Diamond In The Rough
By: Papillon Rose
Part One: Flawless
Chapter 1: The Headliner
It wasn't easy being perfect.
Well, for other ponies. By her estimation Diamond Tiara managed it like a pro.
The first rays of sunlight filtered through her lace-trimmed curtains, falling gently across her bed like a spotlight. With all the grace of a blooming flower, the tiny filly yawned, pushing her goose down comforter (specially designed with an accurate representation of her cutie mark embroidered in the dead center) back with her forehooves. Diamond Tiara sat up in bed, a sweet, innocent smile gracing her face.
She then proceeded to scream at the top of her lungs, kicking her comforter onto the floor and sending her various plush pillows and stuffed toys flying in all directions. "SQUEAKY!!"
Almost instantaneously her bedroom door burst open, revealing an extremely thin white unicorn mare with the majority of her light blue mane tucked beneath a maid's cap. Squeaky Clean had acclimated to her mistress' routine, and without further ado she went to work tidying the room. Diamond Tiara slipped out of bed with a sigh.
"Did you draw my bath already?" she asked haughtily, glaring at the clearly anxious maid. Squeaky nodded vigorously, the purple aura of magic surrounding her horn bobbing up and down as she levitated the comforter onto the bed and straightened it.
"Just drawn, with the lavender bubble bath and freshly dried towels just the way you like it." Squeaky looked proud of herself; a little too proud. Diamond Tiara grinned.
"Squeaky, you know I hate lavender. Do it over, with the cherry blossom."
Squeaky dropped the comforter with the high-pitched sound effect she was named for. "But last time you said-"
"I know what I said," Diamond Tiara snapped, stamping her tiny hooves on the floor. "It's not my fault that you can't remember anything from day to day."
Squeaky hung her head, defeated. "My apologies, young miss. It'll only take a minute."
Diamond smirked as the maid darted out of the room. Lavender was her favorite scent, but sometimes those uppity unicorns really needed to be put in their place.
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"Morning Daddy!"
A freshly dried, brushed, and hoof-shined Diamond Tiara descended the spiral staircase of the relatively lush mansion she shared with her father (and their various hired help, although they didn't really count.) Her diamond manepiece gleamed in light cast by the ornate light fixtures hanging above her head, and her clean, silky tail swished behind her with every step.
All the world was a stage, and her name headed the playbill in gold lettering.
Her father, Filthy Rich, was seated at the head of the table as usual, scanning a stack of paperwork while sipping at a cup of coffee being constantly refilled by another one of the maids, a light pink, alarmingly pretty unicorn mare who called herself Sugar Song. Sugar was new; she did not carry herself in the same anxiety-ridden manner that Squeaky Clean did. Far too many strands of her lovely deep pink mane strayed from beneath her cap, and she was smiling as she levitated the coffee pot. Filthy lifted his head and, horror of horrors, smiled back at her. "Thank you, Ms. Song."
A light blush darkened the maid's cheeks. "You can call me Sugar, Mr. Rich." She glanced back at the trio of deep pink music notes printed on her hip. "I've never managed to make much use of the song part."
Filthy looked as if he wished to continue the conversation, but Diamond Tiara had seen enough.
"Daddy!"
Filthy Rich turned his attention to his only daughter with the delighted expression he generally reserved for her and her alone. "Good morning, princess!"
Diamond Tiara walked over to her father with slow, deliberate steps, briefly fixing Sugar Song with an evil glare before nuzzling him affectionately.
Moments like this were strange for Diamond Tiara. Memories so old that they seemed yellowed at the edges like old photographs floated through her head: a tinier version of herself, nuzzling a face she couldn't remember. It always caused her heart rate to speed up, and something bitter would rise in her throat. She broke away, quickly returning to normal and remembering that she had a mission.
"Daddy, do you remember that Princess Celestia doll with the actual unicorn hair mane and real gold plated accessories you got for me from Canterlot?" she asked innocently. Filthy stiffened.
