//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 - Patching Hearts 
// Story: Story of Diane Pie: Role in Life 
// by Middle Ground 
//------------------------------//

	Some days went by and I think I'm starting to get more comfortable about confessing my identity to Miss Jubilee and the others thanks to Dr. Sweet. I've even started having Dr. Sweet himself be practice for me. But the reveal of my identity has yet to be done for real. It was on another Tuesday like always except this time Tough Love gave me the day off because she wanted to sleep in bed for the first time in a long time. So I got to my appointment early and finished it early too.
"Thank you, Dummies. You too, Dr. Sweet." I had to thank the dummy ponies Dr. Sweet used to help me practice.
Dr. Sweet sighed, "I told you, Diane, call me Dr. Bitter. That's what it says on the plaque on my door and on my degree." He pointed to the degree that was titled, 'Dr. Bitter'.
I chuckled, "Whatever you say, Dr. Sweet." Dr. Sweet gave an annoyed sigh and I laughed. We then left the office and made our way back home. I checked the clock in the office before we left and it was 2: 46pm. It was still in the middle of the day so we had some time to spend.
"Hey Bitter, do you want to go somewhere before we go back home? It's still pretty early." It's such a beautiful day that I thought it would be a waste to just spend it indoors.
"Well, I suppose so since we don't really have anything else to do. Why not?" I'm so glad Bitter Sweet accepted! I then dragged him to go and check the sights with me. It was fun just the two of us. We had some fun ice skating and we went to a bookstore Bitter Sweet liked. It was called, 'Grand Script's Books' and the motto was, 'Looking for a book? We'll find it!'. Maybe I should have Tough Love make a motto for the bakery. We went inside and Bitter Sweet was looking for a specific kind of book that was supposed to be located in the Supernatural Section. I had no idea he had an interest in the supernatural. Learn something new every day. He was very serious in his search.
"So Dr. Bitter, looking for a type of book? I can find it if you need it." An adult male Pegasus came up to us with a bright smiling face. His coat was a bright-colored purple and a mane and tail in a darker shade of purple. His Cutie Mark was a blue book with a big question mark on it. I guess he likes books. He must be Grand Script.
"No thank you, Mr. Three. I'm fine searching on my own." Bitter Sweet went back to his search. What ever this book was must be of personal interest. But something didn't right to me....
"Mr. Three...? But I thought his name was Grand Script." I was confused.
Grand Script laughed, "Yeah, some ponies don't get it. I'm actually Grand Script the Third. I took over the shop from my dad like he did his dad. And believe it or not, I'm actually 24." He looks so much older though...! I was surprised.
"So Doctor, whose the cute mare? Your mare friend? You sly colt you." Grand Script gave us a teasing expression as he chuckled. And to my surprise, Bitter Sweet then slipped and fell with many books falling on top of him.
"Oops...." Grand Script realized he shouldn't have done that and we both started removing books from on top of Bitter Sweet and hoped he was alright. Thankfully, he was just fine.
"Mr. Three, I would appreciate it if you do not do that again...." Bitter Sweet sounded annoyed and his cheeks carried a slight blush as he tried to straighten up his sunglasses.
Grand Script laughed, "Sorry about that, Doc. Guess you're still too young to have a mare friend." He was still teasing us.
"Grand Script, you're testing my patience...." Bitter Sweet sounded angry over the teasing. And that scared me....
"Uh...sorry. I'll stop now." Grand Script quickly clammed up and stopped the teasing. We then began to leave the books store.
"So Doc, did you ever find that book? My offer to find it for you still stands." Grand Script then began to read a book himself.
"Maybe next time, Mr. Three.  I'll see you later." We then left the book store and then made our way to one of the cafés he likes. It was called, 'Warm Morning' and it was a coffee place. There were some ponies there enjoying their coffee and baked foods.
"Hello Doctor...! Welcome back! And...who is your friend?" There was a pure white Earth pony mare at the front desk serving coffee to the customers.
"Hello Vanilla Cream. This is Diane. She's the pony I told you about. She is one of my current patients." Bitter Sweet told me about her. Vanilla Cream used to be one of his patients. That's really all he told me. We then sat down in one of the tables and awaited our orders.
"So, what would you two like to order?" Vanilla Cream took out a notepad to write down our orders. I looked over the list of drinks and foods and they all look good.
"I'll just order the usual. I'll be paying for it." Bitter Sweet then magically levitated a newspaper over to the table to read it.
"I'll just have a cup of cold milk please." I wasn't really hungry, but I was thirsty.
