A light wind fluttered the curtains of the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ clubhouse’s open window. The smell of wet wood from the previous day’s storm permeated the room, but the sun was shining brightly today. Perhaps just as yesterday’s rain was a harbinger of the fight between Diamond Tiara and Scootaloo, the present clear weather foreshadowed better times ahead.
“You know, I never really took the time to look at this place,” Silver Spoon said, surveying the various charts and pictures on the clubhouse walls. “They really did give everything with all their crusading business.”
“They still do,” Diamond Tiara nodded, not particularly looking at anything. “After getting to know Sweetie Belle… It sort of hurts coming here, knowing what we…” she trailed off. “We” was incorrect. There’s no doubt Silver Spoon wouldn’t have been a part of the teasing and bullying Diamond did if she didn’t feel like she had to. “What I did to them.”
“Diamond Tiara…” Silver Spoon sighed.She stood in front of her friend and lifted her chin to force her to look her in the eyes. “I don’t want you putting this all on your own shoulders. I feel just as guilty as you about how we were before the election.”
“But if it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have to be guilty. You’ve always been so nice and I forced you to hide that just so I could feel like somepony was on my side.I was a horrible friend.” Diamond began to sob. Silver Spoon wiped her tears,
“Diamond, no one’s perfect. The fact that I’m still here with you means that I think you’re worth sticking by. If I’m as nice as you say it means I’m with you because I see just how great you can be and I’ll still be your friend even when it looks like the entire world has its back to you.”
“You’ve spent so much time away from me lately. I thought that meant you didn’t want to be friends anymore.”
“I know, and I’m sorry for not telling you I just needed some space. I’m my own mare, too, you know. I just needed some time to find myself.” Silver Spoon said.
“And? Did you find yourself?” Diamond asked expectantly.
“Sort of. The details are an entirely different story, but I do know that whatever’s next for me, I’d rather not be alone.” Silver Spoon extended her hoof. “Bump?”
“Bump, sugar lump rump.” Diamond Tiara concluded their signature rhyme by meeting Silver’s hoof and they finished the hoofshake that they shared, albeit with less gusto than they usually perform it with. The situation didn’t really call for all the enthusiasm. Diamond then pulled Silver Spoon into a tight embrace.
“Thank you. Thank you so much. I love you, Silver Spoon.”
“I love you too, Diamond Tiara.” As they broke their hug they heard the plodding of hooves up the planks to the clubhouse. The Crusaders had arrived.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon didn’t tell Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle that they would be there that morning. Diamond thought that the last thing the Crusaders would want to do is make up so quickly, but she knew that the longer she let the wounds of yesterday fester and the longer she let her and Sweetie Belle’s relationship become a painful, lie-filled memory, the worse off all the fillies involved would be. For her sake, for the sake of the Crusaders and Silver Spoon, and for the sake of Miss Cheerilee and all the other schoolfoals caught in the middle, she had to put things to rest once and for all.
A sharp gasp escaped Sweetie Belle’s mouth when she saw who was waiting for her and the other Crusaders in the clubhouse. When Apple Bloom and Scootaloo caught up, Apple Bloom’s piercing scowl formed in an instant.
She immediately yelled, “Get out! Get the ever lovin’ buck outta here! You’re on my property and you ain’t welcome! Get out!” Without even waiting for a response, Apple Bloom started to rush at Diamond Tiara, but suddenly found herself upside-down and then on her back as Silver Spoon grabbed her and threw her down with a move expected more out of a pro-wrestler than a bespectacled rich filly.
“No, Apple Bloom! I know you’re mad but we’re not here to rub salt in anypony’s wound,” Silver Spoon said, “We’re here to patch things up.”
“What the hay are you talking about?” Scootaloo asked.
“What makes y’all think we want to patch anything up with you?” Apple Bloom growled, recovering from the throw Silver Spoon just did to her.
