“What time is it?” Diamond Tiara muttered, blinking her eyes open and turning to face her wall clock. She had to walk closer to properly read it.

“It’s already 2:00 A.M!” She exclaimed, before quickly going quiet to ensure she didn’t wake her parents or servants.

After deducing she was in the clear, Diamond Tiara walked back to her desk, grabbed the papers she had just rested on, and neatly laid them in a folder with “CMC” written in the front, tucking it away under her bed where she had retrieved it from.

She gently slipped under the covers of her bed, and closed her eyes. The minutes passed, but the young filly remained conscious.

Her mind was racing, filled with more ideas. Maybe if she kept working for a little while longer, she’d get tired… “No!” She thought. “It’s already super late, just sleep.” They demanded, shifting around in an attempt to get comfortable.

Suddenly, a loud noise erupts outside, making Diamond Tiara shoot out of her bed and run over to the window.

She sees another house beside hers with a gaping hole in one of the walls, along with three ponies wearing full black bodysuits dashing away with large bags in their mouths.

The Earth Pony is intrigued and runs outside, earning the attention of one of her servants. The elder stallion attempts to stop her, but she is able to get past them. He gives chase for a short distance, but heads back inside shortly.

Diamond Tiara heads in the direction of the mysterious ponies, seeing them in the distance. After a few minutes of chase, she arrives at a dilapidated hut in a clearing.

Shaking off a couple leaves that got caught in her pristine mane, she trots to the door carefully. Raising a shaky hoof, she knocks three times. The door moves inwards just a tad, letting the pony inside see the visitor.

They open the door a bit more, allowing proper conversation.

“Yo Sparky!” A voice calls out from deep inside the hut. “Who’s there?” The bulky mare at the door, who’s name seems to be Sparky, turns back to reply.

“Some random foal!” She turns back to face Diamond Tiara. “Look, kid, this isn’t a safe place to be. What’re you doing here?”

Diamond Tiara opened her mouth to answer but emitted no noise. Truthfully, she hadn’t thought of a good response to the question beforehoof.

After a moment, Diamond Tiara manages to come up with an explanation. “I heard a loud noise and thought to see what caused it.” She gives an awkward smile.

“Why don’t you come inside?” The mare speaks slowly, but does open the door fully and let the pink filly inside.

Diamond Tiara barely stops her jaw from dropping as her eyes dart around, taking in every detail. The space she can see is barren, barring only a table in the middle with four chairs, one of which is in prime condition, the others chipped and stained.

“The name’s Sparky. Sparky Shocks.” The mysterious mare says, interrupting the silence broken previously only by the occasional laugh or hoofbeat from the roof. She extends her hoof towards Diamond Tiara expectantly, half smiling.

“Diamond Tiara.” She replies, hesitantly accepting the hoofshake. The mare is cold, still wearing the black bodysuit.

Diamond Tiara trots over to a string hanging from the ceiling, to which Sparky follows and pulls down, revealing a thin staircase.

“Careful, it’s not too steady.” As she climbs, Diamond Tiara identifies more of the crawlspace. It’s dusty, and just as barren as the room below. This one also has a table, only it’s covered in green felt. Two Pegasi sit around the chair-less structure, playing some sort of card game she doesn’t understand. The tokens they hold look familiar, though. A bucket of ice sits beside it, dripping some water onto the small fabric patch it rests on.

The two new ponies turn to face her, then look at Sparky, who climbed up behind Diamond Tiara. They beckon Sparky aside, whispering their words, but not well enough to keep Diamond Tiara from hearing.

“Who’s the kid? And why are they here?”

“Diamond Tiara, apparently,” Sparky answers plainly. “She just kinda showed up. I didn’t want her to be lost out here!”

One of the mysterious ponies slaps Sparky on the muzzle.

“Idiot,” They sigh before continuing, pressing the same hoof against their forehead. “Well now what? Do we just, keep them?”

“We could…” the other Pegasus chimed in. “Don’t we need another member?”

“Not a child, nitwit,” The aggressive Pegasus exclaims.

“Let’s give it a shot, Arch. Maybe she could prove useful. Especially if she has the guts to follow us back here!”

After what feels like an eternity, the three ponies walk back over to Diamond Tiara, who was investigating a small rules sheet of the card game from before.

“Alright, kid. You're with us, or you’re out of here. Which is it?” The aggressive Pegasus asks, glaring down the filly. Diamond Tiara thinks for a moment. She doesn’t know her way home from here, and this could be fun… After a moment, she answers confidently. “I’m with you.”

The three ponies smile at each other.

“Sick!” The aggressive Pegasus exclaims. “I’m Flame Arch, that’s Sparky Shocks, and that’s Paint Roller.” The aggressive Pegasus explains excitedly, pointing to each of them as she says their name.

Sparky shares a confused look with Paint Roller at Flame Arch’s enthusiasm, but both dismiss it shortly for the time being. “You can stay up here. The table’s pretty comfortable, but I wouldn’t blame you for taking the floor instead.” Arch tosses a sheet at Diamond Tiara from beside her hoof on the floor.

“I’d recommend getting some sleep. It’s late, and you better be up at 6:00 A.M sharp if you’re serious about joining us!” Arch announces proudly.

Sparky and Paint Roller head down the stairs, shutting the latch. Diamond Tiara is a bit shaken, but heads to the corner of the room and wraps herself with the sheet nonetheless. It’s certainly different from what she’s used to, but the change isn’t all too bad.

Arch sprawls out on the table comfortably, putting her hooves behind her head. Soon enough, all four manage to fall asleep, although Diamond Tiara takes much longer than her new acquaintances.

Author's Note

Wrote this in a single sleep deprived night, and later decided to clean it up a bit. The idea is really funny to me, though, so I plan to write more when the motivation strikes. Future chapters will be longer, this one was more of a "proof of concept" than anything. This chapter will probably end up being rewritten.