Collapse, Collide

by Zombificus

Familiarisation

Diamond went to her next lesson much happier for having gotten her side of things across to her classmates. Already, she could see that the way they looked at her had changed considerably: gone was the unthinking hatred, replaced by its lesser cousin, caution and a sort of grudging respect.

The next lesson on Diamond’s timetable was Science, a subject she looked forward to most days, and doubly so today: it would be a practical experiment, and likely to be less demanding on her shaky understanding of the theory – damn Silver Spoon to Tartarus for distracting her for so long – than other lessons.

Her upbeat mood remained throughout the beginning of the lesson, but, as with all good things, it was cut cruelly short when she ended up partnered with Rumble and her teacher moved out of earshot before she could voice her objections. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to work with him, it was that he had made it very clear in their last conversation that he wanted nothing to do with her.

Still, she would achieve nothing just standing there silently: “Hello, Rumble,” she said, cautiously.

“…Hi, Diamond. I guess we’re partners, then?”

“Looks that way, yeah. You want to fetch the burner, or shall I?”

Looking thankful for an escape from the rapidly mounting awkwardness, Rumble gave a hurried “-I’ll get it-“ and trotted away hurriedly. Shrugging, Diamond pushed his odd behaviour to the back of her mind and set about finding the other items they’d need for the experiment.

Rumble returned from his trip and immediately threw himself into the process of setting up the apparatus, making a point of not looking at Diamond throughout his work: an action she mirrored by likewise pretending her partner did not exist.

This went on for the majority of the experiment, until Rumble broke the awkward silence by calling Diamond’s name; a reluctant edge to his voice.

“Uh… Diamond?”

“What?” she asked flatly: there was very little about the experiment which would require an explanation – and given Rumble’s dislike of her, he’d be more likely to ask their teacher – so this was probably something unrelated; and very likely related to her speech at the assembly.

He flinched back a little at her abrupt response, and she frowned at the colt. Perhaps he wasn’t here to criticise her after all, in which case her actions thus far would be far from encouraging. Forcing a more pleasant voice into her mouth, she tried again.

“What is it, Rumble?”

Some of the caution in his expression melted away, and Diamond smiled internally – it seemed likely he wasn’t out to insult her, given this response.

“I-I… I’m… well, I’m sorry. For before. I should’ve listened to you, but I just walked off… so, I’m sorry.”

She frowned at him again. “Not that I don’t appreciate it, Rumble, but why the sudden change of heart?”

“My brother, Thunderlane… he had a friend about a year ago. I wanted Thunder to play with me again, so I tried making friends with his friends so that we could all hang out…”

He trailed off: Diamond, confused, pressed him for more details.

“And… what happened?”

Rumble gulped, but went on regardless: “One of Thunder’s friends seemed nice, and he pretended that he liked me. But after a while, he stopped bothering and just threatened me to do what he wanted: it… well, it was like with you and Silver Spoon… Only I got out of it after a few months, and I only had to steal little things: you had to bully us all for three years to keep Silver off your back.”

Diamond had begun to connect the dots when he’d begun his piece, and with a sinking stomach she realised she had been right. “You know how hard it was for me because you had to live it. Nice to know somepony else understands what it’s like… shame you had to deal with that shit too, though.”

“Thanks for not laughing,” Rumble said, still shuffling on the spot somewhat awkwardly, “You’re alright, Diamond… I really am sorry about what I said.”

“It’s OK. If you want we can forget about what we said to each other and start fresh… sound like a good bargain?”

The colt spat onto his hoof and held it out to Diamond – “Deal,” he said, though a second after he had done so, it occurred to him that she might not appreciate the gesture and he began retracting his hoof.

Smirking, Diamond spat on her own hoof and gripped his firmly, shaking it without squeamishness and shooting him a grin as she agreed: “Deal.”

They returned to their work in silence, but this one was amicable and comfortable, rather than the hostile, tense and awkward one they’d endured previously. Diamond’s good mood returned with the rushing sense of achievement, and she walked out of the lesson with a considerable bounce in her step which remained for much of the day.

*

Dinky and Auburn met Diamond in what was quickly becoming their regular meeting place – the Equish corridor – and the sight of her two friends brought a grin to the filly’s face.

