//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Agony // Story: A Special Diamond: Diamond Tiara's Past and Future // by Ink Rain //------------------------------// Diamond Tiara and her best friend, Silver Spoon, were watching other fillies having a good time from the stair case. They've had just been told off by Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo about being proud blank flanks. Diamond had already gotten her cutie mark, a fancy tiara. While Silver had gotten a fancy spoon. Nopony understood how humilated and how mad she was. It was her Cute-ceañera, her time to shine, her time to be known. But instead, the three blanks had to take it over. She had to admit it, she was pretty rude to them. "I don't know," Diamond confessed. "I don't know why." "Huh?" Silver Spoon asked, taking her sudden attention to her friend. "Those blank flanks! I don't know why I invited them. All they did is ruin it for me. They ruined my special day!" Diamond buried her face into her hooves. She ducked behind the wall between them and the rest of the guests and sobbed. Silver Spoon patted her friend's back. "It's okay, Diamond Tiara." Silver Spoon said. "It'll be alright." No matter how hard she tried to comfort her friend, she failed. "Uh, NO!" Diamond whipped her head back up and faced Silver Spoon. "It WON'T be alright. I don't know how this day could get ANY worse!" She stopped 'Like my sister not being here for example'. Shimmer Shine... she never showed up to the Cute-ceañera. "I'm sorry Diamond, I wish I could do something to help..." Silver Spoon sighed. Diamond just kept on crying, but she tried not to be loud or attention grabbing. There was no way she could afford to be seen like this. "Only if my mother were here..." Diamond said, choking on her tears. She was told that her mother died of a strange disease when she was young. Shimmer nor Filthy Rich didn't bring up Glitter Ring often. Instead of them, it was Diamond who'd bring up the subject. She'd ask how Glitter was like, how she acted, if she was pretty and most importantly, what happened before she died... or disappeared. "I wish we could tell you sweetie," Filthy would say each time. "But it'd make you sad." Of course, no answers is what made the pink filly sad. The pony would search through the attic when her family wouldn't pay attention and would look through boxes. She'd find photo albums that would show pictures of her mother. She was a beautiful purple pony with a curly lighter purple mane with white streaks. She was an earth pony, too. Her cutie mark was two trios of colorful sparkles. In each picture, her green eyes would be sparkling and full of cheer. That is, until Diamond Tiara would reach the section when she finally married Filthy Rich. Her smiles faded to frowns and she looked depressed in each picture. Even in the pictures with baby Diamond and filly Shimmer. Deep into her memories, Diamond would try to remember as much as she could about her mother. But she couldn't. She wished that she could've remembered Glitter's voice, she wished she could've actually meet her now. Even though she's dead, Diamond had sometimes requested her father to take her to where Glitter was buried. Her father would decline. However, Diamond has recently started to get the idea that Glitter didn't die. If her mother did die, her father would've gave her straight answers. Maybe even a trip to her grave for mourning. Instead, her father was acting as if she was never there at all. As if her mother never existed. Even though all she looked at was the pictures, her mother seemed to be a very nice mare. Her eyes would be so full of happiness and compassion. But Diamond was different, she was the school bully. "Why do I do this to myself?" Diamond said softly. But Silver Spoon was able to hear, Diamond didn't care. Just as long as nopony else saw them, as much as her reputation was ruined already. It getting worse would be the last thing she wanted. "Why do I let myself become a mess?" She whispered. 