(Three weeks later.)
It was amazing how fast time seemed to pass after the funeral. Before Diamond Tiara knew it, another Nightmare Night was upon her. And this was going to be her first one with her new family.
Some plans stayed the same, Diamond was still going to spend the whole night with her friends, first collecting candy, and then attending a Nightmare Night party at Sugarcube Corner. She was glad that her new parents (though she hadn't quite gotten around to calling Dizzy and Quick "Mom" and "Dad" respectively) weren't as strict about curfew as her old parents had been (Spoiled had tried her hardest to impose harsh curfews, so as to keep her daughter from "associating with the wrong crowd" as she not so subtly put it). The only requirement, was that Diamond and Scootaloo be home by midnight. It may have been Nightmare Night, but it was still a school night.
However, Tiara had to accept that with her new family came a smaller allowance, and thus she couldn't afford the luxurious costumes she'd worn in Nightmare Nights past. Fortunately for the pink coated filly, she found a relatively cheap princess outfit with cardboard wings and a horn that would do just fine for the occasion. "Guess I'll have to get something of a job if I want to boost my allowance," The filly thought to herself. "Definitely don't wanna go to work at Barnyard Bargains. It's nothing short of a miracle my ex-mother's been able to keep it open with the reputation she has."
Diamond had no trouble putting on the costume that Nightmare Night, by now she had a small section in Scootaloo's room that served as her own, and it was from this section that she exited and came downstairs. Her sister was already down there, dressed up surprisingly not like a Wonderbolt (as Scootaloo had gone as for a few Nightmare Nights prior) but instead something roughly akin to the royal guard. "I'm gonna be just like that Flash Magnus pony of the Royal Legion!" Scootaloo proudly proclaimed, all decked out in royal attire that included a helmet and badge. "If he's awesome enough to inspire Rainbow Dash, he's awesome enough for me!"
Dizzy just smiled, pulling out a camera as she snapped a picture of her two fillies all dressed up for Nightmare Night. "That's gonna be one for the album," She cooed, putting the camera away. "Now remember, my little ponies, no wandering off by yourselves. And try to watch the time, I'd rather not have to come and get you at the party."
Scootaloo lightly rolled her eyes. "Geez, Mom, we're not foals. We can take care of ourselves. Besides, there's gonna be tons and tons of grown-ups around to watch us."
Dizzy simply maintained her smile. "Just making sure you know," She cautioned, ushering them out the door. "Have fun tonight, and bring home lots and lots of candy! You know you're not the only ones with a sweet tooth."
"Don't worry, we will, you count on that!" Tiara vowed, waving back to Dizzy. Then, she unexpectedly added. "See you later, Mom!"
There was something of a silence that filled the air, as Scootaloo and Dizzy both turned to Diamond. The last time the pink coated filly had said that, the reaction from Scootaloo had been harsh.
This time, though, Scootaloo said nothing. She just watched as Diamond, fighting to hold back tears, hastily corrected. "I... I meant to say Mrs. Twister. I'm sorry, it still just doesn't feel quite right to call you anything else, even if you're nicer than my previous mother. You and your husband have been so nice to me, but a part of me still doesn't feel right calling you anything other than Mr. and Mrs. Twister. I just wish I knew how I'm supposed to deal with this, I'm so conflicted and I don't know what to do!"
Dizzy instinctively reached out a hoof, pulling her daughter into a warm hug. "It's okay, Diamond, I'm in no rush. I would like it very much if you'd start calling me 'Mom', 'Mother', or 'Mommy', but like I said when I first brought you home, I want you to start calling me such terms when you are ready," She put a hoof to her chin in thought as she added. "If this is still bothering you so much, perhaps we should consider therapy? I don't know many therapists here in Ponyville, but I'm sure we could find a qualified one in Canterlot if we look hard enough."
"Or, how about you talk to Princess Luna about it tonight?" Scootaloo suggested. "After all, this is one of the few times she ever comes to Ponyville, and the only time it's not for official princess business. She's helped me with some of my problems a few times, I'm sure she'd be more than happy to help you."
"I... guess she'd be a good first option," Tiara pondered, reluctantly breaking away from the hug. "I'll... I'll think about it, okay?"
Dizzy nodded firmly. "That's all I can ask for, Diamond. Now you and Scootaloo go and have a good time. Nightmare Night is a night to be scared, not a night to be sad."
The two fillies set off from the Twister family household a few seconds later, and it didn't take long for the thrill and excitement of Nightmare Night to push thoughts about Diamond's internal dilemmas to the back of their minds.
"Come on, let's go stop by my Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty's place first!" Scootaloo encouraged to Diamond! "They always dress up in funny costumes when they give out candy, and they always save the best stuff for their favorite niece! Trust me, what they give out blows just about everything else out of the water!"
