorn with a long purple mane and dark violet eyes. "So, you're the newbie?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"Well, I'm Onyx, and there are some rules you might not know about. I'm the one in charge when the teachers aren't around."

Snowdrop rose and said, "Look, I'll pay her share today. She's new."

"Of course she is, so she needs to learn who's in charge!" She then threw her mane back and took out a hoof. "I'm sure your parents gave you some bits for your trip here, so how about you lend me some to help make your time here easier."

The pink-coated filly eyed her, "No, I'm not giving you a bit."

Snowdrop took out a purse filled with bits, but Diamond placed a hoof and shook her head. "No."

Onyx eyed her, then said, "Diamond, let me say this another way: Pay me, and I can make things much easier for you. I'll get the other fillies to stop teasing you, and we can become best of friends. But you're a newbie, so if you want to climb up the ladder here, you need to pay. Or I can make the next year a living hell. What do you say?"

"I say you can buck off," Diamond growled as she eyed her.

Onyx got in close until they were "muzzle to muzzle" and said, "You really want me to be your enemy?"

"No, but I won't be bullied by the likes of you. There are better ways to make friends than abusing your power over other ponies."

The two other fillies gave each other nervous looks. Diamond smirked, seeing that she had planted a seed of discontent into Onyx's posse, but this just made the filly more furious. Stomping a hoof, she said, "Fine! See what happens when you mess with me!" then, she stomped off with her posse following behind her. After Onyx left, Diamond returned to her meal as Snowdrop asked, "Why did you do that?"

"I used to be like her, and it's easy to intimidate ponies who move to a new school. Standing up to her is the best way to stop a bully like that."

Snowdrop rolled her eyes and said, "You have no idea how things work here. This isn't just any school. You should've just let me pay her off for you."

During the meal, Diamond Tiara grew quite frustrated as she turned to her and asked, "Why are you being nice to me all of a sudden!? You basically told me to buck off last night."

Snowdrop opened her mouth, looked around, and whispered, "As I said, we can talk later."

Just then, she heard a plop and a splash in her teacup. The filly saw a mouse squirm out, making her cry as it ran off. She fell back onto the ground, and there was another round of giggling and laughing as she heard Mrs. Hardwood shout, "Diamond Tiara! Stop making a racket!"

The filly got up and was going to shout, but Snowdrop placed a hoof on her shoulder and bowed, "We will do as you say. I apologize."

Diamond glared at Onyx, who smirked but did as she said, giving a cutesy. Then, as she sat down next to Snowdrop, she apologized, not fully trusting her, but at this point, she was the only pony in this school helping her.

They then spent the rest of the day going by with tedious lessons on the history of Equestria, mathematics, spelling, and language. By night's roll, Diamond was exhausted, hungry, and tired. By dinner time, she quickly ate her meal, not wanting to stay in the dining hall a single second longer than she had to, and then went on her way. Being used to the hushed whispers and the looks, it was like what she did the cutie mark Crusaders, but over a hundredfold. Onyx probably was spreading rumors about her already, but it would be what she used to do.

That night, after Diamond had a long relaxing bath, she dressed in her coat and placed the band around her wings. Then, as she entered her room, she spotted the small pegasus, which seemed a bit crushed. She turned to her and said, "What!?"

"Nothing, just I...I want to apologize."

"For what?"

Snowdrop sighed, then said, "For snapping at you yesterday, I…I was having a bad day and took it out on you. That wasn't right."

Diamond was surprised and then said, "That doesn't explain why you're being nice to me all of a sudden?"

The pegasus looked downward and said, "I see how you're being treated. It was the same for me when I first came here," she then paused and continued, "Most of the foals here were forced to be here by their parents, and we all are a bit…"

"Snobbish, rude, bullies."

Snowdrop winced at Diamond's description but nodded in agreement. Then she said, "Yeah, all that…" She shivered a little and added, "But it's not all our fault. Every filly here was put here by our parents, so you can't blame us for being suspicious—even Onyx, though she's the worst of them."

The pink-coated filly looked downward, reminiscing about seeing a lot of her old self in the black-coated unicorn, and said, "Yeah, she is, but who knows how she's keeping everyone from ganging up on her, intimidating, blackmailing, and spreading rumors about other foals."

Snowdrop just nodded along with every word and said, "Yeah, that's true; guess you had a similar experience?"

Diamond paused, reminiscing a little about how she bullied other ponies, then said, "You could say that."

The pegasus then trotted to her bed and plopped on it as she took off her shoes. "Well, while you're here, I'll teach you the ropes, who to talk to, and how to navigate Onyx and her posse, okay?"

Diamond turned to her, appreciating the thought, but she didn't want to be protected. Deep down, she wanted to do more and explained, "Thank you, Snowdrop, but I'm not going to let them walk all over us. In fact, I think I can change them."

The little white-coated pegasus paused as she started to laugh. "Change them? Yeah, good luck with that. In the meantime, I'll try to keep you alive."

"Trust me, I think we can change them," Diamond said.

"Alright, if you say so?" Snowdrop scoffed, unconvinced, as she took off her uniform. Upon doing so, Diamond's eyes widened to see she didn't have a cutie mark, and she replied, "You're still a blank flank?"

The filly eyed her, then snapped, "Yeah, I'm a blank flank, alright!? You better not tell anypony else!"

Diamond squeaked, seeing she didn't mean how she said that, and then said, "Right, sorry, but I'm just surprised."

The filly looked back at her flank and said, "Well, if I'm being honest, my whole life, I wanted to be the perfect filly like my mother wanted me to be, but I barely ever knew her. I was raised by nannies, and most of them were quite cruel. I became bitter and angry as the only times I ever saw my mother was when I was in trouble, so I lashed out a lot and disobeyed them. They soon had enough, and the last time I saw my parents, they packed me up and sent me here to teach me how to be a proper filly."

Diamond paused hearing the story, feeling so sorry for her and the dozens of the fillies here, all being punished unfairly. This would only make them crueler. Then an idea crept into her mind as the pink-coated unicorn took out a suitcase and opened it. Some clothes were removed, revealing a red cape with the sigil of a prancing pony on a blue field. Snowdrop eyed it and then said, "What is that?"

Diamond turned to face her and said, "This is the cape of the cutie mark crusaders, a group of ponies who changed me for the better. They spent years looking for their cutie marks and helped me find out what pony I wish to be."

After hearing Diamond's words, she placed a hoof on her chest and said, "They sound like great fillies."

She then placed the cape around Snowdrop's shoulders, tied it around her friend's, and continued, "In time, with some faith and help from friends, you'll find your cutie mark, and I think other foals here might be blank flanks as well. We can help them find their cutie marks, too!"

"That… that's a great idea!" the filly squealed. Then she threw it behind her as she fluttered about, giggling with glee. Then her joyful expression turned sour, and she groaned, "But the teachers won't ever permit us to wear these or host a club."

Diamond Tiara tapped a hoof to her chin, wondering what the Cutie Mark Crusaders would do. Then an idea came out as she said, "Then we have to hold our meetings in secret, a place where the adults don't ever go."

Snowdrop got excited again as she shouted, "We should meet in old Classroom 3C! It's been abandoned for years; no pony would ever go there. We can meet after dinner. Most of the teachers leave, but only Mrs. Hardwood walks about, so we'll still have to keep an eye on her."

"Okay, that works. Then all we need to do is find other foals scared of Onyx and have them come. It can be a place where they can relax and learn about themselves, even if they do have cutie marks."

The pegasus filly nodded and said, "Right, I might know some fillies who would join.

Diamond started to get excited as she exclaimed, "Sounds like a great plan! We can start our first Cutie Mark Crusaders meeting tomorrow evening to spread the word!"

Snowdrop nodded, then yawned, "Right tomorrow, we better get going to bed. We can't be late. We're already on Mrs. Hardwood's bad side."

The pegasus gave her an odd look and asked, "Also, I have to ask why you are wearing that jacket?"

The filly looked away, then clenched it hard as she said, "It's my coat condition, please. I don't want to talk about it."

Snowdrop wanted to pursue it more but sighed, "Fine, I'll drop I, but…if you're going to keep my blank flank a secret, I'll keep your secrets as well."

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind," Diamond whispered as she lay under the covers and slowly fell asleep. Feeling the wings beneath her stir, she wanted to break free. The little filly wanted to reveal them to Snowdrop, but she couldn't still hear her mother's threats.

Chapter Three: The birth of the Fourth Crusader

The next day, Diamond endured another brutal day of classes and bullies. Still, Diamond learned to keep her head down and avoid unnecessary conflict, focusing on her first Crusader club meeting. The day went uneventfully as she continued to host the "Cutie Mark Crusaders" meeting. The meeting occurred in the abandoned classroom conveniently named "3C", which was somewhat rundown. The place was empty, with most of the desks as Snowdrop and a few other fillies sat around in the broken-down desks. Diamond stood at the front of the class, cleared her throat, and said, "Good evening, my fellow crusaders! Welcome to the first Cutie Mark Crusader meeting."

The foals gave some small clops on the ground, mainly looking at each other with confused expressions. One of the foals raised a hoof as Diamond pointed and said, "Yes?"

"Um, so what exactly are Cutie Mark Crusaders do?"

"Yeah, I heard we can do anything we want!? What is this club about!”

Diamond smiled at her and said, "Those are excellent questions! I’ll start from the beginning." She then went to the chalkboard and drew some stick figures from her other friends. She then pointed towards them and explained, "These are the three first Cutie Mark Crusaders! They are Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo! They were once blank flanks, and they spent working together to find their cutie marks. They eventually did and thats what this club is about discovering your talents if you are a blank flank or rediscovering them if you have a cutie mark."

One red-coated pegasus blurted, "Oh, so they were your friends. Why didn't they invite you to help?"

Diamond paused as she wondered how to answer this question, but she decided that honesty would be the best course of action and said, "I…I was a bully, and I treated them horribly for quite some time." This got quite a stir from the crowd, and some looked at her angrily. She wanted to leave and fly off to hide, but she gritted her teeth, stood up, and said, "I regret a lot of my actions, and what I did is something I'm trying to change."

After she finished, the filly winced and looked among them. Many fillies whispered as Snowdrop was the first to take up the courage and asked, "Then how would they be your friends if you bullied them?"

Diamond looked up and continued, "I'm getting to that; as time passed, I started questioning my actions. Then our paths collided as I tried to become the school president by sabotaging my opponent, a colt named Pipsqueak, who won. But the Cutie Mark Crusaders then showed me that I had a choice to make, and, in the end, I decided to make the right one for once and helped Pipsqueak win! That was when my friends earned their cutie marks!"

Snowdrop scratched her mane, "um, I'm still confused. What exactly did they get cutie marks for?"

The pink-coated unicorn replied, "They helped me discover who I am and what I want to be, and ever since then, they have been helping other ponies find their cutie marks or rediscover what their cutie marks mean!"

The filly turned around and pointed towards her flank, "I believe my journey is to learn to be a leader, and the cutie mark crusaders kept me going down a darker path."

Snowdrop seemed to look somewhat concerned, "that's why your mom put you here, right?"

Diamond acknowledged Snowdrop with a nod, then said, "Yes, my mom wants me to become like her, and sending me here is a part of her plan. But this club can help you and other fillies fight back against what this school is trying to learn who we are instead of the one being drilled into us."

The other fillies nodded as one purple-coated earth pony stood up and said, "I…I want to be an artist, but my parents threw out all my art supplies and sent me here."

A dark grey-coated unicorn stood up and said, "My parents learned I wanted to be a royal guard! They told me fillies can't be in the royal guard, and I wana to prove them wrong!"

"I want to be a singer!"

"I want to learn to bake cookies!"

Diamond looked at Snowdrop and asked, "What do you want for her?"

The pegasus blushed as she scratched the ground. “Oh, my dream…its um…its…” She then threw her wings out and threw out a cloud of snow as it formed and froze, turning into an ice sculpture of herself as they all looked surprised. "I want to make art with snow and ice!"

The other foals went wide-eyed as Diamond smiled, "Yes, that's what this club will be about! We will meet here every evening after classes to learn about each other and help foals without cutie marks, okay!?"

"Okay!"

"Also, remember that this has to be kept a secret from the other teachers, the bully Onyx, and her posse."

"Yes, Diamond!"

"Alright then, let's start!"

They all went off to work on their own things as Diamond watched, feeling rather proud of herself for being so vulnerable with her past and that these ponies would still be willing to have her lead this club. She felt that, in some small way, she was passing on the Cutie Mark Crusaders legacy to these fillies who need it as much as she does.

The week went by as her fellow Cutie Mark Crusader club members went and found new members. The club exploded in popularity from only a handful of fillies to the entire classroom now packed with foals doing all types of activities, from art to music and dancing; some foals brought rudimentary tools to cook or craft. There was so much going on, and seeing all the young fillies engaging in many activities was rather interesting. She came over to Snowdrop, who was deep in crafting an ice sculpture of an alicorn princess. At first, she thought it was Princess Celestia. Still, it was much smaller, with distinctive glass stars shimmering frozen within the mane and tail. Then Diamond recognized who it was and exclaimed, "Oh, is that Princess Luna!?"

Snowdrop said, "Yeah, I think I got her right mostly."

"Is she your favorite princess?"

"Yeah!" the filly flapped her wings, "I do like the other princesses, but Luna is like us, you know? We all were or are a little mean but we all want to be better like her!"

The other fillies nodded and shouted in agreement as Diamond giggled, "Yeah, we should all strive to be like Luna."

She then saw a young red-coated pegasus filly flying over them, zooming about and landing perfectly as she threw out her wings and held her head up high. The other fillies got a rousing response, and they started clapping their hooves in applause as she chirped, "Yeah, yeah, keep it coming. One day, I'm gonna be the best flyer in Equestria and be a Wonderbolt!"

Diamond Tiara fluttered over and asked, "What's your name?"

