“Okay Diamond, we can go whenever you’re ready… are you ready?”
“Hold on a moment, Princess Twilight. I just have to run through my i-tinny-very. Let’s see: my favourite dresses, check. Spare tiara, check. Good Luck bracelet I got from Silv, oh no, where’s it gone? I absolutely positively refuse to go on any long haul journey without it. Who knows what could happen? We could crash midair, lightning might strike us, o-or worst of all, my hair might get wet!!”
“Nice to see you trying out that new word I taught you, Diamond. And relax, I just checked in with Rainbow Dash. The skies are all-clear for the rest of the day. In any case, the trip to Canterlot will only take a few hours by pegasi carriage, and as for your lucky charm now…”
“How can I possibly manage without it? Silv gave it to me when she found out I couldn’t come out to play because I had chickenpox. Daddy put it by my pillow while I napped, and you’ll never guess; next day I was all better! It was amazing! She’d kill me if she found out I’d lost it… well, maybe not, but you don’t know what she’s like when she’s mad…”
“...Nice story, but we have to get a move on. I want to arrive before it gets dark, and I have some of my own possessions to unpack tonight. Mostly books, admittedly. I haven’t even organised my personal library yet! Oh, and Diamond…”
“Y-Yes?”
“You can stop panicking. If your bracelet is shaped like a horseshoe, you’re wearing it on your left hind leg. It’s been there all afternoon, to the best of my recollection. Now that that’s settled, can you start loading your things into the back of the carriage please?”
“O-Oh, you’re right! Silly me! I was washing my forehooves after lunch, and I wanted to put it somewhere safe. So…”
“Diamond!! I don’t want to come off as a ‘pushy princess’, but you’re slightly testing my patience now.”
“Okay, message received, or whatever. Speaking of which, I’ve been meaning to ask: could you help me out with my bags, Princess Twilight? For a weak filly like me, it looks like a tough job. But for an awesome alicorn with super magical-powers…”
“...Fine. Just this once, so we actually make good time. But remember what I told you earlier: just because you’re going to live in a palace for a bit, doesn’t mean you’re going to be waited on hoof-and-foot. There are certain things you’re going to have to learn to do for yourself…”
“Hurray! Thanks, Princess Twilight! I knew I could count on you!” Diamond Tiara only heard the alicorn’s first word, before she affectionately hugged the older mare around the neck and shot off into the distance.
Maybe I was too literal before when I told her she ‘wouldn’t want for anything’... Twilight sighed in defeat as she observed the crowned youngster gallop away, nearly leaving hoofprints on Spike en route while rushing down the corridor.
“H-Hey! Watch it!!” The dragon just managed to dive out of the way in time to avoid being crushed by the speeding pink blur, and whilst dusting himself off in the aftermath turned to stare questionably at a sheepish-looking Twilight.
“Are you sure about this? I thought your first week as Princess Of Equestria would be tough enough, without adding foster care to your bulging in-tray!”
“I know, I know.” Twilight stared down at her hooves thoughtfully for a second, as though trying to find the best way to explain. “It’s just… I can’t help but feel responsible for her. I was the one who took her away from everything she’s ever known, without having a clue what to do with her afterwards. It’s not like I planned for any of this to happen…!”
“Hmm. So no regrets, then?”
“None whatsoever! I made the right choice in difficult circumstances, and if I could go over and do it all again I wouldn’t change a thing. There was only one way things were heading if I’d left Diamond to fend for herself in that mansion, and it wasn’t anywhere good. By having her stay with me for now, I can keep an eye on her whilst taking full ownership of my decision. That’s what an accountable ruler would do, r-right?”
“...I’m probably not the right dragon to ask, having no real family apart from you and the girls and being tickled half-to-death by the filly you want to live with us. But if you really, truly, honestly want my advice…”
“Of course I do, Spike! Isn’t that why I hired you as Chief Advisor in the first place?”
“Okay then, don’t say you weren’t warned. Listen up…”
“...Well?”
“Are you nuts?!” Spike practically screamed out his reply, before looking at a shocked Twilight with a frisson of contrition. “...Oops, I apologise. That came out a tad harsher than I intended. What I actually meant to say was: even if it was one of the fillies we know really well, I’d have my doubts about making it work. You remember what an ordeal ‘Twilight Time’ was in the past, don’t you?”
“It.. It wasn’t that bad. I mean, there was the day Scootaloo nearly burned down the treehouse when she knocked that lantern over. I specifically forbade her from riding her scooter inside, too! Or Apple Bloom accidentally turning the Friendship Journal into a giant pumpkin on Nightmare Night. It took me days without sleep to find an effective counterspell! Also, who could forget ‘dear’ Sweetie Belle dropping that bucket on my head from above whilst practicing her magic? I don’t think I’ve ever been so embarrassed, when the entire waiting room at the hospital saw me stagger in with my horn sticking out bumping into everything! Fine way for a Princess to be seen. At least I gave some ponies an amusing snapshot to treasure...”
