Apples and Tiaras

Diamond Tiara slowly walked out, feeling intimidated by the Crystal Dragon. So big and so menacing. "Um... hi, Helios. m-my name's Diamond Tiara. i-i'm sure Applebloom told you about me."

The dragon snorted out smoke then turned his head to go to sleep. "i... i see. you want to take a nap. i'm not gonna pry into things. just gonna... gonna leave you alone... hehe..."

TIara turned and nervously breathed out as she walked away. she never felt more intimidated in her life. That dragon was so scary. How can Applebloom not be scared around him? She must have Nerves of Steel. Guess that would explain why she was able to put up with her bullying.

"And she's still helping me regardless of what i did to her." that made Tiara think of a way to pay her back. "where does Zim keep the cookbooks?"

Applebloom's errands took her all over Trottingham. first was a stop at the local markets, buying food for herself and Helios. it resulted in a large amount of hay frys and a couple dozen pounds of meat, which she asked to be delivered.

Next was City Hall, as Zim asked her to drop off bills he had paid. it turned out to take a lot longer then she planned as a old mare was taking FOREVER filling out a form.

Lastly was the bank where she was to ask for a loan for her Veterinary Practice. a task easier said then done.

"What do you mean, you're turning me down for a loan!?!" Applebloom exclaimed.

where was Money Britches to begin, he had no idea. "Where do i begin?You have no credibility. You have no job experience..."

"I do too have experience! Didn't you call one of my contacts?!"

"your contact, Fluttershy, wasn't available for a reference. and neither were your other contacts; Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, Sweetie Belle..."

"None of them? not even Duchess Trixie?"

"nope. they must've had something to do."

he was right. back in Ponyville, they were celebrating Starlight Sparkle's 15th birthday and Peppy Pine's 14th Birthday. Applebloom didn't know because she didn't receive the invitations yet.

"So... i'm not getting a loan at all!?"

"Sorry. but unless i get good recommendations from your sources, i'm afraid your loan is canceled."

Applebloom couldn't believe this! what the hell happened to her to deserve this?

"...hmm.... how about Apple Pie? eh, no. too ironic."

Tiara clamored her way though the Kitchen, making Applebloom a little treat for helping her last night. the only trouble is that she's having trouble trying to decide which cake or pie to make. and Zim isn't being helpful.

"Why not a nice carrot cake?" he suggested.

Tiara gave him a mean look, which surprised him and made him feel insignificant. "why don't you shut your pie hole and let me think?!"

Zim did just that and shut up. he knows she's not doing that voluntarily; it's all those pregnancy hormones. such a shame. she's far too young to be a mother. she's only 22. at least, that's how old Applebloom is and he figures Tiara is the same age. give or take.

Tiara groaned and slammed her head on the counter, causing a cookbook to fall out and land on her head. "ow..."

Zim walked over and took the book off of Tiara's head. "huh..."

"what?" Tiara got up and looked at it. the book that landed on her opened up into page on cakes. in this case, a chocolate cake. "well... sometimes the basics are the best..."

After 2 hours, Applebloom came back to the house, feeling as miserable as shit. "Man... Zim isn't going to like this." she said win a defeated tone. "*sigh* when did my life get so complicated?"

She opened the door and went on in. she wasn't prepared to see a messy Tiara standing there, holding a cake for Applebloom. "Tiara?" Applebloom felt a bit embarrassed "Wha... what's the cake for?"

"it's a thank you. a thank you for helping me last night. and for putting up with me."

"Putting up with you?"

Tiara put the cake down on a table and sat down on a chair. "for... putting up with the horrid ways me and Silver Spoon tormented you when we were fillies. you had no reason to help me, and yet you did."

"Of course i did." Applebloom sat down on the couch and got comfy. "we may not have had the best relationship when we were kids but that's in the past. and besides, last night i saw a wounded and heartbroken mare in need of help and i gave my help. that's something my sister taught me."

Tiara chuckled. "a SIster... i'm envious."

"envious?"

"Yeah. i grew up a only child so i could only envious of other families. and all that time Mom and Dad spent in their room, i thought i was going to get a brother or sister. I didn't know they were... having arguments that lead to them divorcing." Tiara softly cried and wiped her eyes.

"why did they?" Applebloom somberly asked.

"Oh... you don't want to know."

"Oh, i do. spill, Tiara. why'd you leave town?"

Tiara somberly sighed and sat back. "My parents divorced because Dad caught Mom cheating on him." Applebloom gasped and held her mouth. "she was with another pony- the family maid. that lead to a long argument that lasted several days and ended with them divorcing. Dad got custody of me and we moved out here. i made new friends and almost forgot about my old life in Ponyville. except for letters from Silver Spoons." Tiara lightly chuckled. "i just remembered that i haven't heard from her in a couple of months. what happened to her? she said she was moving to Manehatten."

"she did. and she met with my cousin Babs Seed. the two of them hit it off, according to her letter."

"good. it's good to for Silver Spoons to get some new friends." Tiara paused for a moment. "so... how are the rest of the Crusaders doing?"

"Last i heard, pretty good." Applebloom, feeling a bit peckish, went into the kitchen to grab a couple of plates. "Dinky and Pipsqueak ran off with Daring Do and her Gryphon husband Silverbolt. Scootaloo is in Feather Top with Feather Weight, working on becoming a reporter." Applebloom returned with the plates, some forks, and a serving knife. she passed a plate to Tiara and began cutting the cake up. "And Sweetie Belle went on to become Sapphire Shores' protege and becoming a famous singer."

