After Diamond Tiara's sabotage of a carnival float causes the death of Apple Bloom, she is punished for it in a brand new way.
After Diamond Tiara accidently causes the death of Apple Bloom, Princess Celestia decides to make her repair the gaping hole that she tore in the Apple Family.
The bailiff , a large unicorn stallion with a gavel for a cutie mark, announced, 'All rise! The High Court of Canterlot is in session, with Princess Celestia of Equestria presiding, in the State of Equestria versus Diamond Tiara Rich! The sentencing hearing will now begin.'
Princess Celestia, her large bejewelled formal crown upon her head, took her seat. It was the sentencing phase of a pony-slaughter case, that had taken place in Ponyville, something that especially displeased the severe but fair jurist and monarch. Murders and other crimes involving loss of life were generally rare even in the big cities like Baltimare and Manehatten, and the last killing of a pony by another pony in Ponyville happened a hundred and fifty years in the past. The killer in that case had become a permanent resident of the Canterlot Sculpture Garden. Still, Equestrian laws had softened a bit since then, this was a case of pony-slaughter rather then murder, and the defendant was a juvenile.
The defendant, Diamond Tiara Rich, a rich young heiress who thought that most other ponies were beneath her, stood smirking beside her lawyer. She was very well connected, and thought that given that she was under-age and genuinely didn't mean to kill anypony, at the most she would get a few years in Foalsom Prison. Perhaps her father would be able to bribe the warden to make sure she was treated well inside. Surely he would want his little princess not to suffer? At least the Rich family lawyer, Golden Dawn, had done what he could and got her convicted of pony-slaughter and not murder. On the left side of the courtroom, Applejack and Big Mac and the surviving Cutie Mark Crusaders stood and glared at her.
Princess Celestia spoke. "Diamond Tiara Rich, you have been found guilty of pony-slaughter in the death of Apple Bloom when you sabotaged her float, causing it to plunge several hundred feet over a cliff. If Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had not managed to escape just in time, you would have been convicted of three pony-slaughter charges, not one. You also teased and harassed Apple Bloom and her friends for a very long time beforehand, an aggravating factor. In mitigation, you did not mean to kill anypony that day, and then there is your youth to take into account." She paused. I order you remanded to the prison wing of the Canterlot Hospital, where you will undergo genetic modification under the Community Service program designed to render you a more civil and a much more useful member of society, and to assist you in paying your debt to the Apple family. Twilight Sparkle will supervise your change. You will then be released to the Apple family under the conditions of probation to be set by this court. Should you break the conditions of your probation, you will start serving a suspended sentence of twenty years in Foalsom Prison, doing hard labour. Take her down."
As she was led away by the Royal Guards, Diamond Tiara felt like cheering and clopping her hooves together. Surely some strings had been pulled behind the scenes for her after all? Most likely she would end up bucking apples for several hours a day, which was much better then breaking rocks, and could sleep in the Rich mansion in her own bed instead of some hard prison bunk. She was escorted to a sealed room within the prison wing where seriously injured convicts from Foalsom were sent to heal, and Twilight Sparkle looked her up and down. "You are very lucky, Diamond Tiara. You are going to be the first to test a brand new serum of mine."
Twilight Sparkle prepared the series of fast-replicating DNA and enzyme shots of both pony and Changeling DNA. The Changeling DNA had been gathered from the many broken changeling corpses that had not survived their magical ejection from Canterlot, due to colliding with buildings. It had taken days to gather them up and bury them in a mass grave, and a couple of bodies had been kept upon to experiment on before they rotted too much to be of any use to anypony. As for the pony DNA, it had been harvested from the dead body of Apple Bloom. As she injected Diamond Tiara, causing her to pass out, she knew that in the morning Diamond Tiara would assume not only the body, but the actual prior day-to-day existence of the late Apple Bloom. As a bit of a psychiatrist at heart, Twilight Sparkle thought this presented fascinating features for study, and she would chronicle the young filly's adjustment very carefully. It would be an important addition to the annals of the Community Service program. After all, instead of executing a killer or turning the killer into stone, or locking the killer up in prison, surely bringing the victim back would be better?