“Hi!” Dinky chirped as Diamond approached; Auburn waiting until her friend was closer before greeting her in her typical quiet and meaningful manner.

“Hey, Diamond. You were great earlier; I think you really made them understand what you were going through: a lot of the foals in my class were talking about you, and nicely for once.”

Diamond blushed modestly. “Really, it was you two and the Crusaders who made all that happen… I couldn’t even finish explaining without crying my eyes out like a baby.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Di’, you kicked flank up there and you know it!”

Dinky’s response, over the top as it was, made Diamond feel a little better about her own part in the proceedings – its success was something she was happy with, but she honestly felt her contributions would have fallen flat if not for the others.

As the trio headed for the exit, Auburn added pensively: “Honestly, I think you crying did more good than if you’d managed to say it all. For one, it proved that you weren’t just making up some old wives’ tale; and I also think it made a lot of the foals who’d been seeing you as nothing more than a bully realise that you’re a filly with feelings: just like them.”

“When you put it like that, I sound like I did something impressive. All I did was have a breakdown in front of the school.”

Auburn’s wing wrapped momentarily around Diamond’s shoulder, and the pegasus leaned in, speaking softly but seriously in her ear:

“Dinky’s right – you shouldn’t sell yourself short. You’re a great filly, Diamond; don’t you ever forget that.”

She removed her wing and returned to her previous distance from Diamond, but her words lingered in Diamond’s mind. She thought she might be close to understanding Auburn’s sometimes contradictory mannerisms – her reserved way of speaking but strange enthusiasm for physical contact, for instance – and she mulled this last statement over in her mind.

The picture she was getting of her friend was that the taciturn pegasus didn’t like to say much besides what she considered important, somewhat similar to Apple Bloom’s elder brother in that regard. With Auburn, every expression of the filly’s thoughts and opinions was given the amount of emphasis she deemed appropriate: minor thoughts were kept to the confines of her mind; more important ideas were spoken concisely so as not to waste anypony’s time; and her most meaningful comments required the extra weight an accompanying physical action could bring.

What had been a slightly confusing quirk of her friend’s personality was now comprehendible to Diamond; and she smiled in satisfaction at her deeper understanding, wondering for a moment whether Auburn, too, thought about what made she and Dinky tick. Given her thoughtful nature, it certainly seemed likely – perhaps Diamond would have to ask her about it at some point.

With this thought occupying her mind, Diamond continued steadily towards Ponyville and home.

*

“Adventuring again?” – Filthy Rich had guessed that his daughter would be wanting to spend the afternoon with her new friends, and sure enough, she nodded eagerly.

“Yep: we’re going to Dinky’s house today – you know where she lives, don’t you?”

“Indeed I do… I actually needed to go across anyway: I’ve got a package for Ditzy to deliver, so I’ll give her that when I pick you up this evening.”

“Thanks, Dad!”

Rich grinned at his daughter as she turned joyfully to her friends and trotted away with a spring in her step. “Have fun, and I’ll see you later!” he called, and she waved back at him, smiling to match his own, before returning her attention once more to her friends.

*

Led by an increasingly enthusiastic Dinky, Diamond and Auburn arrived outside a modest Ponyville cottage after less than five minutes’ walk. Their friend knocked on the door with her customary vigour and moments later the door flew open and a grey blur dashed from inside to pull Dinky into a loving hug: Diamond watched on uncertainly, while Auburn merely smiled knowingly.

The larger grey figure extricated itself from the smaller one and turned to the fillies with a full, welcoming smile on its face.

“Hello again, Auburn!” said Ditzy ‘Derpy Hooves’ Doo, with the same infectious happiness her daughter possessed. Her eyes widened momentarily as she spotted the third member of the party, before returning to their previous joyful expression. “Oh, and Diamond’s here too? - I’d been wondering when I’d meet her.”

“Hello, Ms Doo,” replied Diamond, trying her best to make a good impression.

“Nice to finally meet you, Dinky’s been telling me all about you this week. You can call me Ditzy or Derpy – whichever you prefer – all my friends do, and any friend of my Dinky is a friend of mine!”

