Playing?
-*-Diamond Tiara-*-
Diamond Tiara could scarcely recall how long it had been since she felt this happy. Here she was: sitting with two of the ponies that she cared so deeply about. Daddy was happily partaking from the soup she and Momma had made together, and telling them both how delectable it tasted. Despite the fact that Momma had been the one doing most of the cooking, Momma was letting her take the credit for dinner.
As she took in a deep breath, basking in the savory aroma before reaching forward to pick up a spoon, her head throbbed for a moment, sending the spoon clattering to the floor.
"Princess, are you alright?" Momma asked, worry creasing her face.
Diamond Tiara thought about it for a moment. Her head didn't throb again, and the burst of pain was already fading. Smiling, she nodded "Yes Momma, I'm fine. I'm just worn out is all."
"With all that’s happened, that's understandable." Daddy said, gesturing for one of the servants to come over. "But once you’re done with Dinner, you can go take a relaxing dip in the bath hall."
"And I'll join you, just like we used to." Momma said, her loving smile making Diamond Tiara feel like the most important pony in the world.
"Yay!" She exclaimed, before quickly digging into her meal, the manners that had been drilled into her briefly forgotten in her excitement. A half hearted "Ahem" from Daddy pulled her muzzle out of the soup, and she giggled a bit in embarrassment. Momma just shook her head, giving Diamond a quick nuzzle before she too dived into her own bowl. Diamond didn't hesitate and quickly picked her bowl up, trying to slurp it down as fast as she could.
Filthy Rich just shook his head, trying and failing to hold back a wide smile as he watched Diamond and his wife go at it, forgetting for a moment the grey clouds that hung over his mind.
-*-Cain-*-
I found myself in an unfamiliar but spacious living room, where rather fine and posh looking pieces of furniture were set about. There was a fireplace set into the wall behind me, and on its mantle were several picture frames, with a rather intricate looking urn situated amidst it all. Above that was a large portrait of an olive colored mare with a long, curly bark colored mane.
The room had not a soul in it, and all was quiet and peaceful.
"It won't be quiet for long." Strife said, stepping past me and making for one of the windows, where he situated himself and looked towards the open space at the front of the room where a simple hallway lay.
Out of that hallway came a small pink blur, followed by a larger wisteria one. Both of them were laughing gayly as the larger one tackled the smaller one into one of the plush chairs.
"M-Mamma! Hehehehehe, s-stop it!!"
Silver Tongue only chuckled, before continuing her relentless assault on a young Diamond Tiara's tummy and sides. This was not a side of Diamond Tiara I had seen before, this wasn't the Diamond Tiara who bullied others to make herself feel better at the expense of others.
The wide grin on her face, the mirth dancing and twinkling in her eyes as her whole body shook with joyous laughter… this was a different Diamond Tiara.
I couldn't help but smile at the sight, feeling the love in the air. Strife, for his part, had a smile as well, though I had a feeling it wasn't because the scene was adorable.
"You wouldn't think such a happy kid could be such a spoiled bitch, would you?" He asked, smile changing to a dark smirk. "Want to see how she started down the path of being a bully?" I nodded, my eyes only glancing at him briefly, as I just couldn't take my eyes of this happy pair.
Strife, of course, didn't exactly care about that, as he grabbed the back of my shirt and yanked me, the world going white once again…
-*-Diamond Tiara-*-
Dinner was done, and now Diamond Tiara and Silver Tongue were in the bath hall. Ginger Gold was setting some towels and other bath accessories nearby, then gave a small bow and left them to their own accord.
"Ah… it’s so good to be back home… I missed doing this." Silver Tongue murmured, allowing most of her body to slip further into the warm water, blowing a pile of bubbles out of her way so she could see her wonderful daughter.
"Me too!" Diamond Tiara said on the other side, diving into the water for a moment and then popping back, sending a spray of water towards her mother, who let out a surprised whiny before she started giggling. She quickly swam over and splashed her daughter, who sputtered and laughed as she tried to escape the watery attacks.
As Diamond tried to dive under her mother, her head throbbed again, and she yelped, taking in a mouthful of soapy, warm water. She thrashed as she came up, coughing and spitting out the water as she tried to draw in some air.
"Ugh… I… I think maybe we should take it easy." Diamond Tiara muttered as she held her head in her hooves, rubbing her temples, the throbbing still there this time, and for a brief instant she thought she saw a familiar face… one she would rather not remember.
Hooves wrapped around her, pulling her into a gentle hug as Silver Tongue nuzzled against her wet mane. "That's fine Diamond, I think we've had enough excitement for one day anyways." She pulled away and looked into Diamond Tiara's eyes, adding "Let's just relax together."