After rising from a deep tranquil slumber in gradual stages, the new edition of Apple Bloom needed badly to urinate. An earth pony nurse took her to the toilet, and the pony who had been Diamond Tiara looked in the mirror and proceeded to void the entire contents of her bladder onto the floor in panic. She screamed. "I'm...no, I can't be!!" Her voice had changed too so she sounded just like the old Apple Bloom, and her flank was now blank. She tried to escape, and had to be held down and sedated.
For the first few weeks in the home of the Apple Family, Apple Bloom was mildly sedated with a tranquilizer to reduce Diamond Tiara's hysteria and panic. Twilight Sparkle confiscated Diamond's tiara and had a red ribbon tied into her mane. "Can you...is it really going to be possible for me to have my sister back as if she never died?" Applejack asked Twilight.
"Well, it won't happen overnight. Apple Bloom will need proper drug therapy for a while, to stop her panicking and fleeing, and just as important, she is going to need constant conditioning from you and Big Mac and the rest of the Apple Family. It might take years, but in time she will no longer need any drugs and she will be an Apple to the core of her being. And if things don't work out, there is a twenty year prison sentence for breach of probation awaiting her."
The new Apple Bloom, her mind still somewhat clouded with various psychoactive drugs (some derived from Zebrican herbs from Zecora, who was happy to help), was set on a course of intense study. She read all the Apple family records and Apple Bloom's diary, looked at many photo albums and school yearbooks, watched all of the home movies the Apples had taken over the years, copied all of the old Apple Bloom's speech and mannerisms and simply had to absorb all of the Apple family lore there was to know. She had to read only Apple Bloom's favourite authors and magazines and listen only to Apple Bloom's music, and eat only what the old Apple Bloom would eat. Shortly, she could recognize and name all her new Apple Family relatives and friends, all of whom spent time with her in these weeks providing fond encouragement, even Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. It took nearly a year, but at last Diamond Tiara had a solid working knowledge of the life of Apple Bloom. Gradually, the drug regimen was lessened and finally ceased, after it was decided by Twilight Sparkle that it was no longer necessary.
Applejack sat on an expensive overstuffed sofa next to her 'sister.' 'I really don't hate you any more. I can hear Apple Bloom when you talk now and see her when you move. If you can be my younger sister for me, I'll be a good and loving older sister to you. And one day you will earn a brand new cutie mark to replace that nasty tiara on your flank that you used to have." She kissed Diamond Tiara gently on the cheek. "Now listen here, you're a farm pony now , and an Apple to the core. And you're going to live like one. No more Diamond Tiara snootiness and teasing of blank flanks. Do you understand me, Apple Bloom?"
"Yes."
"Yes what?"
"Yes, Sis. I love you, Sis, and I love being an Apple."
"That's good, very very good. Soon enough you'll be back at school, and you are not to have anything to do with that horrible Silver Spoon." And Applejack smiled, hugged Diamond Tiara and kissed her on the forehead.
The other two Cutie Mark Crusaders helped a lot. Scootaloo grinned. "Welcome back to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The old Apple Bloom was very interested in getting her cutie mark and we will make sure that you are, too." Her smile turned into a smirk. It felt so good, both to have her fellow Crusader back and to help punish the bratty, blank-flank hating princess-like pony who had so cruelly killed her. She intended to effect maximum humiliation upon her charge, at the same time moulding this pony, the image of her fellow Cutie Mark Crusader, into a perfect functioning replica of her. When she got through with her, Diamond Tiara would not just look like and dress on special occasions like but think, act like and finally even *be* Apple Bloom. Life was good, thought Scootaloo. 'Welcome to 'Crusaderhood,' Di,' she said bitterly.
Diamond Tiara steamed with fury deep inside. She longed to tell the Cutie Mark Crusaders in no uncertain terms where to go but that would be a breach of her probation conditions and that twenty year Foalsom Prison sentence would be enforced, and she really did not want to be locked up there. Foalsom Prison had a very nasty reputation. Life as a Cutie Mark Crusader and Applejack's sister was much better then being a prisoner there.