Tiara soon found out that Scootaloo wasn't joking, at least about the costumes part. Not only was Holiday and Lofty's cottage decorated with Nightmare Night themed decorations as far as the eye can see (including a particularly spooky looking jack-o-lantern), but the two mares sported some rather ridiculous costumes that were obviously of the "Do-it-yourself" variety. Holiday had wrapped herself from head to hooves in toilet paper, to the point where only her eyes were visible. And Lofty had fake fangs, a long black cape, and make-up so that her entire body looked pale in color (with the exception of the noticeable red near the fangs for obvious reasons).
Holiday took the liberty of hoofing out the candy. "Always a pleasure to see my favorite niece, or in this case, nieces," She smiled, tossing two small helpings of various candy bars into the fillies' bags. "I know I'm giving you girls a lot, but Lofty and I don't get a lot of visitors this far out of town. The few that do show all know Scootaloo."
"We've seen a lot of crazy costumes over the years," Lofty chuckled. "In fact, one time, Button Mash and his entire family showed up dressed as these weird video game characters. Button and his brother had these matching caps and mustaches, their father had some kind of mushroom hat on, and their mother looked like what I can only assume was supposed to be a green dinosaur. She was supposed to be this princess, but they didn't have the resources to make her dress."
"Thanks Aunt Holiday, thanks Auntie Lofty!" Scootaloo happily replied, beaming with delight at the candy she'd gotten.
Holiday just ruffled Scootaloo's mane, a task that was harder than normal given her toilet paper covered hooves. "It's my pleasure, now you fillies better get going!"
"And Scootaloo, make sure you tell Diamond Tiara about the best houses to hit up for candy!" Lofty called, as the two fillies set off again.
"Man, I wish I'd remembered to bring my trusty scooter with me!" Scootaloo remarked loudly, as she and Diamond were running across town. "I forgot just how out of the way Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty are compared to the rest of Ponyville! Normally it's not so bad, but even Sweetie Belle's parents don't take as long to get to, and on a night like tonight everypony knows you've gotta hit up the best houses early! I swear, it always seems like there's one or two houses that run out by the time I get to 'em!"
"It feels so... different to be doing this as part of a family," Tiara panted. "Aside from when I was a little filly, Father was always working on the holiday, and I can't remember the last time my ex-mother or I guess now I can just call her Spoiled, ended up going out with me. I can't even recall what she dressed up as for last Nightmare Night."
Almost as if on purpose, the two fillies passed by Tiara's former residence at that very moment. Rich family mansion seemed under decorated for Nightmare Night, not even a jack-o-lantern or cobweb could be seen. And all the lights were off, to say nothing of a notice taped to the front gate which read: No candy shall be given out tonight, trespassers WILL be escorted off the property! Sincerely, Spoiled Milk Rich.
"Aw, that stinks! Your family never ran out of candy!" Scootaloo complained rather loudly. "I can't believe she still lives here, all the butlers and maids work for Randolph now, so that means she has to do everything herself."
Tiara just sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Spoiled never really was big on celebrating holidays like this. In fact, she often regarded this one as a waste of time and money. I even remember that she barely even bothered to get me anything for Hearth's Warming, it was mostly Daddy who bothered to get things for me. As for this mansion, I guess she just wants to hold onto what little claim to wealth she still has. I just wonder what she'll do when the rent is due next week, assuming she hasn't found employment somewhere."
"Wow, I guess your mom really is a witch!" Scootaloo remarked. "Are you sure she wouldn't melt if we dumped water on her?"
"Believe me, Scootaloo, I tried that once. All it did was make her mad, like really REALLY mad!" Diamond shuddered at the very memory. "Now come on, we've gotta meet up with our friends before they go off without us!"
Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara met up with their friends and fellow classmates a few minutes later, both greatly relieved to see that the group was still there.
Hours passed in the blink of an eye, as the children went around knocking on doors and chanting "Nightmare Night! What a fright! Give me something sweet to bite!" over and over again. They amassed quite the collection of candy bars, packs of gum, lollipops, and many other sweet treats.
Of course, per the tradition of Nightmare Night, they had to give up most of their candy to Nightmare Moon (a.k.a Princess Luna in disguise) so that she wouldn't gobble them up. And that meant having to follow Zecora into the Everfree Forest, and pay a visit to the Nightmare Moon statue a short ways from the forest entrance.
As the group of colts and fillies' bags started to grow heavy, they knew it was time to meet up with Zecora and dump off what they had to in order to pacify Nightmare Moon. Depending on how lucky they were, they hoped to get at least half of it back the next day.
But on the way to Zecora, Diamond noticed that her group's path led past the cemetery, where Filthy Rich had been buried. Since the funeral, the pink coated filly had never gone near her birth father's grave, let alone his tombstone. A nagging thought struck her at that very moment, which told her. "If you want to start moving on, you need to put the past behind you. And that means, paying your respects to your father. It's what he would want, and you can't go through life just ignoring his grave. If you're gonna do it, you might as well do it now."