"That part, i knew." Tiara took a piece of cake offered by Applebloom and used her fork to cut it. "i have a few records of hers. never knew she had such a amazing voice."

"Surprised Sapphire Shores as well." Applebloom took a big slice and bit into it.

"So... is it true about all that happened? The Changeling Invasion? Discord's return? and that massive Dragon?"

Applebloom wanted to answer but had her mouth full. she swallowed and lightly burped. "all true. Chrysalis launched a invasion of Canterlot, which lead to the Winter War, which ended in a Treaty that was sealed with Fluttershy and Mirror's Edge- that wounded Changeling we found - marriage. Discord appeared and kidnapped Eris, Rainbow Dash's adopted Draconequus daughter and Scootaloo's adopted sister- Dash adopted her, by the way-, and the two caused a lot of chaos. in the end, Eris was forced to die so Erys, Celestia's daughter, could live and Discord came to our side. and that Dragon... well, he ended up coming to our side as well."

Tiara had trouble following. "how un... how was that possible?"

"remember that human Jax? purple hair, large wings, has a real short temper to us?"

"OH! her. i remember her."

"Well, she has a spell called Personality Shift. it does one of two things: either exorcises a deadly spirit from someone..."

"i remember that story with Requiem and Nightmare Moon." Tiara sighed.

"...or it divides someone into a being that's all good and a being that's all bad. Chrysalis and Discord, bad parts gone. Oscurita... well..."

"Oscurita?"

"the giant dragon. quite a back story with him. turns out Oscurita was originally a normal sized Drake named eTu`nes who was Derpy's first friend. the two of them... fell in love."

Tiara just had to interrupt. "Derpy? the klutzy mailmare fell in love with a dragon?"

"She didn't feet it at the time but eTunes was in full-on heartthrob mode. but... thanks to a altercation, eTunes ran away and hasn't been seen for 8 years since. he did leave his mark though. he's Dinky's real dad."

"What?!"

"yeah. she got Dragon Wings during the final hours of the Winter war. she's basically a demonic Alicorn. mmm... speaking of which, i got something to tell you later." Tiara got curious. "anyways, eTunes came across a horrid duo of humans named Orochi and Tsylatac. they corrupted him and turned him into Oscurita. but, thanks to Jax's Personality Shift and eTunes love for Derpy, they brought him back. they still had to deal with Oscurita's shell. they beat him and those 2 disappeared. Derpy and eTu`nes got married the same day the humans left."

"Aw, they're gone."

"Have been."

ow. she missed so much. Tiara should've stayed in Ponyville; it's more eventful then this boring town. "So... what happened after that?"

"well... everything quieted down and they started having kids. my sister Applejack and her husband Zilver have a daughter named Peppy. Pinkie and Marble have a daughter named Cotton Cloud, Fluttershy and Mirror's Edge have twins; Golden Day and Season's Edge. Rarity and Spike have two kids; Filigree and Fire Ruby. Rainbow Dash and Storm Shadow have two kids; Soarin' Cloud and Eris Shine. Trixie and Luna have twin daughters; Marian and Woona. Cadence and Armor have a son named Glade Yggdrasill; named him after Jax and Sora. Lyra and Bonbon have a daughter named Sweet Song. Vinyl and Octavia have a son named Electronic Symphony- named their nightclub after him. Derpy and eTu`nes have a daughter named Windancer. and Twilight and Halo have two daughters; Starlight Sparkle and Goldie."

Tiara whistled. that's a lot of kids. "That's a lot of kids."

"Yeah. no kidding. and remember when i said that Dinky is now some kind of Demonic Alicorn of sorts? and when Twilight was pregnant after the whole 'turned into human' fiasco?"

where is she going with this? "yyyeah?"

"well, Starlight IS a Alicorn."

"What?!"

"yeah. and to make it more weirder, she was born with a Cutie Mark and with powers over time!"

Tiara's mouth dropped. she had to be making this up. "You're making this up."

Applebloom countered by producing a picture of the tyke when she was born. "believe me now?"

Tiara's mouth dropped even further. she was telling the truth. "wow. must be tough for her, being a abomination. eh... if that's the right term."

Applebloom shrugged. "She never corrected anyone. and she's had a hard time because of it. except for her mother's friend's kids, nopony seems to be kind to her."

Tiara felt a connection there. "kind of like you and me."

Applebloom didn't notice it at first. "yeah. kind of like you and me. but she has all those friends, like me."

"yeah... like you..." Tiara tapped her hooves on her lap and sighed. "i'm.. sorry for what i pulled when we were fillies."

"Ah, it's nothing." Applebloom got up and cracked her back. "i heard that bullies bully because they're emotionally vulnerable." Tiara didn't argue with that.

Tiara looked up at the clock and winced. "OH, Geez! i gotta get home before dad sends out the police."

"i thought you said he didn't care about you."

"I'm still his daughter. and my dad is a important pony so if i'm missing..."

"I get it. i get it."

Tiara ran to the door, stopped there, and lightly hugged Applebloom, making her blush. "thank you for your hospitality. glad i have a friend like you."

"Same here, Tiara." Tiara broke the hug and headed for the door. "OH, wait. what are you going to tell him, about the whole pregnancy thing?"

"I'll think of something. i just need to get home! i'll think of it then!"

"Okay. will you come by tomorrow?"

"if i can!" Tiara ran off and headed for home as fast as she could.

Applebloom watched her run, watching her plot sway from side to side, moving-- Applebloom realized what she was doing and shook her head.

"That was odd." she said.