The little red-coated pegasus flew over and chirped, "Cherry Bomb!"

Everypony ooohed at the name as one filly eyed her and shouted, "That's not your name!"

The little pegasus threw up her head and flashed her wings as she chirped, "It is now! Diamond said we can choose our destiny. I wana to choose my name! I hate being called Cherry Blossom!"

"Okay, Cherry, um…" she wanted to ask if she could help her learn to fly, but she was still unsure if she should unveil her wings. She then asked, "Um, what brought you here?"

Cherry then flew up, "My parents wanted me to go into ballet. I said Buck that! I wana to be a Wonderbolt!" she then took out her hooves and, in a nagging tone, said, "So, they sent me here, to teach me how to be a proper filly."

Diamond felt the wings beneath her uniform aching, wanting to be released. She wanted to ask if this filly could teach her how to fly, but she wanted to keep being an alicorn a secret. Then, an idea cropped into her head as she slowly came forward and asked, "Well, um…Cherry Bomb, if you can, there are a lot of Pegasi who want to learn to fly as well. Do you think you can teach them?"

The filly fellow backed down and cried, "What, no, I'm not a teacher!?"

"I know, but many pegasi fillies here aren't getting proper flying training. This might be the best way to help."

Cherry Bomb groaned as she looked around at the other pegasi, then sighed, "I'll think about it, but I'm not promising anything."

Diamond smiled reassuringly and said, "Okay, that's fine, but even if you say no, thank you for at least considering."

"No problem!" she then flew off to talk to the other pegasi, who were asking for tips for flying themselves. Snowdrop came over and asked, "So why would you be interested in flying?"

"Um…well…we have a lot of pegasi here, and it only makes sense." Diamond quickly replied as she looked around and said, "I'm going to look for more foals who need help." She then ran off and tried not to draw more attention to herself.

Later that evening, as Diamond and Snowdrop returned to their room, they were getting ready for bed when Snowdrop turned and asked rather suddenly. "Why did you ask Cherry Bomb to teach other Pegasi how to fly?"

Diamond turned and said, "N…no reason, just thought it was a good idea."

Snowdrop picked up a pink feather, "It wouldn't because you're hiding something," and threw it at her hooves. “How about explaining where these come from?”

Diamond trotted back, feeling rather queasy seeing Snowdrop come to one conclusion as she cried, "Wait, that's not mine!"

Snowdrop rolled her eyes and sarcastically replied, "No, I just find them everywhere and in the bathroom, and we're the only two ponies who live here.”

The little pink-coated filly gritted her teeth and then thought that, at this point, she and Snowdrop were becoming close, and deep down, she knew she wouldn't tell anypony else. Diamond slowly removed her uniform and showed her wings bound to her sides. Snowdrop then trotted over and helped take the bound off the filly; then Diamond unfurled her appendages, wobbling a little as she flapped them, and whispered, "Are you happy now?"

Snowdrop stepped back, somewhat surprised, as she said, "Diamond, you're wings. They're beautiful! Why were you trying to hide this!?"

The pink-coated alicorn cried, "My mom, she…she told me if anypony found out, she'd enact her revenge on me. I don't know what to do, so I hid them from everypony."

Snowdrop paused and said, "I see, but why would she do that? That sounds so horrible?"

Diamond closed her eyes as she wanted to talk to Snowdrop about this. Still, she finally summoned the courage to say, "Remember the story I told our new crusaders? I omitted the part where my mother tried pulling strings and making me the class president. I was doing it more to get her approval than for myself.” she gazed at a mirror nearby then whispered, I've been striving to be like her my whole life, and now that's gone. She hates me."

Diamond started to bawl as Snowdrop came over and hugged her, then said, "Hey, it's okay; you heard all the other fillies our parents all suck. You're not alone here."

The little pink filly laughed as she said, "Yeah, I guess…though my dad is cool, but he's rather clueless about my mom."

Snowdrop let out a snicker before she replied, "Yeah, I wish my parents had that excuse. They ignored me until it was convenient…" The little pegasus said, "But you must hear it from me. I bet once ponies learn about you being an alicorn, your mom won't be able to do anything."

"You think so?"'

"Oh, heck yeah! You might not be a princess yet because you are still a foal, but when you're an adult, who knows what can happen."

"Hopefully, but I should keep it a secret."

Snowdrop sighed, "I don't know…This is wrong, especially when you put your wings under all that strain. But I won't force you to do anything, and I'll keep your secret."

Diamond hugged her and said, "Thank you. Maybe we can practice flying from time to time. I really would want to learn to fly."

"Okay, but you should reveal them to our fellow Crusaders. It'll only be fair seeing we should be open and honest with each other, and it'll inspire them."

"Alright, I'll take your advice, but I don't want a bunch of fillies spreading the word I'm an alicorn."

"We must take so many precautions to keep this club a secret. But I want you to do it on your own time. It's only a suggestion."

Diamond nodded and replied, "I want to find a magic teacher. I don't know how to use my horn that much."

Snowdrop tapped a hoof to her chin, threw it up, and chirped, "I have somepony in mind."

"Girls, it's time for bed lights to be turned off!"

Diamond then turned the lighst off in her bedroom then she heard Snowdrop whispered, "Hey, wana sleep together?"

"Why?"

“Um…just uh…I always wanted to have a sleepover but never was able to have one."

Diamond skipped over and flopped right into her roommate's bed as she snuggled under the covers against her friend, and whispered, "So this is okay?"

"Yeah, thanks."

She then started to snuggle under the blankets, and then she heard her roommate crying and whispering, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, it's nothing."

The sobbing stopped, and Diamond lay there wondering why she would cry. Slowly, she relayed that she probably had never had a connection in such a loving way with any other pony. These fillies needed help and support, and she would strive to improve. Diamond then decided to reveal to her fellow crusaders that she was an alicorn and inspire them.

Chapter Four: Operation Breakout Diamond Begins!

It had been a week and a half since Diamond Tiara moved schools, and The Cutie Mark Crusaders were all looking somewhat worried as they started classes one morning. As Cheerilee went about the lesson for the day, the three seemed unable to concentrate, looking at the empty seat where Diamond Tiara usually sat. During recess, the three were talking about her at the new playground. They then turned to see Silver Sppon approaching them with a downtrodden look on her face. Looking rather worried, she came over and asked, “Um, Cutie Mark Crusaders?”

“Yes?” they asked in unison.

The filly fidgeted with her ponytail and said, “Um,…can I ask for your help?”

Scootlaoo looked over, eyeing her suspiciously, and asked, “Sure…but…”

She held up a hoof. “I know I’ve bullied you three a lot, and I don’t have any right to ask for your help, but I'm desperate and worried.”

Scootaloo turned to her friends as the other two got up, and Apple Bloom then asked, “Um yeah, go ahead. What’s the problem?”

Silver Spoon rubbed a hoof over the other, then said, “Ca…can you help find out where Diamond Tiara went? I asked her mom the other day, and she told me she was sent to boarding school for her bad behavior. I tried digging around but found nothing; it's like she just disappeared!?”

The three fillies gave each other worried looks, and then Sweetie Belle said, “You don’t think that Spoiled Rich would hide her from everypony on purpose?”

Silver Spoon angrily threw a hoof as she explained, “You all saw how she was when Pipsqueak became class president. Even though Diamond stood up to her mom, things might have worsened with her." The little filly's demeanor changed, and she calmed and pleaded, "Please, if you can do anything to help find out where she is …I…I just want to make sure she’s ok.”

Apple Bloom looked anxious as she didn’t know if they could do it. Sweetie Belle said, “We’ll see what we can do and find out where she went.”

“That's enough just so I can send her letters,” Silver Spoon whispered. She then trotted off and sat beneath a tree alone, still depressed. Apple Bloom then took her fellow crusaders aside, cleared her throat, and said, “I know it’s been some time since we have seen Diamond Tiara, and I'm worried, too.”

The little unicorn spoke up. “You’d think she would have contacted us, especially after we became friends!?”

“Well, we all just became friends. We were not that close?” Scootlaoo replied.

Sweetie Belle tapped a hoof to her chin, adding, “Ok, maybe she wouldn’t send us letters, but Silver Spoon!? Sure, they had a falling out after Diamond lost the election, but I bet she would have sent her at least a letter by now!”

Scootaloo looked a little angry as she said, “I agree. It smells like her mom is trying to keep her from having connections here.”

Sweetie Belle looked worried as she asked, “So if Spoiled Rich is keeping where Diamond is going to school a secret, how can we figure that out?”

The three sat together, pondering what to do as the yellow-coated earth pony threw a hoof and chirped, “What about sneaking into her house?”

Sweetie Belle went wide-eyed and shouted, “That’s a horrible idea!? We would get into so much trouble if we got caught!”

The little orange-coated pegasus sighed, ‘But it might be the only way to learn what happened to her and see if she needs our help.”

The three looked at each other with unsure looks, and then Apple Bloom stomped a hoof. “Listen, I know we had our problems with Diamond Tiara, and I still have mixed feelings about helping her. But she’s changed, and we all saw that she’s trying to make amends for all the bullying she’s done. We gotta at least try to find out where she is.”

Sweetie Belle was looking apprehensive about the idea and said, “Well, alright, but if we get caught, we are all seriously grounded.”

Scootaloo spoke up. “That's it then. We just don’t need to get caught.”

“But how?”

“I know a way.”

The three squeaked as Silver Spoon was now behind them, and she stood there blushing as the little filly pushed her glasses and stammered, “Sorry, I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation.”

Scootaloo sighed in relief and said, “No, it’s fine; actually, we need some help getting into Diamond’s room to find clues about what happened to her.”

The grey-coated earth pony's face lightened as she said, “I know of a way in; Diamond and I would sometimes sneak over to each other's houses if we were in trouble.

The yellow-coated earth pony took out a hoof and said, “Okay, you help us get into her house, and we’ll find out where Diamond Tiara is.”

“It’s a deal,” the two shook on it. As they all started talking and planning to sneak into Diamond’s house.

Later that evening after school, Silver Spoon led the Crusaders through the back of the house, hopping over the cobblestone wall and trotting around the swimming pool. The three were all beneath Diamond’s massive home, and the Crusaders looked up in awe at such at how big the house was up close. Silver Spoon just trotted along as if it were normal. Looking behind, she eyed them and asked, “What's the hold-up?”

“Nothing,” the three replied as they hurried over to her. Silver Spoon pointed to the second-story window, “that window is where Diamond Tiara’s room.”

Apple Bloom looked around and then asked, “Okay, so how do you sneak in?”

Silver Spoon then looked around, making sure no one else was watching. Then she went wide into the house and pressed a stone. It sunk in and slid out as a secret staircase opened up. The three fillies looked at it in shock as Silver Spoon rolled her eyes and then said, "It’s just a way to get into the wine cellar.” The little earth pony then pulled out a crudely drawn map with a crayon and pointed it at the bottom. “Just go through the wine cellar into the kitchen, sneak around, go to the living room, there you'll find a staircase; once on the second floor, go three rooms down, and take a left; that's Diamond's room. Just avoid Randolph. He’s old but will rat on you if he catches you.”

“Got it!” the three responded as they trotted through the stairs, going through a damp room dimly lit with giant barrels and glasses filled with various colored liquids, including red, purple, and white. As they trotted through, Scootaloo's head went around on a swivel as she thought out loud, " So this might sound silly, but what's wine?”

Sweetie Belle looked rather curious at the liquids and sniffed the air, wrenched at the smell of rotting fruit, and said, “Well, my sister drinks it once in a while, and when I asked, she said it's juice for grownups.”

Apple Bloom then chimed in, “My sister has a special Cider that she says is only for grownups, too. She then starts acting weird after drinking a lot.”

“Yeah, my sister does the same thing; we better just stay clear of it.” Sweetie Belle chimed.

The three then snuck through Diamond Tiara’s house, going up the wine Celelar as suggested, and they came into a fancy dining room; they then carefully trotted around towards the living room and up a flight of stairs, going down a hall and entering a bedroom. Despite never being in Diamond’s room before the second the three entered, they knew it was her room. Diamond’s room was relatively spacious and filled with expensive furniture for a filly her size: a wardrobe filled with dresses and a trophy case; her canopy bed was covered in expensive plush animals, and nearby was an entire shelf filled with tiaras. As the three trotted around, they saw that there were pictures of her winning pageants on the walls or in front of rich ponies, but she was always with her mom, sticking her nose up with a snobbish sneer. The three spent a few minutes just trying to find anything, but the problem was that it was too clean, and they had almost no clues as they searched for anything. Apple Bloom peered under the bed and picked up some pink feathers. She looked at them, thinking they were from some bird, but she saw how big they were and recognized they had to be from a pegasus and whispered, "Odd? Does Diamond have any Pegasi friends?

The other two looked at each other and then shrugged as Apple Bloom stowed the feather away. Scotaloo was looking under a desk and then found a pamphlet about a boarding school called Coldstone Academy: “Found something!”

The three came over, and then Apple Bloom read it aloud: " Coldstone Academy, the Boarding School for Disobedient Fillies.”

They all then opened it and looked to read, “Is your little filly acting bratty due to her wealth or status? Is she openly rebelling against you or acting like some common foal? Well, this is the perfect boarding school for you; here, your daughter will gain a high-quality education along with strict discipline and learn how to engage with high society. Starting at twelve thousand bits a year, your little brat will be turned into a perfect little filly who will obey your every word. You will be refunded if you are unsatisfied with our program or wish to remove your filly from the school.”

“This sounds more like a prison than a school.” Scootaloo blurted as she looked over the pictures, horrified to see angry, rebellious fillies in the “Before” and the pristine-looking fillies in the “After” section.

Apple Bloom threw the pamphlet in disgust, “No kiddin’, how could any parent send their foal there!?”

The three then heard arguing, and the three ran into a closet and closed the door as Filthy came in shouting, “I cannot believe you sent her to boarding school without telling me!”