"Yes, honey, I remember that very expensive doll I had to commission...although nothing's too expensive for my little princess." Filthy's eyebrow twitched. "Please don't tell me you took it to school and some..."
"Oh no, nothing like that!" Diamond laughed dismissively. "It's just...well..." She shuffled a forehoof guiltily against the carpet. "One of the maids washed her by accident, and her mane's brown now."
Filthy sputtered, knocking over his teacup; Sugar Song gasped with disbelief.
Diamond's charred little heart leapt for joy. "It's all my fault for leaving her out, Daddy, so please don't be mean to Squeaky and Sugar. They probably didn't know."
When Filthy met Sugar Song's gaze once more all affability had vanished. Sugar took a step back, her eyes shimmering with tears. She hung her head as she commenced cleaning up the spilled coffee with a dishrag.
"Don't worry, Diamond." He patted his daughter's head affectionately. "I'll order you a new one as soon as I can get in touch with toy store in Canterlot. And I'll make sure," he punctuated the word with a pointed glare in Sugar's direction, "To speak with the help so this doesn't happen again."
"Oh, thank you, Daddy!" Diamond Tiara hugged her father briefly, inwardly snickering at Sugar Song sniffling as she left the dining room. "Can I have a Princess Luna, as well?"
"Of course, sweetie!"
"And..."
Diamond Tiara continued to rattle off her wishlist while Filthy listened with rapt attention to her every desire. The dining room doors opened, parting for the family chef, a portly yellow coated fellow who went by the name Corn Cob, levitating their steaming hot breakfast over his head precariously.
Life was sweet when you were the star of the show..
Author's Note
I know it's short. My apologies. It's a prologue of sorts.
I hate Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. I hate everything about them. That said, I'm challenging myself to take two awful characters and turn them into respectable ponies.
I'm sorry Apple Bloom. I'm sorry you have to suffer for this cause.
There might be some Cheerimac. At the very least, friendshipping. I'm not sure if I'll include any romantic elements or not as of yet, but whatever they are they're most certainly not the focus of the story. The focus of the story is Diamond Tiara. Because she sucks. But maybe not entirely.
As the owner of an extremely successful business that now served not just Ponyville, but several of the various corners of Equestria, Filthy Rich was a very busy pony. As such he generally had little time for his daughter beyond leaving exquisitely wrapped giftboxes in her room and the meals they shared, and even those were truncated by his swift departure from time to time. This was to be one of those mornings, apparently.
Although she could not ascertain whether the feelings were genuine affection or not, her father leaving early generally put Diamond Tiara in a foul mood. She finished up breakfast on her own with a dour expression, leaving a holy mess worthy of several ponies her size out of spite for the maids to tend to, and waited for Sugar Song (who would not look her directly in the eye) to adjust her saddlebag before departing for school.
"Oh Sugar," Diamond said sweetly as she headed out the door, glancing back over her shoulder at the chastized maid, "Do take care not to damage any more of my property. Daddy wouldn't appreciate it."
The crestfallen expression on the unicorn's face as the door shut behind her was priceless.
The garden path that lead from her home to one of the main roads of Ponyville was in full bloom, and Diamond Tiara had to admire the efforts of the gardeners that kept their lawn in check and their various flora healthy. The air smelled sweet with blooming flowers, and she lifted her tiny snout to the air and inhaled.
Waiting at the end of the path was her best (and probably only) friend, Silver Spoon. Silver stood at rapt attention, as usual, and she fell into step beside Diamond Tiara like clockwork.
"Morning Dee Tee!" she trilled, raising her left forehoof; it was met by Diamond's right and a rather enthusiastic "Spoony!"
