• Published 1st Jul 2012
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A Jewel of a Problem - Rainbow Sparkle



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Would you like lumps with your Tiara?

Last time, on A Jewel of a Problem…our hero Cain had his mind flung from his world of Earth into the one mind no brony would ever wish to be stuck in; Diamond Tiara. Having learned when and where he is, Cain is now faced with the difficult task of finding a way to get his mind back home to Earth while avoiding letting slip that DT is no longer the bitch everyone knows her as, and to add insult to injury, he has to help every single Pony that Diamond Tiara slandered while she was running the school paper.

Will he succeed in his endeavor, or will he be trapped forever in the body of a pink and purple filly? Only time…will tell, muahahahahaha *hack, cough, cough*!

Where the heck did that come from? Don’t tell me I’m going to start hearing things as well, I’ve got enough problems now if ya haven’t noticed!

After Filthy had left, I sat my plot down on the floor as I took a moment to contemplate the situation I was in. I looked down at the floor and using the awesome powers of my imagination, I imagined a small sheet of paper sitting on the floor before me. Peering at it, I saw what looked like a list that seemed to describe my situation. At the top was a little sticker of what Equestria looked like when they showed it in Friendship is Magic.

Okay, so first off, we’re in Equestria. I looked around the room, trying to imagine any other place this could be, not forgetting that I seemed to be stuck in Diamond Tiara’s body and had just been lectured by Filthy Rich. Check.

The next item on the list was a sticker of a pony, with the words “You are a pony” following it. I turned and twisted my head, looking at each part of me to confirm I was indeed a pony, and not a human. I wasn’t going to bother checking to see if I was a filly or colt, but then I decided it was required. I did not need to somehow find out that I had also swapped DT’s gender in whatever had brought me here. That would blow ANY chance of avoiding suspicion with the ponies of Ponyville. One brief check later, I checked that one, adding to it “and am a filly”

The third item on my list… what the heck? Running out of time to get washed up? What the hay is that doing on-

“Diamond Tiara, five minutes till breakfast! Finish washing up and get down here!”

“Crap!” I yelped as I did a short jump into the air, my head twisting around as I tried to figure out where the bathroom was. There didn’t seem to be one in the bedroom, which annoyed the heck out of me as I stood up and started to make my way towards the door. I was only a foot away from it when I suddenly thought aloud, “Wait a minute, why am I not having trouble walking?”

Smack!

Just by saying that sentence, I seemed to have broken whatever it was that was making it so I could walk without a problem as I slipped and smacked my face into the door. Yelping in pain, I tried to stand back up on my hind legs, only to fall backwards and smack my head on the floor.

This… just isn’t my day, I thought to myself as I rubbed the back of my head and my nose, both of which stung but were otherwise undamaged. And I had a feeling that it was only going to get worse if I couldn’t figure this out, which would be hard to do if I let the already building anger at my inability to even walk get the better of me.

Taking a deep breath, I steepled my… hooves in front of me as I took a moment to look over how I had messed up, aside from the obvious invocation of Murphy’s Law (damn you to hell Murphy!)

I was doing just fine…until I realized I wasn’t having any trouble…I thought to myself, looking back at the bed which was several feet away. I had walked nearly all the way across the room before having any trouble, without even realizing it.

Come to think of it, I didn’t have any trouble turning that alarm clock off... I don’t think I even remember how I did it… I just did it…

An idea was forming in my head, but I had to try to confirm it somehow to know if I was right. Standing up, I started thinking about how I shouldn’t be used to walking on four feet. With this in mind, I tried to take several steps towards the bed…

Smack!

Into the floor I went! I rubbed my nose again as I got back up, and gathering my senses, I imagined my mind not having anything in it. No thoughts, just an empty void. Then I took a step forward, and another, and another one after that. Within a few seconds, I was back to standing next to the bed.

So that’s how I did it! I didn’t think about how walking on four hooves should be hard, I just walked! That’s… That’s… My mind trailed off as I tried to think of a good word that would fit this discovery. I decided that after a moment, convenient was a good word, though I had to wonder if using that word might come back to bite my plot later.