Her days were now spent, when not at school, either working on the farm bucking apples and bringing in the harvest or doing some silly, embarrassing or dangerous thing to get a new cutie mark-which refused to come at least for now. She was never allowed to say a word to Silver Spoon or spend any time with her real parents. No more was she waited on by servants as if she was Princess Celestia. Now she had to do everything the Apple Family way including cleaning the dishes after a meal. And she was rarely if ever allowed to have any time alone by herself. She knew her old ways were slipping away from lack of use but there was nothing she could do about it.
Galloping away when nopony was looking was not an option. Applejack with her lasso and her dog would soon be out after her, and the Royal Guards too. Fleeing into the Everfree Forest would most likely just get her devoured by hungry timberwolves. Also, she hated the idea of living the unhappy life of a homeless pony with only grass to eat and water to drink and nowhere to shelter from the weather. The Apple Family were not quite as rich as the Rich Family, but they were certainly not poor ponies.
Diamond was an Apple for real now. There was little resistance or defiance left in the former Diamond Tiara. None outwardly, at least. Friends of the Apple family marvelled at how the former aristocratic and bratty Rich heiress had been so effectively made to assume the identity of Applejack's younger sister. Diamond Tiara knew better to be disagreeable or act up. She had to make the best of being Apple Bloom, as there was an overcrowded cell in Foalsom Prison waiting for her otherwise.
'How do you like being Apple Bloom, sweetheart?' asked Applejack.
'I like it fine, Sis,' Diamond replied automatically.
Diamond had got used to the topics and speech patterns of Apple Bloom, and began to unaffectedly dish about colts, getting her cutie mark, the latest music from Sapphire Shores, and, negatively, Silver Spoon. No onlooker would ever have guessed that she was not who she appeared to be. Diamond, by observation, mimicry, and finally comfortable habit, had on the surface become a brave, saucy at times, sweet full member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. At least when Applejack or Big Mac or Granny Smith was around, or with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, or with her two special friends, Twist and Twinkleshine.
The young fillies often whispered to each other about their past lives. Twist had been a pegasus until she racially abused and attacked an earth pony in her previous school, and was made into an earth pony as punishment. Twinkleshine had been a male earth pony until he agreed to testify about a gang of changelings in Baltimare, and was placed in witness protection as a female unicorn in Ponyville. They cried softly together sometimes when they were alone, because they had lost their old lives and friends forever.
***** Princess Celestia read the latest probation report on the former Diamond Tiara. Diamond had perfectly assumed the role of Apple Bloom. The new Apple Bloom had adopted all the mannerisms, speech, and attitudes of the deceased Apple Bloom. The Apple Family were overjoyed. It was as if they had their beloved youngersister back. For her part, Diamond had learned to love and obey her new brother, sister and relatives, and was a hard-working high school sophomare.
Only rarely, when bucking apples with Applejack or doing something around the farm did Diamond feel a moment of hot shame.
But only a moment. Apple Bloom would remind her gently that she was a pretty beloved Apple family member, a new mare on the farm and an Apple to the core. And then Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara were one, and she was happy. Absurdly, deliriously happy.
As the cock crowed on the Apple farm, the new edition of Apple Bloom yawned and opened her eyes. She hated the mornings and having to get up early like this. But Applejack would come and push her out of bed if she didn't get up soon. She got up and placed her red ribbon in her hair. I miss my tiara. I miss my old name. I miss my old life. Back at the mansion the servants will be serving breakfast in bed to my parents as always. Do my parents still miss me? Have they had another foal? Do they want to adopt a pony to replace me? Maybe they've hired another pony to look and act like me, but that cannot be the case as I would have seen her at school. She went down for her normal breakfast of apple turnovers and apple tarts and, as it was not a school day, looked at her blank flank and knew where she should go. The Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse where she would have to do yet more stupid, inane, often dangerous things to earn a new cutie mark to replace the silver tiara that once glittered upon her flank.
