//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 - New Ground // Story: Scars To Her Beautiful // by flutterJackdash //------------------------------// Diamond Tiara was concerned when she first approached the neighborhood, but all the numbers for the houses made it fairly well organized. She just had to follow the right number sequence until it led to the correct home. Upon her approach, what she saw was a driveway leading to the garage that was attached to the home to the left. There were actually two garage doors that could store two cars side by side. The driveway was wide enough for two cars as well. To the side of the driveway was a pretty big grassy front lawn. The lawn itself terminated directly at the street level. There was no sidewalk and no trees to obstruct the view of the house. The house itself had a slanted roof and was painted dark gray. The siding was dark blue, and the shutters of this two-story home were light gray. Five windows were visible at the front. Two above two windows, and the last lone window was on the second story above the front entrance/exit of the home. There also appeared to be a chimney stack towards the middle and somewhere behind the home. Despite all evidence, Diamond still felt a little nervous as she approached the front door. If this turned out to be the wrong house, not only would she feel embarrassed, but she wouldn’t know how to seek out the real home. As she approached the home, she saw a white and orange striped tabby cat resting in the white windowsill, probably sunning itself. As she approached, the cat became alert and followed her with the cat’s eyes, probably interested in the unfamiliar company. Locating the doorbell, Diamond almost reached to press the button, but she paused when she heard Sweetie Belle singing from within the home. After pausing to listen for a little while, she recognized the song as, “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.” Diamond stood up straight as she dropped her hand and finger that originally reached to press the rectangular doorbell. There, she just paused to listen to and admire Sweetie’s beautiful singing. It was not until she was done when Diamond finally reached to press the doorbell. After a few minutes and a called out “Hold on! I’m a little slow right now!” the door was opened. Sweetie stood there, leaning against a pink cane decorated with tiny horses. “Diamond? Aren’t you supposed to be in school?” “Yes, but I, ah … I just had to come and see you.” Diamond hung her folded hands low below her waist as she asked sheepishly, “I hope you don’t mind that I stopped by. I was, um … worried that you might be mad at me, and worried about how hurt you are.” Sweetie smiled in response, stepping back into the house and stumbling before catching herself on the wall behind the door and readjusting her cane. Diamond reflexively jolted when this happened, almost stepping into the home to reach and catch her, but paused when Sweetie said, “Oh, sorry. No, I’m not mad at you, or Scootaloo for that matter. It was an accident the whole way, I know that. Um… So come on in!” “You sure?” Diamond double-checked. Sweetie just hobbled her way back into her house, calling out behind her, “Can I get you anything to drink? Snack? It’s about lunchtime now, right? But you would have been traveling a little bit to get here, so did you even get to eat?” “Um,” Diamond paused as she stepped into the home and closed the front door, then blinked as she realized that the answer was … “No. Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten. I left during school lunchtime, and I didn’t have anything to eat.” She looked at Sweetie in concern. “You got anything low-fat?” “Yeah, I do,” Sweetie answered, “But why would you need that?” She hobbled into the kitchen, which was up the hallway passed an archway and a staircase, and a second hall leading off to the right behind the staircase. The kitchen floor’s tiling began immediately to the left in an open area. While there were no lights on in the house, the daylight provided quite enough to see and even to read by. There were lights in the ceiling spaced about 10 feet apart to provide lighting in the evening. From Diamond’s angle upon entering, she could make out a kitchen counter that appears to wrap around three walls of the room. “I need to watch my figure,” Diamond explained as she followed Sweetie while absently eyeing the decor of the house with some interest. “I’m fat enough as it is.” “Your… what? Diamond, you’re gorgeous!” Sweetie said, then went immediately quiet as she focused on the refrigerator which was set along the wall opposite the staircase and branching hallway, at the edge of another archway, with a counter hugging up against it. Diamond shook her head in denial as she moved to sit down at the small wooden table set up against the wall between the open entrance and the archway. It had three chairs painted brown and white. They were set around it and easy to access. A painting of the very house she was in hung over the table, done in beautiful detail. “You’re nice to say that, but I know it’s not true. You don’t have to humor me,” Diamond told Sweetie in bittersweet acceptance. “I’m not humoring you! You’re beautiful! A little too thin if anything, honestly. I’m worried about you,” Sweetie turned and brought Diamond a bottle of mineral water from the refrigerator before moving along to the pantry, set