“All of this… Everything… It’s all my fault.I’m here to apologize for everything from yesterday all the way back to the beginning,” Diamond Tiara said. The pleading look in her eyes and the wavering tone in her voice told the Crusaders that she was telling the truth. Apple Bloom’s rage was quelled by Diamond’s sincerity and her stance eased.
“None of you ever deserved what I did to you,” Diamond continued, “I was scared and jealous and insecure and it brought out the worst in me. It may not be today or even for a long while, but I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me.” Diamond bowed to the Crusaders as if they were princesses, a gesture that took them aback. The three looked at each other and exchanged painful glances.
Here was their former bully, on her knees before them. Sure, Diamond Tiara certainly had somewhat of a change of heart back during the schoolhouse election, but her secret relationship with Sweetie Belle and her fight with Scootaloo made the Crusaders question whether it was worth giving her another chance.
Sweetie Belle especially, who had gotten closer to Diamond than her friends because they were dating, felt intensely conflicted. How much of her feelings toward Diamond were genuine? How much of it was feeling sorry for Diamond?
How much of it was Sweetie being naturally nice and accommodating? Could she forgive Diamond for fighting and insulting Scootaloo? It felt like she was being put on the spot with Diamond right before her. She had to make a decision.
“Diamond Tiara, I…” Apple Bloom was the first to speak, though, “I’m mad at you.I’d be a gosh darn liar if I said I wasn’t. Personally, I ain’t ready to see you as a friend yet. You took two steps forward when you helped Pipsqueak with the election, but hiding being with Sweetie Belle and beating the apples out of Scoots? That’s like twelve steps back in my eyes. This is up to Sweetie in the end, though. If she still wants you, I’ll give you one more chance,” Apple bloom pointed her hoof, “One more.”
Sweetie Belle was staring at the ground. Her eyes darting back and forth showed that she was still deep in thought. Listening, but not quite ready to talk. Seeing this, Scootaloo decided to say her piece,
“I’m with Apple Bloom. I don’t think we can be friends just yet, but to be honest,” she gave the slightest smirk, “I kind of got a lot of my feelings out at you when we fought yesterday. If Sweetie Belle still wants to go out with you, I think supporting you is the best thing I can do. If not, well, things are going to be different at school for a while.”
Now all eyes were on Sweetie Belle. Diamond Tiara rose from her bow to hear from her girlfriend… if that’s what she still was to her.
“Sweetie Belle?” Diamond sheepishly asked. Sweetie’s eyes locked onto Diamond’s. She took a moment before speaking.
“I… I love my friends. Fighting with Scootaloo, all the times you bullied us—that’s not something I can easily put out of my mind. Like Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, I’m mad at you.I’m really, really mad. ”Diamond Tiara lowered her head. This was it, Sweetie Belle was going to officially break up with her and they might not ever be friends again. Suddenly, she felt her chin being lifted up and Sweetie’s huge emerald eyes took up almost all of her vision.
“But I also can’t ignore that I know you now, Diamond Tiara. I know you as a pony and as a friend. I can’t know exactly how you felt or how you feel now, but I know that the things you’ve been through have caused you pain. That doesn’t make it right, but it does explain it, and maybe it’s just me, but I can’t be too hard on you for that.
“And then there’s how you’ve been to me as a girlfriend. That’s where I saw the real you shine. You were really invested and me and I could feel the warmth of your heart inside me. Heck, you were willing to buy all of Ponyville for me if I wanted it. That’s the true Diamond Tiara—the one willing to give so much to make sure somepony else is happy. When I saw that part of you I knew that this pony had always been inside you. I wondered what things would be like if we had been friends from the beginning—all of us. If what led you to act out wasn’t there, or had we known how to help you all that time ago, we’d probably be very different ponies today. We’d be different… but we also wouldn’t be the ponies who are as strong as we are now. I’m sad that we fought so much, but at the same time I’m glad we had the chance to grow from it. We understand our feelings… and our relationships better, now.” Sweetie Belle turned to face the Crusaders.
