Excited chatter could be heard throughout the Ponyville Schoolhouse as the gathered students talked among themselves. The day was nearly done, with only a few minor things left to take care of before they were dismissed, and consequently, many of the colts and fillies present were eager to get home.
“Any plans for the weekend, Diamond Tiara?”
The proud young filly smirked. “Does it really matter what I do, Silver Spoon?” She really didn’t know what she was going to do, beyond the hopes that she’d be able to spend a little of it with her father, but she wasn’t going to elaborate on it too much. Not with certain fillies present. “But one thing’s for certain, I’m not going to be digging around in the dirt like some ponies.”
The two shared some conspiratorial giggles at Apple Bloom’s expense. The target of their attentions showed no outward signs of awareness of their actions, at least not before their teacher stepped into view. “Alright everypony, let’s settle down for a minute! Now, before class is dismissed for the weekend, I have some special guests in to speak with you today. Let’s give a warm welcome to Princess Twilight Sparkle, and Mister Quiver Quill!”
That immediately got Diamond Tiara’s notice. She turned and beamed excitedly at the sight of the alicorn, and paid no heed to the earth pony stallion who entered with her. “Good afternoon, everypony!” She and the rest of the class enthusiastically greeted the princess in turn. “Now, I know you’re all probably eager for the weekend to come, some with greater reason than others, but before you start, I’m here with a friend to announce something that Miss Cheerilee and I have been talking about for quite a while, something that will be fun for all of us. Who here has heard of Prancy Drew?”
Many little hooves shot up. Diamond Tiara’s wasn’t among them, though she did notice Silver Spoon’s sticking up out of the corner of her eye.
“Well, for those of you who don’t, Prancy Drew is a young filly no older than many of you. She’s a celebrated young detective, who’s written and published many of her cases. The first such publication was in the Plowshares Journal, one of the most widely-published magazines in Equestria.” She tilted her head and smiled at the stallion beside her. “And many years ago, Mister Quiver Quill also had a submission published in that journal.”
At the wide-eyed stares of many of the colts and fillies present, Quiver gave a nervous smile and explained, “I wrote a short story for a school assignment. Somepony read it and liked it well enough to submit it to them for publication. Aside from earning a little bit of money, well…” He turned about slightly to make his cutie mark just a little more visible. “I got this in the bargain.”
Some awestruck ‘ooohs’ echoed throughout the classroom as Cheerilee joined them and declared, “Plowshares Journal still accepts submissions from ponies throughout Equestria, both fiction and nonfiction. And this year, each of you will get a chance to submit your own stories as part of a class assignment.” Some groans of protest rang out, but she quickly countered, “Now, don’t be like that! This will be fun! All you need to do is write a story, a true story, involving the theme of friendship. The five best stories, as judged by myself, Princess Twilight and Mister Quiver Quill, will be submitted to Plowshares for consideration. Now, we can’t promise that the stories will be published, but…” A hoof shot up. “Yes, Diamond Tiara?”
“If you can’t promise that the story won’t be published, then what’s the point of submitting them?” She sneered and added, “Especially if you don’t have a talent for writing, or anything.”
Cheerilee looked as if she was about to answer, but Quiver raised a hoof to stop her and answered instead. “Because not every pony can be a great writer, but a great writer can come from anywhere. Besides, you’ll never know if you don’t try. And with all the excitement and adventures here in Ponyville, there’s plenty to write about.”
Nopony could argue with that, and Cheerilee continued, “All stories are due a week from Monday, but if you finish sooner, feel free to submit early. And be advised that stories will lose points for spelling and grammar errors, so make sure you have a dictionary handy, and don’t forget about your grammar lessons! And finally…” The bell rang, and she gleefully declared, “Class dismissed!”
Many of the foals made their way out of the schoolhouse, though a few hung back, the Cutie Mark Crusaders among them. Diamond Tiara was herself just a few inches away from being out of the door before she heard Sweetie Belle’s voice. “So does this mean that Twilight Time is off again for this week?”
That caused her to pause, and Diamond took a second to stop Silver Spoon so that her friend wouldn’t miss out.