“Okay, Ditzy. It’s nice to meet you in person, too – oh, and before I forget: Daddy will be round to pick me up later, he has a package for you to deliver, too.”

Ditzy Doo straightened up in surprise at this last part: she barely ever lost her packages, but the one time she had done so – combined with her clumsy nature – had left a black mark on her reputation. Ponies tended to have her deliver their mail as a last resort, but she knew that several of her co-workers had more than enough time in their schedules, rendering that theory null and void.

Perhaps it was only because Diamond was there, making it convenient for Filthy Rich to have her take it; but maybe – just maybe – it was because somepony had realised that she was actually quite good at her job, thank you very much, and more than up to the task of delivering post. She held onto that thought: it made her happy, no matter the huge likelihood that it was not true.

“Thanks for telling me that, Diamond,” she said as she led the trio into the house; her darling Dinky shutting the door behind them all. She advanced into the cosy interior of her home, her three companions following her to the worn wooden table filling the living room and taking the seats she offered them.

She trotted off into the small kitchen to make some tea for herself and Auburn, who was quite partial to the drink despite her youth. The pegasus, whom Dinky had unexpectedly brought back to the house one afternoon after school, was certainly an unusual young mare, not that Ditzy minded that. Losing herself in her thoughts, Ditzy filled the kettle and set it down, pressing the magical primer to get it going on automatic – and without so much as a stumble.

Whilst initially taken by surprise by the unannounced guest, Ditzy had quickly warmed up to the filly: especially when she learned that she was new to town and finding it difficult to fit in. Whilst Auburn’s above-average height raised some red flags for Ditzy, she had relaxed when she discovered that she was in fact two months younger than Dinky, her size merely due to her having run into an unusually large growth spurt earlier in the year.

On every other day, Auburn would come round with Dinky and the pair would complete their homework, before entertaining themselves via other means. Auburn provided an interesting counter to Dinky’s energetic spirit, being reserved and considerate in her actions in a way which recalled to mind much older ponies than her own thirteen years.

She was especially interesting to Ditzy because foals far more alike Dinky had been driven off by the filly’s exuberant behaviour within days, yet the pegasus stuck around loyally without so much as a complaint. Ditzy was glad for this; Auburn’s continued support had done Dinky a lot of good: having a dependable friend had meant that the energetic little unicorn no longer felt quite the need to get the other foals’ attention – a change which everypony in town could get behind.

Perhaps Dinky would be even more satisfied in her little world now that Diamond Tiara had joined her slowly growing circle of friends, but only time would give that answer.

Putting her musings aside for a moment, Ditzy poured the freshly boiled water out of its battered but nonetheless functional enchanted kettle into her considerably newer teapot – a gift from Rarity in return for Ditzy’s tireless work to deliver her friend’s dresses intact and in-time. Putting the lid back on the pot cautiously, Ditzy sat down in her favourite chair and watched her daughter and her friends do their homework whilst she waited for the tea to brew.

Dinky seemed happy – not the fake-happy she put on to hide her fears from most ponies , but the unmistakeably joyful true emotion – and so did her friends; the three of them laughing over something, evidently having finished their work and slipped into play mode.

Diamond’s laugh ended a little shorter than the other two, and her smile – though equally genuine while it had lasted – dropped prematurely from her face. Looking closer, Ditzy could see a deep sadness in her eyes which had momentarily been banished by the shared joy of friendship but now returned to clutch her heart in its icy grip once more. A state of being Ditzy knew well, and had spent a great many days and a lot of effort to escape from: Dinky; the joy of her life; had helped her immeasurably, and Ditzy hoped that she would be able to help Diamond, too.

It’s all too easy to ask what one pony can ever hope to do, but the thing to remember – in Ditzy’s experience, at least – was that the smallest things can often have the greatest impact.

Guessing that the tea had probably brewed sufficiently by now, Ditzy pulled her gaze away from the happy trio and set about making she and Auburn’s drinks. Since, like her, Auburn had her tea with milk but no sugar, this did not take long: Ditzy placed the drinks on a tray she kept around for this purpose, along with two glasses of lemonade for Dinky and Diamond, and carried them over on her wing.