on the leading wall to what appeared to be a room containing a washer and dryer at a lower altitude. Deciding not to argue with Sweetie, Diamond unscrewed the bottle cap of the mineral water and took a few casual sips. “I’m sure we have some low-fat things in here. Rarity didn’t take this stuff when she moved out,” Sweetie said, lost in thought. “Hmm. That’s nice,” Diamond said indifferently. “By the way, you have a really nice singing voice. I admire that.” “Uh…,” Sweetie’s blush was not visible through the walls of the pantry, but her hesitation wasn’t missed, “Oh, here we go!” Sweetie recovered, lamely, as she snatched up a box of some dietary cereal Rarity had left behind and stepped out of the pantry. She placed her can on the floor in front of her. She held the box in her left hand, but misjudged the lip where the floor went from hallway tile to kitchen tile, and it slid forward. She crashed to the floor. “You alright?!” Diamond cried out, startled. “Need some help?” Without waiting for an answer, she moved to help Sweetie because she knew the other girl was injured. Sweetie sighed. She gratefully accepted Diamond’s help to get back to her feet. “I’m okay… Hopefully that won’t be a problem much longer. The doctor thought it would be a few days of trouble with my leg, but then I should be able to walk normally after that.” Diamond frowned at her friend with worry, then tenderly hugged Sweetie as she whispered into her ear, “I’m so sorry this happened to you. It’s my fault. My fault! I’m so stupid, selfish, and idiotic.” Sweetie pushed Diamond back gently, not repelling her, just holding her at arm’s length and looking her in the eyes, “No. No, Diamond, it isn’t your fault. Scootaloo has a big problem with her temper ever since her parents died… She hasn’t been the same in the last year or so. So much angrier. I feel for her. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost Mom or Daddy, or Rarity really, but…,” Sweetie trailed off. “Oh, well.” Diamond looked down. “Now I feel even more like a bitch.” She sighed as she looked off to her side. “I’ve thought about how I might feel if my parents died, but it’s probably not even close to how Scootaloo feels. She was close to her parents, wasn’t she?” “In her head, maybe? They weren’t really around,” Sweetie sighed, “They were more interested in their jobs than in their daughter. Scootaloo just… was kind of blind to that? I don’t think she is anymore, though.” Sweetie hobbled over and bent over to pick up the box of cereal while leaning heavily on her cane and favoring her right leg. “Where does your servant keep the …” Diamond paused a moment as she winced at herself, then decided to rephrase that. “Where do you keep your broom and dustpan?” Sweetie turned to look at Diamond as though she’d grown a new head and had begun arguing with herself about her hair’s upkeep. “Uh...  It’s back there,” Sweetie pointed at the room containing the washer and dryer. Diamond moved to investigate where indicated. Finding what she was looking for, she moved back to the kitchen with her new prize and stood by just in case Sweetie needed this later. While she waited, she said, “So let me get this straight … Scootaloo was not raised with her parents? They were too busy with work like my father? Then why does Scootaloo care about them so much?” “They weren’t terrible parents, just really absent. They weren’t there for her. She mostly was with her Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty. They’re such a sweet couple, and I don’t think she ever considered her parents to have been anything but awesome… In their way, they were, but they weren’t around enough. At all. Always off in some foreign country, cataloging dangerous wildlife… and then they got sick, and it was over before long. “You can find a lot of their work on MyStable videos. But I have their original DVD collection. Helped to hang out with Scootaloo and have those available. She loved to watch those old episodes,” Sweetie said with a warm smile as she set the box on the counter, and reached into a cabinet to collect a bowl. “Scootaloo’s aunts are a couple?” Diamond questioned. “Uh… yes? Is… Is that a problem for you?” Sweetie asked, getting a touch defensive. “No. I guess not. It’s just not something I’m used to hearing, is all,” Diamond responded. “Need any help?” she checked. “You could get the milk from the refrigerator… We have skim if you want,” Sweetie replied. “Uh, well … it’s fine but I still have mineral water on the table. That will be enough for me.” “You’re going to use mineral water in your cereal?” Sweetie asked, perplexed. “Oh! That’s what you mean. Yeah.” Diamond looked around for a place to set aside her broom and dustpan, then settled for placing it along the wall. After that, she went over to the fridge, inspected it for the milk, located it, then pulled it out. With her new prize, she delivered it over to the table. Sweetie took a moment to hobble over to a section of the counter located next to the stove and withdrew a spoon from that drawer. With it, she hobbled over to the table and slumped down into a chair. “Okay, that’s still so tiring… Anyway, here,” Sweetie said as she held out the spoon. With everything in place, Diamond poured herself a cereal then poured some milk into it. Looking up at Sweetie above the bowl, she asked her, “Do you want some too?” “No, thank you. I just ate my lunch,” Sweetie said with