“Of course not! As long as the three of you want to come and I’m available, feel free. Just make sure you don’t forget to work on this assignment. As much as I enjoy having you three visit, I don’t want you getting bad grades because you’re spending all your free time with me.”
“Yeah, Mom definitely wouldn’t let me get away with that. Besides, I think I’ve got a good place to start.”
Twilight laughed. “I’ll bet. Go on, you three, before your parents get worried.”
The Crusaders then made their way out of the schoolhouse, their regular tormentors going unnoticed in their excitement. An eager expression formed on her face as Diamond whispered, “Silver, did you hear what I just heard? We have an opportunity!”
Silver Spoon looked between her friend and the departing Crusaders. “You’re not saying what I think you’re saying, right?”
A grin crossed the filly’s face as she led her friend out of the schoolhouse. “Oh, I’m definitely saying it! Meet me tomorrow, and we won’t just have a chance at a story, but get to rub knees with a princess! Even if it means having to endure dealing with those lame Cutie Mark Crusader blank flanks!”
As the two fillies departed, they failed to notice a scowling Quiver Quill watch them go, a foul expression on his face as he considered their last words. Old memories were beginning to surface, and he found himself thinking that perhaps he should make an excuse to sit in on this ‘Twilight Time’…
-
The following day was bright, the few clouds lazily drifting overhead getting seen to by pegasi as Scootaloo sped through town, a wagon hitched behind her with Apple Bloom riding inside. She slowed to a halt near Carousel Boutique, where the third member of their merry band awaited them. “Hi girls!”
“Howdy Sweetie Belle!” Her friend climbed into the wagon as the young farm-filly asked, “Y’all ready fer Twilight Time?”
The little unicorn nodded and sounded out in the affirmative as she put on her helmet. As they got on their way, she asked, “So, have you guys figured out what your stories are going to be about?”
“Ah’m still thinkin’ mine over. Lotsa stuff’s happened in Ponyville over the last year, after all. Right now, though, Ah’m leanin’ towards that first time with the Poison Joke. What about the two’a y’all?”
Scootaloo grinned. “What else? The camping trip with Rainbow Dash!”
“The Sisterhooves Social!” Sweetie Belle squeeked happily as she remarked, “I can’t wait for the next one!” She then sighed and admitted, “I just wish it hadn’t been delayed.”
“Me too, but the Zap Apple Harvest comes when it comes, and…” She noticed something in the distance and groaned. “Uh-oh. Code Diamond.”
“Hey, Cutie Mark Crusaders!” A rapidly shrinking distance ahead of them were Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the former waving to them with a white sash in her hoof. “Yoo-hoo!”
“I see them.” Scootaloo slowed to a halt and hoped that their regular foe was being serious, and that a white sash meant the same thing as a white flag. “What are the two of you up to?”
The pale magenta filly restrained herself from harshly firing back, and put on her best smile. “Now Scootaloo, what makes you think we’re up to anything?”
The orange filly’s expression turned sour. “Past experience. The last time you decided to grace us with your attention, you tried to sabotage our tryout for the Equestria Games.”
At Scootaloo’s glare, Diamond Tiara noted, “Well, things have changed since then! Really!” She either ignored or didn’t notice the deadpan looks from the other Crusaders and explained, “I just wanted to ask you about something I overheard yesterday, what you were talking about with Princess Twilight.”
Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow. “You mean Twilight Time?”
“Yes, that! The three of you actually hang out with Princess Twilight? On your own?”
Apple Bloom shrugged. “About once a week. Ain’t a big deal though.”
“Not a big deal? She’s a princess! You have to bring me along!”
“Bring us along!” Silver Spoon interjected.
“I mean, we used to see her around town all the time, doing boring librarian stuff, and I thought, ‘whatever’...”
“Me too. I thought that.”
“But now she’s a princess, which makes her totally awesome! I mean, she’s an alicorn!”
“And she has wings!”
“So can I…”
“We!”
“…go?”
The two fillies put on eager, hopeful smiles. Scootaloo looked ready to just speed off and leave them in her dust, but Sweetie Belle leaned forward and suggested, “May we confer for a minute?”
“Of course!” As the three Crusaders huddled as best they could, Diamond Tiara turned away and whispered, “Really, Silver Spoon? ‘And she has wings’?”
