Nightmare on Mane Street

by Proper Prose

Three, Four, Lock the Door

Author's Note:

Sorry to make you all wait so long for so little. I don't usually let new episodes influence my work that I star before the episode airs (or is otherwise incompatible), but Crusaders of the Lost Mark gave me a few ideas to mull over for the story. Next chapter will be longer, probably even forming the bulk of fic.

In all honesty, Diamond Tiara could not remember any of the details of the walk to her home. It could have been because of how tired she was, the routine of having walked that same route hundreds of times or some combination of both, but she simply could not remember any span of the time spent going from the school to her home. With a shake of her head she stopped thinking about it and made her way through Ponyville.

Right now thinking only made her head hurt.

Diamond Tiara was proud, immensely so, to say that her family had the largest home in all of Ponyville save for the princess’s castle, of course. There were many rooms filled with enough finery to impress anyone and a garden that hosted a variety of beautiful plants from the far corners of Equestria. It even had a gate and fence to keep out unwanted visitors, a necessity in a town such as Ponyville where the ponies close knit familiarity with one another came at the cost of the concept of privacy. Second was that it was a dedicated home, unlike the homes most other ponies of Ponyville that lived in which doubled as a place of business. Other ponies acted like they did not care about wealth, but Diamond Tiara had heard many speak with envy about how they wished they could have a home like her family’s and she smiled with satisfaction every time.

Briefly she thought about greeting her neighbor as she passed by, but decided against it. It was not something she would normally do anyway, plus the family next door had been grouchy as of late and she did not want to be at the receiving end of some sort of breakdown. Who could say as to why, but perhaps they had trouble sleeping too?

It did not surprise Diamond Tiara that the house was empty when she got home. It would be a while before the maid came to make sure everything was clean and orderly before the filly returned from school or her parents finished work. Amethyst Star was scheduled to return later, after Diamond Tiara was supposed to get leave school but now that would not happen since Miss Cheerilee sent her back early. Despite this, Diamond Tiara was certain that she could take care of herself until them. Not like the Crusaders who seem to go out of their way looking for trouble.

Unfortunately, the fact that no one else was home meant that she had to do everything herself. At least getting a cup of milk was not too hard. She quickly grabbed one from the kitchen and made her way up to her bedroom.

Her bedroom. If a pony’s home is their castle, then to Diamond Tiara her bedroom was her treasury. A place to recline, relax and, most importantly in the current moment, rest. Here no one judged her. Here there was no one to put into place.

It truly was a treasury too. Across from her four post canopy bed was a vanity with a flawless mirror and drawers full of jewelry that had either been handed down in her family or had been bought just for her. Diamond Tiara instinctively adjusted the tiara that rested upon her head. Her own contribution to the Rich Family collection someday.

Sadly she could never sleep with it on, so she made her way over to her vanity and set the tiara on the stand that she had singled out just for it. Normally she would brush her hair before she went to bed, but she skipped that since she only planned to be asleep for a few hours and awake in time for dinner.

Then she saw it, the newest addition to her treasures. A bracelet made from gems all the way from the Crystal Empire. Her parents got it for her on a recent trip up to the north, something about expanding the business even more. Diamond Tiara remembered when it arrived in the mail. She had been so excited! Crystal Empire gems were all the rage now and any pony who was any pony was wearing some.

There were so many colors as well, making the bracelet like a rainbow. Red, blue, magenta, even this strange little black one, the only one like it on the whole piece. Such a shame that an occasion to show it off had not presented itself; she would be the talk of the town then!

Diamond Tiara downed her milk quickly before she trotted over to her bedroom door to make sure it was locked. After she had drawn the curtains to a close in order to darken the room she literally hopped into bed, sighing at the soft and comfy touch of its high quality fabrics. Then it hit her just how exhausted she was. Her head throbbed and her legs ached. But Tiara did not worry. Cheerilee said that she would be better after some rest.

The filly shut her eyes and kept them like that until she drifted off to sleep.

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Why does this not have a crossover tag? Even if this story was merely inspired by A Nightmare On Elm Street, it should still have one. The FAQ says so.

[Proper Prose]

6561080
There, added the tag. As I said in an earlier comment, I'm just using a ponified version of the song as chapter titles. The inspiration mainly came remembering the song while thinking of stories for Diamond Tiara and realizing that despite being the fourth most prominent foal in the series she didn't get a nightmare episode, though Crusaders of the Lost Ark gave me ideas that basically revamp the story into a lead up to said episode. You'll see why in later chapters (right now all I have is ideas on a Word doc).