“Darling, she needed it. Have you heard of some of the things she’s done!? Bullying, Running that awful gossip column, blackmailing other students, you even said it yourself: she needed more discipline.”

“I meant grounding her! Taking away some of her privileges when she does something wrong, not rewarding her like you do every time! Whenever she did anything like what you just said, you blew it off or congratulated her! And now you suddenly care!?”

“Maybe I thought she would grow out of it. Besides, it's not like you did anything to stop her.”

“Of course I did! But you undermined me every time. Also, I did have her hang out with Granny Smith when I found out she was insulting her in class.”

“Oh, so the one time you disciplined her, you had her learn a lesson by humiliating her.”

“Humiliating her!? She was talking bout old Granny Smith like…like she was beneath her, and all I did was have her bounce around in some bunny ears with her and Apple Bloom. I was trying to show how calling her names in front of her classmates was wrong.”

“You don’t consider that humiliating!?”

Filthy clenched a hoof to his face, then snapped, “You're changing the subject. This isn’t about what I did, and even if I was in the wrong, sending her to boarding school in her last years of grade school away from her friends? How could you do that?”

“It’s good for her; she needs to be humbled and learn to live without our money for a while.” Spoiled seductively put a hoof on his shoulder and began to rub it. “You’re just tired. Why don’t you lie down? You sound rather stressed.”

Filthy threw his wife’s hoof off his and then turned away, “I…I just need a moment alone.”

Spoiled held her nose up, then scoffed, “Fine, suit yourself. Walter.”

“It's Randolph, mam.”

“Whatever, butler, I need a drink. Fetch me a glass of wine from the cellar.”

“Yes, mam, do you wish for anything in particular?”

“A nice red, something sweet. Screw the glass and fetch me a bottle.”

“Right away, mam.”

As the two walked off, Filthy came over, went to bed, sat there for a while, then looked down and picked up the pamphlet on the ground; he then began to read it, and his eyes went wide as he threw it. “How could my wife send our daughter to such a horrible place?” His eyes were now filled with tears. What kind of father would let this happen…I…I must get her back, apologize, and stop this madness.”

The stallion got up, fixed his tie, and left the room. As soon as the stallion left, the three came out of hiding, and Apple Bloom took up the pamphlet. “So it seems like her dad is going to help.”

Sweetie Belle whispered, “Maybe, but Spoiled might try to stop him…”

Scootaloo looked uncomfortable as she said, “I'm going to be honest, guys; I think we should leave this. We know where she is, and she might not be in the best place in Equestria, but she’s safe…We’re getting involved with something that maybe we shouldn’t be.”

The three took a pause, all now looking just as uncomfortable, but Apple Bloom spoke up. “Look, Scootaloo’s right; maybe we shouldn’t if Mr. Rich is going to get Diamond back, but let’s discuss this after we get out of here.”

As the three were about to leave, Scootaloo stopped and said, “Yeah, one problem: they sent Randolph to the wine cellar. Now we’re kind of stuck…”

Sweetie Belle went to the window and saw Silver Spoon outside; she opened the window, quickly jotted down a note, created a paper airplane with it, and threw it. The paper airplane did some circles as it landed near Silver Sppon. She caught and read it, then turned it around, wrote on her back, folded it into a paper airplane again, and threw it back. Apple Bloom caught it and read it: " Use the bedsheets as a rope behind the wardrobe.”

There, the three quickly found a bunch of sheets together. They tied it to the massive canopy bed and opened the window, and they all slid out. Once they were all on the ground, Sweetie Belle lit her horn with all her might, levitated the sheets back into the room, and closed the window. The four fillies then ran off, hoping over the cobblestone fence before anypony noticed them.

Later that afternoon, the four were talking about what to do in the Cutie Mark Crusader treehouse. Silver Spoon, still looking the most worried of the four, and asked, “So you guys think Mr. Rich will help Diamond get out of that awful Boarding School?”

Apple Bloom nodded and said, “Yeah, it seems so. You should've seen him. He seemed so sad learning his daughter was sent away; it seems Mrs. Rich sent her there with him knowing, and he seems committed to getting her out.”

Scootaloo slammed a hoof on the ground and snapped, “But Spoiled might try to stop him; we need to investigate this school and help push him to get her out.”

“But that would mean we would need to go there? But how!?” Sweetie Belle blurted.

Scootlaoo tapped a hoof to her chin. “Well, it's the weekend, so we can just say we're having a sleepover.”

Silver Spoon stood up, smiling as she exclaimed, “That's a great idea! I'll help buy you three tickets to the boarding school and cover for you, saying you’re sleeping over at my place!”

Apple Bloom sighed, “Sure, that sounds like a good idea, but I feel like I should tell my big sis where I am.”

Silver Spoon eyed her and said, “You think your sister will be okay sneaking into a boarding school? Even if it's to help a friend, I doubt you will be allowed to go if you tell the truth.”

The three looked at each other with worried expressions as Scooaaloo sighed, “Look, this is all to help Diamond get out of that “School.” we can get her to write a letter explaining what’s happening to her and show it to her dad. If he isn’t convinced about getting her out now, he’s sure will after hearing what his daughter has to say.”

Scootaloo started to get excited as she said, “Alright, that sounds like a plan. We should make a code name for the mission.”

They sat there pondering. Sweetie Belle’s face brightened, and she blurted, “What about Operation Breakout Diamond!”

The three giggled as Apple Bloom gave a nod. “Yeah, that works.”

The three fillies put their hooves together and shouted, “Operation Breakout Diamond is ago!”

As they threw their hooves in the air, Silver Spoon started to tear up and cry. The three turned as she wiped her tears. “I'm sorry; it's just…Diamond and I, we’ve been so horrible to you, especially you, Scootaloo. How could you ever forgive us, let alone help us?”

The Cutie Mark Crusaders all took a moment, taken aback by what to say, but Scootaloo spoke up, “Honestly, I considered not helping all day; even now, I remember what you did to me when we were trying to bear the flag for Ponyville in the Equestria Games. I'm also still angry about how you treated my friends and other ponies. But maybe we’re trying to show you and Diamond we can be better, and you can be too.”

There was another pause, and a rather uncomfortable silence now loomed over the four. But Silver Spoon got up, wiped the tears from her eyes, and said, “Yeah, you're right, Scootaloo. You don't know it, but you and your friends help change me as well." she then gave the pegasus a hug, and the two sat there in each other's embrace. Then the little grey earth pony stepped back and said, "Well, I'll go get those tickets…. I guess you all have to get going and tell your families.”

Apple Bloom nodded and said, “Right, we’ll meet up at Silver Spoon’s house tonight, then go to that horrible boarding school tomorrow, agreed?”

“Agreed!” the other two shouted as they all left the tree house and went their separate ways.

Chapter Five: Diamond Spreads Her Wings

Diamond was in the middle of class going over her test on Equestrian history as the angry-looking Mrs. Porridge was trotting through the aisles; she looked over the students with a keen eye as she was going down the rows, making sure no filly was cheating. Diamond wasn't doing too bad as she was going over her test and actually was well versed in this subject…her mother ensured she was educated outside of her daily classes with tutors, so this test was a breeze. She was worried that she and Snowdrop were talking about finally revealing her wings to Cherry Bomb, as she wanted to start learning how to fly. The plan was to ensure that after their Crusader meeting, she'd stay behind to have that private lesson without a bunch of their ponies gawking at her and potentially spilling her secret to unwanted ears.

She then finished the last question and hoofed her test to the teacher as she eyed her, taking it and reviewing it thoroughly. "Perfect score again….were you cheating?"

"Of course not!"

She stamped her sheet with a big red A+ and said, "Hmmm, well, alright, you're free to go." She hoofed the sheet away as Diamond quickly left the classroom, avoiding eye contact with Onyx. She could feel her eyes burning in her back. Her near-perfect grades weren't going unnoticed; it was only a matter of time before Onyx would try to frame her into making the teachers think she was cheating. She should try getting some answers wrong on purpose, so other ponies wouldn't care as much. Or better yet, get ahead and accuse her of cheating while planting some fake eviden-

She shook her head, getting it out of her mind. No, that was the old her; if she were going to take down Onyx, it'd be done through some other means. Diamond then hurried off down the halls to room 3C to prepare for the next crusader meeting.

As Diamond went through the next meeting, things were going relatively smoothly as she did the usual like before, encouraging the other fillies to embrace their talents and making sure nopony was getting too loud. Then, as the others left, Cherry Bomb came over and asked, "So, uh? I guess you wanted to show me something?"

Snowdrop turned towards Diamond, eyeing her as she built up the courage she gulped and admitted, "We need you to help teach us some flying.

She turned to Snowdrop and said, "Oh, well, if that's all, I am the best flyer in the school! Come on, I'll show you a few tricks."

"Well, not for me," Snowdrop nudged Diamond over as she groaned under her breath and said, "So uh yeah, we uh need you for flying practice for…um…me."

"For you? You're a unicorn?"

Diamond gulped, removed her uniform, and then unfurled her wings and spread them out. Cherry Bomb looked in complete awe as she cried, "You're an alicorn!"

Diamond bowed her head and whispered, "Yeah…"

"Well, it's amazing! Why don't you tell everypony!"

Diamond winced and said, "Well, I'm not really confident enough to show other ponies yet, and there are other reasons I don't want other foals to know, so you have to swear to try to keep this a secret."

Cherry Bomb threw her wings out and shouted, "Come on, seriously!? You're kidding, right!?" she then slammed down next to Diamond, pointed a hoof in her face, and snapped, "Listen, the other fillies and I are all tired of Onyx and her bullying, and you're the only one who is changing things around here! And now I know you're an alicorn; you could knock her off her pedestal!"

Diamond stepped back, being rather reluctant, and said, "What, no!? I'm not trying to knock anypony off their pedestal!"

Cherry Bomb scoffed, "Well, if you want me to help you fly, then you gotta help me take down Onyx or, no deal."

Diamond Tiara groaned and muttered under her breath, "Fine." She took her hoof out and shook Cherry Bomb's hoof. "I'll help take down Onyx. They then flew off together as they started her flight training."

After a few hours of the two doing some basic maneuvers flying around the classroom, Diamond was rather clumsy initially, but she got better as time passed. Snowdrop and she were laughing as Diamond chirped, "That was awesome! Flying was so much fun!"

"Yeah, can't wait for you to do it outside? It's so much better flying in the open skies."

"I bet! Please, we gotta try it at night! I wana really want to try to fly-" Before she finished, the two fillies stopped in their tracks as Mrs. Hardwood stood over them with a sour look on her face. The pink alicorn stepped back under the harsh gaze as she said. "Diamond Tiara, where have you been?"

Diamond fixed her uniform and said, "I was in the library studying."

"That sweat on your brow, that gleeful look you had before you saw me, says otherwise; you were goofing off, I bet."

"Well, yeah, a little…" Snowdrop muttered something under her breath. Diamond just gave a. "Yeah, sure…"

She then waved a hoof as Diamond grumbled under her breath. Snowdrop watched with concern, but the filly flashed her a smile and waved back. Mrs. Hardwood's office was as boring as the rest of the school made of that grey stone; the carpet was a drab black, and the wall was covered in old black and white photos of fillies graduating from the school with the teachers standing behind them. Diamond Tiara then trotted to the small chair across from the massive desk, and the stern mare glared as she asked, "How are you adjusting?"

"Well, it's been hard, but I'm improving at making friends."

"Well, that's good to hear, but I brought you here as something quite concerning came to my attention."

Diamond groaned, fearing she had learned about her being an alicorn. The mare then slammed down a dozen answer keys on the desk. "These were found in your dorm room; care to explain?"

Diamond gritted her teeth, remembering how Onyx looked at her. She knew she was up to something! And her hunch was right that she would frame her for cheating. All the filly could do was try to defend herself, "I…I can't. I swear I don't cheat."

"Right, if that's the case, then you're saying that Snowdrop stole these?"

"No, She didn't! Snowdrop isn't the culprit either."

Mrs Hardwood eyed her. "If that's the case, where would they come from?"

Diamond paused, wanting to say it was Onyx, but she had no proof as she grumbled, "I…I don't know.."

Mrs Hardwood gave a long-winded sigh, "I'm sorry, Diamond, but you are most likely the one who stole them. Your grades are nearly perfect, and it's not uncommon for foals to have extraordinarily good grades. But we have had cheaters in the past, and we are take cheating seriously here."

She rose to her hooves and continued to glare at her as she said, "As per the rules, you will receive a full ten demerits for this, and a letter will be sent to your mother. Expulsion will also be on the table."

Diamond winced, and the mare growled, "Also, you will be monitored during your off hours until we get to the bottom of this."

Tears started to flood in her eyes. If she were being monitored by the staff, she wouldn't be able to hold her Cutie Mark Crusader meetings anymore. No, she had to prove Onyx did this soon!

"Wait, before you do anything, I have to say, in my defense, I don't know how those answer keys ended up in my room. But Snowdrop's grades haven't improved since I came, correct?"

Mrs Hardwood eyed her, then asked, "Yes, that's correct?"

"So if I were to have stolen those answer keys, why wouldn't I have shared them with my friend? Also, you saw my grades before, and I have never cheated on any test in my entire life. My old teacher, Mrs. Cheerilee, could attest to that."

"That is true…" she then eyed her. "Fine, we won't send a letter or receive demerits, but we will need to monitor what you do in your free time for a while until we can conclude you didn't cheat, understand?"

"Yes, Mrs. Hardwood.'"

Diamond was then escorted to her room. As she slammed the door, she tore off her coat as Snowdrop was on her bed, looking worried. She instantly flew over to her and asked, "What happened?"

The alicorn filly turned towards her friend and grumbled, "Onyx happened; she's trying to get rid of me by framing me as a cheater."