“Well, this was kinda spur of the moment! Besides, she does!”
“Yeah, but being an alicorn is a lot more important! There’s only, like, four of them that we know about! You say things like that and you’ll just make us look bad!”
The Crusaders couldn’t hear their tormentors’ whispers, as they were busy with their own. “This is perfect! We should totally say yes!”
“And have them hecklin’ us while we’re tryin’ out somethin’? Ah don’t want ‘em interruptin’ me while Ah’m pourin’ some chemical! It’d just explode in mah face and give ‘em somethin’ ta laugh at!”
“They won’t be able to heckle us if they’re busy learning something for themselves, though! Besides, Twilight’ll be there, and they won’t want to do anything to get on her bad side! And no way will Twilight leave us unsupervised.”
“I dunno, Sweetie Belle, that’s coming way too close to tempting fate.”
“Relax, Scootaloo. I’ve got this.” Despite the uneasy expressions shared between her friends, Sweetie Belle turned and decided, “If Twilight says it’s okay, then you two can join in.”
The two bullies cheered, then crowded into the wagon. “Well, what are we waiting for!”
“OBJECTION!” A pair of helmets were promptly plopped down onto Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon’s heads. It took a second for the two fillies to acknowledge this before they saw Pinkie Pie beaming at them. “Safety first!” The pink party pony then pronked away, leaving the Crusaders plus two to their devices.
As Scootaloo got them back into motion, albeit at a slower speed than before thanks to the added weight of two more ponies, Diamond Tiara grinned, already anticipating spending the day with royalty, even if she had to go through the Crusaders to do it.
-
“I’m a little surprised that you’re here to do research, Quiver. I mean, I thought you had a reference library back in your home.”
“I do, but there’s a few things that my reference library doesn’t have.” He shrugged. “Not yet at least. I figure it might be a good idea to see if you’ve got updated volumes, just in case I want to indulge for Hearth’s Warming.” The stallion’s gaze went to a set of blueprints on the wall, assorted notations and scribbled notes set up on and around it. “Secret project?”
“Something like that.” A knock sounded at the door, and Twilight promised, “I’ll tell you all about it later. Spike should be able to help you with what you need.”
As the little dragon came over to Quiver’s side, Twilight moved to the door and opened it, Scootaloo at the front and the other two Crusaders behind her. “Hi there, guys! Come on –!”
“PRINCESS TWILIGHT!” Two more fillies charged forward and brushed the Crusaders aside as the magenta one at the head squealed, “It’s really her!”
“Oh my gosh, I don’t believe it!”
Twilight’s expression shifted to include a nervous grin. “Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon! What a surprise!”
This elicited even more cheering from the pair, which prompted Twilight to plug her ears with her wingtips. Diamond managed to restrain herself enough to squeal, “Princess Twilight, it is such a thrill and honor to be here! You must tell me who dyes your mane and tail!”
“I so have to get something like that!” Silver Spoon agreed.
“Those are my natural colors,” the princess deadpanned. “Now…”
A gasp. “Oh my gosh, are those books in there? What a bold design choice!”
The two fillies rushed in past Twilight, Silver toadying along with her friend, as the princess turned back to address the Crusaders. “Girls, care to explain what’s going on here?”
“Your guess is good as ours, but they heard us talkin’ ‘bout Twilight Time yesterday an’ wanted to come along.” Apple Bloom gave an uneasy chuckle as she admitted, “Not like we could just tell ‘em no.”
Twilight turned back to the two rich fillies with a frown, then back to the Crusaders. “I suppose not. In any case, I’m all for helping as many ponies as I can, but I intended for this to be a special time for the four of us. Let’s try to avoid this getting to be a bigger thing, hmm?” At their nods, she ushered them in. “Alright, come on in girls. I’ve got everything set up. Who wants to go first?”
“Why not have them go first?” At a raised eyebrow from the princess, Sweetie Belle deflated slightly, “I mean, they wanted to be here, and…”
“I set up Twilight Time for the three of you, girls. They aren’t obligated to do anything while they’re here beyond behave themselves. Anyway, how about we start with your potion-making, Apple Bloom? I’ve got everything already set up for it.”
The three Crusaders entered, slightly dejected, and then perked up as they noticed the other guest. “Mister Quiver Quill!”