a smile, “I’m free to watch you eat.” ‘Oh. Okay.” Diamond meekly moved to consume her meal and drink from her water bottle. For a while they sat in silence, broken first by Sweetie. “Diamond… I saw that video…,” Sweetie suddenly said. Diamond froze midway to lifting a spoon to her lips. After that, her eyes shifted to look at Sweetie as her spoon dropped down back into the cereal bowl. Eventually she asked with tight worry, “And … what did you think?” “It scared me, Diamond… It really did,” Sweetie said softly. Diamond remained quiet, just staring at Sweetie, but her eyes started to tear up. “I really care about you… I’m your friend, and you’re mine… It scares me to think that… I might lose you to something like that… Why do you do it, Diamond?” Sweetie asked gently. “Well, in that case, it’s not to kill myself. It’s to help get rid of my excess fat,” Diamond answered. “It’s really a problem for me.” Sweetie shook her head, “I know you can’t see it… but I can. You don’t have any excess fat. You don’t even have enough fat,” Sweetie said. Diamond looked down at the table with a, “Not this again,” kind of look. She felt weary having to defend herself on this topic over and over again, and even once was too much. Nobody was supposed to know about this. “I keep wondering to myself … who would do this to me? Who filmed me while I was doing that, and who would have the skills to hack into the school’s private network? And for what? To make fun of me? To humiliate me?” She looked back at Sweetie as she added, “Do you want to know what the worst part of it is? The worst part is that there are too many suspects. So many people I have wronged that might want to harm me, but it’s just as likely it could be someone I never met because being wealthy and famous always makes me a target. Some people might think it’s fun to make the rich girl cry and tear her down a few pegs.” “You’re changing the subject, Diamond,” Sweetie replied calmly, “I know that’s an awful thought, to have it be one person out of so many that could have done it. I’m sure Ms. Sparkle is doing everything she can to track down the culprit. Maybe she’ll get that genius daughter of hers to help? I dunno, but right now? I’m talking about you.” “Her genius daughter? You mean Cozy Glow?” Diamond checked with Sweetie. “You mean the very same girl running against me in the election? She stands more to gain by hiring someone to do this, but as for the girl herself … I’m not sure if she’s too savvy with computers. She might not be able to help me even if she wanted to.” “Diamond,” Sweetie said quietly, “I’m scared of losing you to this… Even if you don’t mean to take yourself out, which you did mean to do just a few nights ago… You can hurt yourself plenty enough to do that sort of damage, without meaning to.” Diamond frowned as she looked down at the table again, feeling uncomfortable with this subject. Sweetie sighed, reaching across the table and taking Diamond’s hand in her own, squeezing it gently. “I promise you. You can’t lose me,” Sweetie said. Diamond smiled weakly but genuinely at Sweetie as she replied, “I’m not sure if I can really believe you, but I want to and … thanks … for the sentiment.” Sweetie sighed once again, “Want to step outside? I need some fresh air, honestly,” she said as she abruptly stood from the table, grasped her cane, hobbled toward the archway they hadn’t used to enter the kitchen, and turned to the right. “Sure!” Diamond said brightly as she moved to follow Sweetie, the rest of her lunch instantly forgotten as a result. She wanted to see more of Sweetie’s house anyway. It may be quaint compared to her standards, but it actually fascinated her to see because it meant she learned more about a girl who had recently become very important to her. Sweetie’s body language didn’t suggest the same excitement. In fact, she was sagging a bit as she rounded through the next arch and headed towards a source of additional light. Diamond saw that it was a glass door leading to a wraparound deck along the back side of the house. The backyard was no smaller or larger than the front yard had been. A swing set, disused, was set up along one side of the yard, near a homemade clubhouse with pink paint that was chipping away. An actual toolshed was set up on the other side, and on the deck itself was where a table and a set of chairs were located. Sweetie chose one and sat down. Diamond sat across from her while her eyes roamed about the backyard, taking everything in such as a garden, which was composed of white and pink flowers arranged symmetrically. She noticed, too, along one side of the deck and easel set up with a painting halfway done of the landscape of the Heights rising up past their backyard. Diamond idly noticed that her mansion was up there, and appeared to be an eyesore from down here. “You know what, Sweetie Belle, this place is actually pretty nice!” Diamond said happily. “It’s small, pretty, and cozy. If you saw our backyard, it is an entire golf course. We need a golf cart to help us get around that place. Father used it on some occasions to secure some business meetings. I think it went fairly well. Father is a good businessman.” “Yeah, I’m sure,” Sweetie said sullenly. Since Diamond detected Sweetie’s sullen expression, she decided to drop that subject but didn’t know what to replace it with. So, as a result, the two girls sat around in silence for a little while as