Diamond slowly nodded, not wanting to make her headache any worse, and laid her head against her mothers side, trying to ignore the pain and the images that were trying to fill her mind.
-*-Cain-*-
Now we were somewhere else, and if I was any judge of Equestrian locations, all the high end buildings around us and the rather fancy dress of the few ponies walking about meant we had to be somewhere in Canterlot. The fact that I could see the palace high in the distance certainly helped.
"Momma… do I have to go to school?"
I turned my eyes away from the castle and down to the street we were standing on, where Silver Tongue and a smaller Diamond Tiara were currently walking. The two looked like they were heading to some big shindig.
"This is when wee little DT went to school in Canterlot. Please tell me you remember Silver Spoon mentioning such." Strife said, his gaze following them as the pair talked.
"I remember, no need to get cranky." I replied, wondering what it was I was about to see.
Strife waved his hand, and things sped up. Diamond Tiara was introducing herself to her class, which held not a single Earth Pony. The room was full of Unicorn colts and fillies.
I could already see where this was going.
Nopony was listening, in fact it looked like even the teacher wasn't paying that much attention. When she finished, the teacher told her to find a place to sit… seeming to either forget or ignore the fact that there wasn't any extra chairs in the classroom.
Diamond looked about the room uncertainly, but when she asked the teacher where she should sit, the teacher just gave her a shove before returning to the topic at hand. A few snickers flitted about the air, but otherwise no one said or did a thing.
To the other foals, Diamond might as well have not been there.
This seemed to go on for the rest of the day, until lunchtime arrived. Then a unicorn, who looked far more prissy and stuck up than Diamond Tiara had ever managed, passed near the table she was sitting at. I recognized her as the filly Strife had been using to torment Diamond earlier.
“Uh, excuuse me, but servants aren’t allowed to sit in here.”
“Huh? I-I’m not a servant…” Diamond Tiara replied, a confused look on her face as she looked around, no doubt trying to see if there was one around the filly was talking to.
“Very funny, you are the servant.” the unicorn said smugly
“What?” Diamond Tiara squeaked, an indignant look on her face as she started to reply, but the Unicorn didn’t give her a chance.
“Didn’t you notice how everypony ignored you? Have you seen anypony in class who wasn’t a unicorn? Mud Ponies like you are only fit to be servants.”
I started to walk away, this was… too much. It didn’t justify Diamond Tiara being a jerk, after all, no pony in Ponyville was rude to her unless she was rude first, but it gave me a good idea how she turned into a bully herself.
I kept walking away, even as I heard Diamond running out of the room. I knew how the rest was gonna go, I’d seen enough of it both on TV and in real life.
Strife seemed amused at my reaction “Aren’t you gonna stay to see the whole thing? There’s so much more to her wonderful time spent here.”
“I saw enough.” I keep walking away, where the hell was that stupid door?
“Oh, but then you will never find out about the Tiaraaa…” Strife said in a singsong voice, imitating a girl “My little bully, my little bully, friendship is a lie! My little bully my little bully, I wonder how much of a jerk I could be?”
I tried to ignore it, I really did, deep down, I knew that even in a world where ‘Friendship is Magic’ abusives, bullies and so on would exist. But somehow, I hadn’t really ever figured that Racism would exist… at least, not at the very heart of Equestria…
Strife floated over, his face a mask as he watched me think. “Not the world of sunshine and rainbows you supposed it was, huh?” Strife asked, my ear twitching at how close he was.
“So what?” I replied, staring Strife right in the eyes, surprising him.
“So what? So what?! That’s your reaction? Where is the anger? Where is the rant about how unfair things can be?” Strife snapped his fingers, and I found myself in a suit of shining armor reminiscent of a crusader.
“Aren’t you the one always railing against all the injustices of the world Cain? Aren’t you the one who always wants to go forth and fix everything? To how you think it should be?”
As I said, I’ve seen this before. I might be quite emotional, I might let anger and such get the better of me, but I was familiar enough with it. I could control myself... and besides...
“So what if Diamond Tiara was abused? So what if she later became Queen jerk? I can’t do anything about that, it’s all in the past.” I looked down at the ground, reminding myself something that sometimes, I would forget. “You can’t change the past... but you can change the present.”
Then I looked back up at Strife, glaring at him. “Besides, I’m done learning this through you. If I want to know more, I’ll go ask Diamond Tiara.”
I expected Strife to get irritated, maybe angry that I was ruining whatever plan he had, but he just shrugged, snatching a muffin up from one of the unicorn foals and biting into it as he said
“Well, that’s fine. I’ve had my fun, and I look forward to seeing what you’ll try to do to change things. It should be quite interesting.”