Both fillies giggled at the nicknames; they were absolutely terrible and thus never drifted past the walkway. The sight of her best friend brightened Diamond's spirits immediately. Silver Spoon tended to be far less abrasive and less prone to being in a rotten mood than Diamond Tiara, even though Silver's family wasn't hardly as wealthy as hers. As such, she was surprised that she never caught the light of jealousy in Silver Spoon's eyes, nor the stench of false camaraderie that other fillies wanting to be 'BFFs' with the richest filly in class gave off. As they walked along the road to school with the fragrant scent of flowers and late spring tickling their nostrils, Diamond Tiara's expression softened into a genuine smile.
"So I was flipping through the latest issue of Hoof Beat, and Sapphire Shores is doing a concert in Ponyville this summer!" Silver Spoon squealed with delight. "I'm soo stoked."
"Who's she again?"
"Only the glitziest of the glitziest!" Silver Spoon paused to flip open her (designer) saddlebag, withdrawing a crisp magazine with a very colorful mare drenched in sequins and gems splashed across the front. It was a rather nauseating display.
"Oh...her." Diamond Tiara snorted. "Her fifteen minutes of fame must be over if she's performing in a one horse town like Ponyville."
Silver Spoon put her magazine away, chuckling nervously. "Y-yeah, why would any famous artist come all the way out to the sticks?" The two resumed trotting along, and Diamond Tiara noticed that Silver Spoon was much quieter than before. Probably realizing her mistake in getting so worked up over a washed up singer. The poor dear was so lucky to have Diamond Tiara to keep her from tarnishing her reputation by showing interest in the wrong things...or conversing with the wrong ponies.
As they passed the recently rebuilt Town Hall, the latter drifted by idly, wallowing in their sad (and likely extremely unprofitable) duties. Diamond Tiara sighed. She really couldn't wait until she was old enough to attend school in another city, a real city. Manehattan! Or better yet -- Canterlot itself. Sure she wasn't a unicorn but she was the daughter of the richest pony in Ponyville. That had to stand for something.
"Look out below!"
Diamond Tiara shrieked, grabbing Silver Spoon's hoof and ducking just as a rainbow-hued bundle of feathers careened through the air just above their heads. The pegasus was diving too quickly to halt her trajectory, and the fillies winced as she plowed right into a soft patch of grass, leaving a dent in the earth.
"That was amazing, Dashie! Even the part where you fell out of the sky like "Wheeeee" and then went SPLAT!" Diamond Tiara ducked once more, giving way to a pink Earth pony bouncing on her hooves as if her entire buoyant body was composed of marshmallow fluff. Pinkie Pie bounced her way to Rainbow Dash's side, whistling as she took stock of the wreckage. Rainbow Dash sat up, shaking her head, and spat out a mouthful of dirt.
"I almost had it!" she hissed, emphasizing her frustration by pounding a hoof against the ground. Her companion ruffled her colorful mane, responding with some kind of encouragement, but Diamond Tiara was no longer listening. Throwing her nose in the air once more she trotted past the two noponies with Silver Spoon in tow. Once out of earshot she turned to Silver Spoon with a conspiratorial smirk.
"It's so nice of Princess Celestia to be so very kind as to give the common ponies something to be proud of themselves for."
Silver Spoon nodded vigorously in agreement.
Soon the quaint schoolhouse the two fillies were obliged to attend loomed directly ahead. Diamond Tiara could see her various peers milling around, chatting with each other, or, in the case of the losers and loners, sitting off to the side, continuing to lose at the all-too-important game of socialization.
Diamond Tiara's eyes narrowed as she scanned the schoolyard. There were three very specific losers she had her sights set on, and she quickly located her targets sitting beside a tree, staring intently at an open notebook. Their flanks, as usual, remained free of any markings denoting their special talent, unlike the shimmering headpiece adorning her own. A malicious grin spread across her face.
Putting the blank flanks in their place never got old.
Apple Bloom scanned the pages intently, the hoof pressed against her cheek pushing her lips up into a mockery of a smile. She had nothing to smile about, she thought, grimly meeting the gaze of her two best friends. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked equally dejected.
They were out of ideas.