Snowdrop opened her mouth, and then a little smile came on her face as she asked, "Isn't that a good thing? You'll get expelled, but you will go home to your other friends? I know you hate it here."

Diamond took a moment to think, seeing that letting herself get expelled would be easy, and then said, "Yeah, I do, but I don't want to be seen as a cheater back home either."

"But how will you expose her? Most likely, Onyx got one of her goons to sneak the cheat sheets in here while we were out."

"Yeah, most likely, and even if we confront her, she would even have that goon take the fall…I don't want another pony going down for her actions."

Snowdrop reluctantly nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I get that she could be blackmailing that poor pony or bullying her to do it. I think you need to reveal you're an alicorn?"

Diamond threw out her wings, shook her head, and exclaimed, "No, no way!"

Snowdrop came over, placed a hoof on her friend's shoulder, and looked her right in the eyes as she said, "Diamond, you don't have a choice! Many fillies here love and respect you, but they know you're hiding something, so many can't trust you. You need to show them what you are and not be scared about it. Then that'll expose Onyx and end her tyranny once and for all."

Diamond wanted to, but there was still that part of her that feared her mother as she whispered, "I'm not sure if that will work…"

Snowdrop flew over, hugged her, and said, "It will. You just need to believe in yourself, but it's your decision. Just promise you'll sleep on it, okay?"

Diamond nodded as she slowly sank under the covers, throwing the blanket over her head and curling in a ball.

When she woke up the next morning, she didn't say much, being rather tired, with her wings aching from all the flying she did yesterday. Diamond threw on her coat and then followed her classmates to the dining hall, where she ate her boring breakfast. Then she saw Onyx tormenting a poor little earth pony filly, taking her by the mane and shoving oatmeal into her mouth. Something came over Diamond. It was like she was standing in front of her class and shouting, "Listen up! I've had enough of this!"

Everypony turned as she tore off her coat and revealed her wings, flashing them over her head, and everypony in the room gasped as she glared at Onyx, who laughed, "Oh wow, nice illusion spell!? Trying to make yourself look like an alicorn so original?"

Diamond's eyes narrowed as she flew over and slammed the table, sending a bowl of oatmeal into her face, and shouted, "Was that an illusion!?"

The other filly cried as she got up, wiping the gray goop from her face, and snapped, "Who do you think you are!?"

Mrs Porridge looked flabbergasted as she came over. "Diamond Tiara, si…sit down this instant!"

Diamond sat down with every foal, just watching in complete awe, some whispering as Onyx sat there, seething in rage. "Who cares if she's an alicorn? She's a cheater! I saw her with those answer keys! It's why she's so good on her tests!"

This caused quite a stir, and Diamond winced at the lie with no way to prove she was lying. But before she could defend herself. The earth pony filly that Onyx was tormenting slowly stood up with tears in her eyes. She wiped the oatmeal and tears with a hoof and stammered, "That's not true. It... it was me who stole the answer ke…keys O…Onyx said sh... she would tell ponies my secret if I didn't put them in Diamond's room."

This made everyone in the cafeteria look back at Onyx, who scoffed, "What, no!? I…I didn't! She's obviously lying, but I would never."

"ONYX! THATS ENOUGH!"

With an angry look, Mrs. Heardwood headed over and snapped. "COME WITH ME NOW!"

The filly grumbled as she headed off with Mrs. Hardwood, and Diamond came over to the crying earth pony and everypony watched in awe as she wrapped her wings and hugged her. “Wh…why I…I framed you…"

"Yeah, because Onyx was blackmailing you." She looked around the cafeteria and added, "And I bet most of you would have done the same in her hooves."

Many looked downward, and then she sat with the filly and asked, "What's your name?"

The little earth pony filly had a dark brown frilly mane and freckles as she pushed her glasses over her big blue eyes and then said, "Belle."

"Belle, what a lovely name. Mine's Diamond Tiara, how about we eat together ."

She then sat with her and continued to talk to her about classes. She learned that Belle was a good reader and that she wanted to get her cutie mark in the reading as Diamond encouraged her to join the Cutie Mark Cursaader meeting that evening. As they finished breakfast, they all got up to go to class, with foals still gawking at her and whispering, unable to stop. Diamond felt her face turn red as she tried to ignore them, but the little yellow earth pony came over and said, "Thank you, Princess Diamond."

"Wait, I'm not a princess!" Diamond cried, squeaking at what she had just said as Belle Skipped off. Then Snowdrop flew over and teased, "You better get used to it, princess."

"Oh, don't even start," the filly scoffed as she nudged her friend back, and they went off to class. Diamond Tiara, though, had her head down, still feeling unsure of what she did; it was out of pure instinct to defend Belle. She didn't even have time to think of the consequences. Surely, now her mother will know what she did, and worse, with her being an alicorn, the teachers will probably see her as a distraction and remove her. Diamond wanted to go back home; she really did, but turning to see all of these fillies giving that look of admiration and hope, she felt like she was making a difference here.

Chapter Six: The CMC vs Diamond Tiara

The cutie mark crusaders were now on a train ride heading towards Coldstone Acadamy, with the three usually rambunctious fillies looking quite worried and rather quiet. The ride took some time, but it wasn’t long until the train started to slow down as it arrived at the prison-like school looming over them. Scootaloo was the first to comment, being rather horrified at the massive stone building as she shouted, “This is where Diamond Tiara has been the whole time!?”

Sweetie Belle shook her head and said, “Guess we gotta get her out of here ASAP!”

“Right, let’s go, girls!” Apple Bloom chimed.

The three then ran across the train station, waving through the dozens of rich ponies, getting off, all looking as boring and drab as the academy the fillies were heading to. The three continued through the courtyard, heading to the base of the school, and hid in some bushes. There, the three fillies looked around, seeing some old, grouchy-looking teachers talking to some of the rich ponies. The three were abit too far away to hear what they were saying, but the parents sounded surprised, others looking concerned the teachers were placating to them and seemed distraught.

Sweetie Belle nudged Apple Bloom and whispered, “What do you think is going on?”

Scootaloo shrugged, “Not sure, seems like they are all having an argument.”

“Who cares? This is the perfect time to get in without them noticing us!” Apple Bloom chimed. The three nodded in unison, and then they went around the teachers and parents who didn’t notice them as they went into the dark, brooding halls of Coldstone Acadamy. The fillies avoided contact with the other foals or the staff walking about there. But as the three were sneaking around, they noticed the foals seemed to be much more cheery and less brooding than they originally thought. Some were even skipping down the hall and heard whispers about tonight’s “Crusader meeting.”

This caught the attention of the Crusaders, who only had a crusader Chapter in Ponyville and one in Manehattan with Babs Seed starting the chapter there. So this was odd and weird, but the three came upon a supply closet and found a bunch of school uniforms of their size. They then dressed like the rest of the students in white blouses and drab grey skirts and followed the remaining foals to the “crusader meeting” room 3C. Inside, they came into an unused classroom now packed with fillies of all ages, looking straight at the chalkboard. The three fillies’ eyes went wide, and they saw it was covered in drawings of “cutie mark” ideas, pictures hung about of fillies earning their cutie marks. It was like their treehouse, and the three were impressed, but they didn’t say a word as a pink-coated filly flew over them with the bright red crusader cape fluttering behind her. The three looked up to see their friend Diamond Tiara above them, proudly spreading her wings with a horn atop her head. They then watched with awe and confusion as they couldn’t believe their eyes, seeing that their friend was an alicorn!

They just continued to watch as she came down and said, “Welcome one and all to another beautiful day!”

The other foals cheered as she threw out a hoof. “Now I know you all recently heard I am an alicorn. Well, the rumors are true, as you can clearly see!”

She looked back at her wings bashfully, then turned towards the crowd. “I am not really sure how this happened or why. But I didn’t want my new form to remove what we're doing here. I feel a change here since I came, and I want it to continue; please continue looking for what you want in life, and don’t let your teachers or parents tell you otherwise.”

Diamond flew up, spread her wings, and exclaimed, “Now, let's begin!”

The foals then went their separate ways, going about doing various activities set up across the room, with Diamond directing them along with a white-coated pegasus. The Crusaders waited until their friend was alone, and then the three fillies ran over. It took a minute for Diamond to recognize them as she asked out loud, “Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle!? What are you all doing here!?”

Apple Bloom looked around and whispered, “We came to bust you out, that's what!”

“Yeah, come on! We have a train to catch this afternoon, so come with us!” Sweetie Belle chimed in.

Scootaloo was most amazed at their friend’s appearance and asked, “Also, why didn’t you tell us you were an alicorn!?”

Diamond blushed, looking around, seeing they were getting odd looks from the other fillies, then whispered, “Girls, um, let's talk somewhere more private.”

She then led them away from everypony else to a side room near the classroom and closed the door. The young alicorn took a deep breath, then turned towards her friends and said, “Listen, there were a lot of things that happened recently; first of all, I don’t know how I became an alicorn. It happened after you helped me stand up to my mom.”

The three fillies were rather amazed by the answer, and then Sweetie Belle asked, “So what are you saying is that we helped you become an alicorn?”

She shrugged, “Maybe I don’t know for certain. Also, I apologize for not writing sooner, but you three really shouldn’t have come here.”

Apple Bloom gave a sheepish look and said, “I know. Our sisters think we’re having a sleepover with Silver Spoon. In fact, she was the one who sent us to find you. She’s worried sick about you.”

Diamond winced at hearing her old friend’s name and said, “Right, I should write to her as well…but still, I'm happy you all risked getting into trouble coming here.”

Scootaloo tugged on her hoof, then said, “Yeah, so let’s go home!”

Diamond seemed to let Scootaloo lead her to the door, but she pulled her hoof back and said, “But I can’t leave.”

“What!?” the three shouted together.

Diamond looked at her friend dead and continued, “I will come back home eventually, but I can’t go back right now; I will, but I want to do it when I change this place.”

Sweetie Belle then said, “You already have, from the looks of things. I'm sure you can find some other fillies to take your place here.”

“Things are a lot better, I admit, but I feel like I’m needed here.”

Scootaloo started getting angry and snapped, “You're needed back home. We miss you, Silver Spoon misses you, and your dad really misses you. I get it you're making a difference here, but there are a lot of ponies that care about you in Ponyville.”

Diamond tugged at her chest, seeming to be hurt by the words, “I get it…but if I leave, the school will report me, and most likely, it will make things worse for me back home.”

“But your dad is willing to help get you out of here; he’ll ensure it doesn’t look bad.”

“I understand, but I…I just can’t abandon all my new friends, too! I have to stay here and finish my duties.”

Apple Bloom looked down at her hooves, wondering if there was a way to resolve this, and then said, “If you're not going to come back with us, that’s fine, but at least write some letters to your dad and Silver Spoon, tell them what's going on, and let them know you’re okay.”

“I…I can do that. How about you stay here until the Crusader meeting is over? After that, you can come to my dorm room, and I’ll give you the letters.”

The other crusaders reluctantly nodded in agreement, and then they all went back out into the classroom. The three went about helping other foals with their talent searching. After a few hours, and the meeting was wrapped up they followed Diamond Tiara to her dorm room with the white-coated pegasus. As soon as they were in the small dorm room, she squealed, “Are you three really the original Cutie Mark Crusaders!?”

The fillies were abit stunned, but Scootaloo put a hoof to her chest and said, “Yeah, we are!”

Apple Bloom blushed and asked, “How do you know about us?”

“Diamond told me all about you and your friends! You guys are so awesome!”

The fillies both beamed smiles of pride and then Diamond Tiara came over and said, “Sorry, this is my friend Snowflake. She’s helped me get used to this place.”

The pegasus stuck out her hoof, and the other fillies shook it. Then she asked, “So I assume you guys wanted to bust Diamond out of here?”

“Yeah, of course! But she wants to stay,” Scootaloo grumbled.

Snowflake rolled her eyes and added, “Trust me, I tried telling her it's probably better for her to leave. Ever since she revealed herself as an alicorn, the teachers have been gunning for her to get expelled.”

“Why!?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Diamond's eyes narrowed at Snowflake, then said, “Mainly because my appearance is a disturbance, but they can’t force me to hide my wings or horn, so at this point, I’m just waiting for my mother to respond to their request to kick me out. Now let me get to those letters.”

She then sat down at her desk, took out a quill, and went to work writing letters to her dad and Silver Spoon as the Crusaders watched. Snowflake talked extensively about Diamond and how things are at Coldstone Acadamy. Diamond tried to focus on the letters, but when they mentioned how she used to be a bully, it made her pause and wince a little, remembering how she was before she became an alicorn. As the filly finished her letters, she then gave them to Scootaloo, who placed them inside the folds of her wings. Diamond said, “I appreciate you risking getting into a lot of trouble coming here, and I want to go back to Ponyville, but I need to help the foals here. If I left now, I feel as if all the hard work Snowflake and I put into making a Crusader chapter here was all for nothing.”

Sweetie Belle and Scotaloo both wanted to rebuttal, but Apple Bloom trotted over and held up a hoof. “Diamond, I think what you’re doing here is amazing. You’re helping so many fillies that were in your horseshoes find out what they want to do in life. If you want to stay and finish helping these foals, I’m okay with that.”

Sweetie Belle gave a reluctant sigh, “It's ok, I guess, but I agree with Apple Bloom that if you think you need to help these foals, I have no problem with that.”

“I do!” Scootaloo snapped with everypony, turning their attention to the angry orange pegasus as she shouted, "I think you’re making a big mistake and should come back with us!" She wiped a tear from her eye and added, "but we can’t force you to come with us if you don't want to.”

Diamond smiled with tears in her eyes as she threw out her wings and wrapped around the three fillies. She then began to bawl and cry, “Thank you so much for giving me a second chance. Being here, I realized how horrible I was to you, and I couldn’t help but feel ashamed of myself.”