It certainly makes sense. I don’t think most people think about how they walk, they just do it. Now, if only all the other things I’m bound to have trouble with are this easy…

So, with this little obstacle cleared, I walked over to the door, feeling proud that I only nearly tripped once, and reached up to open the door with my hand-

Hoof, idiot. you have hooves now.

Right, how was it most ponies opened doors? I couldn’t open it with magic, since I wasn’t a unicorn. Did ponies ever use their hooves to open doors? I couldn’t quite remember if there had been an instance of such. I did however, remember that they used their-

Ugh. Why didn’t I pay attention when Filthy Rich did it?

With a grunt of frustration, I leaned forward with my mouth to grab the doorknob, when I saw it start to turn on its own. I gazed at it as it made the full turn, thinking to myself Am I doing that?

I think those smacks to the head left me a little slow, because I really should have known what was happening. In fact, I should have realized and then jumped out of the way. As it was, I was gazing at the doorknob as if in a trance when the door opened and smacked into my head, again. This time though, the door also slammed me into the wall.

“Miss Tiara? Your father sent me to come check on you. I didn’t see you in the washroom… um… Miss Tiara?”

“This is getting ridiculous…” I murmured as I slowly got up from behind the door, rubbing a hoof on my forehead in small circles, my entire head pounding from the brutal beating I seemed to be inflicting upon myself. I heard a yelp and looked up to see what looked like an amber colored mare with orange curly hair, wearing a maid outfit rushing over to me with a look of concern mixed with fear on her face.

“Miss Tiara! Are you alright? What happened to you?”

I tried to focus on the mare in front of me, or was it three? I shook my head to try to clear it up, but that only made my head hurt more. “Oww! My head!” I turned and glared at the door, wishing upon it a horrible and slow death by wood-chipper. She seemed to get the idea, as she suddenly started spouting,

“Oh my, I-I’m so sorry Miss Tiara, I didn’t mean to do that! Please don’t get mad at me! It was an accident honest!”

I turned to see her laying on her belly, hooves laid out in front of her as if she was bowing to me, fear written all over her face. My ears were ringing a bit, so I wasn’t sure of everything she was saying as she continued. I closed my eyes and shook my head lightly this time so as to not make it hurt as much. This seemed to work better, and opening my eyes I saw that she had stopped talking, and tears were running down her face as she looked up at me expectantly.

What the fuck is up with her? Hell, who is she anyway-oh. I fully noticed the maid outfit, and my brain reminded me who I looked like to this pony, along with everypony else in Ponyville. She’s probably a servant who works for the family, she must think she smacked me into the wall. Which, she had, in a sense, but that was because of my brain being stuck on park when it should have been in drive.

I should probably say something to her before she freaks out anymore. Causing panic attacks is not the way you go about keeping a low profile. “Uh hey, it was only an accident, no need to freak out over it or anything.”

For a moment, I thought she hadn’t heard me correctly, or that my mouth wasn’t doing what my brain instructed, when she started babbling out, “Oh please don’t tell Mister Rich! I don’t want to get punished! I-I know, I’ll take you to your favorite ice cream store, I’ll-”

“Huh? What are you talking about? I said it was an accident, geeze, do you need hearing aids or something?” I rolled my eyes at her babbling, wondering if I had waited a bit too long to say something to her, when she seemed to perk up at my words, though what she said next caught me a bit off guard,

“You..You mean you’re not gonna ask your father to punish me? Or fire me?”

I gave her an incredulous look as she stood up, hope twinkling in her eyes. A sick feeling was beginning to form in my gut, so I decided to keep talking so I wouldn’t have to think about it.

“Are you deaf?” She shook her head no, and I added “Did I say I anything about telling daddy?” She shook her head no again. Sighing, I put a hoof to my face as I said “Look, just forget about the whole thing okay? I need to go get cleaned up before daddy comes up here and scolds me again-gyah!”