Strife’s smile at that last bit was unsettling, and it was unfortunately the last I saw from him as the room flashed, and I found myself back in the void room with the couch from earlier.
Sighing, I moved over to it, flopping myself down into it as I thought about everything I had just seen...
-*-Diamond Tiara-*-
Diamond Tiara was listening to her mother as she read her a story. It was a story she had read countless times herself, but it was always better when Mamma read to her. It made her feel special… important. It made her feel like she was somepony.
Suddenly, she noticed her headache softening, then she heard Cain’s voice. ‘You can have the rest of the day with your mother, I don’t mind.’
‘What, really?’ Diamond Tiara asked, rather surprised that the talking monkey was willing to let her have control for so long.
‘Yeah… you deserve it, and I can understand why she’s so important to you. So enjoy yourself.’ He replied.
Diamond Tiara was sure to not let her emotions show too much, not wanting to ruin the time she was sharing with her mother, but even then she couldn’t help but feel a subtle smile forming on her face. ‘What made you change your mind?’
Cain was silent for a moment, and there was something about his response that made her inwardly shudder. ‘It’s complicated, but we need to talk later...’
‘What? Why? What's going on?’
‘Later. It can wait, go have fun.’ She then felt his presence retracting. The headache was also gone, so she was free to spend quality time with her mother, all on her own.
So why did she suddenly feel worried?
“Honey? Is everything okay?” Silver Tongue asked, making Diamond let out a soft squeak of surprise. She felt her mother’s concerned eyes upon her and she quickly put on a smile for her.
“Its okay Mamma… I was just thinking about how long you might be staying is all.”
Silver Tongue sighed, leaning down and nuzzling Diamond, who respond in kind. “I know you don’t like how I have to spend so much time away from you...but the job I do is very important. It helps to keep you and everypony else in Equestria safe.”
Diamond Tiara nodded, even if she didn’t like hearing that. She’d heard it before, but it never made it any easier. “I know… I just hope you don’t have to leave anytime soon.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that.” Silver Tongue said, drawing Diamonds eyes to her own. “Princess Celestia promised before I went on my assignment to Prance that I wouldn’t have to go back out for the rest of the year.”
That… that meant… that Diamond Tiara had six more months of being around her mother. Her eyes grew large as her joy flooded into her, and with an excited squee, she launched herself at her mother. Her hooves wrapped tightly around her, hugging her for all she was worth.
Silver Tongue smiled, then laughed as she turned and tickled Diamonds belly with her nose. One bout of laughter quickly followed another, and before long Diamond was being chased around the study, giggling all the while as she tried to avoid her mother's ‘evil’ hooves.
A soft cough stopped them both, Diamond trying to squeeze herself underneath a chair while Silver Tongue was crouched nearby, gripping a hind hoof and just about ready to pull her out.
Filthy Rich and Jeeves were standing in the doorway. Filthy had a thin smile on his face as he looked at them, while Jeeves was… well… Jeeves. “Sorry to ruin the fun… but we all have an early start tomorrow. So its time for bed.”
Diamond Tiara let out a soft ‘Aaaawwww’ but her mother brokered no argument. Lifting her up on her back, Silver Tongue and Diamond Tiara made their way through the halls of the manor. When they reached the bedroom, Silver Tongue gently tossed Diamond onto the bed, a short tickle fight ensuing between the pair.
“Alright my darling little princess, its time to shut your eyes and rest your mind. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day…”
Diamond nodded, knowing that they would be heading to Canterlot to get help from the Princesses. She had every confidence in their ability to free her of her unwanted guest.
Silver Tongue tucked Diamond in, and then sang a soft lullaby. Diamond Tiara felt a smile forming on her lips as she snuggled further into her bed, the last thing she saw before her eyes slipped shut was the loving face of her mother smiling down at her.
-*-Cain-*-
When Diamond Tiara went to sleep, I was mediating in the void room, simply trying to mull over everything that I had gone through thus far. Suddenly though, I felt the world around me waver, and I quickly opened my eyes.
I was prepared for just about anything… figuring that Strife was no doubt prepared to mess with me again.
Instead, I found myself in the Cutie Mark Crusaders treehouse, or at least a dream version of it. Strife was nowhere to be seen, and I was in Diamond Tiara’s body. Which quickly caused me to groan in annoyance. “Damnit it Strife… its bad enough I have to be stuck in her body when I’m awake. Can’t I get my own body when she’s asleep?”
“Relax child… this is not the work of Strife.” A voice called out… a voice I knew all too well. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have been surprised by this… but I certainly hadn’t expected to see Luna so soon.
“Princess Luna? Are you here?”
“Yes.” Luna walked into the room, her body in the form we had all seen back in Season 1. Nevertheless, she was still taller than me, and so I had to look up to her as she spoke. “I wanted to talk to you in private.”