She set off into Ponyville knowing she could not afford to be late or it might get her into trouble. Apple Bloom was never late for Cutie Mark Crusader meetings. She was halfway there when she saw Silver Spoon up ahead. How she longed to hug Silver Spoon and do her "Bump, bump, sugar lump, rump" routine. Then they would talk about all that had gone on and go shopping together like old times. But it was not to be, as merely talking to Silver now was technically a breach of her parole. She doubted the Apples would want her sent to Foalsom Prison now after she had done so well for them, but the unspoken threat was always there. So she did what was expected of her and hid from Silver Spoon by going down a nearby alley that would get her to the clubhouse quicker. She was almost threw it when another pony entered the alley up in front of her. Her father, Filthy Rich. stood there, and she was about to turn away when he smiled and beckoned her forward with a hoof. "We can speak freely here...Diamond. I've missed you so much."
"Am I really still your precious Diamond and still your pretty princess? I thought you had disowned me and wanted nothing more to do with me? Does Mother miss me too?"
"I was very annoyed at you at first for getting Apple Bloom killed and for getting yourself convicted on top of that. You brought shame to the Rich family. But I'm not angry any more, and of course you are still my precious Diamond. And your mother misses you deeply as well. They may have changed your mane and your coat colour and your voice, and erased your tiara cutie mark, but I still know my Diamond. When I see other families with their daughters I miss you even more."
"Can I come back to the mansion....please?" Diamond gave her most appealing look to her father, who sadly shook his head.
"If you want to stay out of Foalsom Prison, you have to be an Apple and do your best to replace Apple Bloom. And do it well. No half-assed stuff. But know that you have not been disowned and we love you and miss you and wish that you were back with us. How are the Apples treating you?"
"They treat me ok, Daddy, but they are not as sweet and kind as you and mother, and I have to buck apples and the farm, do the washing up and other such things. As well as stupid, sometimes dangerous things to get my cutie mark. At least once a new cutie mark appears I won't have to do that sort of thing anymore. There are times when they are very nice to me though."
Filthy planted a warm kiss on his disguised daughter's forehead, knowing that she loved forehead kisses. "Now you have to get on your way or your fellow Crusaders will start wondering where you are, and may even think that you have run away. If we meet publically in the street, remember that you are an Apple on the surface, with a Diamond hidden deep inside. Goodbye Diamond. I love you."
"Goodbye Daddy." As Diamond walked away, there was a flash on her flank and her new cutie mark appeared; a diamond inside an apple. She saw it and a big smile appeared on her face. The other Cutie Mark Crusaders would be so happy for her and maybe a bit jealous too.
In a secure room in the centre of Canterlot Castle, Princess Celestia herself stared at the creature that most ponies thought to just be a figment of fantasy. It had a short, jagged horn, a smooth black chitin exoskeleton, what looked like holes in it's legs, and green dragonfly wings. "Even Canterlot Intelligence, whilst it does know that Changelings exist ever since a few were caught in Baltimare, does not know much about you other then the myths-and yet you have decided to defect from your Hive and tell all. What are you expecting to gain from this? Why would you turn traitor against your own kind? And how do I know that this is not some sort of trap? Maybe you are a double agent who has only pretended to defect so that you can spy on my little ponies or worse."
"What I would like? A place in witness protection with all necessary documents and a job with the weather ponies in Cloudsdale. As for my disguise, I can do that myself. There is no need to perform any surgery on me. Given that I doubt you know what my insides are like, that is just as well."
"As a captain in Queen Chrysalis's army, normally defection would be unthinkable. But Queen Chrysalis is planning another giant love raid on Canterlot, with much more sneakiness this time-something that really goes against the Changeling Way. In a place like Ponyville or the smaller towns and villages, you ponies leak love and we just have to walk around with our emotion sacs open and gather it up. In the big cities, we have to either work to get it or steal it. There are other Hives out there with a very strong interest in staying in the shadows and maintaining the Masquerade, and if Chrysalis ruins it for everyling, love will become far harder to gather and the other Hives may well attack our own. As it is, she caused serious trouble for everyling. Changeling warfare is quick and ruthless; it has to be as we lack the love reserves for long drawn out wars."