The maid had grabbed me with her forehooves and was hugging me to her chest as she repeated “Thank you thank you thank you!” I tried to say something, but all that came out was an unintelligible mumble. “Oh, you don’t know how much this means to me Miss Tiara! I was so worried about making a mistake after the others told me about you and I…”

Great, she’s new. I thought to myself, wondering if that would make things easier or harder. It didn’t sound like she had stopped, and I’m sure she would have kept going on like that, were it not for the fact that I decided it was time for her to let me go so I could get some air. Since she didn’t seem to be paying attention to my attempts at talking, I did the only thing that came to my mind.

I bit her.

“Ouch!” She yelped, letting me go, which, much to my annoyance, meant a short drop to the floor. Luckily, it was only a foot down, so I didn’t have any trouble landing on my hooves.

“Air!” I gasped, taking in a deep breath and releasing it before looking up at the surprised face of the maid as she rubbed at her chest. “Next time… find a different way… to express your excitement, would you?”

Her cheeks went a bit red, and she sheepishly murmured “Yes Miss Tiara.”

I shook my head, rolling my eyes again. This was a waste of time for everyone involved, so I decided to get things moving by asking “Sooo, why are you up here?”

“You didn’t hear me when I came in?” She replied, and my response was to point a hoof from her to the door, and then back to my head. She got that embarrassed look again as she murmured “Right, I could see how that would make it hard. Your dad sent me up to see if you were getting washed up…Err…did you already get washed up?” I shook my head at this, and she put on a weak smile as she said “Well then, I guess I need to help you get washed up then, your father wanted you downstairs as soon as possible…” That fearful look came back to her face, and it wasn't hard to guess what she was likely thinking about, so I sighed and turned towards the door, replying,

“Well, let’s get it over with.” She nodded, and started for the door. I started to follow after her, then stopped and added “Hold on a sec.” I didn’t bother to see if she had stopped or not, figuring she would stand as still as a statue if I told her to, and I ran back inside the room and over to the dresser. As much as I didn’t want to, I grabbed the little tiara that was Diamond Tiara’s and trotted over to the maid and mumbled “Ready.”

And so, with a freaking tiara sitting in my mouth (which tasted disgusting I will add) and a nervous rookie maid leading the way, I finally stepped out of Diamond Tiara’s room and into an expansive hallway that was painted a soft white, with large windows showing the thatched roofs of Ponyville in the distance.

Wonder how big this house is…I thought to myself as I followed the maid, who quickly led me to a spacious bathroom that was a good four or five times bigger than my own house's bathroom. It actually looked like it belonged in one of those fancy hotels you see commercials of on TV all the time, which makes sense when you consider that Diamond Tiara’s dad was rich (Filthy Rich, HAH), and that’s not even taking into consideration the possibility of her mom. If she has one I reminded myself.

The maid, who I learned was named Ginger Gold and had been working here for a week, quickly led me towards a big bath tub. I don’t know if Diamond Tiara always had a maid help her get washed up or not, but considering the fact that I wasn’t exactly sure if I could do it myself properly, I didn’t complain. I did, however, make sure to memorize what she did so I would know in the future. After all, I had no idea how long I might be stuck in DT’s body, and I don’t know about you, but I can bathe myself perfectly well thank you very much.

After drying off, she helped brush my mane into its normal state after I tried and failed to do so with my mouth. It was my turn to be embarrassed when she gave me an odd look and simply picked the brush up with a hoof and started pulling it through my mane.

Guess that answers that question. With that knowledge in hoof, I was able to ensure that I was able to at least do something by myself as I set the tiara atop my head, looking at Diamond Tiara’s, or I suppose I should say my, reflection to make sure it was sitting where it should. Since it didn’t seem out of place, I hopped down from the stool I had been sitting upon and made my way out the door with Ginger in tow. As I stepped back into the hallway, I picked up the wonderful smell of muffins floating in the air. My stomach growled, reminding me that I was indeed hungry, and without thinking, I dashed down the hallway, following the scent of breakfast like a dog chasing after a cat.