The pages of the notebook in front of them were filled with activities and tasks that could very well have been the special talent needed to earn their cutie marks, and each and every one had a line drawn through it.
Sweetie Belle sat back on her haunches, heaving an exasperated sigh that ruffled her bangs. "We've tried everything," she lamented. "Bunny wrangling, cupcake making, mud wrestling..."
"That was Apple Bloom's idea," Scootaloo muttered.
"...and we still don't have our cutie marks!" Sweetie Belle's voice rose into a characteristic squeak.
"Maybe that's because your special talent is being talentless." The statement was punctuated with matching giggles that made Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle all cringe in unison. They knew the newcomer's voice well, and all three fillies fixed Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon with withering glares as the two approached, sneering as usual.
Apple Bloom slammed the notebook shut. "Ain't ya'll got anything better to do than hangin' around here messing with us all the time?"
"Who said anything about messing with you?" Diamond nudged Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle out of the way with twin yelps of protest, looking down at Apple Bloom smugly. "I just wanted to see how your quest for your cutie marks is going."
"It's going, and I reckon it ain't none of your concern," Apple Bloom deadpanned.
Diamond Tiara sniffed. "I'm just trying to help a fellow classmate. There's no need to be rude." Apple Bloom's guard loosened ever so slightly at those words, giving Diamond the second she needed to snatch the notebook in her mouth and canter off with it, Silver Spoon in tow.
"GIVE THAT BACK!" Apple Bloom yelled, leaping to her hooves and taking off after the disagreeable fillies. Scootaloo followed suit, leaving Sweetie Belle to sigh heavily and press her tiny hoof to her forehead before joining the chase as well.
Diamond Tiara had already plopped down on the green with the notebook open before her (and attracted a couple of their classmates by reading aloud from it) by the time Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle caught up with her. Silver Spoon met their eye, snickering at their expressions of horror as Diamond Tiara continued to read.
"Sheep shearing...mudraking...PIG SLOPPING? Who wants a cutie mark for that?" The handful of fillies and colts gathered around laughed as well; Apple Bloom's cheeks flushed. She darted forward to seize the notebook, but Silver Spoon stepped in the way, causing the fillies to collide with each other. Diamond Tiara's eyes glittered; at the back of her head the thought that she just might be going a little too far tried to assert itself, but she pushed it back down into the depths. "I'd rather be a blank flank for the rest of my life than have a lame cutie mark like that."
"At least our cutie marks won't be something stupid like a crown," Scootaloo bristled. "Or a spoon. You two don't even HAVE special talents!"
That hit a raw nerve. Diamond Tiara's eyes narrowed, her voice dripping with false pleasantry. "You know, Silver Spoon, I heard you can tell a lot about a pony based on their cutie mark. Not just what they're good at, but what they're going to be in life."
Silver Spoon nodded in agreement, chiming in, "Like a pegasus that can't fly yet with funny-looking wings..."
Scootaloo dug her hooves into the grass, assuming an attack stance; Sweetie Belle rushed over and made an attempt to hold her back that dissolved into sitting on her haunches, stunned as Silver Spoon continued, "Or a klutz with a really weird voice..."
Diamond Tiara chuckled, rising to her hooves to face Apple Bloom. The notebook paper crunched beneath her tiny hooves as she walked forward until they stood face to face; her small body felt as if it were full of air, her head light on her shoulders as she concluded, smirking, "Or an uneducated farm pony that won't ever live anywhere besides a dirt hole with a crazy old lady, a brother with a limited vocabulary, and a possible fillyfooler for a sister."
Diamond's initial suspicion that she might've gone just a little too far was confirmed seconds after she finished her analysis of Apple Bloom, in the form of the yellow filly rearing up on her hind legs and slamming her forehooves right into her smug face.
Author's Note
That seemed like the best place to leave off. : )
Sorry for the delays; this chapter isn't the best. I'm trying to work through writer's block. If you see any mistakes don't hesitate to let me know!