“Exactly! You can see my point, then.” Spike seemed satisfied that Twilight was finally beginning to recognise the major ramifications of her impulsion. “If the situation got that out of control with three otherwise well-behaved fillies like the Crusaders, can you imagine what it might be like under the same roof as the one who’s got the worst reputation of them all? I have my own memories of ‘Twilight Time’, and I recall one very specific day when Diamond dragged along her entire class. She wasn’t even invited to the session, either! Do you remember? You made me prepare hundreds of nachos, and by the time I’d carried them down from the kitchen, everypony had already gone! My arms still ache just thinking about it! And let's not even mention the exploding giant apple... ”
“Oh, yes. That was her, wasn’t it?” Twilight reminisced momentarily about the chaos back then. “...But what have I told you before, on judging others based on past mistakes? You sound just like Rainbow Dash, when I asked her about the forecast earlier. She said ‘are you nuts’ in almost exactly the same voice as yours when I told her about my plans. The two of you aren’t in cahoots, are you…?”
“No! That’s just a coincidence. I think Rainbow just remembers how badly Diamond teased Scoots about not being able to fly before. Rainbow is very protective of her, as you know.” Spike refused to back down, having seemingly found an answer to everything. “I hear what you’re saying, but how can you be sure she’s changed that much? I mean, she practically assaulted me upstairs, almost flattened me down here and didn’t even say ‘thank you’ for the sumptuous feast I made for lunch…!”
“I hardly think daisy sandwiches qualifies as a ‘sumptuous feast’, Spike. And I know for a fact she feels really bad about what happened in your room. If you hang on long enough, I’m sure she’ll tell you that herself in good time. Just… try and have a bit of faith. Unlike you, I’ve walked around town talking to various ponies about what she’s been like in the last year or so. Do you know what I found out?”
“Please. Enlighten me.”
“Less of the snark, Spike. Anyway, I heard nothing but glowing reports, even from those she used to pick on. From the colt who replaced her as class president telling me Diamond really helped in getting him settled into the job, to Granny Smith who got a sincere apology for being mocked at Family Appreciation Day. Does that sound like a bully refusing to change her spots to you?”
“Hmph. I’d say she has more stripes than spots. And based on what I’ve seen so far, I’m still unconvinced. But I suppose, if you’re willing to, I could give her a chance. If I could get Thorax to change the entire philosophy of his species, I suppose anything’s possible.” Spike finally submitted to the selfless whims of his determined best friend. “If I’m going to be stuck looking after her sometimes, you better be right. Just because her name may be Diamond, doesn’t mean she’ll be as sweet as one.”
“...Not sure I can relate to that particular analogy, but regardless…” Twilight had little experience in the field of gems-crunching, so she’d have to take her advisor’s word for it. “...I’m glad I was finally able to win you round. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but I think with both of our efforts and a bit of luck along the way, it might just turn out to be one of the most rewarding, nurturing…”
“You! Filly! Come back with that ancient spellbook this instant!”
“Hey, you weren’t using it. Plus, I needed something to doodle on.”
“Why, you little… Sunburst entrusted that to me himself, and I’m supposed to give it back tomorrow! It’s completely priceless, and older than you can possibly fathom!”
“If it’s that old, you might think about getting a newer one then! You should be able to get a good deal on it too, if it doesn’t have a price. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to finish colouring in this picture of Songbird Serenade I’ve drawn. She’s so cool, whatever the media or her old fans try to tell me. That one unpopular song she did about mules shouldn't define her whole career...”
“I don’t care about her, or your ‘artwork’! Just… give me my book back! Now!” As if on cue, an apoplectic Starlight Glimmer chased a surprisingly nimble Diamond Tiara through the central hall, with the smaller pony holding onto the aforementioned tome in her mouth as if her life depended on it, and Starlight…
...Well, it seemed the reformed unicorn was straining every sinew to avoid aiming a blast of pure energy at the runaway youngster. She’d resisted up till now, but judging by her irate demeanour the self-imposed ceasefire might not last for much longer.
Twilight took all of a few seconds to assess the tense situation, before deciding that direct intervention was by far the best course of action. “I-I’ll just be a minute or two. Don’t think this changes anything I’ve said, because it doesn’t… hey, Diamond! Put that yellow crayon down right now! That’s an order…!’
As the noisy trio faded into the depths of the castle, Spike’s response to what he’d just witnessed was to make his expression ever more deadpan, his arms even more folded.
“I wasn’t gonna say anything…” he flatly said, before whistling merrily on his way back upstairs to finish cataloguing the rest of his vast comic book collection.