they simply enjoyed each other’s company, then eventually Diamond asked, “So … what kinds of things do you like to do?” “I like to sing… uh... and I’m learning to write music. I can play the piano okay, or maybe a little better than that? There’s this woman, Miss Octavia… I think she used to attend school with my sister? She’s teaching me a little. I’m not anywhere near being as good as my mother, but I like to paint. I watch football with Daddy, sometimes. I used to play it with him… but um… I haven’t enjoyed that in a long time,” Sweetie said. “You used to play football? Really?” Diamond asked skeptically. “You really don’t seem the type.” “I don’t? Um… I guess that’s true. Daddy loved it though. We had a lot of fun,” Sweetie said with a fond smile, then she blinked at Diamond as she asked her, “what about you, Diamond?” “Me?” Diamond reflected. “Are you asking me what I like to do?” Sweetie nodded, “Mmhm!” “I, ah … honestly don’t know. Nothing makes me happy anymore,” Diamond replied. “Being Student Council President used to feel rewarding … but lately it feels like a chore with no noticeable reward.” She shrugged. “I don’t have any other hobbies, either. I’m just … empty.” “You want to try singing?” Sweetie offered hopefully. “I, ah …” Diamond shrugged again. “I don’t know, but I am interested to at least hear you sing.” “I… Okay. Let’s go back inside then,” Sweetie said as she struggled to her feet. “Want some help?” Diamond was quick to offer when she saw Sweetie Belle struggle to rise. “No, that’s okay,” Sweetie got to her feet and placed her cane. She wobbled a bit on her right leg before taking a step forward and hobbling back through the sliding glass door. Diamond Tiara followed Sweetie Belle while keeping a careful eye on her. Sweetie guided Diamond, a little clumsily, into the house, through the den and the dining room which was adjacent to the kitchen. Onward she led them into a larger living area with a nicely sized television that had some equipment connected to it. “Have you ever sung before?” Sweetie asked Diamond, looking over her shoulder. “Um, yeah. I have sung a few times,” Diamond reported shyly. She wanted to be honest, but was worried that her response would cause Sweetie to pressure her into singing. Diamond then went on to elaborate, “In the past, I have used singing to manipulate others. I’ve heard it’s a great campaign tool. For example, do you remember how you used it to promote Pipsqueak to Student Council President back in grade school? Or how about the time pony Twilight’s friends convinced everyone in the school cafeteria at CHS to vote for Twilight for Princess of the Fall Formal several years ago? All it took was one song and suddenly everyone was voting for her.” Diamond looked down with a depressed sigh, then said, “I can sing, but I prefer not to. I did it that one time with Pipsqueak to defend my campaign position, but notice the fact that I did not initiate it.” She focused on Sweetie. “My parents told me to do whatever it took to win in the end. That includes things I’m not comfortable with. “In fact, that is very often the case.” “Diamond… You don’t have to do anything you aren’t comfortable with. Now, I freely admit that I would love to hear you singing, but that’s because I just love singing… I hope that you will, and who knows? Maybe you’ll find something you like on the system. I try to keep it updated, but Daddy can’t always afford it,” Sweetie said. Diamond clasped her hands in front of her as she said to Sweetie, “Well, for you … maybe I will someday, but for now … do you mind if I just sit back and watch? I want to know more about you, including the stuff you like to sing.” Diamond blushed shyly. “Also, from what little I heard so far, I think you have a real talent for this. As in marketable talent.” Sweetie blushed intensely, turning away from Diamond as she continued to hobble into the living room. A large television was set up, but Sweetie made her away around it and opened a cabinet near the floor. She tried to ease herself down, but her leg went out and she fell rather hard. “Ooph!” she said as she adjusted herself. “SWEETIE, you okay?” Diamond asked with worry as she rushed to Sweetie’s side.  “Okay, um…” she pushed herself up and leaned toward the cabinet, “I’m fine, Diamond, it’s okay,” she continued, quietly, as she reached into the cabinet and pulled out a large, dark grey device shaped like a computer tower. “Can you help me with this?” Sweetie said as she carefully held the device out to Diamond. During that time, her right arm trembled rather visibly as she held it up. Diamond’s attention lingered on Sweetie for a moment longer to make sure she was okay. When it seemed like she was, her attention redirected to what Sweetie indicated. Diamond paused a moment to examine the device itself which included how much it seemed to weigh and the best way to get a grip on it. Also, she tried to determine what it was, quickly deciding that it’s probably a karaoke machine. Her pause and assessment of the device was soon rewarded. In fact, she soon realized there were grip holds built on the device specifically designed to help the user carry it. From there, Diamond took it from Sweetie. Once she had the device, Diamond examined what was behind the device. There, she saw a bunch of wires, controllers, and what probably was video game consoles. “Um, Sweetie … do you need any of this other