'Diamond Tiara... it's okay. Just be you.' Her imaginary mom voice whispered to the filly. Diamond would fantasize of meeting Glitter Ring again, and possibly might be taken by her. Away from Filthy Rich. Away from that piece of dung of a pony. "My dad didn't even bother to show up!" Diamond Tiara sniffed. Although she didn't care too much, she wasn't too suprised. Filthy always pushed his time for his business or his money. Silver took her friend into a hug. She new of what happened, that's because Diamond explained everything to her. That's why she was her best friend, Silver Spoon understood Diamond Tiara more than anypony. "Let's go home." Silver Spoon slapped a sympathetic smile onto her face. Diamond Tiara nodded stood up. She walked down the stairs with her friend out the door. Since everypony was having a good time they weren't noticed. Nopony even said goodbye. ------------------------------------------------------------------- "Thank you kindly, little ponies. Now let's settle down." Granny Smith said to the class. The applause that was directed to her died down. She'd just finished the story of how she used Zap Apples to create Ponyville. And how Stinking Rich used the jam to helo build it. "So if it weren't for you and the Zap Apples, Ponyville wouldn't even exist?" Scootaloo blurted from the front of the class room. "Darn tootin' little filly!" Granny Smith exclaimed with a stomp of her front hoof. "If it weren't for my Granny Smith, your daddy wouldn't have Barnyard Bargains." Apple Bloom said to Diamond Tiara. The other students murmured agreements in Apple's defense. "B-But..." Diamond thought fast. She remembered the party. Ever since her Cute-ceañera, her reputation and dignity started to roll downhill. All she did to deal with it was poke fun of other school ponies. The filly never intended this to happen, she already had to live in a living nightmare with her father. He was always pushing her around and ignoring her. Diamond had to come home to do all the chores and some days never get a break until dinner. Granny Smith licked the chalk mark that said '4' off the board and smiled at the class. "She's just a kooky old lady!" Diamond's anger got a hold of her as the insult bursted out of her system. Filthy Rich would talk that away around others, and unfortunately, it must've started to rub off on her. Everypony gasped at the rude remark and Apple Bloom dashed to Granny's side. "She's NOT a kooky old lady!" She barked in defense. "She's the most amazing pony in all of Ponyville." The yellow filly hugged Granny Smith. 'Only if my family would act that way...' Diamond Tiara thought to herself. At the end of class, she collected her things and went off. The day had been so hard that she'd forgotten about Silver Spoon. Actually, the week had been terrible. She had been trying to ruin it all for Apple Bloom, she worried the country pony about Granny Smith's presentation that day. She wanted to make her think that the old pony was going to do nothing but humiliate the yellow filly. Just like how Diamond Tiara felt humiliated at the Cute-ceañera. But Diamond underestimated Granny Smith. They both did. The two didn't know the story until she told it that school day. Her father came in that Friday, but his presentation wasn't as interesting as Granny Smith's. Yet Diamond pretended it was. While she had fun with picking on Apple Bloom, she also regretted it. She wished she could apologize and just stop, but she couldn't. Diamond Tiara couldn't just apologize and everything would be better. It would have to take time. She had to stop soon. When she reached her house, Diamond hurried to her room, zipping past Filthy Rich without him noticing her. She reached her hoof under her bed and pulled out the album. Going through all of the missed memories of Glitter Ring. The memories she couldn't see due to her not being born yet. No matter how hard she wished her mother would be back, she knew that in her mind that she may never see her. Diamond Tiara felt hot tears run down her cheek, several splashed onto the pictures. Only if her father would tell the truth. There was a knock on Diamond's door. Filthy must have known that she went to her room. Even though she might be in trouble for not doing her chores, he pink pony quickly slid the album back under the bed and wiped off her tears. She stood in the middle of the room with a big smile on her face and said "Come in". Filthy Rich entered the room. "Diamond Tiara," He began. "I'm going to be gone for the whole night. Business calls. Plus, you can have the night off. Just be good and don't break anything." As soon as he finished, he left the room. After waiting a minute, Diamond Tiara dashed to the front room and peeked out the window. Filthy got into the carriage and rode off. Diamond knew what she was going to do next. She was going back into the attic to search for more stuff. Unlike other fillies, Diamond Tiara wasn't afraid of the attic. She's been up there several times and got more used to it each time. Turning the light on, the filly began her search. But she advised herself to not look where she found the album, but look deeper into the attic. That is because Filthy Rich might be hiding something big. Nopony was going to stop Diamond Tiara from finding it.