The three were abit surprised and abit sheepish about their former bully, now hugging and apologizing. Still, they hugged back as Snowflake stood by, placing a hoof over her chest, and with a warm smile on her face, she said. “Oh, I wish I had a camera.”

Diamond laughed as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “Thank you, Celestia. We don’t. I don’t want my first picture with my friends looking all sad and moody.”

She then stepped back and asked, “Now, is there anything else I can do for you before you go?”

The Crusaders shrugged, and Apple Bloom shook her head. " No, I think that covers everything. Just be safe.”

“Yeah, you too.”

Diamond then opened her window and said, “You probably should go out this way. The teachers monitor the halls in the evening.”

She then tied up some blankets together and created a little rope for the Crusaders to climb down, and the three fillies waved goodbye as they headed back to the train station and boarded the train heading to Ponyville just in time. As they went to their seats, Scooaloo slumped down by the window and watched as they went down the mountainside. She let out an annoyed sigh and grumbled, “We should’ve convinced her to come.”

Sweetie Belle looked backward, seeing the looming building of Coldstone Acadamy fading into the distance, and grumbled, “Yeah, me too. It feels wrong leaving her there.”

Apple Bloom turned back and said, “No, she’s doing the right thing. She’s helping so many ponies find their cutie marks or helping them learn what they mean. Besides, we got the letters, and Filthy Rich will get her out of that school, so she’ll be back in Ponyville in no time. So don’t be sad our Mission was a success!”

“Yeah!” the three foals slapped their hooves together. The three sat back in their seats and talked about how cool it was learning Diamond Tiara was an alicorn and how surprised everypony in Ponyville would react to the news.

Chapter Seven: A Shadow of the Past

It had been only two days since the Cutie Mark Crusaders returned from their trip to ColdStone Academy. Despite the teachers watching her every move and seeming to try to give her demerits for the most minuscule infractions, she was on the cusp of being expelled. Diamond Tiara was determined to continue holding her meetings with her fellow crusaders. She and Cherry Bomb were flying around, admiring how packed the room was. They saw many of the foals actively looking for their cutie marks. Still, many were bumping into each other doing physical activities, and they had to split them up or find missing material for the artists.

The little red-coated pegasus commented, "We're gonna need more space if you want to continue holding these meetings."

"I agree. We could try sorting out the events better, like having arts and crafts one day and more physical things like sports another day.

"That would definitely help make things more organized! Though I do like the disorganized chaos in general."

"Of course you do, but we should host these meetings with different events on separate days; it will make things easier and draw less attention."

Just then, she heard somepony shout, "They're in here! Come on!"

It was Onyx, and I could hear hooves scampering towards them. Diamond and Cherry instinctively flew over, baring the floor with some furniture as she heard older mares shouting, "Open this door this instant!"

Diamond turned to the dozens of terrified fillies looking at her, and she shouted, "Everypony, get out of here if they don't see you; they can't prove you were her. Go!"

A back entrance led the foals around the backs of the teachers and, hopefully, back to their dorms. Snowflake led them, and the foals dispersed. Diamond and Cherry Bomb held the door shut, with the teachers now trying to buck it open. The little pink filly asked her flying mentor, "What are you doing here!?"

Cherry Bomb threw her mane back and scoffed, "I ain't gonna leave you to get in trouble. If anypony asks what we were doing, I was giving ya secret flying lessons, ok?"

"And I was here because I needed tutoring," Snowflake added, flying beside them. The rest of the fillies are heading back to their dorms, so there's no proof of them breaking curfew."

"You guys are the best," Diamond sighed as the teachers continued bucking at the door. Her stamina was slowly draining, and she knew they would have to eventually let them in. She turned to her friends who all nodded and flew backward as the doors burst open, and she saw Mrs. Hardwood standing over her, with Onyx shouting, "There were many more ponies in here! I know it!"

"Onyx, stop! Whether there was some secret club here or not does not matter," the mare smirked, turning to Diamond, and said, "The rules are clear: foals should not be here after curfew, and, as such, Diamond Tiara, it is my honor to say you will be expelled finally."

The alicorn smirked and then said, "About time." She was taken away, and the other teachers escorted her friends down the opposite side of the hall. She could only hope she didn't unintentionally drag them down with her.

Early the following day, Filthy read the letter Diamond wrote him, and he sat down, having to re-read it a couple of times to ensure he wasn't misconstruing what he read. His wife hits his daughter, abusing her and manipulating her, and on top of it all, sends her away not because of her actions but simply because Diamond went against her when she was trying to make her class body president. It was plain as day his wife was trying to control his daughter's life, and she was doing it under his nose. Filthy was utterly appalled by everything he read and realized he had to do something.

He heard hoofsteps coming down the hall and turned to see his wife approaching the front door, with Randolph trotting beside her. When they approached, he rose and growled, "Where do you think you're going?"

Spoiled, scoffed, and said, "I have a meeting in Canterlot with some new investors who want to inquire about our business, but you're too busy running the store. It only makes sense that I should attend."

"You wouldn't be happening to be visiting our daughter?"

Spoiled was eyeing him and asked suspiciously, "And if I am?"

He threw a few letters before her, including an expulsion notice from the boarding school. "Diamond's going to be expelled!"

"Yes, it seems she's proven to be quite the hoofful, and obviously, the school can't handle her, so I'll be going to put her back in her place."

"You won't do such a thing; she's going to leave that school voluntarily and have this expulsion notice removed from her record."

"Why?"

Filthy reared his head and shouted, "Why!? Because you sent her there without me knowing, let alone without my approval, that's why!"

Spoiled rolled her eyes as she casually threw a hoof and said, "Here we go again."

Filthy started getting furious with his wife and shouted, "Yes, here we go again! I'm not letting you off the hook this time!"

"Excuse me, mam, but the train will be leaving so-"

They both turned towards him and snapped, "Randolph, leave."

"Yes, right away." The butler quickly left, seeming too happy to oblige, as Filthy turned to face his wife and growled, "You hit our daughter?"

Spoiled paused, seeming to choose her words, "She…she had it coming, you know how she gets."

"Save it, don't even try to manipulate me. Diamond told me everything, and you can make any excuses or threats. I will not let this stand."

"What are you saying?"

Filthy was reeling for the first time, and he had been excusing her behavior for years, pretending that he could make this work. He decided at this point she was too far gone, and this marriage was destroying his daughter's life. The stallion trotted to her and said, "We're done, I…I tried to make this marriage work, but you're unreasonable, a bully, and, quite frankly, a horrible mother. We're getting a divorce."

Spoiled was appalled as she snapped back, "Says the oaf who can't even manage a store!? You would be pinching pennies in your father's dump if it weren't for me! I saved your store and reputation more times than I can count; you would have nothing without me!"

"Without me, you would've never become like this. All the money and power have gone to your head. Regardless, I won't leave you penniless. I'll make sure to give you your fair share."

Spoiled scoffed again, "My fair share. Don't make me laugh; I own most of Barnyard's Bargain stock. One word from me, and I'll have every investor vote for me as the head manager and leave you with nothing."

Filthy felt a pit in his stomach and asked, "So, this is who you really are?"

"Why are you acting so surprised!? Why do you think I married you, your looks, your brains!? You're an imbecilic moron with the class of a pig covered in mud. Divorce me, go ahead, but I will burn everything to the ground before this marriage is over."

Filthy Rich growled his teeth, "Even so, I would trade all my wealth and everything I have to get my daughter back and have her live a life without you!"

Spoiled smirked and added, "Good luck getting to her before me." She trotted off as Filthy seethed in anger and ran off after her, but his wife was long gone before he could catch up.

Diamond Tiara was now sitting in front of smug, old-looking mares, all smirking at her. She didn't realize how happy they were to find some excuse to kick her out. Then Mrs. Hardwood snapped, "Diamond Tiara, you are here because we professors at Coldstone Academy decided you would be expelled for breaking curfew."

The young alicorn wanted to laugh and smugly replied, "Seriously!?"

"Yes, seriously, you will return home with your mother as soon as she arrives."

Spoiled Rich entered the room with that stuck-up scowl on her face and replied, "Good afternoon, Diamond Tiara."

Diamond's heart stopped in her chest recognizing the voice as she slowly turned to face her mom and growled, "Mother."

Spoiled then ignored her, walking up to the board, and asked, "So my little filly was acting out of sorts, was she?"

"She has been a nuisance since arriving here and fighting with other students. She is suspected of cheating and breaking curfew. She is no longer welcome here."

Spoiled slammed a hoof on the ground and snapped, "That's all you can do? Just send her home. I thought this school was to change her?"

"We are strict and disciplined, but if the child cannot be taught, we can no longer have her here. Her behavior is contagious to the others and is making the other foals here rambunctious."

"I see, so what you're saying is that she needs more discipline."

Spoiled turned towards her daughter with a cold look and said. "There is one other option. Do you remember the chamber?"

The mares whispered to each other as one said, "We discussed using it on her, but we just think she isn't a good fit."

Spoiled came up to the board and, with a smile, replied, "Of course, she's a good fit. We all know Princess Celestia and Luna's time is waning, and Twilight is being groomed to take their place. Their ideologies are slowly eroding our power, the power of the Nobility. Diamond is the perfect tool to ensure that we will have a princess working for us when the princesses retire."

Diamond couldn't believe what she was hearing from her own mother. "Tool!? Is that what you see me as, Mother!"

"Be silent!"

Diamond instantly clammed up out of fear as the older mare turned towards the board and continued, "We have an opportunity that will guarantee our place as the true rulers of Equestria, and we need to mold my daughter into a princess that will work for us."

"Agreed, she has influence and seems to wield it. We can use that to our advantage; we can be unstoppable."

"She's young and malleable, so we can change her still."

The little earth pony was horrified hearing all of this. She thought these teachers were old grumpy mares, but now she realized they were evil. The filly's heart was in her chest as they opened the door to a dark room made of this dark black crystal illuminated with an eerie green light that reverberated around it. "What is that!?"

"This will eliminate all those foolish notions of your friends and the riffraff. You will be proper filly soon enough," her mother whispered as she shoved her inside, and Diamond was slammed into the ground. She turned towards the back of the door closing and scrambled to her hooves as she shouted, "No, Mother!"

She flew into the crystal door, landed on the ground, and was knocked unconscious.

"Diamond, Diamond…"

The little filly slowly woke up to see she was in a classroom. Standing above her was an adult version of herself, with a long, flowing pink and white mane slapping the chalkboard with a ruler and snapped. "Diamond!"

"Yes,"

"Pay attention!" She then turned to see that she was the only one in the classroom, and some weird green energy constrained her body. The adult version of herself then turned its attention to the chalkboard and said, "Now, let's go over everything, shall we? First, bullying and manipulating Silver Spoon to be your friend at the age of five, my goodness, starting early."

Diamond looked around and squirmed, trying to see if she could get out of the constraints, but was stuck and asked, “Wha…what is this?"

The adult version of herself ignored her and continued, "Then you started bullying Apple Bloom about not having a cutie mark and purposefully not inviting her to your Cutesanara."

Diamond eyed her, then snapped, "So, we weren't friends yet, and I was a jerk."

"Yes! But you purposely targeted her and outed her for not having a cutie mark. You're showing your desire for power and your desire to bully others who are clearly already having a tough time. Let's keep going, shall we?"

She then pointed to a picture of Granny Smith, "bullying Apple Bloom again about her grandmother."

"I know that was wrong…"

"And yet you did it anyways. Did it make you feel good making a pony turn on her grandmother because she felt pressured not to be made fun of?"

Diamond winced feeling angry at herself for treating Apple Bloom like that and shouted, "I'm sorry I was wrong!"

"You're sorry now, but let's keep going she slammed her stick on a drawing of a newspaper with "Gabby Gums "on it. "Ah yes, Gabby Gums, the gossip column you had the crusaders run for you, exposing so many secrets that affected so many lives. If blackmailing the Crusaders wasn't bad enough, you didn't even consider what damage you could cause by exposing the privacy of others and exposing the princess and her cake addiction. You really are something! Imagine what you could do with a real newspaper column. You could topple the royalty in a matter of days."

Diamond's eyes began to water, and tears ran down her cheeks. "Please, I... I... I…I... I'm sorry."

"Stop with the crocodile tears!" the older version of her slammed the stick on a picture of Babs Seed, "turning Apple Bloom's cousin against her good move. Almost made another you in Manehattan."

She then pointed to a picture of Scootaloo, "taunting Scootaloo and making her feel self-conscious about her not being able to fly well played, learning to switch up your tactics to make your enemies feel less about themselves."

"And finally!" she then pointed right at a picture Pipsqueak. You were willing to destroy Pipsqueak merely because he didn't have the funds to help his school and would have a statue built in your honor. The ego, the greed, it so much!" This adult version of herself seemed to grow in height as she savored her last words.

Diamond Tiara took a moment to look at the chalkboard at all the horrible things she's done for the past few years. They barely scratched the surface of how she treated her fellow classmates, including her former best friend, Silver Spoon. This adult version of herself was correct. She was irredeemable as a pony, and maybe this whole cause of her trying to spread what she learned from the Cutie Mark Crusaders was just some dumb ploy to make herself feel better. Tears welled up in her eyes as she cried. "I didn't, though; I changed my mind."

"The only reason you didn't is because your mommy was mean to you! And you think you've been absolved of your sins!"

The adult version of her grew more prominent and taller, with sharp, pointed teeth. Her mane swirled around her as its wings grew out, and now it was taller than her, towering over her with this sneer. "You really were a horrible little filly, weren't you?"

Diamond bowed her head and said, "Yes, I was."

"Then stop pretending to be good," the form shrunk until she was staring at herself as a clone, perfect in every way except her coat was a darker shade of pink. Her mane was ethereal like the princess. She had this evil smirk on her face; "right now, you're just feeling guilty about everything you have done. You're still the evil little filly willing to walk over anypony to get what you want!"

"What is this? Who are you?"