Other the next few hours, the changeling told the Princess all sorts of information. There were no less then five major Hives, and they shared control of the great cities. Only one Hive looked like some great insect nest from the outside; the others had well concealed castles. Replacing ponies was rare, but it did happen, and there were a few changeling spies in the Royal Guards, the government, and even one in Canterlot Intelligence. He had heard that an attack was planned on Canterlot during the Royal Wedding, but at his level he did not know the full details which were only known by the Queen and a few of her generals. When he had told her everything he knew about the planned attack and his own race, he said "Oh, one more thing-Diamond Tiara is innocent! She was smirking at her trial because she knew that she didn't murder Apple Bloom and trusted the Equestrian legal system to find out the truth."
"So if Diamond Tiara did not kill Apple Bloom, was it a changeling that did it?"
"It was only meant to be a replacement, with her cocooned so a changeling could take her place, but something went wrong and she was killed outright. Panicking, the changeling took Diamond's shape just before other ponies showed up and went on the run. The guards arrested the real Diamond, and as she and Apple Bloom hated each other, she clearly had a motive to kill Apple Bloom."
"You can stay here tonight and tomorrow you can talk with the Witsec ponies and get a new ID sorted out to hide from your fellow changelings. Diamond Tiara cannot be declared innocent yet or Queen Chrysalis might find out that something is up. I will put the Royal Guards on alert and put a magical shield around Canterlot to keep the changeling army out on the day of the Wedding."
***** "Wake up, Sis!" Applejack woke up her *sister* with a gentle shake and a forehead kiss. Diamond Tiara liked forehead kisses but only from her father but she knew she had to play her part like she always did. "You're going to be a bridesmaid! At the royal wedding no less!"
Diamond bounced out of bed with a big smile on her face that she didn't really feel. "Yay! Cutie Mark Crusaders bridesmaids!" It turned out that she genuinely enjoyed being all dressed up. It had been a very long time since she had last been allowed to wear a pretty dress at all or indeed any clothes but her ribbon in her hair. Of course most ponies went around naked most of the time anyway but she still missed her fine clothes and her diamond-studded tiara. The other two Crusaders admired the fact that she had her cutie mark now and got on very well with her, although she always sensed tension beneath the surface when she was with them. After having to act like Apple Bloom for so long, she knew perfectly how she had to behave with them.
Soon enough she and the other two Cutie Mark Crusaders went on the train to Canterlot. As they passed through the force field and past the many spear-armed Royal Guards, she wondered what the problem was to have so much security around.
As it turned out, although Diamond and most of the wedding guests feared a changeling attack, and each of them had to undergo being probed with anti-changeling wands to detect any disguised changelings, the high amount of security this time proved to be a case of nothing worse then severe paranoia. Diamond frankly did not blame Shining Armour or Princess Cadence for being so determined to make sure that nothing went wrong this time on their special day. It felt so good to wear such a beautiful dress again. As Apple Bloom she hardly ever got to wear anything except for the simple red bow in her hair. What was even better was that she got to see her parents sitting in one of the front rows next to Jet Set and Upper Crust and the Spoons. How she longed to rush up to them and hug them and kiss them and tell them that although she had been forced to look and act like Apple Bloom for so long, she was still their daughter deep inside. Her new cutie mark, an apple with a diamond inside, made that quite clear. Silver Spoon was there of course, in her finest dress, a silver ribbon in her plaited hair, but she looked different. Her fur seemed a deeper shade of grey, and she had clearly been missing her best friend terribly. Diamond longed to gallop up to her, do their little dance and let her know that she was not forgotten , but acting as her parole officer, Twilight had banned all contact with her favourite filly.
Twilight had told her"Apple Bloom, you are an Apple to the core now, and will act like the old Apple Bloom at all times. And there is no way the old Apple Bloom would have had anything to do with Silver Spoon, who constantly called her a blank flank and insulted her at every opportunity. You don't want to serve any time in Foalsom Prison for a parole violation, do you? Even a week or two there would be very unpleasant for a sweet little filly like you." Diamond Tiara let out a deep sigh. "On the plus side, you are doing so well. Applejack is back to her old self now that she has you to be her beloved sister. Keep it up."