Painstakingly setting the tray down with aid from her daughter, Ditzy offered the drinks to their intended recipients and took a seat at the table herself.

“So, everypony-“ she began amicably, “-how were your days?”

“Great!” chirped Dinky, Auburn and Diamond adding their affirmatives, the former with a knowing smile on her face.

Diamond took over for the main explanation, prompted by Dinky’s expectant gaze and a gentle prod of Auburn’s wing. “I went up in assembly to tell everypony why I did what I did… I didn’t finish telling the story but Dinky, Auburn and the Cutie Mark Crusaders carried it on for me and it’s already helped a lot. I’ve even managed to make up with Rumble, and he hated me before today.”

“You know-“ Ditzy began, cautiously, “- I never did find out the whole of what happened with you and Silver Spoon. If I’m not overstepping my bounds here, would you mind telling me?”

Diamond considered; humming to herself in concentration, a frown on her face. Ditzy, mistaking this as an expression of disapproval, moved quickly to retract her request.

“You don’t have to tell me: I know you’re probably tired of saying the same things over and over. I’m sorry I asked.”

“It’s alright, Ditzy-“ Diamond placated, “-I don’t mind telling it one last time: I’m pretty sure anypony else who’s curious will find out through the other foals before too long.”

Auburn leaned forwards to enter the discussion, tapping Diamond lightly on the shoulder to get her attention.

“If you want, Dinky and I could tell some of the story: we know it as well as anypony by now, and you could use a break from all this.”

Dinky chipped in with an enthusiastic “Yeah!” of approval, and the matter was settled: Diamond settled herself into a more comfortable position on her chair and began.

*

Hours later, after the umpteenth – and hopefully final – recounting of the story, there came a knock at the door and Ditzy opened it to find Filthy Rich standing on her doorstep. She hastened to invite him in, and he looked around him in interest as he entered the cosy world of comforting warmth that was Ditzy Doo’s home.

Diamond, accompanied by her friends, came out of the living room and into the hallway to greet him; he drew her into a loving hug – though not one so long or enthusiastic as to embarrass her unduly – and enquired about her afternoon.

“It’s been great! –“ she began, looking contented, “- We’ve done all our homework, so our weekend should be all free, and we had some really interesting conversations with Dinky’s mum – I never realised Pegasus magic was so complicated!”

He laughed heartily, and she continued, still smiling but with a nervous edge to it: he assumed she was about to ask him something, or admit to some minor misdemeanour. He was right:

“Daddy-“ she began, cautiously, “-I was wondering if Dinky and Auburn could come round to our house tomorrow. I’ve been to both their houses, so I thought it was only fair they should get to play round ours. We’ll have to ask Auburn’s parents if she can come, but we were talking to Dinky’s mum and she says it’s okay.”

“So long as Auburn’s parents say she can come along, I don’t see why not. Say, Diamond, why don’t you spend a few more minutes talking to your friends while I talk this package over with Ditzy?”

“Okay, Dad!” She beamed at him, before scampering off with her friends happily.

*

The trio sat back down around their table, packing up their homework and pens whilst they talked.

“Diamond?” asked Auburn, through a mouthful of paper.

“Yeah?” Diamond answered, clasping her bag shut in readiness to leave.

“I was wondering if you’d like to take your Legends figures home with you; decorate them and stuff. I mean, no one really plays as the Changelings, so you might as well keep them – we’ve got plenty of other alternative factions besides the three we brought out yesterday.”

“You’d really let me keep them?” Diamond said, incredulous and more than a little joyful at the prospect of having her very own figures.

“Of course – like I said, it’s not like we don’t have more; and they really do seem to be your kind of thing. You certainly kicked my flank last time!”

“Thank you so much, Auburn!-“ Diamond gushed, stopping abruptly as an idea struck her, “-Hey, maybe we could go fetch them now, and ask your parents if you can come round tomorrow at the same time?”

Auburn nodded enthusiastically in response: “That’s a good idea, Diamond: I was going to have to walk back soon, anyway.”