stuff?” Diamond inquired. “Yes, the cable and the remote,” Sweetie answered as she leaned back to the cabinet and collected those exact items, then turned around and crawled to the center of the living room. “Do you mind handling the cable? I don’t think I can manage standing and leaning back there very well right now.” “Ah … sure,” Diamond expressed. When she looked inside, she realized something, so she asked, “Um … Sweetie. I see a bunch of cables in there. Which one do you want me to grab?” “It’s uh… Daddy said… I think it’s HDMI?” Sweetie ventured. As she did so, there was an ear-splitting shriek from the other side of the room. Diamond immediately whipped her head to regard what caused that ear-spilling shriek. She noticed that it came from a mostly blue parakeet, particularly in the breast and tail area. The top of its head and back of its wings was a mixture of black and white. The bird itself was in a cage which was suspended off the ground by a hook and chain extending down from the ceiling which, notably, made the cage itself difficult to access to hungry felines. “Oh! You got a bird too?” Diamond noticed with surprise. “Oh, that’s Nysa,” Sweetie replied. “She’s my little friend. Do you like her?” “Uh … yeah! That’s a pretty little bird,” Diamond replied. “She sings with me, sometimes!” Sweetie offers. Looking at the wires again, Diamond squinted as she asked “What are HDMI cables and what do they look like? Usually I have servants who do this techy stuff for me.” “Uh… it’s sorta wide? Um, like rectangular, for both ends…” Sweetie tried, though she sounded less than confident in her description. Diamond flashed her friend a grimace, then looked back into the cabinet and decided, “Well, I guess I should pull them all out and see which ones fit.” She reached inside and pulled out one of them, but before she could reach for another, Sweetie recognized the first one Diamond pulled out as the correct one. “That one! That’s it! You got it!” Sweetie almost hops in place. She then crawled to the couch and pulled herself up. “I’m sorry. I’m not much use right now.” “It’s okay.” Diamond examined her prize. “So this is the correct wire? Are you sure?” “I’m sure, yes. So you have to plug it into the side of the tv, and the back of the karaoke machine, okay?” Sweetie instructed as she sags into the couch. Diamond carefully examined the back of the machine. Although there were a bunch of holes which could be plugged with something, she found only one that fit one end of the cable, so she went ahead and inserted that. That done, she looked to the side of the television. At first, she did not feel confident that she could do this because she never did something like this before, but she spotted something that provided her a hint. On the side of the TV, she saw one port that matched the shape of her end of the plug. She attempted to insert it and found that it fit! “Hooray!” Diamond cheered. “I did it!” “Of course you did. I’m not surprised,” Sweetie said with a smile, “Okay, can you bring the microphone over?” “Sure.” Diamond grabbed it and delivered the item over to Sweetie. Upon doing so, she ended up dragging the cord of the microphone along with her. She paid attention to make sure it did not knock over anything as she handed it to Sweetie. “Thank you,” Sweetie said and she took the microphone and laid it down next to her. “Sit down. Join me. Please?” She requested as she pressed the button on the television remote to turn it on, then used the remote for the karaoke machine to turn it on. “Sure.” Diamond moved to sit next to Sweetie. She watched as Sweetie used the remote to flip to a “channel” called HDMI 2. “Did you have any song in mind?” Sweetie asked as the karaoke machine loaded up and connected to the Wi-Fi network. “No,” Diamond answered. “Whatever you pick, I’m sure will be fine with me.” “Um… Okay,” Sweetie said as she pressed a button on the remote and spoke into the microphone, “Tailor Swift, Everything Has Changed,” she said softly. On the television screen, the search bar filled out with her words, and a selection of songs appeared down the screen. The topmost song was what she selected, and Tailor’s lyrics immediately showed up on the screen. The beat started in, the music shortly after. “This is actually a duet, but it’s okay, I’ll just sing Tailor’s part, okay?” Sweetie said to Diamond. “Okay?” Diamond reflected questioningly. “Why did you select this song if you knew it was a duet?” “I… I don’t know. Just felt like the one I wanted to sing for you,” Sweetie said. “To you! I meant to you!” “To me?” Diamond reflected. “But … why?” Sweetie blinked, and turned back to the television as the first lyrics came up, starting to sing instead of answering Diamond. Since Sweetie did not answer, Diamond paid attention to the lyrics themselves in an attempt to glean why Sweetie wanted Diamond to hear this one. As Diamond watched the words to the song, part of her felt stunned. Several times, she glanced over at Sweetie as she belted out her little heart. Eventually, Diamond smiled sweetly at Sweetie then looked back at the lyrics of the song. Sweetie took a breath, and then selected another song, “Alessia Cara, Scars To Your Beautiful,” she said, then sat down and took Diamond’s hands after setting the microphone and remote down. “I want you to really take this song to heart, okay? I think of you when I sing this, when I hear this, and when I