After the vows had been said, Princess Celestia walked forward and said "Congratulations on your wedding and long may your marriage last. I have an important announcement to make that had to remain classified for a while, to avoid giving important information out to our changeling foes. It was in fact a changeling who was responsible for the murder of Apple Bloom. That was before the attack on Canterlot, when most ponies were convinced that changelings were just an unpleasant fairy tale, so a changeling defence was not available for her lawyer to use. Unlike now, when all too many ponies are using the Changeling Defence in court. Diamond Tiara, I restore you to your family and friends and restore your name to you. I also grant you two thousand bits in compensation, and personally apologise for your wrongful conviction."
"Thank you, Princess."
Diamond Tiara bowed politely to Princess Celestia, knowing that decorum and royal protocol demanded it, and went straight to Silver Spoon with a big smile upon her face.
"Bump, bump, sugar lump rump! I have been waiting to do our little dance for so long and we are going to have, like, so much fun hanging out together once more." She kissed her friend on the cheek, seeing her smile and brighten up now that she could be back in her life. Then she went to her parents, embracing them and kissing them and being kissed in return. Her mother took her tiara, that had been returned to her parents earlier, and placed it firmly on her daughter's head.
"Dad, Mum, I have missed you both so much! And I can't wait to move back in with you."
Seeing from across the room that Applejack seemed about to cry, she trotted back to her and kissed her cheek too. "You were a good sister to me, and the other Apples were good too. I can still be Apple Bloom for you and them from time to time, just not all the time."
"I'll miss you, sugarcube, but I'm sorry, I really thought that you were guilty," Applejack replied.
As Diamond Tiara walked back home with her parents and Silver Spoon by her side, life was good.
It was cold in the Hive, for an uncocooned pony. Since kidnapping her and faking her death, Apple Bloom had been treated remarkably well. She now had an elegant dress of fine purple silk that Diamond Tiara would have been proud to wear, silver bangles upon each fetlock, all sorts of books to read including some secret Changeling Histories never read by pony eyes, and every time a concealed changeling came back to the Hive with full love sacs, they brought apples and other pony food for her. She even had a small field open to the sun for her to grow plants or just warm herself up, and the changelings treated her almost like a princess, as well as bringing her regular news about the outside world.
“Your sister and her friends are not going to save you, Apple Bloom. Everypony thinks you are dead. Not only that, but we managed to pin the crime on that bully who used to pick on you, Diamond Tiara. And she’s being subjected to a kind of punishment that I have never heard of before, that I didn’t think that ponies were even capable of. She’s been genetically modified to look and sound exactly like you. Now she’s being mentally conditioned to read your favourite magazines and books, listen to your favourite music, eat your favourite foods and even go on regular crusades with those little friends of yours. Your sister couldn’t be happier. She never visits your grave anymore.”
Apple Bloom’s jaw dropped open.
“No they wouldn’t. Applejack, Big Mac, Granny, none of them would just write me off like that and knowingly accept a fake as me.”
Queen Chrysalis levitated a photo over to Apple Bloom with her magic.
“So this isn’t the new you looking so happy at the latest Apple Family reunion? I didn’t want to show you that picture, really I didn’t, but it’s the only way for you to get closure.”
“Why did you take so much time and trouble to have me kidnapped? I’m just an average filly. It was not to cocoon me and drain all my love, and it was not to hold me for a nice fat ransom in jewels or bits.”
“I want you as a royal daughter. I want your love willingly given, as that will greatly reduce the amount of love that the drones have to bring in from outside. It was the death of the last pony daughter that I had in my hive through cancer that caused the breaching of the Masquerade that all changelings normally live under and the attack on Canterlot. A full size Changeling Hive takes a lot of love to feed. As a daughter you would be loved, respected and fully trusted. And you even get a coronation.”
“I’ll be your daughter, Chrysalis. As my own family have totally abandoned me.”
Chrysalis gave Apple Bloom a forehead kiss, feeling the love of her new daughter filling the Hive, where any hungry changeling could have some without hurting Apple Bloom.
Later that night Apple Bllom would be crowned with an elegant crown of twisted silver and gold set with emeralds in front of every changeling in the entire Hive.