“Morning, Crusaders. Don’t mind me, just passing through.” He checked over a list in one hoof and a large register before him. “Oh look at that. Seems all my copies of these books are up to date.” He turned to Twilight and asked, “Anyway, what’s all this? Some sort of tutoring session?”
“You could call it that.” Twilight joined the Crusaders as they gathered around an elaborate chemistry setup, a small potted plant at one end. “I agreed to help the Crusaders to learn some new skills a few months back, at the request of their families. I get to share my love of learning for learning’s sake, and they learn a thing or two that can help them down the road.”
“Like chemistry.” Apple Bloom gestured to the setup and explained, “Zecora’s been showin’ me some potion recipes from her home, basic stuff, and Ah’m tryin’ to see if Ah can recreate ‘em, maybe tweak ‘em to make ‘em better. This growth potion, fer example. Somethin’ like this could improve harvests.”
“And I’ve been learning mechanics.” Scootaloo smiled and explained, “So I can repair my scooter or other simple things.”
“And I’ve had some magic lessons!” Sweetie Belle’s horn lit up, and with some strain, she pulled out a book from a shelf near Quiver. It went out an inch before she pushed it back into place. “It’s not much, but it’s a start.”
Twilight smiled encouragingly. “Everypony starts somewhere, Sweetie Belle. I mean, I wasn’t able to perform all the spells and tricks I could now when I was your age. It helps that I had some good teachers, and a lot of moral support.”
Quiver smiled in agreement. “That goes for everything. Raw talent will only carry you so far. You have to develop it, and…”
“Yeah, that’s really interesting.” Diamond Tiara roughly moved past the stallion to plead, “Tell us more about all the important things you do, Princess Twilight!” She pointed to the blueprint and asked, “Like that!”
“Yeah, that looks super interesting and…” Silver Spoon approached it and asked, “Are these some kind of thaumatic locks in the design specs?”
“Yes, actually. That’s one of a number of projects that I’ve been working on.” She looked to the grey filly and noted, “How did you recognize those?”
“My dad’s shown me a lot of fancy old antiques and stuff, and those reminded me of some old locks he showed me once on a chest. According to him, they were magically crafted to be pick-proof.” Silver Spoon looked up at Twilight and asked, “Are you trying to open some kind of magic chest?”
Diamond Tiara immediately rushed up to her friend’s side. “That is so amazing! What other kinds of amazing princess things are you up to?”
Some discomfort was clear on her face, but Twilight politely answered, “I’m working on a number of things, actually, but they aren’t important just because I’m working on them.”
“But you’re a princess! And princesses only bother with, like, super important things!”
That prompted Quiver’s attention. “Are you saying that something Twilight’s working on is more important than something that somepony else is working on just because she’s a princess?” He turned to face them and added, “That’s kind of insulting if you think about it.”
Diamond Tiara simply scoffed and said, “Well, that doesn’t change the fact that she’s a princess! And because of that, she’s important!”
He regarded her with a critical eye and asked, “How many times were you in this library before today?”
The filly shot him a challenging look. “What does that matter?”
“It’s a perfectly reasonable question.” At her silence, he noted, “Fine, you don’t have to answer. But I have to wonder how you thought of her and treated her before she became a princess.”
A scoff. “Well, obviously she didn’t matter then.”
“She played a role in saving Equestria on several occasions before she sprouted a pair of wings. I’d say that matters.”
Now irritated that the stallion was arguing with her, Diamond shot back, “Yeah, well, she’s the only reason you’re here! What’s that say about you?!”
“Diamond Tiara!” Twilight’s sharp shout stopped the argument right there, and prompted the filly’s complete attention. “Quiver is my friend, and he’s made it clear that he’d be my friend regardless of my status. And even if he wasn’t, he’s raised a good point. Now, I don’t mind you coming here, but I want to know the reason why.”
Diamond fidgeted slightly. “It’s the same reason the Crusaders are here.”
“We’re not here because’a Twilight bein’ a princess.” Apple Bloom looked up from her potion preparations and firmly declared, “We’re here because she’s our friend, and we like spendin’ time with her. That’s what makes her important ta us – not her havin’ wings an’ a horn and not her bein’ a national hero. If’n Ah wanted ta hang out with a national hero, Ah’d’ve stayed home.”