It was only after they expended that topic of conversation that the pair realised that Dinky hadn’t spoken a word throughout, and they turned to her with looks of concern which only grew in severity as they laid eyes on the unicorn’s grinning face.

Something inside Dinky seemed to give way, and she gushed happily:

“Look at you, Diamond: already a fully-fledged friend – my stars, how far you’ve come from the miserable loner we made friends with the other day.”

She said all this with a merry enthusiasm and seemingly-genuine pride that prevented either Diamond or Auburn deciphering the meaning behind it. Much as Twilight Sparkle had been forced to do with Pinkie Pie’s infamous ‘sense’, the pair brushed the statement aside as just Dinky being Dinky and tried to continue with their sanity intact.

Diamond could only give an awkward, confused response to this.

“Thank you for that… uh… whatever it was, Dinky.”

*

“So, Mr Rich, you said you had a package for me to deliver?” Ditzy asked, trying to quell the hopes that she had been chosen on her own merit for once, so that the inevitable truth did not drop them as far. The businesspony smiled warmly at her, nodding affirmative as he began to speak in a reassuring, gravelly voice.

“Indeed I have, Ms Doo: it’s for a friend of mine in Canterlot – it’s not that urgent, but I would like it delivered before the end of the month. I apologise if I’m interrupting any free time you might’ve had planned, but it should only take a day of your time and I didn’t much feel like hiring any of the couriers at the office today… Oh, and please, call me Rich.”

Ditzy couldn’t help a smile of her own: it had been a long time since somepony had gone about the process of enlisting her help without an air of unhappiness about it.

“Okay, Rich – you can call me Ditzy or Derpy, whichever you prefer… Anyway, you shouldn’t worry about inconveniencing me: I didn’t have anything planned and it’s nice to get a good delivery job every once in a while. I have to ask, though – why me?”

“Because, Ditzy, you have something they don’t. Now, I understand your reputation isn’t as good as the others, but I’m sure they’ve all lost packages at some point and they don’t have to deal with that hanging over their heads. A lot of them are getting complacent – lazy, even – but you… you give your all in whatever job you’re given, and that’s a rare and precious trait these days.”

Taken a little by surprise, Ditzy spluttered out a few unintelligible half-sentences before managing to string together a reply.

“I-I… Thank you, Rich. That means a lot to me.”

“No problem,” he said, turning away momentarily to call his daughter over. “Thank you for looking after Diamond this afternoon, by the way.”

Reaching into his overcoat, he pulled out a small, clinking bag and hoofed it over to Ditzy whilst Diamond approached, friends in tow.

“I trust this will cover the delivery,” he said, before stepping out into the cool evening air. Ditzy didn’t answer for a moment, discovering that the contents of the bag was more than enough pay to cover three or four such jobs.

“Wait-“ she called, weakly, “-I can’t take all of this money – it’s only a delivery to Canterlot… “

He was already out of earshot by the time she said this, and even if he had heard her, he would not have reduced the payment. Ditzy, left with no choice but to accept the large payment, found a grin slowly forming on her face, along with a sudden urge to jig.

*

“Hello...?” came the cautious call from behind Auburn’s front door. A tall, thin pegasus stallion stuck his head in the gap and, after taking a moment to look around at the visitors, grinned at the sight of his daughter and her friend. He stepped back to open the door, before greeting the group warmly and earnestly one by one.

“Welcome back, Auburn – good to see you haven’t gotten into too much mischief while you were out”

“Hey, Dad! ...I guess the commission’s done, then; if you’ve emerged once more to live amongst us mortal folk.”

Some parents would be offended by this sort of smart-alec comment, but Auburn’s father merely laughed – Filthy suspected that he was the one who’d given her such a twisted sense of humour in the first place.

Diamond let out a chuckle of her own, suddenly reminded of Copperwing’s similarly snarky comments the previous day. Still smiling, Auburn’s father turned to her in greeting.

“Hello again to you, too, Diamond. I don’t think I introduced myself yesterday – my name is Brass Twister, Auburn’s father.“ He looked over to Filthy Rich as he said this, and directed the rest of his comments to the stallion.

