The Tiara weighs Heavy

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.