She rolled her eyes, "please, I don't have time to explain all that."

The room morphed into a throne room similar to the one in Canterlot. However, the guards standing at attention had sparkling pink uniforms, and the stained glass windows showed relief of her. "These rich idiots have been using me for years to help make fillies act the way they want. All of them are the same boring little spoiled brats. You, on the other hoof, are something else entirely."

She flew around her and whispered sadistically, "You see, you have the potential to rule all of Equestria, not share the power like the princesses or the Elements of Harmony. You are the only one who deserves to be praised and worshiped."

Looking over the guards and seeing how the hall was decorated, she had to admit it looked and felt good being important.

"But for that to happen, we must make a deal."

"A deal?"

"Yes, a deal." She then sat down the filly on the throne, took out a rather official-looking document, and revealed it: "Simply put, I need access to that body of yours."

"Access?"

"Yes, access, we'll share it, and you will have everything you want: power, wealth, and admiration. Nopony would be able to stand against you."

Deep down, Diamond wanted this, but if she accepted this, she would be throwing away everything she had fought for since being at Coldstone Academy. The filly threw the form away and snapped, "As if! I will not agree to this. I've changed. I am not the filly I was before!"

"Liar."

Diamond threw her head up and shouted, "I'm not lying! I will never let myself be like how I was before, ever again!"

"That's too bad we could've done this the easy way; I guess we'll do this the hard way!" the little filly grew into the shadowy form again as it soared over her. Diamond ran as fast as she could away from it and then threw herself through one of the windows, shattering it. Then, she fell downward and slammed into another room. There, she saw herself another adult version of her drinking tea with a bunch of other rich mares looking snobbish like her mother. That same cold-hearted stare was haunting.

"If you wish, this can also be your future, a copy of your mother."

"I would rather die!" Diamond shouted as she ran off, bursting through another door and seeing a teenage version of herself looking sad and alone.

"If you deny me and your mother, this is your future, your friends will leave you, you will be alone forever!"

"No!"

Diamond threw out her wings and shined her horn. "These are all lies! The Cutie Mark Crusaders changed me! I will not be my mother! I will not be alone! And I most definitely will not join with whatever you are!"

She then lit her horn, and a magical blast burst outward enveloping the room in its light. The creature of shadow hissed and cried in pain but fought back, and its shadow formed a cage around her. The little filly pressed harder, encircled by the energy of her horn, trying to keep it from enveloping her, but it was difficult as this monster was trying to swallow her whole. The little filly held up that shield of pure light, and tears fell down her cheeks. She whispered, "Please, Snowflake, Cherry Bomb, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, help me."

Chapter Eight: Diamond Vs Onyx

Cherry Bomb and Snowflake were trapped in a rather prison-like classroom with no windows and a locked door. This entire room was devoid of anything that was useful to break out. Cherry Bomb turned towards her friend and whispered, “Do you think that Diamond Tiara will just get expelled? Or do you think they're doing something worse?"

Snowflake looked rather worried and added, “I hope she's just getting expelled. I'm worried they might use "the room" on her.”

“The room?”

“Yeah, you remember what happened to Onyx? She used to be very sweet and shy, but then she became a bully out of nowhere. I am certain they used the room on her.”

Cherry Bomb blinked looking a bit confused then said, “Uh, no, I don’t buy that for a second.”

“Well, I heard the teachers use this thing called "the room" to forcefully change rebellious fillies into rich snobs.”

Cherry Bomb wasn’t really believing what Snowflake was saying and replied, “Isn’t that just some old superstition being passed around for ages? I mean, this place just does that to you. And why haven’t they been using it since Diamond came here? Almost every filly I know has been much more rebellious since she started doing her cutie mark crusader meetings.”

“I'm not sure, but think about it: since Diamond Tiara came here, this place is a lot different; I bet there were just too many fillies to use it on."

Cherry Bomb tapped a hoof to her chin as she whispered, “If this chamber does exist, they’ll use it on her!”

“If they can change her to become a bully or something worse, it’ll destroy everything we're trying to do here!”

“We can’t let that happen!”

Cherry Bomb and Snowflake flew to the door and tried bucking it down, but it was useless the door was sealed shut as if were enchanted or barred.

The little white-coated filly grumbled, “Seriously! What is with these doors!?”

Cheery Bomb smirked, “They won't stop us. Now listen, I have a way to get us out, but…um…” She paused, looked around rather nervously, and added, “Well, uh, there’s a talent of mine that most would say is rather dangerous.”

“Like what?”

“Well, it's going to cause a lot of attention.”

Cherry then removed some oatmeal from behind her mane and stuck it to the door with wires and a fuse. Then she lit the end of it and ran back as Snowflake followed suit.

Snowflake's eyes lit up, realizing what Cherry was making, and cried, “Is that a bomb!?”

“Yes, it’s a bomb! I found that this tasteless oatmeal makes a great explosive.” She then turned to see Snowflake looking terrified and scoffed, “What, you thought I chose my name for no reason?”

Snowflake stepped back, “I thought you chose it because it sounded cool, not because you actually like making bombs!”

“Relax! My explosives are made to do stuff like demolition and clearing rubble. I’m not gonna hurt anypony.”

“Well, it better not blow up the entire school!”

“Don’t worry; it won’t blow up the whole school. Maybe just half the school or, if you wana, blow up moons.”

The pegasus was becoming quite concerned as Cherry Bomb burst out laughing, “You should see your face; no, it’s just going to take out the door, I swear.”

She jumped back, turned to Snowflake, and said, “Now, after we blow these doors open, we need to find Diamond Tiara. Do you have any idea where this chamber is?”

“If it exists, it’s somewhere on the third floor in the far back of the school.”

Cherry then pressed a button, and it exploded, ripped the door open, and slammed it on the other side of the hall. The two fillies flew through the halls, and then they saw a ton of foals all out of the classroom, looking concerned. Some shouting, “Hey, what’s going on!?”

Snowflake paused, not knowing what to say, and then Cherry Bomb flew over, shouting. “What is happening? I’ll tell you what’s happening! We’re rebelling! Whose sick and tired of this boarding school!?”

Everyone looked at each other awkwardly, and there were hushed murmurs. The filly began shouting louder, “Better yet! Who was the only filly ever to defy the teachers!”

“Diamond Tiara.” many started to mumble.

“That’s right! And right now, she is being expelled not because she broke the rules but because she wasn’t going to become what they want her to be! Now she needs our help!”

Some of the fillies started to look more angry and fiercer with some stomping their hooves and shouting, “Yeah!”

“So, we're going to scour this school until we find Diamond and free her, then shut this place down; who's with me!”

“We are!” Cherry Bomb threw her wings out, laughing as she soared off, throwing bombs left and right with the rest of the fillies, causing havoc and scouring the entire school. As they headed up the stairs and coming up to another room, hearing a filly crying and pleading for help, it was Diamond Tiara. The fillies all charged the doors, but they were locked, and they started shouting, “Diamond Tiara! Diamond!”

Cherry Bomb took a bomb and threw it, but the black crystal surrounding them absorbed the blast, “Buck, seriously, what are these doors made of!?”

Snowflake ran to the doors and shouted, “Diamond, listen! Don’t let them change you! You’re our friend; every filly here cares about you! You can fight whatever they’re doing to you!”

Cherry threw her hooves in the air, “Come on, everypony, start calling to her! Diamond!”

“Diamond!”

“DIAMOND!”

Diamond! Diamond! Diamond!

She could hear her name reverberate across the darkness; a chorus of voices was making it through, hearing the hundreds of little fillies crying out to her. The voices continued to shout and sounded faint, but she concentrated on them. Knowing full well that she had to focus on the voices. Diamond Tiara looked back into the darkness, facing it with a glare. She was not going to back down, not now! Not ever! She took a stance and stomped her hooves down, and then a light started to shine brighter and brighter! The light enveloped the darkness almost completely and engulfed everything around her!

“I have to escape!”

“I HAVE TO ESCAPE!”

Diamond gave her spell one last push, sending the light out from her horn as it exploded outward. She was then suddenly thrust out from the shadows as the entire room was engulfed in light, and the black crystal prison that surrounded her exploded into millions of tiny shards as she was sent into the boardroom. She then saw that the entire room was covered in dark black crystal, and the older mares were now trapped in it. She then turned to see Onyx now trapped in the dark crystal forming over her body, and then the crystal began to grow and take shape, taking the form of a massive black crystal-like alicorn creature as it towered over her with its eyes a piercing green emerald. It opened its mouth, revealing jagged spiked teeth as it laughed, “You may not be as powerful as an alicorn, but this will do nicely.”

She turned towards the teachers and her mom, “Now these miserable pieces of horseshit have tried to turn us into one of them for years, but they had no idea that we were the ones running things, keeping the other students in line and scared!” the creature then turned its attention to Diamond and shouted, "Until you showed up!”

At that moment, Diamond threw her wings out, readying to take flight. The creature just continued to laugh as it reared its head and raised massive wings made of the black crystal as it gave a cackling laugh, “Now we will take over this school and make all of you our slaves and start a new kingdom, a kingdom of Onyx!”

The crystal began to enclose the teachers, forming small shell-like prisons, and despite them deserving their fate for everything they’ve done and what they were going to do to her, she had to stop this. Justice will come for them, but not like this! Diamond then sent out a beam of energy, exploding the crystal around them and throwing the adults into a massive magical bubble. She burst through the doors, seeing the horde of fillies outside and quickly gathering the rest into a bubble of magic. Then, she started flying through the halls as the black crystals gathered around her. She flew out a window as the entire school was encased in a shell of black crystal. Some of it did cling to the fillies and the older mares, but it dissolved in her magic as she flew back down towards the train station, with the train just pulling in with the conductor gawking.

Diamond landed on the platform and gently placed every pony down safely; she then turned to the teachers and shouted, “Get a full accounting! Make sure everypony is here!”

“R..right!?” the teachers did their jobs checking over the accountability. Once completed, she rushed over to Cherry Bomb and Snowflake and hugged them. “Thank you! If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to break free.”

Snowflake laughed, “Hey, don’t worry about it; we got your back.”

Cherry Bomb nudged Diamond and added, “Don’t sweat it! Now go out there and kick that monster’s butt!”

She then turned to her mother, who was quite shaken by everything. She turned to her daughter, who just glared at her as she threw her nose up. “You think saving me is going to change anything?”

“No, I don’t really care if it does; I may have saved you, but trust me, Mother. You are going to answer for what you did to me.”

Standing on the platform, she turned to see a brown-coated earth pony with a black mane and blue eyes, his little suit and tie flapping in the wind, running towards her, throwing her into a hug as he cried, “Diamond!”

“Daddy!”

They hugged each other right before Spoiled, who stood there as he asked, “Darling, you’re an alicorn; why didn't you tell me!?”

Diamond blushed as she flapped her wings a little as she didn’t fully know why she didn’t tell him in her letter about being an alicorn and said, “It’s a long story, and I wanted to surprise you.”

“Well, it’s sure a surprise! My daughter is a princess!”

“Dad, I would love to catch up, but there’s a monster coming, and I have to stop it; get everypony on the train and get out of here!”

Filthy was now concerned and snapped, “What, no, I’m not going to leave you to fight a monster by yourself.”

“Dad, I can handle it, trust me, but right now, you need to tell the other princesses about what’s happening. I have to keep it busy until they come.”

Filthy cursed under his breath and then shouted, “Right!” He turned his attention to the students and teachers and shouted, “Everyone get on board now! Get a move on!” the crowd started climbing into the train. Diamond watched until everypony was on the train. Then her mother was the last to get on board, looking back towards her and whispering, “Good luck.”

“I don’t need your luck,” Diamond growled under her breath; she took the little “Cutie Mark Crusaders” Cape and threw it around her shoulders, tying it around her neck before flying off towards what's left of Coldstone Academy to face the dark crystal alicorn.

Diamond Tiara flew off toward where the school used to be, which was now a field of glossy black crystal that covered every inch of land and consumed the building. On top was a massive crystal-like alicorn smiling gleefully. The little filly flew right up to it, making it laugh, “I was waiting for the other princesses, but you!? You seriously think you can defeat me!?”

Diamond threw her tiny wings and lit her little horn. The filly knew deep down she didn't have a chance. “Yeah, I can!”

The two then came at each other in a clash as the massive black crystal pony who marched forward huffed and snorted as it was shooting out crystal shards at her; she could deflect the magic, but not having practiced using her magic, she could barely keep up. Then, the creature started to form a shell of obsidian encasing her body as it morphed and grew around her like a parasite. Diamond could feel that dark, cold energy from before seeping into her and realized it was trying to encase her into it like it did Onyx. But she wouldn’t let it happen to her! Instead, her horn glowed, and the crystal formed into a glassy shimmering structure around her body like a suit of crystal body armor. Diamond exploded out from the dark crystal casing and sent a beam of energy into the creature’s chest, sending it flying.

The little filly was now showing off her new crystal armor with her wings spread out, and I gleamed in the sunlight smirking, seeing she could actually wound it, and cried, “See that! Don’t underestimate me!”

The creature scoffed, “Lucky shot!”

She then was slammed with a blast of magic, sending her flying across fields and rivers, slamming into some trees, and colliding into the dirt below. Then, the creature started crashing over the foliage above and continued to shoot shards of black crystals at her. Diamond quickly flew through the trees, using them to help hide herself as the beast laughed, “You are out of your league, little filly. All you had to do was shut up and join us, and this wouldn’t be happening!”

“What are you talking about!?”

“You, the teachers, my parents, everypony! All of you made me into this!”

She then lunged at her, slamming her out of the forest into an open field as it started to form black crystals across it, and then Diamond saw it was crying, and it screamed, “I just wanted somepony to look at me!”

Diamond flew towards it, hoping to talk to Onyx and get her to break free from this monster’s control as she said, “Onyx, I’m looking at you.”