Diamond frowned, then huffed and declared, “Well obviously I should’ve stayed at home! Come on, Silver Spoon, let’s go!”
The two fillies then marched out of the library, with the second taking a small glance back inside before she left. As the door closed behind them, Twilight sighed and turned to Quiver. “Was that really necessary?”
“Maybe, maybe not, but we could both tell they weren’t here for pure motives.”
“I’m not saying they were, Quiver, but you needlessly escalated that.” She looked to the Crusaders and asked, “In any case, whose idea was it to let Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon come along?”
Sweetie Belle bowed her head and admitted, “It was mine. I was thinking that if they were here, then they wouldn’t be on our backs. Plus, they’d actually have to do something for themselves and learn something.”
Twilight shook her head. “Sweetie Belle, you can’t and shouldn’t force somepony to do something they don’t want to do. Besides, what was stopping them from dragging along more foals on the promise of spending time with a princess? You and I both know that I don’t like being put on a pedestal. I’m no more or less special than any other pony.”
“I know, but…”
“But it would’ve been nice to get a bully off your back.” Sweetie Belle nodded at Quiver’s summation, and the stallion admitted, “I can’t disagree with that. But using others to prop yourself up isn’t the way to do it.”
“Well what is?”
Quiver sighed. “I wish I knew.”
Twilight’s expression turned downcast as she admitted, “That makes five of us.”
Scootaloo’s amazed and saddened gaze fell on the alicorn. “You were bullied? Really?”
A sad nod. “Unfortunately, yes. And it didn’t really end until after I enrolled at the School for Gifted Unicorns, but…” She shook her head. “Nevermind, not important right now. Anyway, Apple Bloom, you ready to give that potion a go?”
“Ah think so, just give me a second to check an’ make sure Ah’ve mixed everythin’ right.” Apple Bloom checked over her notes, tightened her lips and adjusted her apparatus, one single drop of completed potion dripping down onto a waiting apple seedling. “Ah hope this works…”
The potion made contact with the seedling, and a cloud of smoke billowed out around it. The gathered ponies coughed as it dissipated, and as their coughs faded, one remained. As the smoke died down, it was revealed to be the seedling itself, which prompted a giggle fit from Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.
Apple Bloom frowned as the plant continued to cough. “Layin’ it on a little thick there, ain’t we pal?” She sighed and poured some water on the plant, which cured its coughing fit. “The potion must’ve drained the moisture in the soil too fast.”
“Well, don’t lose heart on it.” Twilight gave an encouraging smile and offered, “You remember what they said about the light bulb, right?”
A small smile formed on the filly’s muzzle. “He didn’t fail. He just found ten thousand ways that didn’t work.”
“And all you need to do is find the right one. Time and effort is all it takes.”
As Apple Bloom went back to checking over her formulae, Twilight turned her attention back to Quiver, whose gaze had gone back towards the door. She approached and said, “I still think you might’ve gone a little too far there.”
“Better going too far than doing nothing at all.” Quiver frowned as he turned to face her. “I know bullies when I see them, Twilight. And the less someone does to stop a bully, the more the bully thinks they can get away with.”
“But getting aggressive with the bully won’t discourage them.” Twilight tilted her head back towards the Crusaders. “The only way that they’re going to get Diamond Tiara off their back is to make it clear that she doesn’t have power over them.”
“And she’ll just do what she can to find different ways to needle them.” Quiver turned back out the window and groaned. “Besides, that kind of attitude doesn’t come out of a vacuum. It had to start somewhere.”
-
Home. Despite the sight of the Rich family mansion approaching on the horizon, it gave Diamond Tiara very little comfort. As soon as her mother found out about what happened, she’d get more than an earful about it. And once her father heard about it, well, she wasn’t sure which would be worse.
“Hey, Di?” She stopped and turned back as Silver Spoon approached. “I’m sorry that things didn’t work out the way you hoped. See you Monday?” She was answered with a small nod, and then made her way down the block to her own home.