What did you mean with "i-tinny-very.", "sumptuous", "intray", "apoplectic", and "sinew"? Mainly as I've never seen these used.
10973108
i-tinny-very = itinerary. It's a new word Twilight taught Diamond, as per her commitment to improving the filly's vocabulary. As for the other words, why not google them now? You may just enhance yours.
wat....
10973138
'Otherwise' well-behaved. Perhaps Spike hasn't seen them at their 'worst'...
10973112
To note, intray should really be 'in-tray'.
10973154
Darn it! My cheap spellchecker let me down again!
10973146
ooooh do i sense some crusader destruction time coming
10973201
Maybe not. I was talking about in the show itself. But, you never know...
Glad that Spike made all of his points across with Twilight regarding Diamond, after all actions speak louder than words & they don't get any louder than DT's antics here!
10973214
Yep, real diplomat our Spike. In fact, I didn't realise how big a role he would have until now. Which is strange, considering how close he is to Twilight. Anyway, I've just added him to the tags to indicate his importance.
I see schannagins are already starting! And that Twilight is already working on improving Diamond's vocabulary. Hopefully she's also soon work on Diamond's respect for other ponies and their property...After all, some things can be irreplaceable. Oh, and the good luck charm could be a good example of that (and is also a very sweet present Silver gave Diamond).
It'll be interesting to see what happens in future chapters, especially whenever Diamond and Spike interact again.
10973265 'Shenanigans' (however way you spell it) are always fun. But they'll be happy and sad moments too, basically the entire spectrum of emotions. Hope you see you back again soon! I'll save your regular seat now...
Another blank comment. Grr..
10970709
Yep. I think somepony may be in the minority here...
Yeah, drawing on a book is one way to push one of Twilight's buttons. You better make a specific rule that books are ONLY meant for reading. Or there's gonna be one being used as a doorstop somewhere...
10973307
You know you can edit your comments, right? The little pencil icon next to the garbage can is for that. You don't need to delete accidental comments and make a new one.
Heck, I've edited this comment twice already.
10973381
No, this is an extra comment box appearing when I try to reply. Which I don't even need. I don't want to write or edit anything in it, the only thing I can do is delete. Very annoying.
10973387
Ah. Well then...
Womp womp.
10973389
Great help, you. Hopefully it won’t happen again though.
10973452
There is no ‘relapse’, as the story hasn’t even properly begun yet. They haven’t even arrived in Canterlot and Diamond only left her parents that morning. You can forgive her for acting out a little, surely. And I like to think even after ‘redemption’ she’ll always be a bit of a diva. It’s kind of baked into her character…
I think it’ll take more than one heart-to-heart with Twilight to get her to settle down. If everything was perfect after one day, I think an equal amount of readers would accuse me of rushing it.
10973521
I see we’ve been taking a lot of ethos from the show with the whole ‘hugging’ thing. Okily dokily…
I never planned for Diamond to be an angel. I think what makes her interesting is her complexity, her desire to change and grow as a pony but her ego and attitude sometimes stand in her way. She’s been used to getting spoiled most of her life, plus her very cutie mark imbues her with a need for others to follow her every command.
She, Twilight and the others in this fic will all learn a lot from each each other in this fic, and may not be the same when it’s over. In a good way, of course. Maybe.
Diamond, what do you think you're doing?!
10973566
As I explained before, not everything is going to be a bed of roses. They’ll be moments of tenderness, moments of trouble and moments where we ‘catch up’ with the other creatures involved in this saga. Hope that proves an accurate enough summation of what lies ahead…
I'm really enjoying this story, keep it up!
10973307
Whoops, guess that's on me for trying to trust my tablet's autocorrect. I'm really looking forward to all the emotions that are going to be here...I'm sensing a full rollercoaster of them!
10973680
Roger that!
10973721
Don't forget to strap yourself in... and no eating before the ride commences.
10973748
That's wot I wrote and wot Twily said, yep.
10975806
We’ll it didn’t stop her brother from marrying Cadence.
Final finish this chapter. Can’t wait to see Diamond cause chaos for Equestria
Yeah I remember that one and I remember how bad she was in flight to the Finish that was basically the worst that she ever done
Well then diamond seem is taking pretty well of the this now but Spike still don't know about this doesn't think she really didn't change but Twilight reassured him that diamond did change she did apologize for everything what she's done and even helping out even those spike is still not convinced but he will take their word for it and something tells me it's going to be a long day for pretty much anybody I wonder what's going to happen next guess we'll find out next time
Does Starlight actually hate Songbird Serenade? Or was she just frustrated?
Goodness Starlight is a goofy dork here. Little disappointing ngl, but I don't think she's gonna play a big part so it doesn't matter too much.
Spike's a little grating here too, though he tends to be for me, even in the show.