“What are you doing!” the creature snapped, and then she heard Onyx’s voice for the first time coming out from the prison of obsidian as she looked up and said, “We need to work together; this is what we want!”

“No, it’s not,” the little filly flew over and shouted, “Onyx, I was in your shoes; I thought I had to bully ponies and control others to feel special, but you can change like I have. Please listen to me; you’re not alone!”

“Shut up!” she slammed her horn into Diamond, knocking the wind out of her and sending her flying through the air. The filly then crashed into another field, groaning being so glad she came up with the idea to make her own body armor, or she would be in serious trouble. Onyx flew downward, landed beside her, and scoffed, “If you’re anything like me, you don’t deserve to be an alicorn.”

“I know that the cutie mark crusaders they deserve to be alicorns, not me.”

“Then why are you fighting me!? Why not just give in? I can give them and everypony a form like yours! We can all be alicorns!”

Diamond stared at the behemoth and saw how it twisted that logic, wanting nothing more but to use them to feed off their hatred, envy, and greed only to be slaves to this thing and said, “Because all that thing is doing is feeding on pain and turning us into monsters!”

The creature stopped for a second and started to scream as she saw the crystal dissolving in the chest. Onyx’s face peered out, and she saw fear in her eyes as she cried, “Diamond, is that you?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Diamond, I’m scared. I don’t know what’s happening…I accepted the deal, but I just wanted to be a princess like you! I didn’t want this!”

“Shut up!” the voice suddenly returned. It was the more ferocious-sounding one, and it rose up with its wings spread out, sending shards of obsidian in all directions as it screamed. “You made the deal, and now I own your body and soul, little brat!”

Diamond stood up, throwing up her last stance, trying to hold on, but she was about to pass out as the monster glared at her. “You don’t stand a chance, little one. I’ve been going easy on you simply because I was hoping eventually to consume you. But you're making that prospect harder than it needs to be! Listen, I’ll make one more deal. I’ll let this little one go in exchange for your body.”

The filly let the crystal dissolve around her face as she spat out some blood, looking right at those glowing green eyes. Then she threw up her wings, puffed out her chest, and said, “You’re right. I know I don’t stand a chance, but they do.”

“Who are you talking about!?”

The creature looked around, now completely surrounded by Princess Twilight, Celestia, and Luna. They all sent beams of magic at it, and the beast cried out in pain, its black crystal form falling apart as it laughed, “You can’t stop me! Once I consume these three, nothing can!”

But as it was distracted, Diamond flew towards the beast, ripping out the obsidian shards with her bare hooves, and saw Onyx in the heart of it. The little pink alicorn grasped her hoof and tugged at it, with the filly crying, “I'm sorry, Diamond. I'm so sorry.”

“I know it’s okay. Just concentrate on breaking free from this thing, okay? We’ll make it through this, but you need to let go!”

Onyx nodded and closed her eyes, chanting, “This isn’t me, this isn’t me!”

With a final push, Diamond ripped Onyx from the crystalline form and the two fell back onto the grass below as the creature started to lose shape with the obsidian pieces falling all over. As the beast crumpled into pieces, laughing, “You can’t destroy me; I am immortal and will return one day….” It then stared at Diamond Tiara and said, “You, I will find you one day, and you will pay.”

The form dissipated into rubble and dissolved into dust as it was scattered to the four winds. The other alicorns flew downward, and they all turned to see Onyx bawling her eyes out. She hugged Diamond, who held her close and wrapped the red cloak of the cutie mark crusaders around her. She looked at the other princesses as she started to feel lightheaded and weak, barely able to keep conscious, and said, “Thank you, take care of Onyx,” before collapsing and blacking out.

Chapter Nine: A Shiny New Diamond

Diamond Tiara slowly woke up the following morning, groaning in pain as she rubbed her forehead, feeling it throbbing. The little filly looked around the room she was currently in, trying to gauge where she was. Her eyes widened, seeing how regal the room was with the pristine carpet and fancy decor. Massive windows were peering onto the pristine marble streets. Diamond didn’t know exactly where she was, but she could tell it was Canterlot. The little filly then bounced on the bed, feeling how soft and comfortable it was, reminding her of the bed back home. She then heard somepony snoring beside her bed. The filly turned to see the stallion was sleeping soundly, snoring away on a couch nearby. A smile slowly appeared on Diamond’s face as she couldn’t help but feel happy seeing him again. The little filly slowly got off the bed and whispered, “Dad.”

She gently tugged onto his shoulder as Filthy Rich was stirred awake. Upon seeing her, he threw his hooves around her and pulled the filly into a tight hug, holding her close as Diamond threw her hooves around her dad and cried, “Dad! You’re okay!”

“You’re worried about me!? I was completely terrified! I cannot believe you went after that monster by yourself!”

Diamond felt a swell of pride grow within her, but deep down, she was as she shook her head, “I was just waiting for the other princesses to come save my rump.”

Filthy held his daughter close, wrapping his hooves around her, and whispered, “No, you were brave, but I won’t allow anypony to hurt you again. I’m so sorry for everything.”

The stallion began to sob, “I’m sorry, I should’ve stopped her years ago.”

As the little filly paused and realized that he had indeed broken free from her. She knew her father was partly responsible for the abuse she endured, but he wasn’t directly in control and was somewhat aloof to her mother’s cruelty. But she still loved him and was happy that her dad was with her and that he was always trying to make her feel better. They held each other for some time, then as Filthy placed her down, Diamond looked up at her dad and said, “Dad, thank you for staying here with me.”

“Of course! I’ll always be here for you, and I promise when we get back to Ponyville, things will be better.”

The little filly was elated, wanting nothing more than to go back to Ponyville; looking around the room, eyeing it for a second as she asked, “So, uh, just to be certain, we are in Canterlot, right?”

“Yes, uh, the princesses took you here to get checked up on after your fight with that creature.”

Diamond Tiara took a moment to look over her body, and despite feeling achy and abit bruised, she looked fine and overall felt good. “I guess they patched me up pretty good.”

“I was told you had a few bumps and bruises, but I was told you would make for a full recovery.”

The little filly threw out her wings and flew into the air a little with a smile on her face. “Yeah, I feel great, actually!”

Filthy looked upward, rubbing his eyes in disbelief, and replied, “That’s wonderful! I still can’t believe you’re an alicorn. I keep thinking this is just one crazy dream, but you look more beautiful whenever I look at you.”

Diamond Tiara was still adjusting to her newfound role as a princess. Looking over her body, she flapped her wings and rubbed a hoof over her horn. Despite having been in this new body for the past week, it was still alien to her, and she replied, “Yeah, me too. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do.”

“Well, what better place to start than here!”

The young alicorn looked around the fancy room again, thinking she would’ve taken that offer in a heartbeat if this were her a year ago. But now? If she moved to Canterlot, she would have to leave Ponyville and all her friends, which was something she wasn’t ready to do. The filly then said, “I would, but I made so many friends in Ponyville, and what about you?”

Filthy nuzzled her, “If you moved to Canterlot, I would visit you every week, but it’s your choice. I’m here for you regardless of your decision.”

“I know, and thank you.”

“You should also go see your friends; they are in the room across the hall.”

“Oh, that’s great! I would love to see them!” She then ran out the door, and outside the hall, all her friends were waiting to greet her. They all embraced as she hugged them close, throwing her wings around them, and then she cried, “Thank you! Thank you for being here!”

“Of course!” Silver Spoon cried, “We’ve been waiting to see you all morning!”

Apple Bloom chirped, “Yeah, we’re just happy you’re doing ok!”

“Yeah! I can’t believe we’re here in Canterlot, of all places!” Sweetie Belle cried.

“Yeah, and the fact you faced off a monster! That must’ve been so awesome!” Scootaloo shouted.

Snowflake and Cherry Bomb both gave each other nervous looks at Scootaloo’s response as Diamond Tiara was still clearly reeling from the fight. Diamond Tiara shivered thinking about it, and Scootaloo was right; it was rather cool but scary and unnerving. She replied, “Yeah, I did, but I don’t want to talk about that.”

Scootaloo looked abit disappointed, but Sweetie Belle quickly replied, “That’s ok; you don’t have to go into details; we’re just glad you’re ok.”

Snowflake looked worried and said, “Yeah, we’re just happy you’re okay, Cherry Bomb. I have been worried since we saw you fly off to face Onyx.”

“Yeah! The last time we saw you was flying off to face that thing; we thought you died!” Cherry Bomb shouted.

Everypony stared at Cherry Bomb angrily, and then she backed off as Diamond shook her head and said, “That’s fair to say. I was going way over my head; if it weren’t for the other princesses, I would’ve been killed or swallowed by that thing. I should’ve waited for backup.”

Everypony quieted down as Scootaloo ran over flapping her wings and shouted, “But hey, she came back unharmed and saved so many ponies. She’s a hero!”

They then took Diamond Tiara and started to throw her up and down into the air, chanting her name, “Diamond! Diamond! Diamond!”

“What is going on here!?”

The fillies stopped and turned to see Princess Celestia flying towards them alongside her sister, Princess Luna. They all then bowed as the princess of the sun threw a hoof, " There’s no need for that, but thank you.”

They all peered up as Princess Luna asked, “Now we came to see how Diamond Tiara was doing.”

Everypony then stared at the little alicorn, who was a bit taken aback, and replied, “I’m fine; thank you for caring for me.”

Princess Celestia gave a light bow, “Of course now, why don’t we have you and your friends join us for breakfast.”

“That sounds like a great idea!” Diamond replied.

She then followed the princesses and her friends as they went to the royal dining room, which had tables set up with plates of pancakes. They all started digging in and enjoying their meal, splattering the occasional whipped cream and syrup on themselves and the table, but overall, the meal was nice, and they all had cups of hot cocoa. The fillies chatted with the princesses about all kinds of stuff, from their favorite foods to how cool it is to be a princess. The two adults tried to keep up, but they were clearly slowly losing their patience. Princess Celestia eventually cleared her throat and asked, “While we’re here, I need to ask Diamond Tiara, Cherry Bomb, and Snowflake some questions.”

They all looked at each other with confused expressions as Princess Celestia asked, “This Coldstone Acadamy—I had heard of it before but was unaware of what was going on inside its walls. Tell me everything that’s happened.”

The three took turns telling the princesses about what happened, from the brutal way the teachers treated the foals, how Diamond Tiara was targeted, how they tried to brainwash her, and the creation of the monster that took over Onyx. It was a lot, but the princesses listened carefully, not disrupting them once. As they finished, Princess Celestia cleared her throat and said, “Well, that is quite a lot that’s happened, and I believe your mother and the teachers at this academy have a lot to answer for.”

Luna was just as horrified as her sister upon hearing what was happening. She said, “We understand that many within the nobility saw us as outsiders before I was banished, but now? Even back then, I didn’t think they would take things so far.”

“Yes, but maybe their actions and what occurred will warn any others of their hubris and what it can wrought.”

Princess Celestia turned her attention to her and said, “But Diamond Tiara, being an alicorn doesn’t mean you will be a princess. But your courage and bravery in helping stop the creature and saving your classmates must be applauded and in me eyes you are more than worthy of the title. You can live here with us, and my sister and I can teach you how to be a princess or return to Ponyville if you so desire.”

Once again, everypony’s eyes were on her, and Diamond Tiara was abit overwhelmed by this much attention and the pressure on her choice, but seeing her friends and recognizing they were the ones who made her who she was, she didn’t want to let that go. She also thought about all the other students who were forced out of that boarding school; most would go to parents like her mother. She then thought of an idea; her home was big and filled with rooms that she and her father didn’t need all that extra space. As the idea started to grow in her head, a smile slowly came over her face. “Princesses, I thank you for the offer. I really do, but I would like to stay in Ponyville. Perhaps Princess Twilight can teach me?”

Princess Luna and Celestia bowed and said, “Of course.”

“And there’s one other thing: I want to create a boarding school for foals who need a place to live and learn, to be able to grow like me regardless of their background or where they come from.”

The princesses looked at each other dumbfounded, and Princess Celestia replied, “Well, that would be a great idea, but are you sure you're up to such a task?”

Diamond Tiara squeaked as she flew back a little, as she was not prepared to take on all that responsibility. She then quickly replied, “Well, um, not me. I won’t be running it anytime soon, but I’m sure with my Dad’s funds and connections, I’m sure we can make it work somehow.”

Princess Luna and Celestia talked amongst each other in hushed whispers. Then they both turned their attention back to Diamond Tiara as the princess of the sun cleared her throat and said, “Well, Diamond Tiara, my sister and I both think that would be an excellent idea. What would you call this academy?”

“The Cutie Mark Crusaders Star Acadamy!

“Well, that’s quite a mouthful, but we can make that work,” Princess Luna replied.

“What are you talking about? That name is awesome!” Scootaloo chirped.

“Yeah, it’s super cool! When we grow up, we could all be teachers there!” Sweetie Belle chimed in.

Silver Spoon raised her fork with some pancake and said, “I concur with the name of choice! Cutie Mark Crusaders Star Acadamy is perfect!”

“Yeah! That name totally rocks!” Cherry Bomb shouted.

Snowflake nudged her new friend and whispered, “It's perfect.”

Diamond Tiara then looked over her friends' last-time feelings and said, “It’s a project for the future, but for now, any foal from Coldstone Acadamy is welcome to stay with me…as long as my dad is okay with it.”

The foals all clapped and cheered once more, chanting, “Diamond! Diamond! Diamond!”

A few weeks later…

Diamond Tiara woke up one morning throwing her wings out in her room, which, once filled with pictures of her mom, was now filled with pictures of her and her friends doing various activities. Her life was so much better than it was before her mother left. After the fight with Onyx, she was gone, left without a trace. She wanted to talk to her and maybe get some answers, but she just left. Despite everything she did, the filly missed her mother and was angry that she just left. Diamond stifled back tears as she focused her attention on her friends and this new “Cutie Mark Crusaders” Academy she wanted to build, and that started with her going downstairs and eating a good breakfast before heading off to school.