remember it… It… Just, listen, okay?” Sweetie pleaded. Diamond felt too overwhelmed to say anything, so instead she just nodded at Sweetie, and she meant it. Sweetie hugged her tight, then picked up the microphone and remote, and started the song. This time she stood up and stepped away from the couch, turning awkwardly and facing Diamond. She set the song to play. Diamond regarded Sweetie as she stood up and faced her. While the song played, she sometimes also looked at the words to the screen. Midway through the song, tears started to well up in Diamond’s eyes. She tried to contain it in order to  better pay attention to Sweetie, but it became very challenging three-quarters of the way through the song. By then, it was clear that Diamond was struggling with her emotions, but Sweetie stepped forward and took her hand, squeezing it as she continued to sing. Diamond looked up at Sweetie with eyes shining with tears. She couldn’t even tell if they were happy or sad tears. Probably both. The song faded to an end, and Sweetie sucked in a breath as she let her arm dangle at her side and her leg gave out, leaving her falling to one knee in front of Diamond. “I’m sorry… I didn’t know that would hurt you,” Sweetie said quietly as she struggled to lift herself back up. Diamond stood up to help Sweetie Belle regain her balance, then fiercely hugged her. “Thank you,” Diamond whispered into Sweetie’s ear. Even then, she struggled to say that as she choked on her emotion which was three-quarters gratitude in that moment and the last quarter was so many emotions that even Diamond could not identify them all. Sweetie settled herself on the couch next to Diamond, “Never ever forget how beautiful you are, okay?” “I don’t know what you see in me,” Diamond wailed as she sat down next to Sweetie. “But my god … you are such a beautiful soul yourself!” Sweetie blushed intensely at Diamond’s words, “One day, Diamond… I’ll get you to admit that you’re beautiful, inside and out. I swear.” Sweetie had started to look away to hide her blush. Diamond Tiara thought back to all the years that she teased, attacked and belittled Sweetie Belle. When she did, overwhelming grief overcame her. She lifted her hands to her face as she cried. “D-Diamond? What’s wrong?” Sweetie asked softly as she wrapped her arms around Diamond. Diamond simply shook her head because she felt too emotional to respond, but overwhelming guilt crushed her poor little heart. The thought of how she once terrorized this oh-so-beautiful soul wracked her with pain and regret. “It’s okay, Diamond… Let it out,” Sweetie said as she held Diamond close and absently began to stroke her hair. What did I do to deserve someone this beautiful and good in my life? Diamond wondered to herself. Best I can figure, I’ve done plenty to not deserve her. Meanwhile, Diamond continued to cry. During that time, Sweetie whispered in her ear, “I know you’re in pain, I know it… But now you’re going to have lots of friends, I promise… You don’t have to be alone… You don't have to hurt anymore…” As she spoke, there was a knock on the front door. Diamond regarded the front door with alarm, then looked at Sweetie for advice. “I guess I should answer that,” Sweetie said, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone you’re here.” Sweetie retrieved her cane, stood up, then began hobbling to the front door. “I’m coming! Sorry, I’m a little slow today!” “Take your time, Sweetie! It’s just me!” cried a familiar voice, muffled through the door. “...Scootaloo?” Sweetie said quietly to herself. Upon hearing who it was, Diamond curled into a ball on the couch and screamed in fright into a pillow on the couch. During that time, she strongly shivered in fright. Sweetie arrived at the door after a moment and opened it. “Scootaloo? What are you doing here?” “Uh…,” Scootaloo rubbed the back of her neck, “I wanted to see how you’re doing, and… I want to apologize, in person. I love you, Sweets. You’re one of my best friends, and I hate that… I did this to you,” she said as she gestured to the cane. Sweetie cocked her head, “Oh. Why don’t you come in, Scoots?” “Yeah, okay. Thanks,” Scootalo said as she strolled into the house. She immediately went for the kitchen and missed seeing Diamond in the living room. She did not, however, miss hearing Diamond’s whimpering. “Uh…,” Scootaloo began as she stopped and turned toward the living room, “Who is…?” Scootaloo stepped into the living room. Diamond pulled herself to the other end of the couch then resumed cringing tightly from Scootaloo. She even used a couch pillow to prepare herself to use as a shield between her and Scootaloo. “Diamond? What the hell are you doing here?” Scootaloo asked, her tone accusatory. Sweetie hobbled in shortly after Scootaloo walked in, “Scootaloo! Don’t be mean!” Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at Sweetie, “You want me to not be mean… to Diamond Tiara Rich? You… You should be telling her not to be mean to me or you!” Sweetie hobbled up close to Scootaloo, though she had to look up for their difference in height, and stared Scootaloo in the eyes, “She’s not that girl anymore, Scoots. She’s becoming the good person that was always hidden inside of her. Can’t you please trust me on this?” Scootaloo raised an eyebrow, “Trust you? Yeah… I…  can trust you. I… Fine. But you say one wrong thing, and I am going to make you worse off than Sweetie!” Diamond continued to cringe and shiver in the extreme. “What the… What are you doing, Diamond?” Scootaloo asked, a hint of frustration drawing into her tone. Diamond was clearly in no condition to talk. She looked like she was afraid for dear life. “Scoots. She’s terrified of you,” Sweetie said as she took Scootaloo’s hand, “Come on, she needs distance.” She practically dragged Scootaloo off to the kitchen. Scootaloo followed her, “Can I at least get a soda?” she asked as they moved into the kitchen. Diamond could hear the sound of a refrigerator opening, then shortly after it was closed, then she heard the familiar sound of Sweetie hobbling into the living room. Before either of them could make it back, Diamond panicked and fled up the stairs. Once she reached the terminus of the stairs, she had to turn left. From there, she saw two doors. Picking at random, she chose the door to the right. It led into a bathroom. Once she noticed that, she locked the room then fled into the tub. There she curled into a ball again and shivered. While doing that, she absently started clawing at her scars again. Sweetie blinked at the sound of a door slamming upstairs, and upon returning to the living room made her way through to the hallway with the stairs leading up. “Diamond?” she called up. Scootaloo walked up next to her, sipping a can of Colt a Cola, “What’s up? Rich brat run away?” “Scootaloo! Will you quit saying things like that?!” Sweetie snapped at Scootaloo. Scootaloo raised her hands in a placating gesture, “Whoa, easy Sweets… I’ll lay off, okay? I’m sorry. It’s just… hard to get over some of the things she said… and did… okay? You didn’t get it as bad as I did.” “Yeah, see what that got me?” Sweetie looked at Scootaloo dead seriously. Scootaloo looked away, sighing. “You want help getting up there?” Scootaloo asked. Sweetie sighed and nodded, “Please. Thank you, Scoots.” Sweetie raised her functioning leg onto the first step, and Scootaloo slipped an arm around Sweetie’s back to brace her for balance the rest of the way up. It felt like Scootaloo could have just as easily carried her, for all that she felt weightless. “Uh… so… Scoots, how have you been?” Sweetie asked Scootaloo. “Fine. Just… y’know, skating and stuff. Passing the time until I’m a free citizen again,” Scootaloo said. “So, aren’t you gonna get in trouble for sneaking out?” Sweetie asked as they took another step up. By then, they’d cleared half the stairs. “Oh yeah. If Slate catches me, I’m dead. Or not. I dunno. Probably grounded for longer or something. Doesn’t matter. Had to see you. I… I can’t believe I did this to you,” Scootaloo said sadly. “Oh Scoots… I wish you wouldn’t take risks like this… but… thank you,” Sweetie said as they made it to the landing on the second floor. Sweetie noticed that the bathroom door was the only one closed, and made her way over to it. She knocked gently. Inside, Sweetie and Scootaloo could hear Diamond whimpering. “Diamond? Are you okay in there?” Sweetie tried the door, only to find it was locked. Frighteningly, Diamond did not respond other than to continue whimpering. Sweetie looked at Scootaloo, “She’s afraid of you. What are you going to do about that?” Scootaloo almost punched a wall, but caught herself just before the impact, and sighed. “Uh… Diamond? It’s me, Scootaloo. Listen… I promise I’m not going to hurt you, okay? I’m sorry for trying to before, even.” There did not seem to be much noticeable response other than the whimpering decreasing in volume a bit. Sweetie sighed, looking at Scootaloo, “Do you know how to pick a lock?” “...duh? Of course, I do. Why?” Scootaloo replied. “I can’t… say, but… I’m scared, so, please, can you pick this lock?” Sweetie said, indicating the bathroom door. “Sure. Got a bobby pin?” Scootaloo asked. Sweetie reached into her hair and pulled out the requested pin, handing it to Scootaloo. Scootaloo took it and ushed Sweetie out of the way. She immediately slid the pin into the keyhole and placed an ear next to the knob. After a moment, Scootaloo heard a gentle click, then pulled back. “Okay, it’s open,” she reported as she twisted the knob and pushed the door in. Sweetie immediately pushed past her, dropping her cane in the process but grabbing the door and closing it in Scootaloo’s face. Within, Sweetie Belle noticed Diamond rocking back and forward in the bathtub with an unnerving amount of blood oozing down Diamond’s arms, soaking her sleeves, and dripping into the white bathtub. “Diamond? What happened?” Sweetie asked as she locked the door behind her and stumbled forward to place a hand on Diamond’s shoulder. Diamond shivered when Sweetie grabbed her, but slowly traced her eyes to look into Sweetie’s olive-green eyes. She otherwise said nothing. Just wrinkled her chin a little. “Diamond…,” Sweetie said as she fumbled in her attempt to climb into the tub. After that, she gently sat herself down opposite Diamond, “Talk to me, please? What’s wrong? Scootaloo can’t be all that’s going on here.” Tears welled up in Diamond’s eyes. She opened her mouth and attempted to say something, but little more than a few squeaks issued forth. She then folded her arms on top of her knees and put her face on her arms which smeared blood on her face. Sweetie reached forward, catching Diamond’s hands at either of her knees. She took them gently, not caring about the blood. “You’re scaring me, Diamond...” A knock on the door sounded, and