Most ponies didn't notice Tiara not so subtly slipping away towards the cemetery, but Scootaloo did. And when she did, the tomboyish filly immediately broke from the group and rushed to Tiara's side. "Hey, what are you doing? You do know that's not the path towards Zecora, or Nightmare Moon, right?" She inquired.
"I know," Diamond replied rather faintly. "But this is something I should've done long ago. It may be the first step towards closure. Barring that, at least it'll make me feel closer to... him."
"Oh!" Scootaloo realized, suddenly regretting ever having asked such a question. She was quick to offer. "Well, how about we both go? After all, Mom said we're not to wander off by ourselves."
"It's not really wandering off if we're practically by the Everfree Forest already," Tiara commented. "Besides, I won't be long."
Nevertheless, Scootaloo persisted on following Diamond, at least up to the cemetery's gates. Her sister refused to allow her to go any further than that. "Just stay there and keep watch. If I'm not done in five minutes, come and get me. Our group is a bit ahead of schedule anyway, and the two of us have more candy than anypony else thanks to your aunts."
Scootaloo silently nodded, even though part of her really wanted to accompany Tiara to Filthy's grave. "Her and her dad were really close," She mentally realized. "I know I'd probably feel kind of the same way she does if somepony I felt close to, died unexpectedly."
Diamond Tiara felt a bit embarrassed at having to ask for directions from the undertaker, but despite the setback it didn't take her long to reach her destination. Filthy Rich had picked out a rather small plot of land near the back of the cemetery for him to be buried, and his tombstone didn't even stand alone, it was among a row of similar ones (his tombstone was third from the left).
Etched onto the tombstone, were the words: Here lies Filthy Super Rich, a beloved business and family stallion taken before his time. May he rest in peace.
Born: Year 968 of Luna's banishment
Died: Year 5 of Luna's return
At first, Tiara was silent. The pink coated filly didn't know what to say. Compared to the moving speech she'd given at the funeral service, no words would form in her mind. A faint gust of cold wind blew past, making the filly shiver just a little. Finally, after what could've easily been mistaken for an eternity of silence, Diamond found her voice and spoke softly. "Hey, Dad. I'm not entirely sure if you can hear me, or if there's even an after life, but I just wanted to talk to you like I probably should have sooner. I... know you wouldn't want me to cry, though you'd probably say it's okay to cry in my situation," She paused for a bit, uncertain of what to say next. But then she slowly added. "I'm not sure when, if ever, I'll be able to fully move on from your unexpected death. But I suppose I have at least try to open my heart up more to the Twisters, seeing as they're my new family now and everything. I just hope that, if there is an afterlife of any kind, you're up there enjoying yourself. And that you're watching over me. I love you, Daddy!" And Tiara all but kissed the tombstone, as her tears were carried off by the wind.
Diamond was slow to pick herself up, but she knew she couldn't stay for long. She still had the activities of Nightmare Night to partake in, plus a loving family to return to. Reluctantly, she had to get going.
The pink coated filly began her trek back to the front gates, but she hadn't gotten far when she noticed a mare wearing a rather long trench coat and hat, which completely covered any and all features that might have clued the filly into the mare's identity. There was no voice to go on for reference either, the mare didn't speak at all, even though she clutched a bouquet of different colored flowers (which seemed almost like the kind that had been on sale for Mares Day) firmly in her hooves. It was obvious to Tiara that whoever it was, they didn't wish to identify themselves, but also didn't wish to be kept from visiting whatever loved ones they had buried here. "Oh, I'm very sorry, ma'am," Diamond hastily apologized and stepped aside. "Go right ahead, just pretend I'm not here."
The mare did so, still clutching the flowers tightly. But Tiara's cornflower blue eyes did happen to spot what looked like the mare's cutie mark. It was hard to tell from a distance, but it seemed to be something akin to a diamond ring. And the mare herself turned off to the left near the back of the cemetery, the same location Diamond had just been in. Maybe all of that was just a coincidence though?
But try as she might to convince herself of that possibility, Diamond still called out. "Spoiled?" If the mare at all heard Tiara's reply, she didn't acknowledge yet, she simply continued down the path and appeared to stop at the third tombstone in the row after she'd made her left.
Diamond shook her head, as she resumed her trek back to the gates. There was no way in Equestria that mare had been Spoiled Rich, right? Spoiled had barely been present for the burial and to the surprise of all had been among the first to leave afterwards. Why would she bother to show up now, on Nightmare Night of all nights? But then, who else could have a diamond ring cutie mark, be visiting the grave of Filthy Rich, and be dressed up so as to avoid being noticed?
Unfortunately, before Tiara had a chance to try and approach the mare to see if her hunch was correct, she heard Scootaloo calling out. "Hey, Diamond Tiara! It's been five minutes! If we don't go now, the group's gonna leave without us, and we'll be late for Pinkie's rocking Nightmare Night party!" Oh well, the filly could always worry about the identity of that mystery mare later. Right now, she had Nightmare Night festivities to be part of. And she wasn't about to miss out on them!