For a moment, I just gazed up at her. Then, my ‘best princess sense’ went up to eleven and I glomped Princess Luna before I could stop myself “Oh my gosh! You are so cute!!!”
Luna blushed, but her eyes creased as she gave me a stern glare, her hooves working to push me away. “Thank you, but please stop, we don’t have much time.”
Blushing in embarrassment, I quickly let go, looking away as I replied “Sorry about that… it’s just that you’re my favorite Princess.” This got an even deeper blush from Luna, and I saw her mouth quirking into the beginnings of a smile before she recomposed herself.
Sensing that she wasn’t here to get fawned on by a Brony, I asked “So, what do you want to talk about Princess?”
Princess Luna turned away, looking out the window for a moment before speaking. “It’s about Strife. As I am sure you are aware, I had a similar problem before.” I nodded, immediately knowing what she was speaking of and urging her to continue.
“Ponies are still arguing if Nightmare Moon was myself or the influence of an external force. I myself am still not sure. But if your case is as clear as my sister describes it, then though he might have started as a part of you, Discord changed Strife into something more dangerous than it was before.”
I silently nodded. While Strife indeed represented a part of me, I had a hard time picturing myself torturing anypony, even Queen Jerk, like he had done. Not without me going off the deep end at least.
But I also knew the potential was there, a sad fact of life that even the most innocent are capable of evil. “I wouldn’t say Discord did much… Strife doesn’t have the rest of me to balance him out right now.”
Princess Luna nodded in understanding. “Regardless, we must do something to both weaken Strife’s own strength, as well as Discord’s.” She paused here, thinking deeply as her eyes closed. She must have come to a conclusion, as she sighed, looking back to me as she said
“So, I have this idea, that while it might seem a tad silly, it might help.” The Princesses horn glowed, and a moment later Strife appeared in the treehouse in a poof of smoke. Only that he looked…
“Ahahahahaha!” I blurted out, quickly falling down and proceeding to laugh my ass off. I just couldn't help it, it was too funny!
“Yeah yeah, go ahead and laugh. You do know that you don’t look any better, do you?” Strife grumbled, crossing his hooves over his chest as he pouted. He looked exactly like Diamond Tiara, save for his eyes and the fact that his coat and mane were darker.
“Ehem.” The princess gave a little cough as well, drawing our attention. “May I continue, please?”
“Sorry! Hehehe… ” I worked on bringing my laughter under control, eventually managing to do so. Strife was still sending daggers my way, but I was ignoring him. “So, what’s your idea Princess?”
“Playing.”
You could have heard a pin dropping as we both stared at the Princess with the pony equivalent of a ‘wut’ face. Then Strife let out a roar of laughter, falling onto his back and rolling around, dark laughter peeling out of his mouth and rousing me from my stupor. “Um Princess Luna… forgive me for asking this… but have you completely lost your marbles?!”
“Strife might have been altered by Discord, but he is still a part of you.” Princess Luna explained, glancing towards said part as he continued to express his own opinion on her plan.
“Celestia and I believe that Strife is somehow tied to Discord now. And the more you reject him, the more Discord’s power can increase. Fighting with an aspect of yourself… its more than a spirit of Disharmony could ask for.” Luna’s horn glowed, and a moment later, Strife’s laughter stopped-his lips having been zipped shut by Luna.
“This is why I believe that ‘playing’ is a way to slowly start to bring the two of you back together… possibly even purging Discord’s influence completely and making our job of freeing you from Diamond Tiara that much easier.”
I put a hoof to my chin, considering what the Lunar Princess had said. Strife in the meantime, finally managed to get tired of trying to grip the zipper, instead managing to somehow snap his hooves and dispel her alteration.
“And who says I want to play with a high and mighty lady of CAPS LOCK and a guy in a filly body?” Strife asked, sticking her tongue out when I glared at him.
“If you ever tell anypony about what I am going to do, I will find a way to exile you two to the sun, understand?” Princess Luna sighed, then put on a hat that seemed made out of a of map. Taking in another deep breathe, she said
“I am princess Woona, do you want to play with me?”
“Yes!” I shouted, immediately jumping up and down with glee. The idea of playing with ‘Pwincess Woona’ was too much to resist, even if I was reluctant to play with Strife. And I am far too much of a fanfilly to say no to playing with princess Woona.
The fact that I had referred to myself as a ‘fanfilly’ not just as a fan or a ‘fancolt’ didn't bother me until after Diamond Tiara woke up.