Feeling even more alone than before, the young filly made her way home. She entered the massive foyer to the mansion to find the staff bustling about doing one thing or another, and right in the center of it all…
“Pick up the pace, Randolph! That porcelain won’t put itself away, so put your back into it!” It was at that moment that Spoiled Rich noticed that her daughter had returned home, and her snout seemed to curl up even further. “Diamond Dazzle Tiara! Why in Equestria are you making that face? That is not the face of a pony of influence!”
“Sorry mother. It’s been a bad morning. I went to the library to socialize with Princess Twilight and…”
The scoff she heard was loud enough that she wondered if it had been heard all the way to Manehattan. “There are far better ponies for you to spend your time with, child, and certainly not ponies such as her. What sort of princess would waste their time running a library, and living with some oversized lizard with delusions of being civilized? One not worth their crown, and easily less than the one upon your head. As important as it is to think of your social standing, there are those who are simply not worth socializing with. Not that princess, not the commoners with whom she socializes, and certainly not those blank flanks who fawn all over them.” Her eyebrow jumped. “Diamond Dazzle Tiara, look me in the eye when I speak to you!”
The filly stood up, which gave her a better view of the housestaff as they cast the odd glance in their direction. “Yes mother.”
“Young filly, so long as I have my say in how you are raised, you must always think of your social standing. That may begin in Ponyville, but it reaches all over Equestria. Don’t ever forget that. Ever!” A smug grin crossed her face as she gestured her away. “Now go. You’ll be summoned once lunch is prepared.”
“Yes mother.” Diamond carefully made her way out of the foyer and to her rooms. Immaculately cleaned as usual, thanks to the house staff, with everything in its proper place according to her mother. She sighed, and carefully set her tiara down on a waiting pillow, before climbing onto her bed and wishing that she could just wake up from his bad dream that she was in.
A gentle knock sounded at her door. “Diamond?”
She looked up, and gave a sad smile. “Hi Daddy.”
In comparison with his wife, Filthy Rich spoke and acted in measured tones. There were very rare occasions where he’d given his daughter even a fraction of the venom that his wife had ever done, and this wasn’t one of them. “I come home to have lunch with my family, and I find you here in your room looking like your favorite plush toy just got torn apart by a timberwolf.” He approached as Diamond repositioned herself on her bed, then gently ran a hoof through her mane to comfort her. “What’s got my little princess so down?”
“I had a bad morning, Daddy.” This much was true, though what followed was at most a half-truth. “I went to the library today, with Silver Spoon. We wanted to spend time with Princess Twilight and talk about that assignment she gave us yesterday, but we had some trouble.”
“Those bullies you’ve been telling me about? In that club of theirs?”
A nod. “They were there, and they were mean to me and Silver, and…”
Filthy Rich took his daughter into a warm hug. “Oh darling, I’m sorry. I know what it’s like to have to deal with bullies. Your grandfather didn’t do me a lot of favors naming me ‘Filthy’, and Maker knows how your mother fared as a filly with her full name.” He broke the hug and cupped a hoof under her chin. “Now, don’t you listen to a word they say, Diamond. That assignment, that story you’re supposed to write? I know that my little girl’s gonna tell a great one once everything’s said and done, so don’t you worry about those bullies. They don’t matter, and they never will.” He gave an encouraging smile. “You hear me?”
Diamond flashed her best smile. “Yes Daddy.”
“That’s my girl.” He then gave her a gentle kiss upon her forehead. “Come on then. We’ve got a nice bit of lunch that’s almost ready, and I want to share it with the two most important mares I know before I head back to work.”
The smile faded. “You’re going back to the office?”
“Afraid I have to, Diamond. We’re getting ready for the fall restocks and the mayor’s talking about raising business taxes. Plus I need to speak with the police. Someone went and stole a case of zap apple jam out of the stock room early this morning, and I can’t let something like that go unaddressed, or it’ll just continue on. Whoever did that is a bad pony, Diamond, and you can’t let bad ponies get away with being bad. Not if you have the means to do something about it.”
He gently nuzzled her, then turned and made his way out. He didn’t notice as Diamond’s smile faded to a disappointed frown. She then gritted her teeth and whispered to herself as she jumped off her bed, “Get it together, filly.” She replaced her tiara, made sure it was on properly, and declared, “Diamonds don’t break.”