“Miss Tiara! Slow down, you’re going to-”

I turned my head and shouted back to her, “Don’t you say it!” but as I finished saying that, I did exactly as she expected as one of my hooves got caught in the rug and I was sent rolling into a nearby wall. When I opened my eyes, I saw an upside down Ginger looking down at me in concern.

“Are you alright Miss Tiara?”

I closed my eyes and groaned, and wondered if this was an omen of what was to come.

This was going to be one long ass day.

~^~

After that incident, I walked the rest of the way to the dining hall, with Ginger walking right beside me. I had a feeling she thought that if I wasn’t right next to her at all times, I might get myself hurt again. Which, considering the brief time we had known each other, wasn’t all that much of a surprise. I wouldn’t have been amazed at all if she suddenly pulled out a roll of bubble wrap and wrapped me up in it.

Reaching the dining hall, I saw Filthy Rich sitting at the end of a long table that could have comfortably seated twenty or more ponies. Like the rest of the house that I’d seen so far, it looked like what you figure a rich person’s dining room would be. I guess it was a good thing that having lots of nice stuff didn’t impress me, as otherwise I probably would have been looking at everything in awe a few times, and for me to do that while imprisoned in Diamond Tiara’s body would not be the smartest thing to do.

“I was wondering when you’d get down here. I was getting ready to send a search party.” Filthy said, looking up from the newspaper that was sitting in front of him, smiling at me. “You look as pretty as always my little Princess.”

Not being someone who really cared how I looked, the compliment meant nothing to me, but I put a smile on anyways as I sat down near him and I replied “Thank you Daddy, Miss Ginger helped me.”

He nodded at this, and flashed a smile at Ginger as he said “Cherry Tart should be finished with the muffins, bring the plates out here please.” Ginger nodded and headed through a nearby door into what I assumed was the kitchen. I noticed that as she left the room, Filthy’s gaze seemed to be following her back before the door blocked her from sight. I remained silent, pretending I saw nothing as I sat quietly at the table. Filthy took his eyes away from the door and went back to reading his paper, leaving the room in an (in my mind) uncomfortable silence. As the seconds ticked by, I decided I couldn’t stand the silence and asked,

“So, Daddy…”

“Yes Princess?” He replied, not even looking away from his paper. This rankled me, but I did my best not to let any of my annoyance slip out as I continued,

“Do I really have to help all those ponies?”

He sighed, turning the page before answering. “Yes dear, you have to help each and every pony the paper slandered while you were heading it. I’ve been lenient in the past, but not this time. Besides, it’s a good thing to help others out. It helps build character.”

I wasn’t going to argue that Diamond Tiara couldn’t use some character, heck, I was all for it, but not while I was her. I nodded weakly, looking down at the table, figuring he was finished. He seemed to be, as he said nothing else, going back to focusing on his paper. But then he added,

“Oh yes, you’ll be helping the Apple family today, seeing as you slandered all of them here in Ponyville.”

The brony in me wanted to jump into the air and shout “HUZZAH!!” at the idea of getting to meet the Apples, but the me that wanted to find a way to get home as soon as possible forcibly dragged the brony down and tied him to a stump. I then retorted, “But I didn’t put anything about Apple Bloom in the paper, just her kooky family.”

“That ‘kooky’ family happens to provide us with nearly half of our wealth, and you’ll do well to remember that,” He said. This time, he looked over his paper to gaze at me, his eyes as stern and unyielding as a glacier. “And you threatened to slander Apple Bloom and her friends, so that counts just as much. You’ll be helping each of them today with some of their work, or whatever else they ask of you. Is that clear?”

I gritted my teeth but nodded all the same. I had the sudden hope that the Apples would give me small, simple, and easy-to-finish tasks so they could get me out of their hair and I could work on finding a way out of here. But considering how my morning thus far had gone, I didn’t expect it’d be that easy.

“That’s my Princess. I know you don’t like it, but you’ll understand why I’m doing this someday.”