The filly now had many new memories of them helping foals find their cutie marks or helping them relearn what they mean if they do have them. She then came out the door and ran downstairs to see her dad and Randolph serving dozens of foals breakfast, and they all looked over and exclaimed, “Good morning, Diamond Tiara!”

“Morning!” The filly then waved a hoof at her fellow classmates as she gave her dad a hug, who hugged her back, nuzzling her, and sat her down with her friends as she said, “So you all ready for another awesome day at school!”

“Yeah!”

“Cheerilee is so awesome! She’s like the best teacher ever!” a little yellow-coated filly shouted.

“Yeah, she’s super cool!” Cherry Bomb chimed. “Ponyville has the best school ever!”

“Yeah, we’re gonna have a lot of fun today. I can’t wait because I’m going to teach the class about snow!” Snowflake replied.

“That’s wonderful, heck it’s nice, Cheerilee let's you explore your talents so freely,” Filthy chortled as he hoofed her some breakfast.

“Yeah, she’s the best! I wish more teachers were like her!” many others chimed in. Diamond laughed and sat down to eat her breakfast as they continued to talk about how cool Cheerilee was. For once in a long time, she wasn't the center of attention, and she was quite happy with that.

After eating her breakfast, she heard a knock at the door. Diamond then ran over to the front door and, upon opening it, stood back in surprise to see Onyx, with a crusader cape around her shoulders, looking absolutely terrified. She gazed upward and asked, “Um…hello Diamond. I heard you were boarding schools from Coldstone, and my parents… said it was alright if I could come live here…but um…”

“You want to ask if it’s ok with me?”

She teared up and said, “Not just you, I mean, I…I…”

Diamond Tiara came over and hugged her, wrapping her wings around her. “It’s not your fault that thing was manipulating you like it tried with me, nopony got hurt.”

“I know, but I mean, even before that, I was a horrible bully; most of the fillies in there I tormented for years.”

Diamond sighed, seeing she was in her shoes not too long ago, and said, “Listen, some won’t forgive you, others it could take time, but the thing is, you have to take the first steps to change and make up for your mistakes, and that starts with an apology.”

Onyx gently nodded, rubbing the tears from her eyes as she cried, “You’re right, so um…”

“Well, let me make sure we have a spare room, but yeah, I’m fine with you staying here.”

She then led her into her home to the other fillies. They all stared at her for a second, with some eyeing her. Diamond held Onyx's hoof and said. “I know. You are all not sure if she should stay, but before you say anything, let Onyx say something first.”

She turned towards the dark-coated filly, threw her mane back, looked at the foals, and said, “I’m sorry. I turned into a monster and destroyed the school, but even before that, I’m sorry for bullying you and blackmailing many of you. I am deeply ashamed of my actions, and I know many of you won’t forgive me, but I…I want to try changing and be a better pony.”

Many of the foals still eyed her, but many clapped, and some even said, “Yeah, we forgive you.”

Filthy then trotted over with a smile and said, “Alright, Diamond. How about you get these other fillies to school? I’ll help Onyx settle in.”

“Sounds like a plan, Dad!” She waved a hoof as the brown-coated stallion led Onyx upstairs to a bedroom to get settled. As Diamond led the rest of the foals to school, she looked back and saw that Onyx was wearing the Crusaders cape fluttering behind her former rival. The little filly was being proud, she could pass on that cloak to another. Hopefully, she can continue making a positive change with these foals and for others searching for their cutie marks and seizing their destinies.

Chapter Ten: Ten Years Later

Ten years later…

“Diamond!”

A blast of crystal was shot at a tall alicorn encased in dense crystal armor, her long pink and white mane flowing over her head and her wings spread out. The mare was fighting the massive black crystal creature, her nemesis Obsidian. It towered with a dark crystalline body, now much more monstrous with spikes sporting from its body. This time, Diamond faced it off as she fought against it, her magic surging through her as she shot magic at it and continually sent it at it, sending it backward with her magic. She had a lot more training this time since her previous battle with the creature and could effectively keep it at bay without over-exerting herself.

Diamond flew downwards with a smirk on her lips and said, “Hmm, guess you haven’t changed a bit, Obsidian!”

“You haven’t either!” the creature hissed in return as it lunged out at her, sending another barrage of crystal at her, and Diamond Tiara could dodge out of the way nimbly out of the way. The mare flew upwards, evading the blasts and heading towards the skies. And she threw her wings out, aimed her horn downward, and sent a blast of energy at the creature, causing the dark crystal to crack and splinter. She then saw a massive hole where it’s beating dark heart was and then took the opportunity to ram her horn into it, sending a blast of magical energy and shattering it into hundreds of tiny pieces as the dark crystalline form screamed and started to disperse int the air like before and the last thing she heard was, “I will return!”

“Yeah, I heard it all before.” Diamond scoffed as she threw her head up with a confident smile as the crystal-like armor around her body dissipated and revealed her tall, slender pink body, her wavy white and purple mane, and a red cape fluttering in the wind with the sigil of the cutie mark crusaders emblazoned on it.

The alicorn threw out her wings and flew back to Ponyville, where she saw the crowd cheering her on as she approached. She waved a hoof and exclaimed, “Hello, my fellow ponies! Obsidian has been destroyed, and there is nothing for you to fear!”

This caused another loud roar from the crowd as Diamond Tiara approached her old home, which was now completely renovated into a massive school. The building was similar to Twilight’s School of Friendship, and in the central tower was an enormous flag wag overhead with the “Cutie Mark Crusader” sigil on it. As Diamond flew down, she was greeted by tons of foals of all ages going to and fro from the school, and many looked up as she landed. Diamond raised her head, flashing them all a smile, and they all started to cheer, “Diamond!”

“Hello, everypony!” the mare cried back as she flew down and started to talk to each of the foals, all of them talking about their day or what they learned. It was quite surprising to see so many foals attending. She then came to see Cheerilee, who was middle-aged and had wrinkles under her eyes. The older earth pony looked up upon seeing her and then said, “Diamond, it’s so good to see you!”

“Cheerilee!” Diamond exclaimed. She threw her hooves around her and asked, “How was school today?”

“Oh, it was wonderful! We were going over a lesson on the dynamics of crystals and diamonds today!”

“Oh really?”

“Yes, it’s pretty fascinating how the atoms formed within certain elements could affect the hardness of different crystals.”

“That does sound interesting. Maybe you can give me a private lesson later. I could use some work on my crystal armor.”

“Of course!”

Diamond continued down the way to see Scootaloo teaching a lesson about the history of the Wonderbolts. Sweetie Belle was performing a music lesson with a ton of foals, some playing different instruments or singing, and lastly, she saw Apple Bloom teaching foals about making potions and seeing a flask explode. Diamond couldn't help but giggle, and she didn’t want to disrupt their private lessons. As she went up to the “headmaster’s” quarters, she found her Father sitting there neck-deep in paperwork, and he got up and cried. “Diamond!”

“Daddy!” she flew over, and they hugged each other closely as the stallion kissed her on the forehead. “So you had to face off that Obsidian creature again?”

“Sadly, the creature has a grudge since I denied it years ago.”

“Well, hopefully, this will be the last time you have to fight it.”

Diamond rolled her eyes, “I doubt it; that thing seriously doesn’t know how to give up.”

She then trotted through the room, seeing the dozens of photos on the wall of her friends with the hundreds of students who had passed through these halls. It was awe-inspiring and filled her with pride, knowing she had helped so many fulfill their destinies. She stood there mesmerized for a moment, then said, “I still can’t believe this is real.”

“Yeah, I couldn’t see us running a school together a decade ago.”

“Me neither,” she said, then threw her wings back and held her head up. I just wish Mom were here…”

“Really?”

“I miss her dad,” Diamond replied through clenched teeth as she held back her anger; she was still angry. Spoiled, left without a word, and they still had no idea where she was; despite all the abuse and manipulation from her, there was a part of her that still loved her and missed her. Diamond, deep down, wished her mother could change and become better and that one day she could see her and they could be a family again. But that was probably wishful thinking. Even after all these years, she probably hadn’t changed all that much. However, she still dreamt of seeing her again and finally bonding as a mother to daughter. No manipulation, no gaslighting, just being able to talk face to face and just learning to know each other.

Just then, somepony burst through the doorway, and she turned to see an older Cherry Bomb alongside Snowflake, both flying through as the red-coated pegasus slammed her into a wall and wrapped her wings around her, “Diamond your back!”

Diamond grunted as she looked back and said, “You didn’t see me come flying in earlier?”

“Sorry, I didn’t," Cherry Bomb admitted.

Snowflake scoffed, “Of course not. You were too busy cloudbusting anyways. Uh, there's something we gotta tell you. " She then turned to Diamond, who was busy dusting herself off and said, “First off. are you okay?”

“I’m fine; Cherry Bomb here did more damage to me with her flying lessons than old Crystal Head.”

The red-coated pegasus gave a triumphant Woot! Woot! “That’s right, nothing can beat our Diamond!”

“Alright, that’s enough now. You didn’t burst into my dad’s office just to embarrass me, right?” Diamond asked, eyeing her friends.

The two then gave each other worried looks, and Snowflake whispered to Cherry Bomb, who nudged her friend back; they then turned back to Diamond as the red-coated pegasus growled, “It’s your mom; she’s back.”

There was a long, sullen pause as the atmosphere suddenly felt rather tense. Diamond clenched her teeth and looked downward, feeling so many different emotions. Hearing about her mother overwhelmed her, as she shouted, “You saw her! You actually saw her!?”

“Yeah, she’s at the door and hasn’t moved a muscle.” Cherry Bomb proclaimed with a salute. “We can chase her off if ya want?”

Filthy Rich was about to say something, but Diamond held up a hoof and placed it to her chest, “no, I will confront her.”

She turned to her dad, who gave a nod of approval, “Go and see her; you need to do this.”

“Right, it's time to figure out where she’s been,” Diamond snapped as she took off and flew through the school's halls. She then came to the front doors, opened them, and saw her mother standing there. The mare’s purple mane now faded, with wrinkles having grown under her eyes. Her mane and coat were soiled with milk stains and smelt rancid. She looked up at her daughter, her eyes filled with sorrow and pain. Diamond Tiara stood there looking down at her this time and whispered, “Mother.”

“Diamond I…”

She held up a hoof, and then Diamond stepped back and cried, “Shut up!” The filly stood there looking livid as her nostrils flared and snapped, “Where the hell have you been!”

Her mother stood there with tears in her eyes, feeling them swell and fall down her cheeks. “I…I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to leave. After what happened at Coldstone Acadamy, I was so ashamed of my actions that I went back to my parent's dairy farm and have been there for the past few years when they passed…I didn’t want anypony to know where I was, so I changed my name to Spoiled Milk.”

“Ten years, it’s been ten whole years…”

“I know; I should’ve come to see you sooner. I'm just amazed at the princess you’re becoming.”

Diamond continued to glare at her and said, “Why did it take you so long!? Dad sought you out, and you didn’t bother even talking to him!”

“I wanted to, but I wasn’t ready, Diamond. I admit it took a lot of self-reflection, but I finally realized I was wrong the way I treated you…sending you to boarding school, encouraging your bullying all of it. I'm sorry.”

Diamond remembered the words she told Onyx a decade ago about the first step to redemption, which began with an apology. Still, this time, she had to be the one receptive. She looked into her mother’s eyes, wondering if this was some form of manipulation or if she should believe her. The worst part of her just leaving hurt a lot, and it hurt her dad too; she shook her head and said, “I’m not ready to forgive you, not after leaving us the way you did, but talk things over with dad if he’s willing to give you a second chance maybe I will too.”

Spoiled Milk nodded with tears in her eyes as she slowly walked into the school, and Diamond escorted her through the halls. With the mare’s eyes widened in disbelief, she looked around, saw the teachers preparing their lessons, and whispered, “This used to be my manor?”

“Our manor is now the Cutie Mark Crusader Star Acadamy.”

Spoiled Milk sneered a little, “You named it that!?”

“Yeah, and I’m proud of it!” Diamond exclaimed, showing off the red cape over her back. Spoiled eyed her but kept silent as they went upstairs towards the “Headmaster’s” room, and there, upon opening, it was Filthy Rich still with Cherry Bomb and Snowflake, who were all chatting. They all turned to see Spoiled standing there, looking timid. Diamond cleared her throat and asked, “Snowflake, Cherry Bomb, can you give my dad some privacy.”

They then left the room, Diamond closing the door behind them as they went downstairs and waited for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, Spoiled was trotting downstairs, and she looked up at her daughter and whispered, “Best of luck.”

“Yeah, you too, Mom," Diamond muttered under her breath. She then watched her trot off as Filthy Rich came down, looking rather sullen. She turned to him and asked, “So, how did it go?”

“Well, we will remain divorced, but she was surprisingly cordial. She apologized and told me she wanted to try to make amends…Diamond, I've never seen her like this. At the very least, I think she is regretful of her actions.”

Diamond looked back across the lobby, seeing the shadow of her mom disappearing in the distance with the setting sun, and said, “I see; well, if you think she’s changed, Dad, I will accept her back, too.”

Cherry Bomb flew over and shouted, “Okay, enough moping around! Let’s go have a victory celebration at Sugarcube Corner! Did you all forget Diamond just faced off against a monster!?”

Snowflake flew over laughing, “Yeah, the Cursaders and Silver Spoon probably think we got lost or forgot; let’s not keep them waiting.”

Diamond gave a nod as she trotted off with her friends and her father toward Sugarcube Corner; the mare felt much more confident now and felt a weight off her shoulders. Despite not forgiving her mother for everything she felt deep down, she was trying to make amends, and one day, they could be a family again. Until then, she will continue striving to be the best princess she can be, not just for herself but for her family and her friends.