Strife however, gave us both a raspberry and said “To hell with that, I can have my own fun. Maybe I can go bother Diamond Tiara some more… maybe snatch that stupid crown off her head and hide it in a bucket of rusty nails…”
Luna’s eyes twitched, and she growled “You will do no such thing. While I am here, you shall not harm anypony.”
I groaned… mumbling “Not… not what you should have said…” And indeed, glancing his way, I could already see the glint in his eyes as he defiantly stomped over to Luna.
“Oh really? Do you think that just because you are the Guardian of Dreams that you can just boss me around in my own head?” Strife replied, his tone and posture indicating he considered her statement to be nothing more than a challenge.
“Um… technically this isn’t exactly your head… ” I began, but Strife shushed me by throwing a rock my way.
Princess Luna growled for a moment...but then she smiled and stuck her tongue out at Strife. “Fine, is not like I want to play with you anyway. I’ve got someone who’s plenty fun to play with.”
She then shrank down to the size of a small filly, took out one of the comics the CMC had in the Treehouse and started to ignore Strife while she read it. She did look up at me though, smiling as she gestured for me to join her.
It didn’t take much for me to get the idea- after all, if any part of me was going to be the contrarian, it would be Strife. “Yeah, its not like we need you over here to have a good time or anything.”
Strife frowned at the two of us, eyes narrowing as he glared at us. “You really think that’s going to work? B-Besides...this means you’re rejecting me! That’s not what you said you’re here for Miss smiley butt.”
“Ah, but we’re not rejecting you Strife. We’re just not including you. There’s a difference.” I said, raising the book I’d picked up to shield the widening smile on my face.
“Hey, why don’t we play Go Fish!” Luna suggested, grabbing a deck of cards and shuffling them together. I nodded enthusiastically, and we soon had a game going, all as Strife sent death glares our way, even as he tried to pretend he wasn’t interested in joining us.
“Fine! Play your games! I’ll be over here having ALL SORTS OF FUN without you.” He declared, turning away as he tried to generate something to mess with...only to growl in frustration when nothing happened.
“So Cain, got any three’s?” Woona asked as we waited for Strife’s stubbornness to cave in...
-*-Diamond Tiara-*-
While asleep, Diamond Tiara had a strange dream, she was playing with both Silver Spoon and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. It was weird, but it felt really good.
‘I dunno why I am having this dream, but… maybe… I could make it real someday.’
‘I am glad to heard that.’
‘Princess Luna?’
‘Yes, I am talking with Cain. Could you avoid going to the Cutie Mark Crusaders treehouse and the Apple family farm?’
Diamond Tiara seemed to think about this for a moment, before shrugging as she replied ‘Sure Princess Luna… I’d prefer not to visit either anyways.’ Though she may have been playing with the CMC in this dream… she still didn’t have all that high of an opinion on their clubhouse, or the Apple Family in general.
She went back to the game they were playing, which at the moment seemed to be tag. It was actually her favorite game, one she had often played with her mother… and occasionally with Silver Spoon.
But playing it with the Crusaders… she felt rather out of place. After all… weren’t they different than her? Weren’t they inferior because they lacked cutie marks? Wouldn’t playing with them make her soft and weak again like she was back at that terrible excuse for a school in Canterlot?
“I apologize for that in behalf of my sister. Now that we share royal duties again, mistakes like what happened in that school are being corrected. Celestia has been a bit more reluctant to stir up the anger of the nobles than I am.”
Diamond Tiara’s mouth opened wide, then closed it as she noticed Princess Luna was in front of her. She quickly bowed to the Princess, such protocols instilled into her from birth. However, the fact that she had read her thoughts made her more than a little angry.
“Hey, what gives you the right to read my mind!”
Princess Luna gave Diamond Tiara a rather flat expression, saying “You do recall I’m visiting you in your dream, correct? I tend to be aware of a lot of things that happen in it, including the fears and thoughts of the dreamer.”
“Oh...right…”Diamond Tiara said, feeling rather stupid at that moment. Then she registered the last bit of what Luna had said. “Fears? What fear? I’m not scared!” The little filly blurted out.
“The more you deny your fears, the stronger they will become in your dreams.” The sky seemed to become darker, and both the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Silver Spoon were gone.
For a moment, the only sound was that of the growing wind and the rustling of leaves in the trees. Then, softly at first, and then angrily, she asked “What gives you the right?”
“Excuse me?” Princess Luna asked, brow furrowing in confusion as she took a step back. But Diamond Tiara wasn’t having any of that, and took several furious steps forward, glaring up at her as she shouted
“What gives you two the right to mess with my life? To take my mother away of me, to put me in a school were non unicorns are treated like trash? Why does having horns or wings make you think you are better than me? Why? It’s… it’s not fair! I… I missed my mommy, I had no pony who cared…”
The little filly started to cry as the weather reflected her mood and clouds formed over the sky. Princess Luna quickly approached Diamond Tiara and hugged her.
