It was morning in Ponyville, and all felt right with the world. The birds chirped happily as the sunshine peeked over the rolling green hills, a rainbow of colors that shimmered in the morning dew. Apple Bloom shifted in the bed, snuggling in closer to the pink pony that had stolen her heart so many years ago. She could scarcely believe that time had gone by so quickly, was it really ten years already? Yes, of course it was. They'd been planning this day for months, and nothing was going to stop it from being extra special. With another small scoot forward she snuggled up against the pale magenta coat of her soulmate, softly snoring in the morning light.
"Wake up, sleepyhead." The country pony said in a voice that was more like a song than a request. "Somepony who loves you wants to spend the whole day with youuu." The pink mare stopped snoring for a moment, but remained completely still. Applebloom grinned and let her nose nudge against the sleepy ponies neck.
"Diamonnnnd" She sang sweetly, the words ending hotly on her rosy neck. The pale olive pony could see her partners eyes opening ever so slightly as she kissed her cheek. The formerly spoiled pony closed her eyes and began to badly feign snoring in between constrained fits of giggling.
"Oh no!" Apple Bloom cried in mock surprise "She ain't wakin' up with my soothin' vocals! Whatever shall I do?" Her lament only sought to bring about more stifled laughter from beneath her. Grinning slyly, she loudly announced her plan to the room.
"I reckon I'll have to ... TAKE AWAY THE COVERS!" She yelled triumphantly as she chomped the top of the quilted comforter and flung it across the small cluttered room.
"Eeek! Cold!" Diamond Tiara yelled, eyes flying open as her teeth chattered in the chill of the early morning. Her precious warmth gone, she clung to the Earth pony with all her might.
"The frigid justice of the sirens call has awoken me from my slumber!" Diamond said, refusing the let go of her grip on the loving pony as the two of them laughed.
"Ah say, that's Just like one of them fancy opera's you're always wantin' to go see!" Apple Bloom observed, trying her best to imitate the stuffy 'Canterlot elite' accent. Another round of laughter as Diamond shivered.
"C-could you maybe bring back the b-blanket?" She pleaded, looking deeply into those dark sapphron eyes.
"No more sleeping, right?" Apple Bloom inquired, already stepping hoof off the bed to retrieve the lost comforter.
"No more sleeping." The pink pony affirmed, "Just cold." She added, hugging herself for warmth as her best friend draped the Apple family quilt around her.
"Ah see. Well, if you don't wanna to leave the bed, Ah could go whip us up some breakfa-"
"No!" Diamond interrupted, lurching forward as best she could whilst being cocooned in the heavy bedding. "I mean... I appreciate the effort but... stay with me?" Her tone lingered somewhere between a question and a command. Apple Bloom stopped in her tracks, taken aback for a moment before smiling warmly at the lovely mare.
"Of course!" She said, leaping back onto the bed. "Give me some of them covers, I'll warm you back up in no time at all!"
"I love you." Diamond Tiara whispered, ten years on and those words still sent a surge of happiness that ran from the tip of her nose to the back of her tail.
The simple farm pony responded with a kiss to her beloveds forehead.
"You didn't always. Do you remember the first time we met?" Apple Bloom asked, lost in a distant memory. Diamond Tiara smiled up at her in a way that sent shivers up her spine.
"I do." She answered simply, snuggling up closer.
It was the very first day of school, and Diamond Tiara was absolutely furious. How could this be happening? I don't need to go to school with other ponies, don't they know that my father will hear of this! She stomped on the floor in frustration as her temper got the better of her. Bitter tears stinging her eyes, she felt a small hoof tapping on her shoulder.
"Hi!" A squeaky voice said from behind her. She turned slowly, eyeing the tiny yellow pony sporting a huge red bow in her mane and holding up a folded blue paper.
"What do you want?!" Diamond demanded, her fury misdirected at her fellow classmate.
"I don't belong here with the likes of these ponies, what did I do to deserve this? I was perfectly happy to be living at home with all my toys!"
Apple Bloom blinked and help up her paper. Diamond huffed and took the small note, which simply read as follows: WanNa B frends? YeS / Noe The yellow pony smiled innocently as her magenta companion seemed to consider the notion.
"Pffft. As if!" A nearby voice chimed. A gray filly trotted from behind, nose pointed stiffly in the air. Vibrant white pearls bedecked around her neckline caressed a large opulent emerald. The stuffy pony took the note and crumbled it in her hooves before letting it drop to the floor.
"Pardon the interruption, I couldn't help but overhear. It's like you said, a pony of such high status does not need to be friends with a simple country pony. Silver Spoon." The gray pony said, extending her hoof to her while completely ignoring the indignant Apple Bloom.
"Uhh.. D-diamond, Diamond Tiara." She stuttered, feeling a tug as the lavish filly carted her off.
"I can't believe I used to think that way." Diamond said, feeling suddenly guilty.
"Oh Di," Apple Bloom said with a soothing smile "That was a long time ago. You're a totally different pony now."
"If only I had become the pony I am now sooner." She stated with a sigh.
"Nonsense." Apple Bloom proclaimed. "I wouldn't change a single thing."
"But I bullied you for years." She countered, shrinking into the quilt as much as possible.
"You've more than made up for it." Apple Bloom said, reassuring her with three quick kisses. "Besides, it wasn't all bad."
"Where are you taking me, blank flank? Our camp is that way." A young Diamond Tiara demanded, stumbling over a low lying branch in the near total darkness. This is just great she thought with a small pout first I get dragged out into the middle of nowhere and now I'm being lead around
"Shhh." The Earth pony mere feet ahead of her said, a faint outline that crunched through the underbrush. "Ah ain't goin' back to the camp just yet, there's somethin' I wanted to show ya up ahead."