“I need to apologize, too. Both Diamond Tiara and I should have been honest with you from the beginning. We could have avoided all of this if we were just forward with our feelings and took the time to explain things. You two went through a lot of trouble that you didn’t have to.I’m so sorry I did that to you.
“Romance is something new to me. Even now I’m not totally sure I understand it. When I say, ‘I like Diamond Tiara,’ though, it doesn’t feel like a lie. My heart skips a beat whenever I see her. Her voice makes me melt. I know I want to be with her.”
“Sweetie Belle,” Diamond Tiara gasped, tears welling in her eyes.
“Sweetie Belle…” Silver Spoon echoed, surprised to hear such a monologue come out of the white unicorn.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked at each other and nodded in silent agreement.
“If you feel that strongly, Sweetie Belle, we’ve got your back,” Apple Bloom said. Sweetie kissed Diamond Tiara on the cheek and hugged her tightly. Wrapped in Sweetie’s hooves, Diamond began bawling loudly, a deluge of tears filled with regret and relief.
“Come on, y’all,” Apple Bloom gestured toward the door, “I think they need some time alone.” As she and Scootaloo made their exit, Apple Bloom turned back. They needed one more pony in tow. “You coming, Silver Spoon?”
Silver Spoon’s eyes widened, “But…”
“Hey, we’re probably gonna be friends with DT one day. You two are sort of a package deal.”
“Just like the Crusaders,” Scootaloo added. Silver Spoon nodded and followed the two out of the clubhouse.
Sweetie Belle held the crying Diamond Tiara for several minutes. Sweetie’s shoulder was wet from Diamond’s tears, but she didn’t mind. Once Diamond’s sobs finally stopped, Sweetie took her face in her hooves and kissed her again.
“I don’t deserve you, Sweetie Belle,” Diamond said.
“That’s the first thing you say after I kiss you?” Sweetie said, “I like you, Diamond Tiara. I like you, like you, like you. I don’t want to be deserved. I just want you to be with me.”
“Even after—” Diamond began again but was interrupted by yet another kiss.
“Enough of the past.Don’t the best diamonds only form from a bunch of pressure? That means no matter whatever you’ve been through before, whatever hard things are ahead, you’re going to come out more brilliant each and every time.” Diamond smiled at Sweetie’s words. She finally accepted that her feelings were real.
“Let’s go catch up with Apple Bloom and the others,” Diamond said.
Sweetie nodded, “Yeah but only for a bit. Just to tell them that it’s all okay.”
“Why?” Diamond asked.
“I think you need a nice date tonight. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“I can get us a table at Ponyville’s most exclusive restaurant!” Diamond’s eyes lit up.
Sweetie Belle giggled, “You know any old café is fine. As Apple Bloom would say, ‘Money don’t buy love,’ but that does sound nice.”
Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders agreed to meet outside school the next day. They called Cheerilee to come early to tell her that all their quarrels had been resolved.
“It’s nice to see the five of you all smiling together. I haven’t seen that since the class election. I trust this means you won’t be causing any more trouble for other students—or property damage to my classroom?” Cheerilee said.
“Yeah, Applejack really let me hear it when she heard what happened,” Apple Bloom sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.
“Really? Rainbow Dash just asked how many hits I got in—ouch!” Scootaloo was jabbed in the side by Sweetie’s elbow, “But I learned my lesson, too.”
“It’s slow going, but I think we’re on our way to a good… friendship,” Silver Spoon said, a tad hesitant to use that last word, but reassured when the Crusaders smiled and nodded in affirmation.
Cheerilee surveyed her students, and noticed Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara standing rather close to one another, “And this?” She gestured to the two fillies, who blushed in response.
“Oh, yeah, ‘this’ is still happening. We won’t be a problem, I promise,” Sweetie Belle said.
Cheerilee winked, “Just keep the flirting to a minimum, okay? I still have a class to teach, you know.”
The school bell rang, and Cheerilee and the fillies made their way to the schoolhouse.
“By the way, Silver Spoon,” Scootaloo said on the way in, “Where’d you learn to suplex like that?”
END