“I am really sorry little one. I know my apologies are not enough, but no matter how hard we try, we cannot change the past.”
The stress of the past few days must have finally been hitting her. “What… what if I am never back to normal? What if… I have to share space in my head with that monkey forever? What if one day he just locks me up again and pretends to be me?”
Luna pursed her lips after hearing this, knowing that it was certainly a valid concern for the young filly to have. Thinking about her own experience though... “Can you keep a secret?” Princess Luna asked, a mischievous smile forming on her face.
“A secret?” The filly asked surprised
“Yes, a secret, but I will only tell it to you if you Pinkie Promise to not tell anypony.”
“Pinkie Promise? No way, that pink mare is way too weird!”
-*-
Meanwhile, in a dream filled land full of things that only Pinkie Pie, or perhaps Discord could imagine, a certain Pink Pony stopped munching on a sugar frog, tapping her hoof to her chin as she said “Hmm… I think somepony has insulted the Pinkie Promise…”
Then the pink pony went back to fight her battle against the soapbox robot "FOR CANDY AND FREEDOM!"
-*-
“Then I am not telling you.” She said, turning around and taking a few steps before glancing back at her. “But lets just say… that just because you have somepony else stuck in your head it doesn't mean you can’t work things out.”
It took a moment for Diamond to make the connection, and when she did, she stared in horror at the Princess of the Night. “What? Are you telling me that you still have Nightmare Moon stuck in your head?!”
“No, I am not saying that.” Luna winked, horn glowing as she moved the filly over to her back “So, want to fly around for a bit before the dream ends?”
“Uh…” Diamond murmured...not exactly sure now if she should do as the Princess asked. But considering that she had never had a chance to experience flight, she gave a small nod as she said “Sure… what’s the worst that can happen?”
-*-Cain-*-
We’d finished our third game of Go Fish, with Woona having beaten me in all three games. Strife meanwhile had given up trying to use his powers, seeing as Luna seemed to be dampening them. His left eye was twitching as he twisted the head of a plushy.
“Are you two just going to keep ignoring me!?”
“Oh, why not? I mean, its obvious you’re having sooo much fun by yourself over there…” I murmured, asking Woona if she had any fives, and getting a flat no in response.
Strife let out a hiss of anger, and for a moment, seemed to be intent on remaining stubborn. Finally though, as he managed to rip the head off the plushie, he said “You know what? I’m playing with you guys whether you want me to or not!”
Woona and I shared a sideways smirk, before turning to him and asking “Well… what would you like to play then Strife?” Maybe the perfect synchronization when me and her said that together was a bit much, but… dream logic.
"Tag, you’re it!" Strife immediately declared, booping Woona’s nose and hightailing it out of the clubhouse, a filly shaped cloud of dust the only indication he had been there a second ago.
"You know what this means, right?" Woona asked, and I frowned after a moment, still rather surprised it had worked.
Thinking that she was going to quote another pop culture reference she got from my head, I replied "Uh… this means war?"
"No, you are it!" She said, bopping me on the nose and quickly running out and away from the clubhouse as quickly as Strife had.
I stood there, dumbfounded for a good ten seconds… before I got a devilish smile on my face and shouted “Oh no you didn’t!!!”
The dark, mirth filled laughter of Strife and the giggles and squeals of Pwincess Woona filled my ears as I quickly gave chase to both of them, the rest of the night in dream world being spent getting more exercise than I was sure I ever needed...
-*-Diamond Tiara(Cain)-*-
“Time to wake up Diamond…”
A voice softly pushed its way past the dark fog of unconsciousness, stirring up the subconscious bit, and then telling the part that resided in the waking world to get its butt moving.
Groaning, I rolled over, opening my eyes to see the familiar face of Ginger Gold, who was giving me a wide smile as she said “Oh good, I was worried it’d take all morning to wake you up. You really sleep like a rock sometimes don’t you?”
A part of me wanted to say "Ginger! I met Princess Luna and we flew for hours in my dreams, it was amazing!" But I felt a tad too old for that, plus its not like she would believe it.
'Uh… DT, are you in there?'
'Cain?'
‘Good… just making sure I wasn’t the only one who had to be awake’
"Diamond, are you alright?" Ginger asked, apparently noticing that I had done that spaced out face again. She was even waving her hoof in front of my face, and looked ready to ask ‘Equestria to Diamond’.
"Yes. What’s for breakfast?" I quickly asked, which caused Ginger to frown, and quickly replied with a ‘Be right back’.
With her dashing out of the room, I had some privacy to conduct my conversation with Diamond Tiara. 'Hey Diamond… there is something I wanna ask you… but... can we eat first?'