I highly doubt that, I thought to myself. I was tempted to make some sort of sarcastic comment, but Ginger chose that moment to push in a cart laden with all sorts of muffins and a pitcher of orange juice and a big steaming cup of coffee. My eyes lit up at the sight of them and a wide smile made its way across my face. There was oatmeal raisin, banana nut, chocolate chip, apple cinnamon, I think I saw one that looked like someone had decided to cross cherry cobbler with a muffin in there. I waited until she had set everything down before I reached out to snag a muffin…

“Ah ah ah, I know you're hungry sweetie, but aren’t you forgetting something?” Filthy said, and I looked over to him and saw that he had placed his hooves together on the table in a manner roughly similar to how a human prayed before a meal.

Intrigued, I merely nodded and did the same, and he bowed his head down and said “Thank you Celestia, for without your life-giving sun, we would not have this bounty of food upon our table. Amen.”

Well, that was certainly interesting to hear. Guess that’s something to tell the bronies back on Earth, I thought to myself as I reached out and grabbed a muffin, this time not being stopped as Filthy himself did the same. Ginger excused herself, giving me a sheepish wave before darting back into the kitchen.

After several delicious muffins and two tall glasses of OJ later, and I felt loads better than I had a short while ago. My head still throbbed softly, but it was fading away. I looked over at Filthy, who was finishing off his glass of coffee, and I decided to ask something that I had become curious about as I ate.

“Hey Daddy, when do I have to go help the Apples?”

Filthy looked up at a clock set in the wall, which read half past eight. “I told the Apples that you were to be there by eleven o’clock, so you have until then to do what you wish. But,” he said, putting emphasis on the word to make clear that I should make sure I remember what came next, “I don’t want you to try to find a way to sneak out of it. If you do try to, I won’t let your friend Silver Spoon come over for a week.”

You would think that I wouldn’t care about that, but surprisingly, I did. Firstly, because Filthy would probably get suspicious (or at least I would in his position) if his daughter didn’t care if she couldn’t have her best friend over for a week. Secondly, she was the only pony in Ponyville I could think of that I wouldn’t have to act like an asshole towards, not to mention it’d be somepony who wouldn’t want to keep about a ten foot distance from me.

And third…I don’t know why or how I felt this way, but I felt that if there was anyone I could tell my situation to at the moment, it would be Silver Spoon. Obviously, I couldn’t do it right away, but if I needed to, I had a feeling that Silver Spoon would be the first to believe me.

“I understand Daddy. I’ll be there.” I said the last with a huff, but I laid my head down on the table as a resigned expression spread across my face. Short of finding a book called “Interdimensional Mind Travel for Dummies” or me just suddenly being sent back, I was going to have to behave, and not behave, as Diamond Tiara would.

Still, with two and a half hours, I could try to get somewhere in my quest to get back home. And there was only one logical place to start.

Ponyville’s Public Library…or whatever the fuck they called it.

“Well…I’m going out for a bit then. Maybe I’ll see if I can find Silver Spoon and talk to her for a while before I go to Sweet Apple Acres.”

“That sounds like a good idea. Just remember, eleven o’clock is when you need to be there. Oh, and you’ll be there for six hours, so try not to exhaust yourself before then,” Filthy replied, to which I nodded before standing up and walking out of the dining hall and into the house's main hall.

It’s a good thing that they're right next to each other, and I would have hated to have to try to find the front door by myself. I thought to myself as I made my way towards it, pushing it open and stepping into the sun-filled courtyard. I had to shield my eyes for a brief moment, as the sunlight was brighter than I had expected it to be.

It’s what I get for working graveyard…though Luna would probably think it’s awesome there are people up and about during the night. Once I had adjusted to the light, I saw that the path leading up to the doors also lead out of the courtyard and towards Ponyville. It looked to be about a twenty minute walk or so, but that would have been as a slightly heavy human. As a young filly Earth Pony however, I had to hazard that at most it would take ten minutes.

“Only one way to find out…I hope you’re not so prim and proper that you can’t run, Tiara.” I muttered, taking a deep breath as I broke into a fast trot, quickly heading out of the courtyard and down towards Ponyville. Hopefully, it wouldn’t take long to find the library, or to find what I needed.

And hopefully, nopony will bother me and take up some of my precious, precious time…

Luna damnit, I did it again.