“-And you must be Diamond’s father… Filthy Rich, isn’t it? Nice to meet you at last – on a side note, I heard you will no longer be selling Argentum silverware? If so, then perhaps some of my less famous – but no less well crafted – metalwork might be of interest to you?”

Rich considered his offer. “I’ll have to have a look around your wares before I can say for certain – it's late now, so another time perhaps? That said, it would certainly fill a gap in my own stock... By the way: Diamond and Auburn have been thinking about having a playdate of sorts round our house tomorrow; I was wondering if you would be alright with your daughter coming over for a few hours?”

Brass Twister looked satisfied by this response and he smiled amiably as he replied.

“Very good – I hear from Auburn you already have my business card? As for the other thing, I have no issue with Auburn going on such a playdate, but I shall have to convene with the Mrs – retired from the Guard or not, she’s still the commanding officer around here...”

Rich gave a sympathetic chuckle at the other stallion’s closing statement and waited for him to re-emerge from the unconventionally built house, gazing up for a few moments to admire its rooftop garden. Whilst his attention was elsewhere, Auburn led Diamond into the house to fetch the changeling figures.

When, after a minute or so, he returned his gaze to where they had been standing, he found only empty air and confusion.

*

On their way back out of the house, having retrieved the small green box from the ling room, Diamond and Auburn ran into Copperwing.

“Hi, Diamond – I wasn’t expecting to see you this evening.”

“She’s here to collect the changeling figures,” Auburn explained, and Copperwing nodded in understanding.

“Not staying, then? A shame, I’d quite like to get to know you a little more.”

Diamond smiled up at her – she felt a little guilty for forgetting about Copperwing, but she thought she knew a way to make it up to her.

“Actually, you might still have a chance at that: Auburn and Dinky were going to play round mine tomorrow, want to come too? We’ll have to ask our parents about it, of course, but if Auburn’s coming I don’t see why you shouldn’t.”

Copperwing grinned gratefully in response. “Thanks, Diamond… Let’s go find them, shall we?”

Auburn led the way back out of the house, clutching the green box under her wing, whilst Diamond and Copperwing followed side by side, chatting away happily.

“There you are!” exclaimed Rich as the trio emerged. “Honestly, I look away for one second and you go disappearing on me… and then you bring back friends!”

He couldn’t keep up the angry façade, and his tone of mock-admonishment crumbled under the force of his rumbling laugh. After a moment, Burnished Gilding and Brass Twister emerged from the house, smiling.

“Auburn can come, and either Brass or I will go pick her up… does four p.m. sound reasonable? We could drop her off at around eleven, if that’s not too early for you.”

“Great, that’ll do nicely… oh, what is it, Diamond?”

His daughter had been giving him her well-practiced ‘I need to talk to you but it wouldn’t be polite to interrupt’ stare for the past thirty seconds or so, and he thought he had better respond to it before it became her ‘don’t you dare ignore me’ glare.

“Could Copperwing come, too?-“ she gestured to the taller pegasus filly beside her, with her long mane obscuring one eye and an endearingly nervous smile on her face, “- I know she’s a year older than me, but she’s still my friend.”

“That’s really up to her parents, darling... What do you say? I wouldn’t mind looking after one more, if she wants to come.”

Gilding and Twister looked at each other, and Gilding once again gave the answer. “If you don’t mind an extra little monster, we’ve got no problem with her tagging along.”

“Well, I suppose that settles things... Come along Diamond, you’ll have plenty of time to chat with your friends in the morning.“
He waved at Auburn’s family as his daughter trotted up to him, carrying a green box, calling back as she reached him: ”Goodbye!”

As she and her father trotted off home, Diamond grinned to herself: tomorrow was going to be fun.

*****

Comments

[dracone]

Because, Dinky, you have something they don’t.

if it's still Rich and Ditzy talking then this a bit of a hiccup. Did you mean to say, "Because Ditzy"? or "Because Derpy"? I would assume that since Rich is very professional in his business dealings he would call her Ditzy.

[Zombificus]

5241511 Yeah, that was supposed to say Ditzy. I had a feeling I'd mix the two up at some point in here, so I'm not surprised it happened - especially since it was well past midnight when I edited and uploaded the chapter. Thanks for pointing that one out!