'Um… I guess that’s okay.' She replied, though considering the rumbling from our stomach, it’d have to be quick.
'Actually scratch that… do you remember a dream of two fillies playing with Princess Luna?'
'Yes, why?'
I was silent for a moment, wondering if I should even mention this...'Because I remember you flying with Princess Luna in a dream. And for a moment when I woke up I almost believed that I was you."
'WHAT?'
'Hey, it’s not like I was pretending to be you! I believed I was you!'
‘I warned you that letting her have free reign would be a problem’ A familiar voice butted in, and I could instantly feel my mood turn sour.
'Oh, like it has been all dreams and sunshine for me, shut up Strife.' I could swear I imagined DT blinking inside my head after she said that. ‘Wait, I don’t even want to talk to you! Go away ya big bully!’
I shook my head, already hearing my other half snickering as he sent back ‘Says Ponyville’s premier bully.’
'Pot calling the kettle black, I know. Wait… am I agreeing with that thing?' Diamond Tiara shivered at the thought, while Strife rolled on his ass, laughing up a storm.
DT must not have wanted to be that close to his mirth, because she soon took control of her body, landing me back in the room, with smartass… wait, was that a Woona plushie?
"Mine!" Strife shouted, diving for the doll up and holding it away like a small kid who doesn't want to share.
However that wasn't the only thing that caught my attention. While our voices were normal, neither of us were in our human form. We were ponies, young colts about DT’s age to be more exact.
"Okay… we’re ponies. That’s… not all that strange."
"You sure about that? Cause the other day when you and shiny ass were in here we were both human."
"Fine, I get the idea, you told me this could happen. But why now? It’s like… we are…"
"We are what? Say it." Strife smiled while he pet the Woona plushie, it was disturbing yet adorable at the same time.
"Fusing with Diamond Tiara."
"You two are WHAT?" DT’s voice roared, echoing across the whole room
"Calm down please." I said, holding my hooves to my ears as they shook from the ringing.
"Sorry, but… what if it…"
"DT, I am sure Twilight Sparkle and the Princesses can fix this."
"And if they can't?" Strife had sat on the couch, trying to look like an evil villain petting his cat, using the Woona plushie as the cat. The effect was naturally ruined because he looked way too cute to pull off the bond villain look.
Wait… thinking that Strife colt form is cute… and I called myself fanfilly in that dream…
"No, just no, My name is Cain! I am a guy, I am human. I am not a little filly and I don't find cute colts and handsome stallions attractive! Most of the time!"
"See what happened for trying to be the good guy? You are losing your humanity, your gender, your identity. Soon you will just be a part of Diamond Tiara mind, maybe not even that." Strife chided, smirking for a few seconds before he seemed to recall a very important fact.
"Wait… that means that will happen to me too! You’ve screwed us both!" Strife set the Woona doll on the couch, launching himself at me as he tried to make me pay for, in his mind, ensuring his death (his was obviously more important to him after all, it being Strife).
'Guys, breakfast is ready, are you okay Cain?'
Upon hearing the word breakfast, we both stopped fighting, but for different reasons. Strife because he was probably hungry, me because I needed to ask a question.
"DT, how can you be so calm about this?"
“Did you say food?”
Diamond sighed, and I could imagine she was likely starting to get really annoyed over the both of us. 'Well, first of all, freaking out won't solve things. Second, focusing on negative emotions is what Discord wants, and third, there is nothing we can do anyway so, why worry?'
Diamond was right… but rather than putting me at ease, it only caused me to worry. “Diamond… that’s the sort of thing I should be saying.”
'I know. Do you feel like you want to bully the CMC or something like that?'
"No… I feel… like I been an idiot. That I should have gone to the right ponies asking for help instead of… ya know? And that's weird because… I am not even supposed to be a pony to start with."
'Hey, I am eating breakfast, do you two feel anything?'
“Well, I have the taste of freshly baked hay muffins, meh, steamed dandeloin petals...tastier than I would...wait a second, I don’t wanna be some veggie stuffing prey. Give me meat damnit! Or heck, anything besides pony junk, bleck!”
I rolled my eyes at Strife’s reaction, ignoring the fact that he was now trying to get the taste of flowers out of his mouth.
'Ponies do eat cheese and eggs, is not a vegan diet, well save for some ponies who are vegans.' Diamond Tiara muttered, but I was frankly tired of being in the same room as Strife, so I decided it was time for a brief change of drivers.
The world spun a bit for a moment, and I could swear I heard a yelp… then I was once again seeing the world with Diamond’s eyes. Which were currently looking down into a bowl of peaches and cream oatmeal. Literally.
At least it tasted good.