"One usual and one cold milk coming up." Vanilla Cream then walked away to fill out our orders. I watched as she began making the coffee with ease. Almost as good as Tough Love and her baking. She then arrives to deliver our orders.
"Here's your usual coffee with three sugars and hazel nut creamer, Doctor. And here is your cold milk, Miss Diane." She delivered us our orders with a smile on her face. I took a sip of mine and I love it. It was cold, but refreshing and it had a slight sweet-ness to it.
"Thank you, Vanilla Cream. Here's the payment." Bitter Sweet already had the payment for our orders and presented it to Vanilla Cream. Then he began to drink his coffee.
"Thank you, Doctor." Vanilla Cream took the payment and went back to serving the other customers. I continued to enjoy my cold milk while Bitter Sweet continued to enjoy his coffee. Afterwards, we then began to leave the café. I checked the clock and it was 5:03 pm and it was starting to get late.
"We'll be leaving now, Vanilla Cream. Thank you for the drinks." Bitter Sweet and I placed the used cups on the front desk before we made our way out the door.
"Thank you for coming!" Vanilla Cream gave us her good bye as we left. We then began to make our way back home. We didn't want to worry everypony back home.
"Diane, I believe now is the time." I stopped when Bitter Sweet made that statement. I had to process what he meant for a few seconds and then my body became cold with fear.
"You have been showing progress, Diane. I'm sure you can do it." Even with those words of encouragement, my body refused to move at all. I'm not even sure if I can even get the words out. I could already feel my throat tightening from the thought.
"Um...Diane?" Bitter Sweet looked at me with confusion. I couldn't say anything all of a sudden and it was killing me.
"I...I don't know...." I could barely say anything without stuttering.
Bitter Sweet sighed, "Then we'll just have to keep trying. You may confess to them when you are ready." He then continued his way back home and I followed. I have been making progress, but I may not be able to do it. I still don't know what they would think about me if I did tell them. But there wasn't much time to mentally prepare myself since we arrived at home in no time at all. I quickly took a deep breath since I don't really have to tell them just yet like Bitter Sweet said. We entered the house and the smell of freshly made soup filled our noses. We walked up stairs to see Miss Jubilee making soup and Tough Love setting up the table. Day was playing with a few of her dolls and Charm was reading his comic books like usual.
"Welcome back, you two~! Did you two enjoy your date~?" Even Miss Jubilee started teasing us. I think my pink cheeks became pinker from embarrassment.
"Miss Jubilee, we're not like that...." Even Bitter Sweet was embarrassed.
"Diane and Bitter, sitting in a tree...!" Love, please don't.... I then see Day and Charm join her.
"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" That joke is so childish.... Bitter Sweet and I are nothing like that.
"The soup is nearly done~! Have a seat at the table and I pour you all a bowl~!" We all sat at the dinner table to enjoy the soup Miss Jubilee made and just when I was getting really hungry. I got my bowl and the soup was full of corn, green beans, onions, carrots, and it smelled so good. Tasting it was even better. I had two bowls of it because I was so hungry. Afterwards, we all settled down in the living room and talked about our day and nothing really special happened to us. Tough Love spent her day reading her love novels, Day and Charm had a boring day at school, and Miss Jubilee had a day of shopping. It's strange how I got to this point. I never really questioned why or how I got to this point in my existence and it's only been a couple of months. I've come to know these four ponies so much and they accept me like a family. Honestly, I could never ask for more. And I can't help but wonder how my other self, Pinkie Pie, is doing.... I know I don't want anything to do with her anymore, but I just can't help but wonder from time to time. Is she happy? Is she safe? Is she making any more friends? Honestly speaking, this is troublesome to me. But right now, all I'm doing is making a place for myself in this land of ponies. That is all that matters to me right now. Though, what do I do after that? I'm not sure....
"Alright everypony, we should be getting ready for bed soon~! It's about that time~!" I checked the clock and it was already 9:56pm. I can't believe how fast time went by. I was actually pretty tired after today. Day and Charm went upstairs to get ready and so did Tough Love. I stayed behind with Bitter Sweet and Miss Jubilee in the living room.
"So have you two been making progress with whatever you two have been doing? Hmm~?" Is Miss Jubilee still teasing us? Seriously, Bitter Sweet and I are nothing like that....
"If by progress you mean with Diane's personal issues, then yes we are. As for that kind of progress, neither of us have a desire for such. And I personally am not ready for a relationship right now." And neither am I. I just started existing a couple of months ago.