Scootaloo’s voice sounded through it, “What’s going on in there? You two okay?” Upon hearing Scootaloo’s voice, Diamond groaned in fear for a moment. “She’s not going to hurt you, Diamond… I’ll never let that happen,” Sweetie said softly. “Sweetie? Diamond? You in there?” Scootaloo asked with rising anxiety. There was no change in Diamond’s reaction except to grip Sweetie’s hand for dear comfort. “We’re okay, Scoots,” Sweetie called aloud. “You wanna get yourself something to eat or something?” “Uh.. you… okay, yeah,” Scootaloo took the hint. She went back downstairs and into the kitchen. “Diamond… Please… Say something…,” Sweetie urged. Diamond’s sky blue eyes peeked up at Sweetie, then she barely croaked out in a whisper, “Either Scootaloo goes, or I should.” She shook her head. “I don’t want you to get hurt again.” “No. I’m not sending her away, and I don’t want you to go… I want you two to get along…,” Sweetie said. Diamond shook her head then buried her face into her bloody arms again. “Diamond… Please? Can you try, for me? Scootaloo won’t hurt me, and I won’t let her hurt you,” Sweetie said softly as she leaned forward and gently used a hand to bring Diamond’s gaze back to her own. Diamond shook her head again because she felt too scared. Sweetie sniffed, and dragged an arm across her eyes. It left a smear of blood across her face, but she didn't care. She sniffed again, a tear sliding down her cheek. Diamond also cried, but this time out of guilt rather than fright due to hurting Sweetie Belle. “I want all of my friends to get along… and I know Scootaloo can do that… She can calm down and be nice to you… I know she can… please…” Sweetie pleaded. Diamond cried harder, very reluctant to hurt Sweetie Belle, but she felt too afraid of Scootaloo at the moment, and also undeserving of forgiveness. “Um… Sweetie?” Scootallo’s voice came through the door. “What, Scootaloo?” Sweetie asked. “Your mom is home,” Scootaloo said. “Sh-she’s… What’s she doing?!” Sweetie asked. “She’s unpacking your medication. I didn’t tell her about… y’know...,” Scootaloo said quietly. “Okay… okay…,” Sweetie said as she looked at Diamond, “We’ve got to get you cleaned up. Come on.” Sweetie reached over and grabbed a towel from the towel rack, and immediately wets it. She then gently begins to wipe Diamond’s face and arms. She even began to twist Diamond’s hair into the towel in an attempt to soak up the blood that had gotten there. “I’m not coming out of here,” Diamond promised to Sweetie. “Not as long as she’s here.” Her eyes watered again. “I’m sorry. And,” she gripped one of Sweetie Belle’s arms which held the towel, “thank  you!” “Diamond… What do I have to do? Do I have to tell my mom about this?” Sweetie asked. Diamond widened her eyes in panic, then exclaimed, “No! You promised not to tell anyone about my situation.” “Please, Diamond… Please… I’m not going to choose between you and Scootaloo. I can’t do that. She’s one of my oldest friends,” Sweetie said. Diamond shook her head as she said, “There is no choice here, Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo is your oldest friend, and I’m some worthless nobody who doesn’t deserve any of this.” She wrinkled her chin. “I’m probably not going to live much longer anyway, so choose Scootaloo.” “If… If you…,” Sweetie began, “I-I’ll… end myself…” “What?!” Diamond exclaimed. “Why?! I’m unworthy of that affection. I haven’t done anything to deserve it.” She pointed at the exit. “Nor has Scootaloo done anything to deserve your loss. She needs you, I think, and I … I …” “Diamond… You’re my friend… I want you in my life, I want you around… I want you to get along with my other friends, and to be their friend too… I… Diamond, please… Please give Scootaloo a chance… and… m-my mother,” Sweetie’s eyes shimmered with tears as she spoke. Diamond Tiara couldn’t breathe anymore because her nose was too clogged with snot. She ended up expelling it into her right hand then looked at it with disgust due to a distant remnant of her old snide attitude. She looked depressed a moment later with an empty giving up kind of expression. Sweetie reached over and unspooled a length of toilet paper, passing it along to Diamond. “I’m not leaving you until you agree, okay?” Diamond looked down as she sighed in defeat, then her eyes looked up at Sweetie while the direction of her face didn’t follow. She paused a long moment in silence like that, then slowly nodded meekly. Sweetie wore a small smile while gently cleaning her face and arms. “I can’t promise my mom won’t figure a few things out… She’s really good at that sort of thing, but I won’t tell her.” Diamond simply looked down. “You ready?” Sweetie asked. Diamond shrugged lightly and said, “As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.” Sweetie softly began to sing “Scars To Your Beautiful” to Diamond as she struggled to stand up from the tub. Instinctively and protectively, Diamond followed her up to make sure Sweetie Belle didn’t fall along her way up. When they both stood, Diamond proceeded to hug Sweetie Belle, but this time tenderly. Sweetie hugged her back, almost tightly. “You’ll never know just how important you are to me. Now… We’re going to have to get you changed. I think you’ll fit in my clothes.” ‘Okay,” Diamond mumbled weakly, feeling too drained to put up much more of a struggle against Sweetie, to whom she felt too grateful to oppose much more anyway.