"Of course it tastes good, the chef’s always make sure breakfast is delicious." Strife said, and I could swear I heard the sound of that pony doing a facehoof. "Great… now I’m even saying what she’s thinking. Hurry up and shovel that goop up your mouth so we can get going!"
“Diamond… or is it Cain? Are you alright?” Silver Tongue asked, glancing at me from my right, while Filthy Rich was conversing with Jeeves and Ginger Gold.
"Well… lets just say I hope they fix a solution to this soon.” I mumbled into my food, deciding to take Strife’s suggestion to heart as I did a very good impression of a pig eating out of a trough.
“I believe it is the one called Cain.” Jeeves said, his tone perfectly flat as he watched the scene unfold.
'So… wanna play cards or something?' DT asked to Strife as I attempted to drown myself with my glass of orange juice.
'Why would I?'
‘Because I’ve got the Woona doll, and if you want it back you have to keep me from getting bored?’
'Fine, but if we end playing dress up I will dye your mane green… dye your mane? ARG! Even my threats are getting lame!’
“So you weren’t kidding Mister Rich… D-Diamond really is being possesed by some furless talking monkey?” Ginger asked, obviously surprised by the sudden change in eating habits.
I feel ashamed of the way I was eating, years of training at Miss Sunshine Summer camp for Proper Fillies kicked in and I started to eat like a lady. Then I looked at the spoon of food I’d picked up… and no longer felt hungry. “Mister Rich, Missus Tongue? I think I’m ready to get outta this body now if its all the same to you."
Mister Rich nodded, turning and asking Jeeves and Ginger to go fetch the bags they’d prepared last night. Silver Tongue offered a comforting hoof to me, but I wasn’t really going to feel all that comfortable until I was in my own body… or at least not in Diamond Tiara’s.
-*-
By the time we got to the train, DT was back in control and when I got back into the room I saw Strife… with make up smeared all over his face.
“Do I even wanna know?”
“I got Woona back!” He shouted triumphantly, an almost mad grin on his face as he clung to her. It was almost strange how protective he was of that doll, but then he was basically the negative parts of myself. And being greedy was the contrary of being generous.
With nothing better to do for hours, I decided to try to follow Princess Luna's advice and play with Strife, taking advantage on how foal like he had become.
Which mostly meant I spent the entirety of the train ride getting chased by an enraged colt, screaming bloody murder and other nasty things as I clutched the Woona doll between my teeth.
By the time we arrived to Canterot, both me and Strife were exhausted, so we fell asleep. Neither of us knew what exactly was in store… but I remained confident that the Princesses could help.
As I would soon find out… my faith was a tad… misplaced.
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Two really nice chapters. I'm glad it is continuing and I hope you find your joy again writing this story. Please don't pressure yourself.
5184608
Using Luna and Woona was my idea O_-
5184829 I see your comments on almost all of my favorite stories...
It's getting creepy...
5184995
To be fair, I am the co-author of this chapter.
Misplaced, but not wrong? So the princesses are all surrounding CDT with magic and runes and glowy shit, and then Fancy Pants just walks in and bops her on the nose and out pops a human?
Good story btw, still.
5185026 By the way, Pinklestia, where does your name originate from? I really like your avatar.
Also, Princess Woona should have puffed out her cheeks...
5186588
The Pink Celestia toy: Pink Celestia = Pinklestia.
Princess Luna was just going by she could get from Cain's mind. My interpretation is that when she enters a dream, she can basically read the dreamer mind surface thoughts. Even then, she is still an adult, so there was a limit on how much she would act like "Woona", specially with two strangers.
Despite that, Princess Luna loves children, I think is the adults she has trouble dealing with.
5186941
Noice Enklish bru!
Cain/Strife needs to be voiced by the same guy who does Natsu from Fairy Tale
Don't ask questions, just let it happen
So, Celestia now has spoilers for the next two seasons? Cheater!
Also, ape. We're members of the ape family. If we were monkeys, we'd probably have tails.
Oo~ the situation begins to worsen, let's see the inevitable betrayal~!
Well, that was fun to read.
Oh fuck me sideways with a broom handle, this isn't good. This isn't good at all.
First goes the individuality, then the personality, and after that self-consciousness is the next to go out the window. If this keeps up, this won't even qualify for an HiE anymore (this isn't criticizing the fic, it's actually a REALLY solid implementation of the concept of ponification).
Can't wait to see what's next.
5191460
Cain only knows until the end of season 2.
5191460 the hip bone's connected to the- tail bone! ((Which exists))
5210401
That... makes perfect sense.
I am so confused....
Ah, misplaced faith. That old bugger strikes again. And Ooo they're merging now! Scary and... makes a great read!