"What could you possibly have to show me in the middle of now-" She began, her voice trailing off as the woods opened up into a large clearing. Above, the sky shimmered brilliantly in a sea of stars. Below, the sound of cascading water filtered quietly into the night. All the young pony could do is stare around her in silence.
"What is this place?" Diamond asked, mouth agape. She had seen many of the far-flung wonders of Equestria and beyond. Nothing was as beautiful as this place, this moment where time seemed to stand still as the universe slowly swirled overhead.
"My special quiet place." she answered, no less mesmerized by the scene unfolding all around her. "Applejack used to take me out here when I was little. I... I wanted to share it with somepony."
Diamond Tiara felt a pang of regret well up inside her. I just don't get it. I've been awful to her for the last two years, why is she being nice to me? The vague outline of a red bow caught the corner of her eye. Adjusting slowly to the near total darkness, she could almost swear she could see the stars swirling in the red-maned ponies eyes.
"...Thank you, but...why me?" The upper-class pony said, glad for the cover of darkness as a tear trickled down her cheek. She could have chosen anyone, in fact she was good friends with every other pony but her and Silver Spoon. A shooting star cut across the sky, leaving a bright streak in the sky. For the faintest moment, it illuminated her yellow face.
"You seemed so miserable at camp this week." She stated to the heavens, taking a few small steps towards her long-term bully.
"I was hoping my secret place would make you hap-"
Her voice was cut short by a gasp of surprise. Diamond Tiara had leaned forward suddenly and planted a tiny kiss on the country ponies cheek. Blushing furiously in the darkness, the pair sat in silence for a while. What was that?! Diamond Tiaras mind screamed. What are you doing you foal, can't you see she's your enemy? Pulling back quickly, the magenta pony took a few large steps back away from the clearing.
"Apple Bloom?" Diamond began, her tone shifting slowly from soft to harsh as she disappeared into the forest. "We can't tell anypony about this..this... mistake. Promise me." She added "Not like anypony will believe you if you tell them, anyway." after a silent moment.
And with that, she was gone. Apple Bloom tried to follow her, but it was nearly impossible in the dark of night. Ohhh, where is that pony? Apple Bloom thought, a tingle of panic rising in her neck as she trotted frantically through the underbrush. After what felt like an eternity she emerged at the campsite and the crackling orange glow of the dying fire. Frantically her eyes darted into the decadent purple tent with regal gold stitching. The flap was open, but no sign that the uppity pony had returned.
"Oh no." The little pony said, panic rising into fear as she ran to the teachers tent.
"Miss Lemon Blossom! Miss Blossom! Diamond Tiara is missing!" She cried, shaking the muddy off-white tent with all the might her hooves could carry. Almost immediately the tent flap popped open and a yellow-maned unicorn with an off-white coat popped her head out.
"Missing? What happened, Apple Bloom?"
"I was just... " She began, hearing the voice resounding in her head: We can't tell anypony about this.
"We were tryin' to find the bathroom." Apple Bloom said, it was true enough, but she had chosen to withhold what had happened next. "We got separated on the way back..." Tears threatened to well up in her eyes as she blinked them back.
"We have no time to lose." Lemon Blossom said, her horn glowing with white magic as she stepped forward. "Show me where you last saw her."
Nodding in agreement, she trotted to the edge of the woods. Without another word between the two of them they were pressing forward, the faint yellow light bathing the forest in an eerie glow.
"Diamonddd! DIAMONDDDDD!" Her squeaky voice yelled into the woods. Only the crickets and frogs answered her call.
Minutes turned into hours, and soon the entire class was out searching for the lost filly. This is all my fault. she thought, her coat tattered and bleeding from the brambles and brush. If I hadn't shown her that place, she'd be back.. safe in her bed.. The sky began to turn from inky black to dark purple. The clouds turned a brilliant shade of crimson as Apple Bloom pushed through the brush, trotting as fast as her legs could carry her. Then she heard her. Crying. Alone.
"Diamond?" She asked, seeing the familiar outline slumping against a fallen tree.
"Go away." Diamond said, her tone betraying her desire to not be left alone.
"Ah didn't tell anyone, Diamond, I swear." The country pony began, taking a shaky step toward the pink filly. "Please, let me take you back to camp, everypony is so worried-"
"Hah." Diamond said, curling into a tight ball as she turned her back on her classmate. "Nopony even cares that I'm gone."
"That ain't true! Our teacher cares! Your parents care! The whole class cares!... I...! I care..." Apple Bloom protested in a diminished voice as she drew in a shaky breath. The lonely rich pony turned toward her long-time foe. Her hardened face instantly gave way to tears as she reached a hoof out toward the simple country pony.
"Okay." Diamond Tiara said simply, tears freely falling as the sky erupts in a brilliant sunrise. "Take me back Apple Bloom, please."
"It wasn't exactly the most romantic first kiss." Diamond Tiara mused, resting her head atop Apple Blooms soft chest. She shot her a half-cocked smile and chuckled. "Let me guess, you wouldn't change a thing, right?"
The wheat yellow pony with strawberry mane just nodded, sighing contentedly at her newfound position as a diamond pillow.
"Darn tootin'. Ah was too young to know back then what it meant, but now ah think it's the moment I realized there was hope yet for you."
Diamond smiled and playfully bopped the ponies flank with her hoof. "Hey now, I know I was a pain in the flank but I was just a young filly."
"Not too long after that I met Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo and formed the Cutie Mark Crusaders. We tried for so long to finally get our cutie marks and stop being.... What was the word you used to use...? Blank flanks."
"Not so blank now." Diamond stated, pushing against the apple shield crest.
"Hard to believe we finally got our cutie marks by-"
"Helping me find my real purpose." Diamond interrupted with another knowing half-smile. "That was the day I began to fall for you."