"Alright then, have it your way. I'm sure you two will be ready eventually." Miss Jubilee then began making her way upstairs to get ready for bed.
Bitter Sweet sighed, "I wish she would act her age. She pesters me all the time over such trivial things...." He tucked his sunglasses that were slipping.
"Well...is it really so trivial? I mean, falling in love is not that bad." Even though I have too much on my mind already.
"True, but 'falling in love' and 'being in a relationship' are two different things." I can't deny that.... We then left the living room to get ready for bed. We all bid each other a fond good night and slept the night away. I didn't really need to speak with Princess Luna this time. She did have other ponies to meet with in the dreams. The new morning came and I woke up rather early to the smell of freshly made coffee. I see Miss Jubilee all dressed up in a nice dress and she had a bouquet of pretty flowers.
"Good morning, Miss Jubilee." I was still half asleep to ask about the dress and the flowers. I needed some coffee.
"Oh, good morning, Diane. You're up early." She was drinking some coffee too. I sat next to her at the dinner table after pouring my coffee.
"I smelled some coffee. So why are you up so early? Do you have a special order today?" Miss Jubilee usually goes out and do special deliveries for certain ponies.
"No, it's not for a delivery. It's for...something else." She sounded rather serious. She then placed her bouquet of flowers gently in a bag and then made her way to the staircase.
"Do you want to come with me? I could use some company." She waited for me to answer. She might have already finished her own coffee. I nodded, quickly finished my coffee, burnt my tongue, and then wrote a note so I wouldn't worry anypony. We then left the building and made our way to where Miss Jubilee wanted to go. She didn't say anything and neither did I. Whatever she was doing must be really serious to give me the silent treatment. Finally, we arrive at the Manehatten Cemetery. Just from the sight of the gravestones, I knew what Miss Jubilee was doing: She was visiting a grave. We walked passed many different gravestones and eventually came up to one at the far-right side of the cemetery. The words on the tombstone reads, "Here Lies Show Time. An Entertainer, a Friend, and an All-around Fun Pony. RIP."
"Miss Jubilee, who is this pony...?" I had to ask. I saw her place the bouquet of flowers in front of the tombstone and sat down on the cold, wet ground.
"He could have been my husband by now. But we never even got married.... He died from a terrible accident during the production of his first theatre project. A sandbag fell right on top of him due to an error of mechanics. It crushed him almost instantly. I still remember that goofy smile on his face when I said yes to his proposal. That was five years ago. We could have been so happy...." I could already see tears streaming from her eyes. I couldn't even imagine the pain she is in right now.
"I'm sure he would want you to be happy right now. He would be sad to see you like this...." I wanted to help her, but I'm not sure I could.
"I know, but.... It hurts so much...!" She began to cry in front of the grave. I then embraced her, hoping to comfort her. Though, it might take more than hugs to help her right now. I couldn't really say anything else to her. This is a pain that has existed for five long years. All I could do now is be there for her and continue to support her. After a while, she finally stopped crying and started to calm down. She took out a few tissues and started rubbing the tears out of her eyes.
"Thank you, Diane, for being here with me...." It was really all I could do for her.
"I'm here for you, Miss Jubilee. You were there for me when I needed help. We're family, right...?" I was still a little unsure if I was still a member of her family. I guess I'm just negative.... She then embraced me back.
"Of course you are, Diane. I know you are." It was such a relief to hear Miss Jubilee say that. I realized that the bonds between others can make a strong community, a strong friendship, and a strong family. Not even blood ties can match that. Suddenly, a flash of light shined from my flank. We both looked at it and saw my Cutie Mark!
"Oh my gosh! I got my Cutie Mark! I got my Cutie Mark!" I was so excited! I looked on and on at my newly obtained Cutie Mark and it meant I was my own pony after all!
"But look at it.... I've never seen one like this one before." We both examined it and it looked like a broken heart being held together by a blue ribbon. What does that mean exactly?
"Well, I guess you know how to fix a broken heart, Diane. You are pretty good at that kind of thing." I never really thought of that before. I just did what any pony would do. I guess it's just...my natural talent. Mind. Blown.
"I think we've spent enough time here. Let's go back home and show everypony your new Cutie Mark. And also...thank you for being there with me. I really needed it." I never felt such elation from being thanked like this. We then left the cemetery and made our return home. It's still too early for me to confess my identity, so that will have to wait. But knowing that I am my own pony is only one giant step forward for me. I am ready to be myself for real now.